Frugal fun in February - the one with the Spring spring

[Unescorted]

New thread continued from this one

All are welcome - just dive in.

Hey guys 👋

I hope everyone's well,

I started a new job at the beginning of Jan, And found myself with so little time I barely looked at MN.

I've just been reading through the thread and popped back to to discuss the energy price hike, we are with Scottish Power and until December were paying £187 each month, that went up to £227 and my predicted payments from May when our fix ends are £735.59 PER MONTH. How on earth can this be accurate? We do live in a bigger than average house but seriously £8800 a year on fuel??? That's more than I was paying on my first mortgage.

We don't really use the central heating other than the odd hour every so often, we do use the tumble dryer more often than we should, but I can't deal with damp washing hanging all over the place it just looks so untidy.

Anyone know if there's a way of checking your energy usage when you don't have a smart meter? Apparently Scottish power have a waiting list for smart meters and currently there are none available in my area.

Does anyone else have such high prices? I must admit it's a worry.

£735 per month!!! Wow. That’s almost the same cost as our mortgage.

DH still hasn’t managed to look at our prediction now we’ve had to moved supplier.

Wait what?! £700 a month on fuel?!?! Shit

Religious meter readings from now. Weekly if you have to ,reject the dd. Cancel it if you have to
Last years usage in kw and kj or last 2 if you have.
And just wow

Bloody hell Camden that's ridiculous it can't possibly be right or based on your past usage. As a comparison mine is going from 120 to 240 ish per month. I definitely won't be paying that we're just going to stop putting the heating on

Ex an I made the difficult decision to move to eow contact for him with ds. This is less than ds wants but ex can't afford to feed him with rising food prices, he was quite upset when he did his supermarket shop today, and I can't afford the petrol to take him there and back so often with the rising fuel prices.

Spendy day £60 on not even a full tank of petrol
£53 lidl, didn't even really buy much
£15 DEC donation, £10 sponsorship for one of my team.

Finalised kitchen design and am now looking for the cheapest way to get appliances but really need a date from joiner before I order anything or I could be drowning in boxes!

Thanks for the advice, we changed from British Gas last year to Scottish power using the MSE comparison site, im not sure if I can find the readings I submitted from last year, I tried to check on the BG website but there's no info there.

I'm definitely going to make weekly meter reading from now and keep a note of them. The costs just seem insane.

Been shopping to Marks today . Bought these . l can throw my old leaky and very scruffy boots out now
www.marksandspencer.com/wide-fit-lace-up-flatform-ankle-boots/p/clp60505536?color=BLACK&prevPage=srp#intid=prodColourId-60505536
Spent 40 in Tesco , 46 in Marks , www.marksandspencer.com/5pk-cool-and-fresh-assorted-socks/p/clp60515675?color=NAVYMIX&prevPage=srp#intid=prodColourId-60515675 for Dh & some food
Camden that is never right they have not done their sums
Thank you all for the dress love l can't wait to get it and try it on now
Em hope you are ok lovely , this is about the last straw now with your DH having it as well , don the dressing gown of doom before he does
Hope everyone is ok , waves to everyone

mrs to be fair it was inevitable that DH would get it. And to be fair to him he hasn’t gone for a pcr test or logged his lft. So “technically” doesn’t have to isolate. Morally it’s a different issue.

I’ve told him I feel like I have jet lag. And a mild cold. That’s the only way I can get him to understand.

We’ve had dinner. I’m just counting down until I can get the dc to bed and go to bed myself.

I love those boots!!!!

They are still in stock Em but they are wide fit
Well done to your Dh too
Hope you have a good nights rest

I’m with octopus and despite us not being in debt with them they sent an aggressive email saying they were doubling our direct debit - when I dug into it this was based on them deciding we should “build up a credit” and so was based on actual use plus extra - I wrote them an outraged email and received a very shirty reply where they refused to admit they were being shits. I’ve told them I’ll cancel the direct debit if they mess with it and that I’ll pay for what I use and not a penny more!

Oh wolf that’s not an easy decision
Fuel companies are being naughty me thinks

I took my sainsburys basket to Aldi and amended my delivery of Aldi was cheaper, saved £15 which was spent on Aldi only stuff but suprisingly sainsburys was cheaper in some stuff or the same

@Wolfcub. So difficult. And likely to get worse for all.

@Wolfcub what a heartbreaking decision to have to make. Just shows this whole shitshow goes far beyond ‘things are getting a bit expensive’. I really do feel for you all.

@Mrsmadevans love those boots, I work in a shoe shop, they are bang on trend and such a good price!

wolf- I am really sorry to hear that, that sounds very tough.
And camden that’s frightening isn’t it? If it helps we are a family of 5 in a fairly large semi that’s not that well insulated and ours has gone up to £400 pm, surely yours can’t be double that??
mrs love the dress too. I’ve run out of spends otherwise I quite fancy one!

Wolf that is a heartbreaking decision. Is there anyway DS could be sent with food for the weekend? I know it will feel as if you are subsidising ex - but if it facilitates the visits it might be worth while. Although coupled with the gas being capped off it would be a bit cold for DS until the spring.

Mrs that dress is lovely.

Dashes off to write down meter readings..... how much camden? That is significantly more than my mortgage.

gen That is a good idea. What did they say?

In good news - DS has secured himself a Saturday job that pays living wage. £9.85 ph vs £4.81ph for NMW. Plus £5 per day for cycling to work. They are going to let him work extra during holidays - he is taking pension & tax advice.

Today's cake is going to be a tray bake of some sort.... I am going to a party for the first time in over 2 years. I am beyond excited even though I have to impale my brain on snot stick before going.

Lft test still positive. So that’s me working at home on Monday. I was hoping to go back to work. But need two negative ones then I can do it.

But hey ho. We’re going for fresh air today. To the beach. And coffee. From outdoor place.

I’ve just blow dried my hair straight. Something I’ve been working on for a while but never really managed to achieve. Took half hour. It’s still not as straight as hair dresser would do it. But. Progress.

My lucky dip fake oodie has arrived so now I have two to wear and wash so shan't be cold. Now I just need to remember to wear them rather than automatically boosting the heating when cold. I've also used a gift voucher I had lying around to cover half the cost of a pair of slippers. I hate having anything on my feet but it does mean I feel the cold so needs must.

A very not frugal trip to the farmers market this morning. Never ever agree to buy something that doesn't have a price on it! Ffs

wolf cashmere socks are a must have (although expensive and a bugger to wash). But. They keep feet wonderfully warm. Dsis bought me a pair a while back. I wear them with my slippers. So cosy.

Also sheepskin insoles for boots. I have a pair in my riding boots for extra warmth.

A use it up lunch of a cross between a Fritata and a tarteflette. Fried potatoes bacon onion cheese eggs. Mmmmmm.

DH is playing legos with the dc. I’m on bed. Waiting for my cup of tea…. 😂

Spendy day in town but I did go to the library rather than buy books

Aw thank you all so much for the dress & boot love l am touched We are going to have an Indian takeaway tonight , well when l say we, l am not having one , instead l am having a pizza , didn't fancy a curry tonight 47 quid for the 3 of them, not even delivered
Gen well done on the Octopus stance , hope you had a lovely day/meal with your visitors
Life some things in Aldi are dearer , l know it's odd isn't it ! On the whole though it's cheaper
Unescorted that is excellent pay for your Ds Congratulations to him Enjoy the party !
Em hope you are feeling much better and enjoyed the beach
Wolf hope you enjoyed the farmers market , l love them but they are expensive l know
Curls thank you so much l didn't have a clue they were IN l just knew l really liked them
Martha ahh bless you l wish you could buy the dress
Hope everyone is fine and dandy waves to everyone

The beach was glorious. Fresh air did me the world of good.

Ds has asked me to sleepover in his room. So I’m on bottom bunk tonight. 😂😂.

Evening all
Blimey Camden that’s more than my mortgage mines going up to 325 I thought that was bad
£40 in Morrisons on a top up shop if not a lot
Hope everyone who is feeling poorly feels better soon

Sent the readings in... Down £15 pm. Checked meter readings. They are right.

Party was fun. My feet hurt.

Hurry feet at quarter to one is a good night to be sure unescorted
Looks glorious em and pleased it did you good.
Baking here today, fil birthday. Might squeeze a tip run and long dog walk in

Unescorted well done ds that's amazing pay and getting paid to ride his bike in is excellent. Glad you had a great time at the party

Lovely picture Em

Morning has not started in the best fashion ddog decided to sneak out whilst I was putting the rubbish out so lots of not-chasing him round the street while he was being an absolute twat. Then dropped my vitamins on the floor and cracked the top of my head on a cupboard stopping ddog from getting them.

Life hope fil's birthday goes well