Cost of Living
29 watchers
Aug 2022
10:37am, 17 Aug 2022
34,887 posts
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EvilPixie
With the news (again) being filled with doom and gloom about prices I thought a thread on the topic might be good. I have seen a few threads about air fryers etc that include comments on cost - yes they are cheaper to run but cost a lot to buy! But what about the smaller habits. Bread .... given the cost of fuel is making it cheaper than buying as you have to use the oven? I don't have a smart meter so don't know the cost of heating my oven apart from knowing it will cost electrity! I would say about GYO but the weather hasn't helped with that! I reduce fuel usage on cooking rice/pasta by turning the pan off once boiled. Plus turn the oven off 5-10 mins before the "end" What other tips can we share? Or questions that lovely fetchies might be able to offer advice on. |
Aug 2022
3:25pm, 17 Aug 2022
14,334 posts
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Sweetie
I am living on my own these days and, with the increase in electricity prices, putting on the oven for a dinner for one feels like quite an extravagance! I am planning my electricity use more, e.g. If I am baking a cake, I'll do dinner at the same time and I'll bung in a jacket potato for another day, etc. And I'm a huge fan of batch cooking, not just for cost saving but also time / hassle saving. My current cost saving project is to use up stuff in the cupboards and freezer. I tend to shop each week and replace what I've eaten that week even though I have quite a large stash of tins / dry goods / frozen items that languish unused from week to week (or month to month!). |
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Aug 2022
3:38pm, 17 Aug 2022
34,898 posts
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EvilPixie
Oh yes I have a fair few tins! I'm on holiday next week - I will add tidy cupboard to my list! |
Aug 2022
4:24pm, 17 Aug 2022
768 posts
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Shades
Pix - I don't make my own bread but I would have thought more expensive to make it. Depends on what bread you normally buy. I have a weekly food budget and I generally stick to that. I haven't increased my food budget this year just careful shopping and home cooking, but that's normal for me. If I don't spend all my budget in one week I often will buy an extra jar of coffee or bottle of oil, they're not going to get any cheaper, so I think I'll get through the year without spending more on food. I never throw food out, only stuff that goes in food waste bin in fruit/veg peelings and egg shells. But I've always done that too. Veg that is getting near end of life goes into soup and I freeze the soup. I don't buy ready meals or prepared salads etc, prefer to cook/make my own. |
Aug 2022
8:29am, 19 Aug 2022
1,755 posts
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Muttley
A smart meter can be interesting but it doesn't really tell you anything that you don't already know. The novelty of watching it tick up as the kettle or oven are on soon wears off. I do all the above, being single and mean with the money  What the price crisis has taught me is the value of energy efficiency in the home. My previous place scored an E on the EPC scale when I sold up. The current Muttley Mansions is grade A and my monthly energy cost is about one third of what it was in the other house. (In fact, the electricity company paid me last month, after the solar panels were taken into account.) There's only so much one can do to retain warmth in an older house, of course, but whatever it is, it'll be worth it. |
Aug 2022
8:39am, 19 Aug 2022
631 posts
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Minimag
I'm putting a jacket on my hot water cylinder, even though it already has foam around it, the jacket should improve efficiency. Dont buy from Amazon though, they are twice as expensive as Screwfix. screwfix.com |
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Aug 2022
8:48am, 19 Aug 2022
770 posts
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Shades
Muttley I adopted all the abovementioned habits when I gave up work and was living off my savings. I will get my first state pension payment in a few days but nothing will change re expenditure. I've always budgeted so that I could use any surplus income for marathons and all the costs that come with that, travel etc., plus running kit of course. I'm not going to reduce my energy usage, I already do what I can, washing machine on during the night as I have Economy 7 , and I'm not prepared to be cold and put on an extra jumper. That's impressive re your energy costs. No solar panels for me as I live in a flat. I find the smart meter useful as no long have to read the meter, it also reminds me the hours of Economy 7 , knowing the exact hours that E7 applied to was always a grey area. |
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Aug 2022
8:53am, 19 Aug 2022
34,942 posts
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EvilPixie
our provider was going to install a smart meter but the mobile connection was too bad for them to do so!
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Aug 2022
9:12am, 19 Aug 2022
59,382 posts
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Velociraptor
We have a smart meter. It tells me that we can't afford to hoover. Win Our single biggest economy was to have a couple of young adult offspring who had no personal investment in reducing water and fuel costs remove themselves from the household. |
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Aug 2022
10:23am, 19 Aug 2022
771 posts
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Shades
Pix - if the mobile connection issue was some time ago might be worth asking again as it may have improved. If you want a smart meter that is. They're not really that useful but I can see how they could be for those that need to know in advance what their bill might be. It was useful for me realising how little the hob uses on my cooker once on simmer. Vrap - or do the ironing 😀 |
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