It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

Slinky

maryb said:

you don’t have to be on E7 even if you have a two rate meter.  I have one - a legacy from years ago but every energy company I have been with will charge all your units at the single rate tariff if you ask.  The cut off for saving money on E7 is about 35% of your usage being at cheap rates.  Any less than that and it costs more overall.  Even with running appliances overnight I could never get my cheap rate usage to the point where I broke even let alone saved money

I was on a single rate tarriff with Outfox, but when I came off fix they put me onto E7 and won't put me back on a single rate tarriff unless I go onto a fix, which obviously I'm not going to do. I've got too much going on at the moment to get involved in having a smart meter or trying to switch supplier, so for a while I'm having to make do.

Slinky

Pixiekazza said:

Looks like most of the thermos fillers are on Economy 7 like me. It's so nice staying at my other half's, when I don't have to get up at 6.40 to get the flasks filled by 7! I'm still saving money working from home though, with fuel costs going up. I've worked out it would cost me £13 per day in diesel to commute, based on my recent tank fill. There isn't any suitable public transport I can use instead. Really feeling for people who don't have any choice.

Pixie what sort of meter do you have? Is it a smart one? If not, have you checked the times the rate actually swaps over? Mine is cheap rate until 7.34am in winter, 8.34am in summer. Discovered by spending quite some time checking the meters out in the garage. It's handy as in summer I'm able to put on a wash just before 7am and use gas heated hot water to put 10 litres of hot water from a watering can to start the machine off, whilst still getting cheap electric to do the wash.

maryb

Yes, life is difficult enough at the moment so I understand.  When Pure Planet went bust I was put onto E7 by Shell purely because I had a two rate meter.  They also tried to say I couldn’t have a single rate without a fix ( when they weren’t actually offering any fixes). I did argue the point because I had been on a single rate tariff with PP and got my way but it was definite aggro and I sympathise with anyone who feels they don’t need that

newlywed

Bulb won’t put my e7 onto a single rate without a smart meter and they won’t install a smart meter without a letter from the landlord to say we don’t have storage heaters….

we don’t want a smart meter in any case but Edf had no issues putting us on a combined rate. I swapped because bulb were offering a dual fuel incentive and their gas prices were much lower so we still saved overall… once upon a time…

Floss

Wednesday2000 said:

Tahlullah.H said:

I may be awkward here, but I really do not feel it a great idea to have you and as some have suggested, your family charge things at work.  Especially if your employer is not a large organisation.  They have to pay the electricity bill too, and if their costs go up to a point they cannot sustain, then what usually happens is they lose staff via redundancy.  So, the extreme end is someone losing their livelihood because everyone/people decide to put the financial burden onto the employer.

An extreme example I know, but it could fundamentally be classed as theft.

OrkneyStar said:

Tahlullah.H said:

I may be awkward here, but I really do not feel it a great idea to have you and as some have suggested, your family charge things at work.  Especially if your employer is not a large organisation.  They have to pay the electricity bill too, and if their costs go up to a point they cannot sustain, then what usually happens is they lose staff via redundancy.  So, the extreme end is someone losing their livelihood because everyone/people decide to put the financial burden onto the employer.

An extreme example I know, but it could fundamentally be classed as theft.

I have been thinking the same while reading some of these posts. Charging your gadget anywhere than your own house isn't free, someone somewhere will have to pay for it.

I found that quite comical. My husband works for London Underground and if you had any idea how much money they waste on idiotic things you wouldn't say that. I have no problem with them paying for our phones to be charged. 

He has to use that phone for work anyway!

That doesn't make it right, regardless of corporate decisions.

Florenceem

To raise some extra money - if you don't have a car - see if you can share transport/pitch with a friend at a boot fair  Alternatively - see if there is a table top sale near to you - take bits to sell in a shopping trolley. I run table top sales at my SA corps where we supply tables and charge £6 at an event. We have a regular stall holder who raises money for a cancer charity - usually takes at least £30+.  Any amount raised will help those on a tight budget and help you to declutter.

OrkneyStar

So, on another topic completely, me and DS (14) are lucky enough to finally be going off island tomorrow - we are going down to Inverness from Tue to Thu, so a short trip. We are staying at a Premier Inn (have stayed in various places over the years but find this place suits us well). I have paid for breakfast for me for the two mornings (DS won't starve, kids eat free ha ha) - I don't normally eat a lot in the morning but you can bet I will try to eat as much as my little tummy will allow, hopefully it will keep me going for a few hours ha ha! We will be passing by shops we don't normally get to, one of the things we want to stock up on is some biscuits (DH loves them and I am not great at making them) - can anyone recommend any absolutely yummy faves from either Aldi, Asda, Morrisons, B and M that we should try? DH likes anything except salted caramel and I like pretty much anything except coffee flavours! Also, does anyone know if any of these places do a good strong loose tea? Our Lidl doesn't sell loose tea and so I end up paying Tesco or Coop prices!  Thanks in advance!

Tahlullah.H

Favourite biscuits are mint Vicount, available from all 'quality' shops!  Usually in a 2 pack deal.

Florenceem

We get our loose tea from Sains bobs.

Happy_Sloth

Tahlullah.H said:

Favourite biscuits are mint Vicount, available from all 'quality' shops!  Usually in a 2 pack deal.

Omg they used to be my favourite!  i haven't had one in years! .... *Contemplated the economy of going out in the car just for a bikkie!*