Marvellous Money Saving March.

[CremeEggThief]

Hi All,
Thought I'd start a new thread for all regulars and anyone else who is interested in saving money in March .

Surly turn off your heating?? blimey we had a hard frost here this week - brr!!

Im really lucky in that my house is a very small mid terrace and is very easy to heat ( i think heat from neighbours helps?) so i'll try without heating and see how i get on. I definitely can do without it on for the hour in the morning. I might struggle without it for the evening hour.

Oh should also add, ive loads of stuff to sell that i plan to do over easter as i'll be off for two weeks. Hopefully get a few ££ for that stuff. Would like to decorate the DCs bedrooms. DS1(9) has had pink flowery wallpaper for 3 years now

Signing in for month 3. Serious saving for new house in 2017 has started.

Sky has been cancelled. Gym membership used instead of cancelled.
We have started meal planning and shopping with a list. And a budget.
We are food shopping once a month. And using things up.
Lunches are being taken to work (minimum 4 times a week). We are walking to work too (30 minutes each way -minimum 4 times a week) to save on petrol and parking.

I'm doing ok with it so far!! Need more nsds in March!!!!

Good luck everyone!!

Have had an unfrugal, spendy week but here again, marking my spot

Signing in too. Not been so frugal last few days.
Friday, trip to zoo. No entrance fees as we pay annually but lunch and coffees used up £20 cash had in wallet. Bring picnic in future!
Today, we went to charity shops to look for some books and clothes for DD (2). Another £20. Btw, poundland is not good value for money!
Hoping for a NSD tomorrow.

Excel Spreadsheets-I've seen these mentioned lots on here. Is there a particular format that you use for budgeting/logging/tracking? Any help greatly received. Thanks

Bantam sorry I'm not sure how you change a password if you've logged in via FB as I've never done that. You do need to input the password any time you change it though. You could PM MNHQ perhaps, and they could tell you which email address you signed up with? Then you could get a password reminder?

Curly when getting bank charges back was all over the news I got £1300 back and that wasn't all of them, that was just the offer I accepted. They were run up in my very non frugal days but Those days are behind me now. It was really easy to get them back so good luck.

£3.90 on bus fare and £2.50 on did for dc yesterday. Hoping to keep spends to under a fiver today.

Thanks for starting the new thread Creme

Happy March every one.
The March to frugalness needs to refresh for us. I have lost it big style recently. Will come up with a plan today and report back.

Hi new people and returners.

I need to do my end of month expenditure. Not looking forward to it. Should be nsd as not going anywhere.

Hi can I join in?

I've decided I'm going to keep my receipts for all food shopping this month, that is the weekly shop, any top-ups and even milk at the corner shop etc. Then I will really know how much I have spent at the end of the month. I always think I know how much I spend on groceries, but I have a feeling it is way more than what I tell myself! Then hopefully look at ways of reducing for April.

Water heating

If you have a WELL insulated tank ie no heat comes off it (its not a radiator, heat lost is money wasted) and its heated by a gas boiler you should be able to heat the tank to 55c in 20 mins every morning.

If its immersion leave it on for an hour at 55. Water heating was much more expensive for us when we lived in an area with no gas.

If you have immersion and gas heating on the same tank turn the immersion bit off. We had permenantly scalding water when we moved here until I realised that the builders had switched the immersion on so mines off at the master board fuse.

If its a combi boiler try to adjust the stat to 55, not 70. Factory settings seem to be 70 .

You can put two red jackets on one tank. Buy the 22mm thick grey foam tubes of pipe lagging for all the pipes around it that get warm.

You can lag the pipes running under the bath too if there's space and you can fix loft lagging around baths to keep them hotter for longer.

www.savewatersavemoney.co.uk/. These people run free products by the various water boards. Don't worry if yours isn't listed, you can put your post code in to find what you can get free. Some boards are giving water saving shower heads & kitchen tap fittings like I bought yesterday for free .

Our water supplier isn't listed

Did you put your postcode in? I'm under seven trent and that isn't listed either.

Yep we're with southern water.

Came out of February £1.28 in credit. Phone bill was extortionate at £42! But I also bought stuff in primark and sainsburys (clothes) that came out of the food budget so didn't do too badly...

Oooh thanks fluffy. I've just ordered us some things for the cistern to reduce water. And a lovely timer for brushing your teeth!

Hi everyone, forgot it was March and posted on the old thread . In my defence I only had 5 hours sleep last night.

You'd think southern water would be keen on people saving water.

Spotty

www.southernwater.co.uk/product-discounts

www.southernwater.co.uk/save-a-flush-form I have a cut in half pop bottle in our cisterns. One day dh will find them. That will not be a good day.

Southern waters a bit stingy. Any relatives live in an area with freebies?.

Thanks all. Should I report myself to car park? We didn't do any visible damage to the fence, I was going quite slowly, but now I'm paranoid they will track us down and fine us or something! Argh!

Was supposed to be nsd today but I couldn't dissuade dh to not have bacon sarnies for breakfast.

He's gone to the shop for bacon. (I suggested fish finger sarnies but he turned his nose up....)

We're eating at dm's later. Will walk there so I can have a wine and he can have some beers while watching the rugby with df.

I am with Southern Water and pay something ridiculous like £56 a month I think its disgusting bearing in mind there is only 2 of us in a 2 bed flat!!

I have rung them and they say its right am not keen to get a water meter as we don't have a shower so on some days we use the bath twice a day, once I get a shower put in will rethink though.

Today going to take back school trousers bought for dd last week, she didn't like them so £16 back in account. Meeting mum for a coffee but no other spends planned.

Girlie we pay £29 a month four of us in a two bedroom house. We have just got a metre but aren't paying metred rates yet. The first quarterly projection showed that we will save money though.

Hi spotty
Did you have to pay for a meter? Last time we looked we had to pay quite a huge amount to fix a meter. So we said no. And there were all these silly threats saying something along the lines of if we can't fix it in for you we will still charge you etcetera.

Today hopefully is a LSD. May buy yoghurt to make banana ice cream.