Sneaky ways to save the pennies

sammyjammy

annie123 wrote: »

How many people is that for?

one of the things on the rec list was get an efficient dishwasher
I have one, its me, my kitchen sink and a cleaning pad :rotfl:

I never fall for the old dishwasher trick. People and presumably their calculator never take into account the energy it takes to make the dishwasher and transport it. How many dishwashers get put on half full? Do people end up with loads of crockery to enable them to fill it and still eat and drink?

I live alone and my best water saving trick is during the week I only wash up every couple of days (I know - its because I'm a slob really!) and I NEVER fill the bowl.

Confuzzled

rosemary54 wrote: »

I spotted this thread and had a go at the calculator whilst eating breakfast and was shocked to get a score of 13.8 total,10.8 of which was for the house.When I thought about it I can see how i am supposed to save the planet but the cost is way beyond me(and this is a money saving site afterall!)

oh dear i hope i didn't make anyone feel bad, it wasn't my intention and rosemary i know precisely the issues you face having lived in a few croft houses when i still lived on skye, it's nigh on impossible to do much in some ways or to even get the help to come all the way out to you or agree to work on an old place and as a renter i've always had to make do with whatever the landlord has seen fit to do so i totally sympathise with you, also with the travel issues, skye was terrible for buses and even worse for reliability and then of course there were virtually no pavements so it wasn't even always safe to walk! we lived there for 18 months with no car but eventually my exes parents took pity and bought us a cheapy one because life there without one was sooo hard, so really i do sympathise

the reason i'm so interested in this is that tomorrow i will start using the OU's carbon calculator for my sustainability course i'm taking this year (U116) and i do wonder if the teacher will think i'm lying if i were to report such a ridiculously low number to her. fortunately though i get the impression that we will also be including our 'spending' for things like food and other goods and not just based on how insulated our house is and if we drive a car etc so that should give a more balanced approach

due to finances i can't afford to buy local produce (wish i could though there is a box scheme just 2 miles from here, i'm going to call them and see if they'll do a smaller box for us maybe for a lower price they only have 1 size right now and it's just beyond us for weekly and not enough produce for fortnightly) so i also can't afford to buy organic or free range like i used to and quite often the cheapest food comes from the furthest away :eek: so in that front my carbon useage will be higher...

i'll let everyone know how i get on with the OU's calculator (it'll be a few days though i only have 10 days til my TMA is due) i suspect it will be more fair, if it is i'll post a link if it's available to the public (i think it may only be accessible to people on this course though)

Confuzzled

julie_d wrote: »

Annie, that is for 4 adults( mum & dad and 2 adult children) and one large dog.
My results were 1.57 home, 1.5 appliances and 0.22 travel.

I think the appliances can come down a bit as I entered a C for washing machine, before I looked and found it was A pluss.



I thought people would like to have a bit of fun and open our eyes to the results too. Julie

hmmm with yours being that low and you having twice as many people in your house than it appears mine is probably right, however saying that the calculator does leave out a lot of things, even i had to just pick some things because it was the closest i could get. we're such heavy computer users here (home educating and me taking an OU course) that i really expected it to be higher to be quite honest, i guess i'm sorta relieved in a way, i'm hoping to get into st andrews university's Sustainable Development degree programme next year (failing that Dundee has a Sustainable Environment degree programme) so i'd be terribly embarrassed for myself, personally, if i were over the odds!

however, as mentioned it's not very realistic in some ways, not flexible enough... i'm even more eager now to see what my results are using the OU's calculator that hopefully includes more catagories like food and shopping habits etc should be very interesting indeed!

btw i hope no one feels guilty at all about your situation, everyone lives a different life and has different circumstances, and things change over time, sometimes we can do better sometimes we aren't in a position to do so so no guilt required and no judgements made here!

betony

This has nothing to do with the most recent posts but I've just signed up here, after reading through this particular thread for several weeks. I already use a lot of the ways to save a few quid (or even pennies - but in these times, needs must...) My favourite way to save money is to stay at my boyfriend's over the weekend - allowing me to switch off my heating and use his! Not to mention his electric to cook with, his hot water to have a bath, food he's bought...!

Nomoneymummy_2

betony wrote: »

This has nothing to do with the most recent posts but I've just signed up here, after reading through this particular thread for several weeks. I already use a lot of the ways to save a few quid (or even pennies - but in these times, needs must...) My favourite way to save money is to stay at my boyfriend's over the weekend - allowing me to switch off my heating and use his! Not to mention his electric to cook with, his hot water to have a bath, food he's bought...!

:rotfl:I love the thinking!!! Damn it I'm married!!!!

Mrs_Thrify

Confuzzed as I said it is just a bit of fun, intresting though!

Nomoneymummy_2

Aril wrote: »

I treated myself to a new lipstick yesterday but for the first time I've taken all the old ones with only a little bit in and melted them together. This has given me a whole new pot and a lovely colour. Normally I'd have just thrown them away:o
Aril

I mix my fave lippy in vasaline (bain marie over coffee mug!) and it lasts ages and comes out the same colour plus looks v glossy!

rosemary54

Confuzzled wrote: »

oh dear i hope i didn't make anyone feel bad, it wasn't my intention and rosemary i know precisely the issues you face having lived in a few croft houses when i still lived on skye, it's nigh on impossible to do much in some ways or to even get the help to come all the way out to you or agree to work on an old place and as a renter i've always had to make do with whatever the landlord has seen fit to do so i totally sympathise with you, also with the travel issues, skye was terrible for buses and even worse for reliability and then of course there were virtually no pavements so it wasn't even always safe to walk! we lived there for 18 months with no car but eventually my exes parents took pity and bought us a cheapy one because life there without one was sooo hard, so really i do sympathise

the reason i'm so interested in this is that tomorrow i will start using the OU's carbon calculator for my sustainability course i'm taking this year (U116) and i do wonder if the teacher will think i'm lying if i were to report such a ridiculously low number to her. fortunately though i get the impression that we will also be including our 'spending' for things like food and other goods and not just based on how insulated our house is and if we drive a car etc so that should give a more balanced approach

due to finances i can't afford to buy local produce (wish i could though there is a box scheme just 2 miles from here, i'm going to call them and see if they'll do a smaller box for us maybe for a lower price they only have 1 size right now and it's just beyond us for weekly and not enough produce for fortnightly) so i also can't afford to buy organic or free range like i used to and quite often the cheapest food comes from the furthest away :eek: so in that front my carbon useage will be higher...

i'll let everyone know how i get on with the OU's calculator (it'll be a few days though i only have 10 days til my TMA is due) i suspect it will be more fair, if it is i'll post a link if it's available to the public (i think it may only be accessible to people on this course though)

confuzzled,I don't feel bad!I do try to do my bit but think the calculator is flawed !I said we have 4 bedrooms and 2 people but that is with 3 sons away at uni in term time.If I put 5 people in I guess it might come down but the boys use lots of power with their computers,extra heating/washing/showering etc (not to mention lifts to jobs in next village as no late bus!) so they would in fact use a lot more power:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

A better calculater would be more useful for all to save money/planet.

p.s I did my bit buying local organic boxes througfh MR T which were yummy and reasonable but Mr T was not making enough money from them and stopped selling them:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

p.p.s good luck with your course(I tried twice to do language course but they were cancelled due to low numbers.....monery yet again:mad:)

Confuzzled

betony wrote: »

This has nothing to do with the most recent posts but I've just signed up here, after reading through this particular thread for several weeks. I already use a lot of the ways to save a few quid (or even pennies - but in these times, needs must...) My favourite way to save money is to stay at my boyfriend's over the weekend - allowing me to switch off my heating and use his! Not to mention his electric to cook with, his hot water to have a bath, food he's bought...!

*ponders heavily* hmmm is it worth it to have to deal with a man again???



*tightens up her belt and smiles smugly* nope! but good on you for having more fortitude than i do

pssst very deviously clever too, very nice

p00

I normally use No7 lipstick with the clear stuff one end and lippy the other. Its really annoying that the lip sponge that comes with it doesnt reach the bottom or the very toop at all and Ive always disgarded it but now I cut the holder in half to use every bit. reading below does anyone know if you can melt 'long lasting' lippy into a pot to use with a brush?

xxp00