Eating a Vegetarian Elephant

Chiglepig

Oh, before I go, I know what I meant to say:

Hot bin update!  Bin has finally got up to temp - lesson here is it it isn't possible to get it properly started in a cold and frosty November/December. I'm getting liquid fertiliser from it, hopefully actual usable compost by the end of the month. That and the little bit of joy when I feel the heat rising when I open it.

I know MFWB loves a bit of compost chat

themadvix

SC I don’t understand people’s hatred of smart meters/reluctance to get them either - even though I have issues with mine it’s better than them being stupid. (I think people think they’ll be spying on them?!)

 Interesting news about the hotbin Chiglepig. I’m still considering one even though we’re not moving (far). It’sa decision for when we’ve decided whether we’re moving at all though (I hate living in limbo!).

Karmacat

Hotbin chat!  Animal chat!  Wonderful  

As for smart meters, I don't like them, but ... spying on me?  No, not that.  And madvix, your meter sounds almost as "stupid" as mine, though not quite - you "ask the energy company to pull through the data for the electricity meter" and I submit my numbers.  

I don't hate smart meters, and if I needed one, I'd have one, like with getting a cheap charging rate for a car.  But I don't need one currently - I work on downsizing my consumption a *lot* so I don't need it for that, I think the programming seems badly designed, they're an often-needless over-complication and electronic-ification (I've just decided that's a word) and fairly often they become useless for what they were designed for.  And during the last two years, there's the pandemic - if I don't desperately need a workman coming into my home, then he's not coming.  

Chiglepig

Homeowner woe list number 1 ticked off - top oven has been fixed - engineer was amazed it lasted as long as it did (seven years) - hoping that £120 gives us another seven

Karmacat

Good lord, only 7 years and he's amazed?  That's a scary indictment of our white goods!  But I'm glad yours is repaired and doing well.

Chiglepig

Absolutely, @Karmacat our last electric cooker was still going strong at 18, and the ftbs who bought our house were really pleased we offered to leave it. On the other hand, it was a combi-oven/microwave/grill, and we tended to use it in preference to the full size oven, so it got pretty heavy use - at least it was repaired, not replaced

It always amazes me how often some people need replace things, whether because they break, or they are no longer the latest thing. Growing up, I realise now how much my parents struggled financially, but my school friends often referred to us as 'posh' - because for some reason, I never picked up the local accent, and my mum was very much of the opinion you buy well, buy once, and then you LOOK AFTER whatever it is. I'm not sure why buying fewer things made us 'posh', but using coasters certainly did

themadvix

I think it’s having the capital to buy once that qualifies you as ‘posh’/‘rich’. It’s not right though that that’s the way it is!

Chiglepig

It's certainly  the Vimes Boots theory - but my mum being who she was, for a long time we had mismatched chairs around that expensive (for us in the '70s) table while she saved up for the matching ones - they still have that table!

Baileys_Babe

We have missed matched chairs round both our kitchen and dining tables, yes they would look better matching but they are useable so for now, there are better things to do with our pennies.

themadvix

We still have (and I **hate** them!) 1970s/80s chipboard bedside tables from the loft at my in-laws - it was initially a case of they'll do for now, then a case of they'll do until we move and now.... I think they may just get replaced at some point (same is also true of white chipboard chest of drawers) - but we'll replace with proper wooden ones rather than something from IKEA - they work for now. Our dining table is also a hand-me-down in a horrible dark reddish wood colour (with matching chairs) - again it was a case of will do for now/will do until we move.... 

As you say BB, there are better things to spend the money on! (If we don't move and we do get shot of this mortgage in the next couple of years, these may be in the firing line for the first month's savings!)

My parents (mum in particular) has always been of the buy once, buy well approach. The difference between them and my in-laws is marked. MIL came from a poorer background and has kept some of that mentality (also they've not ever been as sensible with money as they could have been) - 'cheap' is still considered better, despite 'cheap' not lasting as long/being absolute carp to start with! Case in point is a fake Dyson that couldn't even suck up cobwebs at the weekend - she has said it's rubbish but FIL won't hear anything against it! We wonder how they've not learned yet that you get what you pay for! 🙄 They had a Dyson previously but can't get the parts to fix it (unusual, but does seem to be the case) - but why buy a cheap, cheap thing when they could afford a decent one? (Sorry, I'll stop ranting on your diary now Chigle!)