Cost Of Living Payment

Standingstrong

Not had my col payment either 

Aquapara

Muttleythefrog said:

Aquapara said:

poppy12345 said:

Aquapara said:

Yeh baccy is around £80 per week for me and that's imported. Yeh I just was fed up with the last vape shop I was going to because they soon stopped selling the parts like coils for the vapes I bought and I still have quite a lot of liquids leftover and I have been buying 3500 disposables for £12 for bedtime. I am soon going to get a 10,000 puff vape for £13 when I next get some money as I havnt tried that yet.

£80/week for baccy?? Blimey, has it increased by that much in the past 4 years? Or did you mean £80/month? I’m an ex smoker and used to roll my own too. I quit almost 4 years ago. 

The disposable vapes are very expensive! And they don’t last long at all. You’re much better off buying yourself a small vape with the liquid. I replaced my vape last week and mine only cost me £24. 

How long a vape lasts will depend on how much you use it. If you’re a heavy vaper then it won’t last as long naturally. Although, even when you do need to replace it, it’s definitely much cheaper than smoking. 

Per week poppy lol! I smoke alot and yeh I will try and invest in another vape but will have a proper look around and ask about which vape shop is good because the last one was seriously annoying not having spares in etc. 

Get online... forget the vape shops as more expensive. I reckon for the equivalent of 2 weeks smoking you can vape heavily for a year with a good spec new vaping device. In the starkest terms you have an £80 a week drug addiction which you could reduce to a small fraction of and with healthier outcome and be able to afford lots of milk and butter. I do have to say... and I would hope those in your life if not yourself would do also... but unless you are especially requiring of tobacco specifically to deliver nicotine fix (and as an ex 40-50 cigarettes a day I have no personal experience of vaping other than to choke on my wife's when she insists on getting me to agree about some new flavour) then fighting for discretionary payments in the circumstances (or indeed waiting for a special payment like this COL £300) is a bit like trying to open a tin can with your fingers while staring at a can opener. The solution is probably right in front of you.

My wife just orders these things online.. vape machine she changes about every 3 years... her charger has lasted many years and a handful of batteries to go with such... perhaps 6 will last a year or beyond. The coils she tends to get good ones that last about a month each. She buys the base mixes for the liquids along with flavours and nicotine... and spends maybe 5 minutes a month making the stuff in batches.

Yeh I will definitely have a look around for a good vape device thanks... I'm sick of smoking and the smell, also this flat I moved in July and it's already caused my ceiling to go yellow in one spot especially it's bad. I do love all the different flavours of the vapes

Aquapara

Standingstrong said:

Not had my col payment either 

I know I'm not happy at all! I do think it's quite wrong. Everyone should get paid the same day and not wait until the 19th or 20th to complain if nothing comes because that's an extra delay

Spoonie_Turtle

Aquapara said:

Standingstrong said:

Not had my col payment either 

I know I'm not happy at all! I do think it's quite wrong. Everyone should get paid the same day and not wait until the 19th or 20th to complain if nothing comes because that's an extra delay

There's a reason they don't pay all the means-tested benefits on the same day of the week, the systems would not be able to cope with it.  Same applies here.

KeepHopeAlive

Hi all, I missed out on the first payment of the year by 2 days as I was working at the time but previous to that I got 2 payments that were paid on the 1st day of the payments being made.

So I was a bit concerned that I hadn’t got my payment yet as I knew I was eligible this time. 

I sent a message via the payment section in my UC journal on Friday to see if they could confirm I was due a payment and got a message back a few hours later saying my payment had been processed and it will be in my account on Tuesday the 7th November 🙂 

It might be worth doing that maybe on Monday if your payment isn’t in because it looks like they can see if the payment has been processed or not 👍

Aquapara

KeepHopeAlive said:

Hi all, I missed out on the first payment of the year by 2 days as I was working at the time but previous to that I got 2 payments that were paid on the 1st day of the payments being made.

So I was a bit concerned that I hadn’t got my payment yet as I knew I was eligible this time. 

I sent a message via the payment section in my UC journal on Friday to see if they could confirm I was due a payment and got a message back a few hours later saying my payment had been processed and it will be in my account on Tuesday the 7th November 🙂 

It might be worth doing that maybe on Monday if your payment isn’t in because it looks like they can see if the payment has been processed or not 👍

If I dont get mine by Tuesday morning I will try that thanks! 

Newcad

I've been vaping since 2016 and I used some of my CoL payment to get a new vape machine and a shedload of liquid.
I've always used pen type vapes, but this time went for a bigger box type.
I won't give links but google the names in brackets, other companies are out there of course.

Inokin Endura T22 Pro kit for £29, and an extra box of pro coils for £8. New customers get a 10% discount on their first order. (The electronic cigarette company).

75x 10ml bottles of eliquid, with a 10% discount, £59.40. That's 79 pence a bottle. New customers get a 15% discount on their first order. (88Vape).

As I use 8 to 10 bottles a month that's me sorted for vaping costs until the middle of next year.
How long a coil will last depends a lot on the liquid you use, darker liquids such as dark tobaccos and toffees clog them up quicker than clear liquids such as Menthol Chill.
Money saving tips,
Most vape coils can be washed/soaked in plain water, dried out, and used again, they don't last as long second time round.
Look at your 'empty' bottles, if you can get the little bits out of the bottom then 20-30 of them add up make almost a full bottle. Cut the tops off the empties and tip all the drops into one. (I've used an empty bottle and some fine tubing to make something similar to an insect pooter (google it) to suck all the remnants out without having to cut the tops off). TBH if you can get it at under a quid a bottle that looks like penny pinching, but the pennies add up.

Aquapara

Newcad said:

I've been vaping since 2016 and I used some of my CoL payment to get a new vape machine and a shedload of liquid.
I've always used pen type vapes, but this time went for a bigger box type.
I won't give links but google the names in brackets, other companies are out there of course.

Inokin Endura T22 Pro kit for £29, and an extra box of pro coils for £8. New customers get a 10% discount on their first order. (The electronic cigarette company).

75x 10ml bottles of eliquid, with a 10% discount, £59.40. That's 79 pence a bottle. New customers get a 15% discount on their first order. (88Vape).

As I use 8 to 10 bottles a month that's me sorted for vaping costs until the middle of next year.
How long a coil will last depends a lot on the liquid you use, darker liquids such as dark tobaccos and toffees clog them up quicker than clear liquids such as Menthol Chill.
Money saving tips,
Most vape coils can be washed/soaked in plain water, dried out, and used again, they don't last as long second time round.
Look at your 'empty' bottles, if you can get the little bits out of the bottom then 20-30 of them add up make almost a full bottle. Cut the tops off the empties and tip all the drops into one. (I've used an empty bottle and some fine tubing to make something similar to an insect pooter (google it) to suck all the remnants out without having to cut the tops off). TBH if you can get it at under a quid a bottle that looks like penny pinching, but the pennies add up.

Good advice there thanks! I still have quite a few bottles left over from before when I bought about 20 bottles but that cost me about 60. I am going to try and wash my last vapes coil now just to keep me going until payday and I ended up pawning my Silver chain and bracelet today on buyback for 20 and 23 to get back so not bad but because I didnt get any money and got my payday wrong when I last got paid I have actually put my sentimental jewellery at risk to get by but when you need a fag, butter and milk what do we have to do to get it lol

Newcad

I'm always amazed at the prices charged for some e-liquids.

I guess it's a case of "well it's still cheaper than buying baccy so they'll pay it", but you don't have to look far to find good e-liqid for around a pound a bottle, and even cheaper if you get it direct from the manufacturer.

FIREDreamer

It’s a bit later for tax credits recipients …