How much to live on

Organgrinder

Ah ok. That would explain it. Wonder why?

As an aside our new tumble dryer will save over £100 a year in running costs. Payback is under 3 years. That's quite remarkable in my opinion.

helensbiggestfan

I'm duel fuel with British Gas, fixed the price last month for 18 months. They do half price leccy from 11-4 on Sundays so I do most of my laundry then. I know some people think a tumble dryer is a bit of an extravagance but I consider mine worth it's weight in gold. And the newer ones are becoming more energy efficient.

Just spent an hour in the garage. Can't really do much more in there until the new shelving arrives.

Organgrinder

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82142010#Comment_82142010

The newer ones cost about 1/3 of the cost of older ones. Quite remarkable really.

And it seems the electricity glut must be continuing as we have had free electricity overnight and another 6 hours free electricity.

I see also that stoozing has been discussed in the media again. Just as my deals start running out and no new card offers available still. I can't complain though, it's been very lucrative overall. I'm hoping I can move about £4k off my chase card come December and £6k off NatWest in May. Fingers crossed I get at least 1 transfer deal before then!

QrizB

We normally discuss this over on the Energy forum (or Green & Ethical, if it's specifically renewables chat). There are a couple of useful websites (run by the same person as a hobby; he works for Octopus).

The GB Renewables Map shows you where our electricity is being generated (there's an option to show fossil fuels, too)

https://renewables-map.robinhawkes.com/#4.5/55/-3.2

As I type this, the wind farms in the Irish Sea and North Sea are all performing well (a couple of exceptions are farms that aren't yet operational or have temporary problems). Those are south of the Scottish borders and so are largely unaffected by the grid capacity constraints that limit how much electricity can be sent to England from Scotland.

And the Wasted Wind site that shows how many (usually Scottish) wind farms have been asked to reduce output because of the aforementioned grid capacity limits.

https://wastedwind.energy/2026-09-20

Currently it's showing roughly 5.5GW (2750 kWh every 30 minutes) of wind farm capacity that's available but can't be used.

It also shows how the cost of compensating those Scottish wind farms for lost generation is only one third of the total cost of constraints; the other two thirds comes from paying (mostly gas-fired) generators in England to produce extra power to replace it.

(You can see the constrained wind farms on the renewables map if you choose the right options from the list.)

I must also mention Kate Morley's site that gives a quick-glance overview of where our electricity comes from and where it goes:

https://grid.iamkate.com/

Currently we're generating 27.5GW, using 22GW and exporting 5.5GW to our neighbours. That's fairly unusual; more often we're importing power from Norway (hydro) or France (nuclear).

louby40

We've not had a tumble dryer for quite a few years now. We use a heated airer with a cover and a dehumidifier. I've also got a separate unheated airer that we use to rotate. Once the door is shut, that small room becomes a great drying space. It costs very little to run.

Organgrinder

I can't bear the running costs but this new one is so much cheaper.

On our old tariff with the old machine it was about £1.40 a load. On our new tariff and new machine at peak it is about 70p. Off peak about 15p. Now apparently they are much safer too so maybe we'll run so it comes in about 5am.

Willow1983

what tumble drier did you end up getting? I would like another one but would need to be kept in the garage and I know they are not all suitable. Willow

Organgrinder

I got a Bush from Argos. £252 after discount.

It's a heat pump model so rated A++.

It's made by vestel in Turkey who also do Servis etc and clearly it's no Bosch or Miele, but it's comparable to other cheaper brands apparently.

Willow1983

Thanks Organgrinder, will check it out 😊 Willow

uralmaid

Morning @Organgrinder . Finally had a chance to read through the comments on this page. I am glad you are enjoying your retirement. I too have kept looking at pizza ovens but still cant decide. We have had a busy time this year. Finally getting around to painting the outside of our house (we have only been here 5 years!). We have had an expensive year albeit of our own making - but hey - lifes too short. We have had 2 holidays this year plus some weekends away. I also have been a regular at our local auction and managed to somehow purchase 2 new diamond rings and a diamond pendant. I love bling. We also traded in our Cupra for a Porsche. As we live a a small village there isn't much else to spend on.lol. We had to get a new tumble dryer last year and got a heat pump one. The only thing I found was that with my old one I could just bung things in to air after they had been outside (if it wasn't sunny) but with the heat pump one it seems to only be on for 5 minutes then insists they are dry so I don't love it. We also purchased new motorcycle clothing for both of us and new helmets just because we fancied a change. I mean - how can anyone manage without at least 9 different jackets? Hubby not me.😄 Oh by the way - get the M and S trousers - you know you want some!!! This week I decided the time had come to have my long hair cut short. I was supposedly doing it to get rid of the magenta colour on my hair and have it go grey as my 70th birthday is at the end of the year, but only 1 day in and I am already looking at the box of purple dye languishing in my cupboard. How to grow old disgracefully - much more fun.🤣