What should we include in MSE's new Cost of Living survival guide?

Doom_and_Gloom

newlywed said:

It’s not just the cost of kit, it’s the space to store it all!

While I love our gadgets you have a point here. We have a large kitchen cupboard that sole use is for housing the ones we decided didn't justify permanent fixture on the counter. So in there is:
my OHs small slow cooker (1.5L I believe) 
my large slow cooker (6.5L that I've had for around 15 years now)
the blendtec base and jug (had this nearly 12 years now as other blenders kept dying just after warranty, grr, so my parents paid half of the cost as a birthday present and I paid the rest with birthday money I received and savings)
the multicooker that isn't a pressure cooker

If pressed personally I couldn't do without the pressure multi cooker and the blender. The gadgets were a big help when both our oven and hobs died at the same time and the microwave had gone the same way just days before rather recently! We were able to avoid the expencive take aways and ready to go food. 

It realy made us question what was really essential for us to have. We are still without a microwave as we believe we can get by without with what we have. Helped by recently finding out that I can use my pressure cooker to reheat food which is safer for me to use than a hob due to disability!

To add to the above would be good to have a section that helps those that aren't as mobile/able during these times. While healthy people may be able to go without certain things others can't and are having a hard time figuring out how to cope. 

OneHandInMyPocket

I've been searching on the web for how much it costs to run/charge elec items but you get different answers everywhere!  Also heating/use of hot water guides. I'm willing to make changes (and have for months) but I feel like I'm flying blind.

basketcase

If one isn't planned already, could there be a section on - not sure how to put this - alternative ways to the usual alternative ways of doing things?

For example, I've seen a lot of comments in relation to the rise in heating costs suggesting using the woodburner for cooking etc or saying how glad they are to have one.  What would the alternative be for, say people like me, who are in a 1st floor council flat with no fireplace/flue?  (I have to say, I've caught myself thinking "Thank goodness I'm on a first floor flat.  Heat rises from below and doesn't get lost through the ceiling"!)

Talking to a friend about the 1970s, we decided that part o the reason we didn't experience the worst of the power cuts etc was that our houses were dual fuel "Because you never know..."  These days, a lot aren't.  Are there ways for such households to cope?  I'm looking at a camping stove etc - but these aren't cheap if you're on a limited income.  I'm fairly OK with offspring previously supported who have offered to help me out, if necessary.  Is there anything cheaper for those who don't have help?

I read somewhere recently that it shouldn't be up to Martin, Jack Monroe etc to deal with this.  It shouldn't.  Not meaning to sound 'political', we shouldn't be in this position at all.  But we are - so please could we have suggestions at the very basic level?  If there are any...

Brambling

OneHandInMyPocket said:

I've been searching on the web for how much it costs to run/charge elec items but you get different answers everywhere!  Also heating/use of hot water guides. I'm willing to make changes (and have for months) but I feel like I'm flying blind.

  You also need to consider 'vampire' electronics 

https://www.confused.com/gas-electricity/guides/standby-energy-vampire-device

savingholmes

1. I know you mentioned the second hand market. FB has been fab as a marketplace for me - and just today gave me £60 for a buyer-dismantle shed - and thus helped me pay for something special with my kids. I've sold all sorts including things I'd planned to tip. When buying I've also started doing searches for specific items like a sit/stand desk by brand and got it for less than half the shop price and it's like new etc. I think too for those of us who haven't learned to use tools or can't due to a disability - the second hand market is fab because most things come pre-assembled. I now realise how much money I wasted buying new, giving things away or tipping things instead of selling. Ikea products in particular have really strong re-sale values. I use FB as I don't want to post stuff. 
2. It would be a good to do a section on where people could sell arts and crafts. I have loads of things ready to sell but still haven't done anything about it... 
3. This year - I switched to using an electric blanket more instead of heating (for most of the day) and it paid for itself within a couple of months. 
4. I have used TooGoodToGo to get carvery meals for £4 - and get 2 meals out of it most times. I've had some free food through Olio but it hasn't been the best for me - too much of what's available is bread or pastries but if you like that have at it.
5. Yellow stickered items can be amazing. Asda and all the others have specific times when they mark down food. I've found one of the best days for bargains was actually a Monday - perhaps less competition. Meat can be massively priced down around tea time. You can often get veg for 10p. I then make huge batches of soup etc. As others have said - treat use by dates as advisory rather than set in stone.
6. I found the bank switching bonuses also helped me massively this winter. Had £230 from that in 2 months, plus a £40 giftcard from Amazon for getting a CC - and a £40 one to come in August from M&S. Using bank accounts or CCs that do cashback is a winner too - especially if you pay the CC immediately after purchase so you get the points but don't risk getting into debt.
7. I have had £2000+ from Quidco since 2008 thanks to this site. In the past I've had hundreds from other cashback sites too. You can also earn money from referrals.
8. Remind people about college priced beauty treatments and haircuts for students to have people to practise on.
9. Many councils do health schemes where they have heavily discounted or free gym membership or dieting memberships. If you have a high BMI (typically over 40) or a disability / injury you may qualify.
10. Remind people about pre-payment certificates for prescriptions. 
11. Loyalty schemes can give cashback
12. Some people on here do receipt scanning
13. Some people make £30-40 per month on surveys
14. Some people do subtitling.
15. Definitely do searches on side hustles and see if there is one that would work for you.
16. Always do a price comparison or search for discounts. You can often get a voucher for something you were about to pay full price for. 

savingholmes

Slightly more contentious. Reducing kids bills

1. My kids mainly had second hand clothes until around age of 10 other than for special occasions. A relative would ask friends on our behalf. We then passed them on in turn. 
2. Most of our baby items we got second hand from friends.
3. FB often sells bags of clothes at a time. That can be a good option too.
4. Charity shops are a great source of xmas presents - but especially books and games.
5. Reciprocal childcare can be a lifesaver if you trust the person. (contentious due to DBS check missing). When DS was small we had one person pick up DS one day and another a second day and had an arrangement where we picked up their DS(s) accordingly. To me it is only like having a regular timed play date - it just happens every week.
6. Remind people that grandparents can potentially get pension credits for offering childcare
7. Ask relatives for help with childcare.

Save on DIY bills by asking for help / to borrow tools

Save on pet bills by asking for help / to borrow items via social media etc

As adults have a clothes swap party - with no cost or donation to charity.

kimwp

It's not an idea for surviving the cost of living, but a comment on the use of wood fires - they contribute an inordinate amount to pollution (I think the stat is more than all the cars in the UK, despite only 8% of households having them) and are incredibly bad for you (albeit lovely and a cheap source of warmth) with the amount of particulates they release into the room. We are now paying for all the damage to the environment that was not considered at the time of doing the damage and in fact continuing to do damage which we will have to pay for in the future. Desperate times call for desperate measures, sadly, but if you are able to survive without burning wood, please do.

RobM99

Hot water bottles and thermos flask! Any excess hot water from kettle goes into the Thermos, use it later for the hot water bottle (hate a cold bed!)

maryb

I’ll try and dig out a link but I think there’s a study that shows that an efficient stove with a double burn is not that bad and most of the particulate problem stems from open fires and inefficient stoves or people burning all sorts of rubbish wood.  Well seasoned untreated wood is all we burn and we have a Clearview stove which burns it’s own gases

Broomstick

Also, in addition to using well-seasoned wood to try to reduce pollution, is keeping your chimney swept regularly (the cost of which, I've just added to my accounts spreadsheet - I'd accidentally left it off).  Paying for a professional sweep and certificate is part of my tenancy agreement otherwise I'd have been looking at buying brushes and learning how to DIY.

And with cold hot water bottles (that looks very strange written down ), if you are water saving, you might as well pour the cold water the next morning into the bucket for loo flushing rather than down the sink. 

When the big picture of 'where do I make the next cut?' gets too much, I find it can help to look for places to make smaller savings somewhere else. These savings might seem trivial but they add up and, more importantly, they help psychologically in keeping your thinking positive in terms of taking action when everything feels so hard.

I'm incrementally reducing the time I switch on the gas boiler to enable me to have a warm shower.  I'm still working on it and it's the only time the gas boiler is used now.  I use a digital timer rather than my boiler's timer which only seems able to deal with whole hours but I've found I can manage with much less than that using the timer and manually switching the boiler on and off. 

I've stopped using the vacuum cleaner so often (not that it was used a huge amount before!) and am reverting to the basics of dusting, sweeping and mopping by hand.  It's one of the benefits of living in a house with wooden and stone floors.  Having indoor and outdoor footwear also keeps the floors a bit cleaner but I realise that's not feasible with muddy pets!