2023 Frugal Living Challenge

cw18

Frugaldom said:

Apparently every household in the country not connected to the mains gas system will receive it. It was a lovely surprise!

I was under the impression it's for anyone who uses anything other than electricity or mains gas for heating.   If your home runs everything including heating off mains electric then I don't think you get this one.

My Mother has a property that uses LPG for heating, and it's been credited to her electric account.   The issue we have (which we think is wrong/unfair) is that they won't allow her to withdraw it to her bank so she can actually use it to settle up a gas bill.  They say they'll not be taking payments for her electric (only because I'm moved her from a DD Budget Account to a DD that pays the outstanding amount on each bill), so she'll effectively get it back as instalments when she would otherwise have made payment to them.   The issue she has is that the property isn't occupied much from early November to April, so the property is using less than 1kWh of electric a day (even the monthly payments from the government is building up as a credit balance).   But the heating has an anti-frost setting, so the property is still using gas.

Kitchenbunny

Hi everyone, just popping back for an update. I read every day but don’t necessarily feel I’ve much to share so tend to stay quiet 😊 plus work has been thought provoking again so that’s been on my mind a lot - pay review times are coming 😕 

Shopping continues to be slightly above budget which means I’ve underestimated both what things cost now and I’m having to address more peri-M/health stuff so there’s been an increase in the uptake of fruit and veg. I’ve added the occasional avocado and get blueberries (that are probably bilberries) when they’re on cheap on the market but really not keen on most root veg. I still think there’s a hangover from the way we used to get them - near mushy and boring of flavour. Luckily the freezer is packed with blackberries from the garden last year so they’re slowly being eaten with other fruits and the packet of chia seeds I bought once when feeling virtuous in smoothies. I’ve today started some cayenne pepper seeds and some mixed lettuce seeds so hopefully that’ll help later in the year. 

I did have one success. I needed new office/driving shoes as I always wear flats and the soles of the previous pair of pump style shoes we’re getting very thin. I went into one of the high street fashion shops (normally shop charity shop but wanted new this time) and found a nice pair for £12.99. Got them to the till and was told they were in the sale so were £3. I had redeemed some of my cash back to give me a nice figure remaining at that was £2.79. So they actually cost me 21p. Bless the assistant, she looked quite bemused 😅

Hope everyone is having a good Saturday.  

KB xx

SecondStar

Have spent more than I ought to have done this month; the only consolation was that the spending came from cash made by selling items, rather than coming from my pocket.

2 coffee dates with a friend, a drink at the bar, and then a hen do - that’s at least 3 more social events than is usual for me in a month! The hen do cost almost £80 - new (charity shop) outfit for £20 as I had absolutely nothing suitable to wear, a few drinks before leaving, taxi & train fare into the city, and then a few drinks at the venue. It was a good night, but I’m glad it’s not a regular occurrence.

No more movement in the house front. The survey went well, the next steps are to have the transfer of deeds / equity drawn up and completed. Once I have that done, I’ll be able to agree an exchange & completion date on my purchase.

My art studio has been gutted - easily 7/8ths of my materials and supplies have gone on to other homes, and the remaining 1/8th has been boxed and labelled ready for moving.

I’m not able to get any packing done this weekend, but when I’m next at it I’ll be in the eaves of my studio next, then moving on to the bedroom. I think I may have acquired too many moving boxes, but better to have too many than too few!

I’ve got lots of big ideas and plans for my new home, probably more plans than I’ll have space to execute them! When you only have very few rooms, I imagine it’s easier to change decor more frequently. My Pinterest board is bursting at the seams!

Frugaldom

cw18 said:

Frugaldom said:

Apparently every household in the country not connected to the mains gas system will receive it. It was a lovely surprise!

I was under the impression it's for anyone who uses anything other than electricity or mains gas for heating.   If your home runs everything including heating off mains electric then I don't think you get this one.

We already got it, £200 payment went into H account last week fir no apparent reason. I had to G00gle it to find out what it was for as neither of us had heard anything about it. We don't have heating, only an open fire and a log burner.

Frugaldom

@Madbat60 I hope your hedgehogs thrive. I'd love some here but, sadly, haven't seen any for years. I think the badgers must keep them at bay.

@Kitchenbunny Wow! Loving the tale of you 21p shoes.

I'm slowly creeping towards the end of Feb without having done any food shopping this year, other than buying milk. Between Olio and freezer mountain, we have managed ok and with just a week to go, I'm now trying to get to March without spending on food.
Today, I was gifted an Omnia oven so I'm really happy with that! (Thank you dear friend) I'll be able to use it on top of the log burner.

My seed box is still sitting at the ready so the rest of this week is being aimed at getting some more garden work done so I can sow some veg seeds. I've got old windows to use to make cold frames but I still haven't fenced off the raised beds from the goats... That's another jog that I can add to this week's list - building a fence. 

cw18

Frugaldom said:

cw18 said:

Frugaldom said:

Apparently every household in the country not connected to the mains gas system will receive it. It was a lovely surprise!

I was under the impression it's for anyone who uses anything other than electricity or mains gas for heating.   If your home runs everything including heating off mains electric then I don't think you get this one.

We already got it, £200 payment went into H account last week fir no apparent reason. I had to G00gle it to find out what it was for as neither of us had heard anything about it. We don't have heating, only an open fire and a log burner.

One of the FB groups I'm in has had a fair few posts about this over the last couple of days, and I've been trying to follow them - not easy when I'm not feeling well.  

From people comparing notes - and asking questions of energy suppliers - it appears that if your postcode is deemed to be incapable of getting mains gas, then you get this payment.   But if your property isn't connected to the gas because you've not paid to have it brought in even though you could, then you don't !!    It has surprised a lot of all-electric households, as they were under the same impression as me that it was only for those using alternative fuels such as oil or LPG.

My previous house was on an estate where the mains gas pipes had only been put in within a couple of years of us buying the house.   We paid to have it brought it as soon as we got the keys (it was still within the discounted cost period - another 6 months or so and it would have been much more expensive), so that changed from solid fuel heating to gas.   But if we hadn't brought it in and I still lived there, then I wouldn't have qualified as it would have been deemed to be my choice to not be using mains gas.

My Mum's has gone onto her electricity account, and she said she'd had a letter stating she couldn't withdraw it from there.   That seemed totally unfair when she has an LPG bill needs paying and her electricity account already has a healthy credit balance.   DD was nipping round there Tuesday, so I asked her to take a photo of said letter and send it me through FB messages.   Turned out to be an email (but my Mum's not great at forwarding such things), so DD did it on her behalf.   The letter states it CAN be withdrawn - as long as the account still has the equivalent of 1 months credit balance left.   Given my Mum currently has a variable DD (take what owing on the bill) because the £66/67 from the government is covering the usage I'm not sure how much they'll want leaving - and I suspect Mum thought she couldn't pull it out because she's not paying a set monthly figure at the moment.   Job for today is to work out what I would have expected a DD budget account to be set to if the account wasn't getting the government credits, and when that comes in at less than what was on the account BEFORE the £200 hit (which I know it will) I shall request they put the full £200 into her bank account.    After my Mum told me about the letter I was initially planning on asking if I could give them the LPG account details so that they could send it that way, as that would prove it was being used for the intended purpose.   But folks on FB have said that theirs (like yours) has gone into their bank accounts, so I then switched to just fighting to pull it.   Having seen the letter I believe the 'fight' will be much easier...

I currently have a throat infection of some sort that I woke up with on Monday, feels red raw inside to the point that some drinks hurt (made the mistake of pouring myself a glass of limeade a few hours ago, and that stung), and also feels swollen which makes swallowing difficult.    I'm just about managing to croak at the moment, but if it gets any worse I'm going to lose my voice completely !!    I rarely get any relief from anything by taking ibuprofen, but they are actually helping this - for all of about 90 minutes after I take them, and I can only take every 4 hours.   I still have some stocks of stronger prescription anti-inflammatories, so I'm about to take one of those and see if it gives longer relief.   (I was only taken off them as I started getting small blisters on my hands and up my arms, but I can live with that if I can actually swallow more than water, soup and ice-cream!)   I managed work on Monday, but it was getting bad by the end.   Didn't have any choice but to phone in sick Tuesday, as I can't really speak to customers - and I've not eaten properly since Friday, so I'm worried about actually struggling to cope with the workload / walking.  Add on having to take on board extra fluids, and I gain the problem of not having access to facilities for several hours!!  I had to text my manager an update late morning, as there was no way I could cover everything by speech with any confidence she'd understand me - I know the lady who answered the phone when I called in first thing didn't recognise my voice at all     I'm aware this can be a Covid symptom, and as I always have several others (also symptoms of my sciatica) I'm doing home tests in the mornings just to double check while my throat is bad.   Two negatives so far, but I still masked up for work on Monday, and again when I headed down to the chemist for advice (couldn't get a GP appt) and into a shop for some lozenges shortly after I'd called work.   I've got someone dropping off a sack of spuds tonight (Wednesday), so I'll need to go to a cashpoint during the day - and I've already warned him I'll be wearing a mask and keeping my distance despite -ve tests.

Beshki

I’ve done so well this month, only to ‘fail’ in the last week/few days prior to payday. It happens every month, and is frustrating. In actual fact I haven’t failed. I’ve just needed to spend more than I wanted to this week. Perhaps I need to put money aside when I get paid for ‘the last week’ so that it’s not being taken from what would have become savings. 

MissRikkiC

I too get that like that @Beshki on the last few days. It’s difficult because by that point everything else has been spent as we are almost due to be paid again so not many places we can pull from. If we set aside a little extra to manage specifically, I know it would get drawn up on when things feel tight rather than us managing a few days longer. For me at least, I know not having it there for that purpose makes it a little bit of a challenge. 

Debsnewbudget

@cw18. Hope you start to feel better soon x

mama67

cw18 said:

Frugaldom said:

cw18 said:

Frugaldom said:

Apparently every household in the country not connected to the mains gas system will receive it. It was a lovely surprise!

I was under the impression it's for anyone who uses anything other than electricity or mains gas for heating.   If your home runs everything including heating off mains electric then I don't think you get this one.

We already got it, £200 payment went into H account last week fir no apparent reason. I had to G00gle it to find out what it was for as neither of us had heard anything about it. We don't have heating, only an open fire and a log burner.

One of the FB groups I'm in has had a fair few posts about this over the last couple of days, and I've been trying to follow them - not easy when I'm not feeling well.  

From people comparing notes - and asking questions of energy suppliers - it appears that if your postcode is deemed to be incapable of getting mains gas, then you get this payment.   But if your property isn't connected to the gas because you've not paid to have it brought in even though you could, then you don't !!    It has surprised a lot of all-electric households, as they were under the same impression as me that it was only for those using alternative fuels such as oil or LPG.

My previous house was on an estate where the mains gas pipes had only been put in within a couple of years of us buying the house.   We paid to have it brought it as soon as we got the keys (it was still within the discounted cost period - another 6 months or so and it would have been much more expensive), so that changed from solid fuel heating to gas.   But if we hadn't brought it in and I still lived there, then I wouldn't have qualified as it would have been deemed to be my choice to not be using mains gas.

My Mum's has gone onto her electricity account, and she said she'd had a letter stating she couldn't withdraw it from there.   That seemed totally unfair when she has an LPG bill needs paying and her electricity account already has a healthy credit balance.   DD was nipping round there Tuesday, so I asked her to take a photo of said letter and send it me through FB messages.   Turned out to be an email (but my Mum's not great at forwarding such things), so DD did it on her behalf.   The letter states it CAN be withdrawn - as long as the account still has the equivalent of 1 months credit balance left.   Given my Mum currently has a variable DD (take what owing on the bill) because the £66/67 from the government is covering the usage I'm not sure how much they'll want leaving - and I suspect Mum thought she couldn't pull it out because she's not paying a set monthly figure at the moment.   Job for today is to work out what I would have expected a DD budget account to be set to if the account wasn't getting the government credits, and when that comes in at less than what was on the account BEFORE the £200 hit (which I know it will) I shall request they put the full £200 into her bank account.    After my Mum told me about the letter I was initially planning on asking if I could give them the LPG account details so that they could send it that way, as that would prove it was being used for the intended purpose.   But folks on FB have said that theirs (like yours) has gone into their bank accounts, so I then switched to just fighting to pull it.   Having seen the letter I believe the 'fight' will be much easier...

I currently have a throat infection of some sort that I woke up with on Monday, feels red raw inside to the point that some drinks hurt (made the mistake of pouring myself a glass of limeade a few hours ago, and that stung), and also feels swollen which makes swallowing difficult.    I'm just about managing to croak at the moment, but if it gets any worse I'm going to lose my voice completely !!    I rarely get any relief from anything by taking ibuprofen, but they are actually helping this - for all of about 90 minutes after I take them, and I can only take every 4 hours.   I still have some stocks of stronger prescription anti-inflammatories, so I'm about to take one of those and see if it gives longer relief.   (I was only taken off them as I started getting small blisters on my hands and up my arms, but I can live with that if I can actually swallow more than water, soup and ice-cream!)   I managed work on Monday, but it was getting bad by the end.   Didn't have any choice but to phone in sick Tuesday, as I can't really speak to customers - and I've not eaten properly since Friday, so I'm worried about actually struggling to cope with the workload / walking.  Add on having to take on board extra fluids, and I gain the problem of not having access to facilities for several hours!!  I had to text my manager an update late morning, as there was no way I could cover everything by speech with any confidence she'd understand me - I know the lady who answered the phone when I called in first thing didn't recognise my voice at all     I'm aware this can be a Covid symptom, and as I always have several others (also symptoms of my sciatica) I'm doing home tests in the mornings just to double check while my throat is bad.   Two negatives so far, but I still masked up for work on Monday, and again when I headed down to the chemist for advice (couldn't get a GP appt) and into a shop for some lozenges shortly after I'd called work.   I've got someone dropping off a sack of spuds tonight (Wednesday), so I'll need to go to a cashpoint during the day - and I've already warned him I'll be wearing a mask and keeping my distance despite -ve tests.

A lot depends on your electricity supplier. 

My £200 (Octopus) has gone into my electricity account. 

Other people I know have been paid it into their banks. 

Same with the £67 per month. My d/d has been reduced by that amount each month we receive it and it applied to my electricity account.