A few things I’m doing to save money

Makingabobor2

leilasmummy said:

These are the things I’ve been doing for years which save a fortune 
Shop one day later each week e.g. week one Monday, week2 Tuesday and after two months you’ve saved a weeks shopping money
Ensure all short date food from fridge is eaten especially fruit and veg before go shopping 
shower into a large toy style tub and use water to flush toilet 
use a rechargeable torch in bathroom (attached to door handle ) instead of main light, gives softer lighting too,
hoover / run washing machine once a week ( I do two machine loads only one light one dark) 
Let grass grow long so wild flowers grow - cut twice a year 
Plan meals each week including when eat things like yoghurt or short date items.

I would like to get a solar mini charger -to charge phone -  any suggestions of what works ? 

Great idea to shop one 1 day later each week, would have never thought of that one. But I'd have to make mine slightly different as I would never shop on a weekend. I did start to try and only go every 10 days, but it didn't quite work. 

Cliff_W

We found that we were leaving the hot water tank on and heating a tank full of water back up to max temperature every night.  But we were only having showers/baths every few days.  Now we plan when we are having showers and only turn the tank on the night before.  Actually there is enough on the tank for two showers the next day and two short ones that are quite hot enough the next day.  It's now on maybe 1 day out of every 5.  I reckon this would save us about £250 per year at current prices. This works for us as a couple.  Might not work if you have a larger family but worth trying it out see if you can make it work. We had already got a significant saving by lowering the temperature to 28 degrees on the small adjuster dial on the heating element. Savings are about 7 or 8 kWh units per day at nighttime (E7) rates.

Makingabobor2

Cliff_W said:

We found that we were leaving the hot water tank on and heating a tank full of water back up to max temperature every night.  But we were only having showers/baths every few days.  Now we plan when we are having showers and only turn the tank on the night before.  Actually there is enough on the tank for two showers the next day and two short ones that are quite hot enough the next day.  It's now on maybe 1 day out of every 5.  I reckon this would save us about £250 per year at current prices. This works for us as a couple.  Might not work if you have a larger family but worth trying it out see if you can make it work. We had already got a significant saving by lowering the temperature to 28 degrees on the small adjuster dial on the heating element. Savings are about 7 or 8 kWh units per day at nighttime (E7) rates.

That's a good tip, we have actually been doing similar since the summer. Didn't want the tank hot over the summer as it heats the bedrooms up too much, and once I realised that we can manage without having it on such a lot, we have only been putting it on about 30 mins morning & night and then just extra if we needed it. Might be a different story once we have to start putting heat on though....but will cross that bridge when we come to it. 

YorksLass

We have a combi boiler and electric shower so don't have to think about a hot water tank (good tip though if you have one) BUT we're taking shorter showers and they're not daily any more either.  Instead we've gone back to strip washes at the sink - not quite the same or as quick as a daily shower admittedly, but we are clean!     

ZsaZsa

pumpkin89 said:

Please can someone explain the saving from boiling the kettle and filling a flask?  I've seen it mentioned lots of times but can't see how it saves energy compared with just boiling the amount you need each time you need it.

I’ve seen several people test this and it doesn’t seem to save money (especially if you don’t already have a flask and buy one). It seems that it costs the same to boil enough for 3 cups in one go, as to boil 3 separate cups. I suppose if you have an economy 7 tariff it would make sense to boil on the cheaper rate, but even then I’m sure it’s a tiny tiny amount

Pixie_Cosmo

joedenise said:

pumpkin89 said:

Please can someone explain the saving from boiling the kettle and filling a flask?  I've seen it mentioned lots of times but can't see how it saves energy compared with just boiling the amount you need each time you need it.

Absolutely agree.  We've now marked the kettle so we know exactly how far to fill it to make our pot of tea without waste!  I wouldn't dream of making tea with flask hot water, it needs freshly boiled water to have any taste!

If you are on Economy 7 rates, as I am, I boil enough water on the cheap rate to fill my flask so I can have coffee during the day when my rate is much higher. As you say not great for tea though. 

joedenise

Pixie_Cosmo said:

joedenise said:

pumpkin89 said:

Please can someone explain the saving from boiling the kettle and filling a flask?  I've seen it mentioned lots of times but can't see how it saves energy compared with just boiling the amount you need each time you need it.

Absolutely agree.  We've now marked the kettle so we know exactly how far to fill it to make our pot of tea without waste!  I wouldn't dream of making tea with flask hot water, it needs freshly boiled water to have any taste!

If you are on Economy 7 rates, as I am, I boil enough water on the cheap rate to fill my flask so I can have coffee during the day when my rate is much higher. As you say not great for tea though. 

We don't have Economy 7 rates so all our electric is at the same rate so definitely not worth it for us.  Also I hardly ever drink coffee and when I do it's from a bean to cup coffee machine which DH bought years ago and is still going strong!

maryb

I’ve gone back to using a stovetop kettle on the gas hob.  Gas is a lot cheaper per kWh than electricity and although it is not as efficient because there is some heat loss from the open burner, it’s still much cheaper overall.  Boiling a small amount for a small two cup pot of tea is just as quick as the electric kettle.  If the kettle is full, it takes a bit longer but not much

ZsaZsa

For context, I’ve got a plug in monitor to measure how much energy an appliance uses, a couple of weeks ago I checked the cost of boiling 2cups in my electric kettle, and at my current svr it costs just shy of 2p 😊

RobM99

ZsaZsa said:

For context, I’ve got a plug in monitor to measure how much energy an appliance uses, a couple of weeks ago I checked the cost of boiling 2cups in my electric kettle, and at my current svr it costs just shy of 2p 😊

Ooh you profligate little devil!