Frugal fun in February - the one with the Spring spring

[Unescorted]

New thread continued from this one

All are welcome - just dive in.

54 % gosh that’s nigh on £90 for us. Christ

@8stone13

Looks like my energy is going up by around £60 a month (it's already £125) & then my income is going down by about £34 a month due to the NI rise. So not far off £100 pcm down & that's not including inflation on everything else...I'm lucky that it won't tip me over the edge. I've no idea how some are managing though (I know many aren't 😔)

Similar here, we are going to be a lot worse off.

Mine would go up by at least £70 just for two of us in a tiny end terrace based on the 54% figure and I'm fairly miserly with the heating as it is

It’s shocking how much it’s going up. Everything is going up except wages and the interest rate on savings

Thanks for the new thread Unescorted

Spends this week - £28 yesterday on a Christmas present for DD1. I’ve never bought a Christmas present this early 🤦‍♀️

Grocery delivery £68-odd
Another £15-odd on veg.

DH is trying to work out how much our bills will increase. We don’t have gas but the new fangled ground source heat pump uses much more electricity that we realised.

I think mine will be around £300, as it’s £200 now. I was thinking new fix deals would be available but it looks like not yet. There was a really useful video on money saving expert if anyone is interested. Martin seems like a really good bloke, I like the way he’s obviously very financially talented but uses it for other people’s good ❤️

I help in a foodbank. Was there today. People already on their knees

@marthasmum please could you post a link tot the video?

We have 2 windows where the panes have blown and they are draughty. Have been putting up with it but think in the interests of keeping warm next winter we will try and get them sorted out over the summer.

The increase is crazy.

I love Martin Lewis. On his live show the other week he was almost in tears as he tried to help a woman who was really worried about the energy price hikes.

Everything he suggested she’d already done and for the first time he had to say there was nothing else he could do to help. Tweeted after that it just broke him to have to say that and not be able to do anything for her.

Zoom dance fit class then work for me today, have a good one everyone.

@Alfiemoon1 And savings rates are laughable as it is aren't they - if they go up at all (as many lenders don't pass it on) it'll be from 0.75% - 0.95% which is no use to anyone who's just seen their energy increase by over 50%!!

@Startagaintoday & @CurlsandCurves Oh that is awful 😣 These hikes always hit the worse off more too, via pre-payment meters & the like. I give to the Food Bank regularly as well as the hygiene bank. I donate treats for kids as well as essentials too - little chocolate bars, an advent calendar or Easter Egg. I can't bear the thought of kids missing out because their parents can't even afford the essentials.

I'm so angry I could scream.

Signing in thanks unescorted

Always pleasing when the new thread starts at a new month :o

8stone13 I love those chairs!

Bought a few bits for Cagletini last night, it’s just us two most of the weekend as the others are nerding out at a convention :o

One of the things is a children’s book on rabbits because tomorrow WE ARE GETTING A BUNNY!!! Someone I know is (for very valid and sad reasons) needing to rehome theirs. We have been considering a pet for a while now, and this is a good way to get started as they are giving away all the equipment etc (although I will insist she takes some money for it all!).

Ah bunny! Cute. House or outdoor bunny?

I know I always put treats in the food bank as well as basis

Same, often put nice treats in.

She’s an indoor bunny :) which is what I would’ve wanted anyway. They’re giving us an outdoor run too but apparently she’s scared of the garden!

Hope she’s not a cable chewer

Diving in! I've spent just shy of £90 total this month. Seems a lot so will need to be frugal the rest of the month, which should be ok

No spend today

I’ve cancelled Disneyplus this morning, got about a month left on the subscription. Last year we accidentally let it auto renew and left it even though we’d decided to cancel it.

My car is being returned from repairs today 👍

I got asked for ID in Tesco. I’m almost 40 🤣

£4.90 on breakfast 🤦‍♀️. DH chivvied me out for the gym for 8am. Our slot is 8:30 but he got it in his head it was 8, didn’t say that until we arrived at 7:55

He got his hair cut while I had breakfast in a coffee shop.

Then I spent £11 in Sainsbury’s- top up shop and 2 cans of soup for the food bank.

Another NSD here other than the working from home fuel which I imagine has cost around £2k since 9am this morning

Getting £100 back soon, as the sofa delivery was messed up and there’s a broken bit that can’t be replaced till April! So they’re refunding the premium delivery/assembly fee

Welcome Fran

Sing I like the new thread new month too.

Start I do too. It is a worrying how quickly the user numbers go up each time there is a little change. I hate to think what it is going to be like in April,

We checked the quote for a new fix in April. £150 to £350 - all of a sudden lights are off, jumpers on. I have a chunk of back pay due so it is going to be used to put a shower and a wood burner in.

Love well done on the ID.

Unescorted thank you for the new thread so kind of you to sort us out lovely
Been MIA due to Mum's birthday and changing our Broadband/TV/phone package, new hub had to change all the passwords and sign in , it's been a bit fraught here l can tell you
Thank you for the birthday wishes for Mum , she has had the most wonderful time, she even said she has never had such a wonderful birthday and thanked me profusely has been terrible trying to get the BT box to go , l wanted to pay the engineer £30 to do it but he wouldn't listen to me . It has taken him 2 days to get us online and the telly working properly it will save us £35 a month by amalgamating all the TV packages so it is worth all the hassle , got it for 2 years now so we can relax a bit . The 35 has already been swallowed up by the fuel increase
Spent £370 today on the car , new disc brakes & pads , full service and MOT, which she passed thank God!
Asda 65 on grocery shopping
Hope everyone is ok

I nearly forgot, l had a real bargain today too , Superdrug had this £20 but if l bought 2 it was £30 for the 2 , picked them up this afternoon when we collected the car
www.superdrug.com/Fragrance/Perfume-For-Women/Women%E2%80%99s-Perfume/ESCADA-WINTER-EDITION-LTD-EDT-100ML/p/812498

@SingToTheSky good news about the sofa, always worth addressing poor service. I hate the word complain but if it helps the company do better and become more successful then it’s a positive thing.

I’ve had more good news today. First up DH is due a tax rebate. Now this will probably turn out to be about £1.80 but hey, we shall see.

Second one is tax credits. Now DH and I are both employed as opposed to self employed, we knew we would need to repay some tax credits for last year. But they got the calculations wrong and so we appealed. Today we got a letter saying they agree with us, so we won’t be paying back as much as they originally told us. Can’t wait to see what the new amount is, get a payment plan in place and get it gone!

I forgot petrol , £40 for the one car & 60 for the other , dear me it's been an expensive day