Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally

Sunshine_girl2

Sorry to hear you have had a bad day and sleep eluded you . Is there a particular reason for your business not to be bringing in enough funds that you have to use your EF. I fully support the EF for paying the bills in the short term but will things improve.? Does the business have a quiet time or is it just a downturn in your product ? Could DH get a part time job to tide you over ?

Sorry if this sounds harsh , but you have been on an even keel earlier in the year, got your PPI for EF , got your job , studying etc. Now things seem to be making you worry again.

I hope things rectify soon as this is an expensive time of year. Good to hear you have arranged your flu vaccination, I hope you get s good rest tonight .

jwil

Hope you are feeling better today HHD.

Npower have a shocking reputation, I'd be trying to get shot asap. You've had nothing but problems with them. If it was me, I'd get some quotes from other suppliers, if they are cheaper, use the EF to pay off the debt and switch. Then for the first few months, pay the savings back to the EF.

We switched from Eon to Bulb earlier this year. Our payments have gone down from £110 per month to £82 per month. We also have built up over £200 in credit which will help take us through the winter.

Remember to check for any cash back offers as well if you decide to switch.

[Deleted User]

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

I love having DS3 home but he has his light on all day, his laptop on all day, an hour long shower every day :eek:. Well I'm glad it's not just me who has this problem :rotfl:.

It looks as if there's something wrong somewhere, not just that the bill has gone up as I think most suppliers, including mine (not that I'm with NPower, I was glad to ditch them a few years ago:j) are upping their rates:(.


I'm a bit worried about why you are still with them for your supply. I remember reading in your diary (long-time lurker but first time poster:o) that you were paying off arrears. If you still have these arrears couldn't you use some of your EF to clear them so you can start afresh with a new supplier and cheaper tariff? I know how much you worry about depleting your EF but such things as this ARE emergencies if it means you are paying through the nose and being caused so much stress over a situation that seems to have gone on for months.

The other thing that concerns me about your bill is that things like lights and laptops use up very little power in the scheme of things. It's things that heat that are the big electricity users and as you rarely use your heating and tumble drier I'm confused about the charges you are getting.

Also, HOUR long showers for your DS:eek::eek::eek:. EVERY day?:eek::eek::eek:. He doesn't have a dirty manual job does he so why the need for such extreme cleaning? Is he the one at Uni? If so, I doubt he is being indulged by his housemates and taking such lengthy showers when he's there. If he can manage with less there please make sure he appreciates that he can't get back into extreme habits and have them when he's home. Sorry if I come across as rude especially in my first post on your diary, it wasn't my intention at all.

I'm hoping he's just occupying the shower cubical for an hour, maybe just grooming and so on, and not letting the hot water run constantly. In these days of eco-friendliness I'm shocked if he is so profligate with water supplies. You mentioned before how expensive your water supply is and I know you aren't metered but it would definitely be a real eye-opener for your family if you were;)


I hope you won't blacklist me from your diary as I hope to be back with much more supportive posts. I'm a big admirer of how you've coped with life in recent times:A

elizabethhull

Finally_Solvent wrote: »

I'm a bit worried about why you are still with them for your supply. I remember reading in your diary that you were paying off arrears. If you still have these arrears couldn't you use some of your EF to clear them so you can start afresh with a new supplier and cheaper tariff? I know how much you worry about depleting your EF but such things as this ARE emergencies if it means you are paying through the nose and being caused so much stress over a situation that seems to have gone on for months.

:A

What FS says re energy supplier!!

Also, although I know everyone's family situations and dynamics are different, our DDs knew something about our finances and what things cost, and whether we could or couldn't afford something.
On a very trifling note, once DD2 and I were down town on a hot day and desperately in need of refreshment. I had no money in the bank at that moment (just my overdraft lol!), so we pooled our cash and reckoned we could just manage one McFlurry and one coffee. Good and simple exercise in money management !!
DD1 is very money-conscious (years of living with OH on just her salary), DD2 pretty good with occasional blips (like most people, I guess).

HairyHandofDartmoor

Sunshine_girl2 wrote: »

Sorry to hear you have had a bad day and sleep eluded you . Is there a particular reason for your business not to be bringing in enough funds that you have to use your EF. I fully support the EF for paying the bills in the short term but will things improve.? Does the business have a quiet time or is it just a downturn in your product ? Could DH get a part time job to tide you over ?

Sorry if this sounds harsh , but you have been on an even keel earlier in the year, got your PPI for EF , got your job , studying etc. Now things seem to be making you worry again.

I hope things rectify soon as this is an expensive time of year. Good to hear you have arranged your flu vaccination, I hope you get s good rest tonight .

Thanks Sunshine . The business has always been erratic. DH doesn't have much work on at the moment. I think that there's a lot of competition in our industry and maybe he's been doing less marketing. Anyway he knows things are getting desperate so I'm hoping he'll raise his game.

I think DH would rather commit sucide than get a part time job as there are no jobs in his industry where we live so he'd have to take an unskilled job and he would feel a total failure. That sounds melodromatic but I know DH and he does suffer from depression.

Things were much better for us financially for the last year but I've been worried the whole time because I knew it wouldn't last. I've been here before many times. The bad times follow the good but the good times also follow the bad. I hate all the uncertainty which is why I'm trying to get more hours.

HairyHandofDartmoor

jwil wrote: »

Hope you are feeling better today HHD.

Npower have a shocking reputation, I'd be trying to get shot asap. You've had nothing but problems with them. If it was me, I'd get some quotes from other suppliers, if they are cheaper, use the EF to pay off the debt and switch. Then for the first few months, pay the savings back to the EF.

We switched from Eon to Bulb earlier this year. Our payments have gone down from £110 per month to £82 per month. We also have built up over £200 in credit which will help take us through the winter.

Remember to check for any cash back offers as well if you decide to switch.

Thanks Jwil . I would love to get rid of NP0w3r but DH's EF is going down fast and we have the MOT coming up. If the car doesn't pass then I don't know how big that bill could be.

It's definitely on our priority list to ditch them.

HairyHandofDartmoor

Finally_Solvent wrote: »

It looks as if there's something wrong somewhere, not just that the bill has gone up as I think most suppliers, including mine (not that I'm with NPower, I was glad to ditch them a few years ago:j) are upping their rates:(.


I'm a bit worried about why you are still with them for your supply. I remember reading in your diary (long-time lurker but first time poster:o) that you were paying off arrears. If you still have these arrears couldn't you use some of your EF to clear them so you can start afresh with a new supplier and cheaper tariff? I know how much you worry about depleting your EF but such things as this ARE emergencies if it means you are paying through the nose and being caused so much stress over a situation that seems to have gone on for months.

The other thing that concerns me about your bill is that things like lights and laptops use up very little power in the scheme of things. It's things that heat that are the big electricity users and as you rarely use your heating and tumble drier I'm confused about the charges you are getting.

Also, HOUR long showers for your DS:eek::eek::eek:. EVERY day?:eek::eek::eek:. He doesn't have a dirty manual job does he so why the need for such extreme cleaning? Is he the one at Uni? If so, I doubt he is being indulged by his housemates and taking such lengthy showers when he's there. If he can manage with less there please make sure he appreciates that he can't get back into extreme habits and have them when he's home. Sorry if I come across as rude especially in my first post on your diary, it wasn't my intention at all.

I'm hoping he's just occupying the shower cubical for an hour, maybe just grooming and so on, and not letting the hot water run constantly. In these days of eco-friendliness I'm shocked if he is so profligate with water supplies. You mentioned before how expensive your water supply is and I know you aren't metered but it would definitely be a real eye-opener for your family if you were;)


I hope you won't blacklist me from your diary as I hope to be back with much more supportive posts. I'm a big admirer of how you've coped with life in recent times:A

Thanks Finally Solvent . Of course I won't blacklist you .

I would love to ditch NP0w3r and it is a big priority but the EF is going down fast and so I want to save it for mortgage payments or the car failing it's MOT or the roof leaking, etc. I dont' think a high fuel bill is an emergency.

DS3 may not be running the water for an hour, but he is in the bathroom for an hour. He probably spends some time grooming his beard and doing his hair, etc, etc. I've no idea what he does in there :rotfl:.

I'm pleased to hear that things like lights and laptops don't use much. I don't know why our bills are so high, but three of us are at home ALL day every day in seperate rooms using lights, computers, etc. Also with 4/5 of us in the house the dishwasher goes on every day and so does the washing machine.

Thank you for posting and I'll look forward to hearing from you again .

HairyHandofDartmoor

elizabethhull wrote: »

What FS says re energy supplier!!

Also, although I know everyone's family situations and dynamics are different, our DDs knew something about our finances and what things cost, and whether we could or couldn't afford something.
On a very trifling note, once DD2 and I were down town on a hot day and desperately in need of refreshment. I had no money in the bank at that moment (just my overdraft lol!), so we pooled our cash and reckoned we could just manage one McFlurry and one coffee. Good and simple exercise in money management !!
DD1 is very money-conscious (years of living with OH on just her salary), DD2 pretty good with occasional blips (like most people, I guess).

Thanks Elizabeth . I'm not sure if DS3 runs the hot water for an hour. I expect he's grooming for part of that time, trimming his beard and styling his hair, etc :rotfl:.

Our DC are very frugal with their own money and never ask us for any money. Plus they don't complain about having to live in a (mostly) unheated and damp house .

I think it's just that 4/5 adults do use a lot of electricity between them, as three of them are in separate rooms all day every day with computers, lights on, etc, and the washing machine and dishwasher go on every day. We hardly ever put the heating on though and I try not to use the tumbler, althought it's very difficult to dry the washing in an unheated house when it never stops raining .

It's certainly a very good thing if children can be taught to be frugal and conscious of what things cost :money:.

Chrystal

Not wishing to upset you, and coming from a place that is really hoping that things change for the better for you.
The vast majority of students have to get a job during their vacations.... if for no other reason than to pay their way at home as well as save to help towards their Uni term. Maybe it's time to sit all your DSs down together and tell them the true state of affairs. They aren't children and shouldn't be treated as such, although from remarks you've made in the past it seems that DH would rather not rock the boat. This may keep his pride intact but it won't help in the long run.

You say that DH suffers from depression. I think that you probably do too, but you're having to try and sort out the mess that lack of money is creating, and I realise DH wants to be seen as the 'breadwinner' but the truth of it is that he isn't, so getting an 'unskilled' job that brings in more money should be seen as a positive and make him proud to be helping instead of hindering.

I think you're in a very difficult position, as it's impossible to keep on doing the same things you've always done and expect a different outcome. Nothing will change unless you MAKE something change. Wishing and hoping won't achieve anything. You are trying your best to improve the situation and maybe it's time for others in the household to try and improve it too.
I don't mean to hurt or upset you. This is just an outsiders view of things. X

milann

Sorry you seem so stressed about things.
I’ve worked with children with autism and various behaviour issues for many years and if the child is feeling out of sorts for whatever reason - until that child chooses to - it wouldn’t matter what you did or how brilliant any of us are - the child won’t comply.....they have to feel at one with their world before they let us to use all the techniques we’ve learned....and what works one day might not work the following day.... be kind to yourself and if a child shouts or is rude - remember it’s usually the situation not you they’re not happy with. Time I spent often the best cure all. Just wondering if the TA that was rude was the one from last week?