How will you make savings to pay for energy bills.

Another money-saving tip for those who can't or don't want to grow their tomatoes from seed:
You know those pesky side-shoots that have to be pinched out on many varieties of tomatoes? Just stick them in a bit of compost, keep them damp ( not too wet), and most of them will root in no time!
That means that you needn't buy more than one plant of each variety that you want to grow.

Yes you can.

GillT57

A major saving that many people don't think of; get rid of your Sky, Virgin package for TV. We got rid of Sky about years ago, not just because they kept increasing the monthly charges, but also because I had a real problem with putting money in that old crook's pocket! We kept the dish, went to John Lewis and bought a freesat box for £149. No monthly charges, it paid for itself in about 3 or 4 months, and now after about 5 years, we are well in pocket!

With Freesat, are you able to record programmes? I record a lot of programmes and films when I am out or having an early night to watch later. I guess I could watch on catch-up but I have noticed that not all programmes are on catch-up ( or at least I cannot find them) and I would need to write down a list of what I want to watch as my memory is awful!

I used to have a recording device before I went to Virgin but it wasn’t very reliable and I don’t think it lasted very long before needing replacing, just a couple of years.

We haven't had the heating on since the price hike. Hopefully won't be on again until October at least now.

Oops
It's like being a student again

I've re-learned to soak tops, socks and underwear overnight, handwash, rinse and just spin in the machine to reduce the washing machine usage.
It's like

I forgot to cut my Ancestry subscription so I've been trying to research more but reached the end of what I can do, I think.
It's interesting to follow a lead in someone's tree eg I just found some unknown American cousins of DH only to check it out properly and find they had the wrong Alice in their tree from a century and a half ago.
How can anyone not notice that the birth place they recorded as Wirral is actually Camden in London on another census?
Perhaps it's just down the road to an American person.

GillT57

A major saving that many people don't think of; get rid of your Sky, Virgin package for TV. We got rid of Sky about years ago, not just because they kept increasing the monthly charges, but also because I had a real problem with putting money in that old crook's pocket! We kept the dish, went to John Lewis and bought a freesat box for £149. No monthly charges, it paid for itself in about 3 or 4 months, and now after about 5 years, we are well in pocket!

I don't have Sky, Virgin or any TV package. I have a Firestick which was a present from my son. Any subscription eats your money as far as I am concerned.

But therein lies the problem. If you have alway been as careful as possible, what it there left to cut?

Crikey yes they were persistent! However, when I said that I was cancelling due to my visceral dislike of Murdoch and his empire, and it was nothing to do with what they were prepared to offer me as a financial incentive, the employee from the retention department just said 'fair enough'. No more calls.

I would get rid of Sky in an instant if it was just me. However OH is a huge sports fan from football to boxing and wouldn't consider giving up live Sports channels.

We did that GillT57 but Sky were very persistent for years afterwards, trying to persuade us to go back to them, phone calls, letters, despite telling them to cross us off their list.

I think we've got rid of them now!

A major saving that many people don't think of; get rid of your Sky, Virgin package for TV. We got rid of Sky about years ago, not just because they kept increasing the monthly charges, but also because I had a real problem with putting money in that old crook's pocket! We kept the dish, went to John Lewis and bought a freesat box for £149. No monthly charges, it paid for itself in about 3 or 4 months, and now after about 5 years, we are well in pocket!

We made some small savings to offset energy costs. Firstly cancelled Amazon music (3.99pm) then checked usage on our mobiles. We have unlimited Internet but still pay £10 pm each for unlimited phone data. OH doesn't use 1GB pm so changed package to £6pm 1GB and I'm now paying £8 pm 3GB. Savings pm = £10 a small amount but it all helps.
Thank you to the person who suggested growing veg from scraps we are giving it a go.

Oh good.
Back on topic.

I always grow lettuce and cabbages from the leftover stems, onions and spring onions, too.
Not forgetting my pineapple which I'm growing from the cut off top.

You can just float them in water until some roots appear, then plant them.

The roots can take a few weeks to appear, but they do.

karmalady
There is no doubt that turning down your thermostat will have saved you money. I just wish I could get my DH to make changes like that, but it's proving impossible.

Mind you, despite that, our own energy usage was also down this month compared with the previous month - though only by about 35 kw/h.
The days are getting longer, and we have had quite a lot of sunny days which have warmed the house quite nicely, so the heating simply hasn't had to come on as often or for as long as it did in the previous month.
The weather makes such a difference, and I can't wait for it to be warm enough for the heating not to come on at all!

Our fixed tariff finishes at the end of May, so our direct debits will probably double then.

That's good to hear karmalady.

At least we won't be using the lights for as long now the lighter mornings/evenings are here. Hopefully if people are careful with their use, some could be in credit.

Glad I don't have any external sensor lights anymore, the badgers and foxes used to set them off all the time!

a real fact here. I reduced my thermostat, the time and the temperature, my body adapted and if cool, I fling a throw over my knees. The en suite radiator warms up very quickly so I only need 20 minutes of ad hoc manual thermostat heating upstairs before my shower. Downstairs I put 19 and upstairs 18, although the sunny rooms do become a nice cosy temperature when the sun shines

I had my gas bill yesterday and compared to last month, when the temperatures were 21 downstairs 19.5 upstairs but upstairs had longer periods at a warmer temperature at getting up time

I have saved £19 in just one month, cost this month for gas was £25. I must say I am very happy to actually see a good result. I am not really expecting any saving from electricity

My DDs direct debit for gas has just been increased by 50% and she is expecting it to rise. Petrol for work is up. She said others in the office have all been discussing how to manage. They can't plan any socialising now. No one can afford it. They all work in government jobs. It must be difficult to stay optimistic.

Shandy57

Yes, grew two plants apparently.

Reminds me of my flat mate in the early 80's and her avocado seed in a glass jar, sadly I can't remember if it sprouted roots.

Two plants out of a couple of slices of tomatoes - I'd be patting myself on the back!

Apparently, it's quite possible (I've been researching) - the only issue is that some seeds are sterile and won't reproduce. But there's no way of knowing that until you get a nice leafy plant - with no tomatoes.

Yes, grew two plants apparently.

Reminds me of my flat mate in the early 80's and her avocado seed in a glass jar, sadly I can't remember if it sprouted roots.

Shandy57

Thank you for the scrap link Dickens. My aunt's neighbour grew tomatoes from 'slices' of tomatoes last year - I've never seen Monty Don suggest this!

I've heard that it can be done, but I didn't believe it. I think I will give it a go. And then tell Monty...

After my terrible experience with my insurance company, I wouldn't recommend people go for the cheapest, it's one economy I would avoid.

My company was so cheap because they don't have enough staff to answer the phones, or customer portal, not enough loss adjusters or people to do repairs. All of their good reviews were about how easy it was to sign up.

I think being told I would have to wait for four months with rain pouring into my lounge/kitchen because their work force weren't available was unacceptable.

NFU, Saga and Tesco have had good customer feedback from people who have claimed from them successfully, on Which.

Thank you for the scrap link Dickens. My aunt's neighbour grew tomatoes from 'slices' of tomatoes last year - I've never seen Monty Don suggest this!

Shandy57

I found this money saving article at Which useful.

www.which.co.uk/news/2022/01/22-ways-to-save-and-make-money-in-2022/

... SNAP!

I went to "Which" after looking at this thread and found that article.

The car insurance and changing your bank for better deals were interesting. But overall, it's not going to compensate for the huge hikes.

I think what many will do is cut back on food shopping - I mean those things that you normally put in your basket without too much thought - I know I'll be looking twice at them. £3 here, £2.50 there... it soon adds up. And I'm going to start using 'own brand' cleaning products which are much cheaper than the branded ones in colourful packaging.

I also use a lot of herbs - and here's an article on growing herbs and vegetables from your scraps in your kitchen - useful if you don't have a garden. Apparently, you can grow herbs for months in just plain water - no need to purchase compost.

soapdelinews.com/2021/06/how-to-grow-vegetables-from-scraps-propagating-herbs-from-cuttings.html#:~:text=%20Here%20is%20how%20to%20grow%20herbs%20from,absorb%20more%20water.%20You%20don%E2%80%99t%20want...%20More%20

Callistemon21

^Is there a Barbara Woodhouse for husbands out there?^
She'd be very popular
But "walkies" might be to the local pub.

You could be right - though we don't have a local pub any more and DH doesnt like walking anyway ...

Is there a Barbara Woodhouse for husbands out there?
She'd be very popular
But "walkies" might be to the local pub.