Put away your purse & become debt-averse

CRANKY40

Deni_debt-free_dreamer said

sadly i don't have a toaster at the moment!  It broke last year and i haven't replaced it yet.... I should get one as i'm sure i'd soon save money as i like warmed up pitta bread with hummus so that has to go in the oven too 

Deni x

We have a panini press. It does the same job most efficiently and if you like toasties it makes those too without squeezing all the toppings out like those little "cuts your toastie into triangles" toastie makers do. In the winter a toastie with some soup is an easy win for a warm meal imstead of a miserable cold sandwich. 

Sun_Addict

CRANKY40 said:

Deni_debt-free_dreamer said

sadly i don't have a toaster at the moment!  It broke last year and i haven't replaced it yet.... I should get one as i'm sure i'd soon save money as i like warmed up pitta bread with hummus so that has to go in the oven too 

Deni x

We have a panini press. It does the same job most efficiently and if you like toasties it makes those too without squeezing all the toppings out like those little "cuts your toastie into triangles" toastie makers do. In the winter a toastie with some soup is an easy win for a warm meal imstead of a miserable cold sandwich. 

I’ve got a cheap grill thing from Argos, similar to a George Forman but smaller, cost £10, had it for years. I use it for all sorts. Those sandwich thins are lovely done on it, although you have to be careful they don’t overcook and go rock hard 😆 

EssexHebridean

I’ve found that a bath mat - tightly rolled - makes an excellent drought excluder. I use an old one from before we had the bathroom re-done in front of our larder door in the colder weather and it makes a huge difference of no expenditure at all. I reckon you could do the same thing with an old bath towel too. 

Whatlifeis

QueenJess said:

Our house can’t get any more efficient unless we got solar panels (I would love some, but I just don’t have the time to look into them properly at the moment)

I recommend solar panels if/when you can afford them. We put off saving for our renovations (which we desperately need as we bought a wreck last year and it is most definitely a work in progress) and decided to prioritise solar planels instead, as we figured this was a higher priority bearing in mind the forthcoming winter electricity bills. So last week we had 6 small-ish panels installed on our south facing roof, which generates about 2.5kw, and this also heats the hot water. We couldn't afford a battery, just the basic panel installation, and we went with the cheapest quote we could possibly find, which meant that the installers weren't the highest on the online reviews, but it was the best we could do. So far it has cut our energy bills by over a half, although it's early days yet and the weather hasn't exactly been sunny this past week. We are hoping that we will  recuperate the initial cost within a couple of years.
In the meantime, the renovations will have to wait

Onebrokelady

I'm am happy to say that I do quite a lot of the things listed. My major thing to improve is my loft insulation but I simply can't afford it at the moment,I'm kind of hoping that all the junk that's up there will be helping to insulate 😀. I have hard floors everywhere except the stairs and two of the bedrooms so can sweep rather than hoover most of the time.
My heating is never on overnight even in winter because the noise from the boiler keeps me awake and I also get too hot. If I pop into the kitchen in the evening to make a drink I don't bother putting the light on because there is enough light to see from the living room. I also don't bother putting the light on in the bathroom when I go for a shower unless it's pitch black 😀

foxgloves

Thanks for all your comments re energy saving measures, etc. I'll reply properly tomorrow - I've felt generally out of sorts since I got up today, for no good reason that I can think of, so although I've been reading, I've not wanted to subject you to my grumpy mood. I'm hoping I wake up bright-eyed & bushy-tailed tomorrow or I shall be having a word with myself!
F x

Sun_Addict

Hope you’re feeling better tomorrow. We all get days like that from time to time. 

IzzyBee

Hope you have a better day tomorrow we all have those days take care 

marionmgcars

Just caught up with your comments on energy saving.  Its great to refresh your memory on these things….  Helps me get my focus back, thanks x

Tescodealqueen

Love reading all these energy comments. I can’t bear the heating on while I am in bed it makes me feel ill. So that is a lucky thing I guess. The heating goes off at least an hour before I go to bed and I am up at least half an hour before it comes on to warm the house up in the winter otherwise I am rubbish for the day. I recall staying overnight when babysitting as a young girl . We only had a coal fire in the living room at the time and they had their central heating on all night. I felt so ill, never stayed overnight again.