2022 Frugal Living Challenge

balabooberlies

congratulations on win Spuds

thrilling.........

bala

x

cw18

Primrose said:

Well today was a punch in the eye for frugal living,. Had to renew our energy supply deal.  Two year dual power deal has risen from £146 p.m. to £333 p.m.

Have you signed up for a fixed deal?    Martin has been recommending people don't do this - although his latest report did say it might be the better option for a few people in very specific groups.   My energy provider aren't currently offering any fixed deals, saying "we can't give you a fair price that offers great value at this moment in time"

My fixed tariff finishes tomorrow, so I'll be on the standard variable rate from Tuesday.
Assuming my usage stays the same for the next 12 months as it has been the last 12, this means my monthly average will be going up from £43.45 to £66.53.   That's an increase of 53.12% which scares me.   I've been paying £55/month (I like to have a credit balance), so have phoined and asked them to increase it to £70 from next month.   I think I can find the extra £15 without too much hardship.

But what scares me even more is the threat of another 50% increase come April.   That will push my monthly average to £99.80 - meaning a total increase of 130% in just a couple of months      At that point I'm going to feel the pinch trying to cover the bills, and I'm going to have to find ways to cut back on usage (as well as other budgets I can trim down).   Not really sure where I can cut back on usage though, as I'm careful about turning things off and only running my heating system low and sparingly compared to many of my family, friends and work colleagues.

elbree

Primrose said:

Well today was a punch in the eye for frugal living,. Had to renew our energy supply deal.  Two year dual power deal has risen from £146 p.m. to £333 p.m.  (And we have double glazed Windows, cavity wall insulation and 10 inches of loft insulation!).  We decided not to go to the smaller companies. Know a couple of people whose suppliers have gone bust and they've been allocated to  the big providers having to pay similar amounts.   Definitely in thermal vest territory now until the warmer weather comes!

Ouch @Primrose! So sorry to hear that, think we are all in for some big increases this year. I only have heating on for a couple of hours a day and always turn off lights etc but have managed to build a deficit of a couple of hundred this winter, and that's BEFORE the big price hike 😕

spudsmum

balabooberlies said:

congratulations on win Spuds

thrilling.........

bala

x

LOL not really thrilling but its nice to get something back after paying in. It's like a drop in the ocean to put it on my cc but I suppose I tell myself every single penny helps. 

spudsmum

elbree said:

Primrose said:

Well today was a punch in the eye for frugal living,. Had to renew our energy supply deal.  Two year dual power deal has risen from £146 p.m. to £333 p.m.  (And we have double glazed Windows, cavity wall insulation and 10 inches of loft insulation!).  We decided not to go to the smaller companies. Know a couple of people whose suppliers have gone bust and they've been allocated to  the big providers having to pay similar amounts.   Definitely in thermal vest territory now until the warmer weather comes!

Ouch @Primrose! So sorry to hear that, think we are all in for some big increases this year. I only have heating on for a couple of hours a day and always turn off lights etc but have managed to build a deficit of a couple of hundred this winter, and that's BEFORE the big price hike 😕

Yes its quite worrying. 

I've always been quite Frugal with gas and electric but mine has gone up from £70 a month to £110. Its manageable on my current budgets but if it goes up much more I'm going to have to cut back elsewhere. 

I'm hoping that the government will step in and do something before these hikes hit in April because I already know people who physically can't pay for their gas and electricity. Their income just won't stretch to it. 

joedenise

I think we're all dreading it.  I was £200 in credit when my fix came to an end at the end of December and was paying £78 a month; currently paying £85 a month but expecting it to go up to well over £100.  Think we'll have to cut back on the shopping as we definitely spend quite a lot as a couple.  Think DH is going to have to get used to more veggie meals!  I'm already adding lots and lentils and beans into things to make meals go further!

CraftyLittleLisa

Hello all.  I had a bit of a frugal win this last week.  I realised that I got free anti-virus software with my broadband and as my current separate subscription was coming up for renewal I downloaded the free one and cancelled the old one.  That is about £50 saved I think.

This month has been a relatively cheap month as instead of going out and buying stuff I told myself I had to deep clean and declutter before I bought anything new.  I have finished this weekend and it is such a nice feeling now its done.  I took a load of stuff to the tip last weekend and I have been taking various boxes to the charity shops whenever I have gone into town.  I have also put some fabric and other bits and pieces up on line to try and sell them.   I haven't put them up for a lot of money but if I get something that's a bonus.

With all the frugalling I have done over the last year I managed to save up enough to finally get a new carpet for my lounge.  It desperately needs it and its just so nice to be able to say "because I was frugal I can now buy this".  It makes it feel more of an achievement.

The other thing that I need to be aware of is my energy company is just in the process of changing over (my old one went bust).  It has taken a while to get sorted but I have finally got notification that they will be taking a payment in February.  With my old company I was paying £71 per month but I have got £195 in credit at the moment.  I am being really careful with energy usage at the moment but even so the new company is recommending I may want to put my payment up to £80 a month.  I should be able to afford that but I worry that it may start going up a little on a number of occasions.  I was contemplating changing all my low energy bulbs to LED bulbs, however, when I looked at the energy efficiency on the packets of the LED bulbs it said their energy efficiency is F when my current ones are A.  Does anyone know why these ratings differ so much?  Especially as LEDs are supposed to better!

joedenise

@CraftyLittleLisa - I wouldn't be changing your bulbs until they actually need replacing.  We've changed most of ours to LED now.  They use very little electric compared with the low energy bulbs.

We've changed all the lights in our motorhome to LEDs because we run from batteries most of the time and the batteries definitely last much longer since we've done that.

2Scratters

Hi Peeps,
all doing very well at the plans ahead for budgeting money. I might get shot down here as our fixed contract finishes on 7th Feb. Our gas is very cheap and we have been a bit lazy with being frugal knowing how much it is going up very soon so we are living a bit like kings at the moment running the heating a bit longer than we would. We have not been sat in T-shirts type of daft either. 
A bit of a tip for those with a multi fuel type fire. We have previously purchased distilled vinegar (don't ask ) to clean the glass door. I know that wet paper and ash clean it too, which is free. Found another today where leftover pickle vinegar does just the same job. Will try this out on my windows too, it all helps to not pay through the nose for cleaning products. (so we can spend on what we want )
Went "food hunting" as we call it when we manage to secure something from TGTG. Dogs love it too as they usually get some form of treat.
The more than half chewed up wicker dog basket got broken down this afternoon, now a bucket for helping start light the fire.
For those that have a home coffee machine (my fave is Creme Brulee)  I found out yesterday that in a 50/50 mix of vanilla and caramel that is the same. As it happens, its very nice and am running out, so a mix it will be and that will make sure it all gets used up.

2Scratters x

cw18

CraftyLittleLisa said:

I was contemplating changing all my low energy bulbs to LED bulbs, however, when I looked at the energy efficiency on the packets of the LED bulbs it said their energy efficiency is F when my current ones are A.  Does anyone know why these ratings differ so much?  Especially as LEDs are supposed to better!

Without knowing which you're looking at it's hard to say.

I bought a box of 12 daylight LEDs (shared between my home and my Mum's place) and a box of 3 warm white ones (for my Mum's place) in 2021, and they're all listed as being A+

I personally don't feel it's worth paying for an LED bulb unless you need to change it anyway (assuming you're already using energy efficient ones), and my OH (trained in electrics) has never told me otherwise.    But I've changed a few as I got a box of 12 at a really good price (£13.59, now gone up to £16.99) and was wanting to change some from warm white to daylight anyway.    I've kept the ones I took out though, and they're now the spares for those I'm happy to leave as warm white.    The warm white purchase was for a couple of lamps that take screw in 'golf ball' bulbs (not my standard fittings - paid £6.99, now up to £7.99)

My OH changed the kitchen strip light at my Mum's place from a traditonal to an LED a few years ago.   There's no flicker or slow increase of light when you turn it on (instant on at full brightness), and the room feels much bigger due it being another that's been changed to daylight white (even though it faces South-East it's a dark room, thanks to being opposite an embankment with trees on it).   If I had a strip light in my kitchen I'd have immediately changed mine, but I have recessed spots which have been daylight LEDS for at least 4 years now (a huge improvement on previous bulbs in mine which is North facing, but only replaced as the originals blew which they did fairly regularly - but the LEDs don't, which we think is due them not getting as hot)