2022 Frugal Living Challenge

MazzieD

Wonder why the announcement came out at 7am, perhaps Ofgem have now barricaded themselves in their offices or run for the hills.   The predictions have been fairly accurate so at least we finally know what it is. 

Glad I'm not working today, just noticed there is an MSE price cap calculator at the bottom of the page so will have a look in a minute.

Really good to hear from you Frugaldom and sensible advice as always.

Floss

I was lucky to be offered a fix on Monday that will keep me £35 below my old suppliers estimate of the new cap, but will be saving the extra along with any extra from the government for next year.

London_1

I think we must all take stock (literally) of things to help us get through the coming months . Having grown up with rationing, and austerity in the 1940s/50s, booming years of the 60s, then busting ones that followed, I have learnt to adjust my lifestyle to what both myself and my purse could afford.

I think it maybe a tad easier for the older folk amongst us here, as we have lived through times of no central heating/double glazing/ freezers and full cupboards.
We survived by 'making do and mending' keeping s strict eye on the
'Do I need it,'
'Will I use it' mantra of our beloved leader Martin  

I saw his interview this morning and he was almost incandescent with rage bless him He is fighting for us all and when he speaks hopefully which ever government of the day will listen to him.

Can I adapt, and use something else instead, isn't a bad idea today
Its going to be harder perhaps for those who have never had to watch the pennies , or  are used to a better lifestyle than what is coming towards us. But I'm sure they will cope, as most people do.

Almost everyone I speak to is obviously worried about the future, and crossing everything in the hope of a milder winter. Life is going to be harder ,but hopefully with less waste and losing the 'throw away and replace' society that folk have become accustomed to will help.

Using resources that we already have and less of the uneccesary 'junk' in our lives will make a difference. I have already started by thinking ahead to Christmas and present buying. I have told all my family to cut back on things as I certainly shan't be offended if I don't see another box of soap/body lotion (with I never use ).
These things just clutter up your house useful things like perhaps a nice jar of coffee or some packets of ginger nuts are appreciated far more.

 I don't need 'Celebrations, Quality Street' tins as half the time I don't actually eat them anyway. I still have a tin of shortbread in the cupboard someone gave me last year (I make my own  anyway )

For the children if you have them ,try going back to little things individually wrapped to go under the tree. Kids don't need piles of plastic junk for Mum or Dad to end up stepping on.
Last year my two little great granddaughters had some books ,some crayons , a cut out dolls dressing up book and I knitted them each a nice scarf.
My granddaughter was really pleased as she said the children have more than enough stuff anyway and half the time forget what they have got .
When my two were small after Christmas Day in the 1970s playing with their toys I would put half of them away on top of my wardrobe then around February would swap them around  so what ever they had suddenly appeared and seemed new

Don't be dragged into the 'must have' nonsense that gets trotted out each year.Children need to be warm and fed a box of lego won't keep you warm in January when your Mum is turning off the heating.

My seven grandchildren are now adults, so the boys get usually a jumper or shirt and socks, and the girls I try to find something unusual.
My 28 year old grandaughter loves a good jigsaw and I will usually get her a real 1000 piece stinker which she really likes .

We will get through this bump in the road and look back one day and wonder how we did it bit it will be behind us trust me ,all the other ones I've lived through have  

JackieO xxx  

Primrose

Well said JackieO!

When we all look back on this period when we,re out the other side, the question the whole nation should be asking itself is not "wasn,t it hard.?" But  "what did we learn which will be of benefit to us going forward?."

Both individuals and national institutions need to learn better lessons in terms of affordability and sustainability and I suspect that will mean  some long held expectations about what governments can afford to provide and what individuals expect as a natural right from the government may have to change. Nobody has a limitless budget. 

i was recently reading a book called The Love  of Tax written by an accountant who had worked for various financial  institutions   He reminded his readers   "Governments have NO MONEY.    it is all TAXPAYERS MONEY."    So whatever the government is giving us by way of reliefs, they,re actually only giving us a little of our own money back!  

We tend to forget this sometimes so in my view we all have a vested interest in seeing that OUR money is spent wisely !

Blackandgold_2

If you buy difficult jigsaws @London_1 have you seen the Wasgij ones? Home - Wasgij
I've found them in charity shops as well as new.

Primrose

During the war when tea and sugar were strictly on ration my mum reminded me that if a friend or neighbour invited you in for a cup of tea it was regarded as polite to take a teaspoonful of tea in a little screwed up piece of paper along with you to help "feed the communal teapot! 

Perhaps we may be reduced to walking around with a couple of teabags in an envelope in  our handbags in case we get invited in for a cuppa somewhere.

i,m not sure how rationing would work these days if it ever had to be introduced again as it was in wartime.  In those days you had to be registered with a specific shop for all rationed goods.

linz

Some really interesting viewpoints and comments. Who knows, in 40 years time when the next recession comes along maybe those of the generation who has grown up being able to have what they want when they want and buy now pay later will be the ones telling that generation all the make do and mend/how we managed tips that we are receiving off the people on this thread

My partner and I already agreed a while ago that we dont want or need any Christmas presents from each other that will only take up space and clutter the house up. Weve set a £50 budget and I've already started getting a few things. (Gin making kit i got 2 xmases ago and put away somewhere safe and lost - oops ! about £7 from the Range on sale) and a lovely dressy shirt £4.99 from the RSPCA charity shop. Nice wash and iron and he wont know its preloved

The rest will be practical things or stuff he can eat/drink etc like JackieO has said.

Poppy_Golightly

Primrose said:

@aspsparklyblonde
if you ever use YouTube, do go and visit
1.  Mossy Bottom. - young guy doing a self sufficiency life in rural Ireland 
2. Simply Alaska - a couple living a self contained life in a cabin in Alaska, bottling and canning all their crops 

i think you will find a certain resonance  and have much in common with both of them and both are excellent fascinating viewing .

I follow Daniel and Moss at Mossy Bottom. It's amazing what he has done with his plot. Off now to look at Simply Alaska - thanks for that one.

-taff

I'm not sure the view of society as a bunch of wastrels is accurate these days. There are always sections here and there who waste, buy too much [ me included in that otherwise I wouldn't have had so much to declutter] etc just as there are sections who are frugal to super frugal.

The problem is that if the price of enegy rockets to an average of 4 to a potential 8 grand a year, there are sections of society who are on benefits, who are in low paid jobs, who are in debt already who will simply not be able to afford to pay their bills. Tightening your belt in those circucmstances is going to be a complete non starter. Yes, we will as a society probably get through it but there are going to be people who will slip through the cracks through debt, suicide, hypothermia, starvation etc.

I heard his interview when I was driving and good on him but he is just one person, and he may have a bit of clout, but even that clout is like weeing into the wind of the current government who are too busy thinking about who;s going to win the shiny new toy to concentrate on what actually matter to the society they govern.

Primrose

In a way this cutting back is sad because when you look at the wider economy, every gift not bought at Christmas, or item foregone in a shop due to cutting back makes another person's job more insecure.

In our village High Street this winter we,ll be trying to encourage a "shop local" and "support local tradesmen" campaign.  .  If those who can afford to spend a few extra pennies do so with their local businesses to prevent areas becoming ghost towns this benefits everybody in the long term.  Sadly neglected areas and boarded up empty shops seem to encourage crime and a general lack of respect.  

My late parents lived in a medium sized  village with just one general village shop.  Few people used it, preferring to bulk shop in the nearest town 7 miles away.  Yet when it closed everybody complained vehemently at the loss of the convenience it caused when they could no longer pop  in for the odd pint of milk or whatever.  As the owner bitterly complained when closing down his shop   " It's too late now.  if everybody in this village had bought just two of their grocery items a week from me, I,d still be in business.  So I guess the lesson is, for those in small communities especially "If  you don't want to lose it,  use it!"