Useful money-saving tips for Winter 2022

You did well MOnica. I always seem to be a bit too late trying to pick blackberries as someone else has always beaten me to it!
I have noticed though that the few I have seen on walks have been very small, due to the lack of rain I’m sure.

You are right about foraging though. There have been people on tv who are very knowledgeable in this respect.
It amazes me just how much that is growing wild up and down the country, is edible.

When the conditions are right I would love to pick wild mushrooms as I’m sure they would be bursting with flavour.
I wouldn’t risk it though as I’m not knowledgeable enough to know which ones are poisonous!

Plainly my plan for this winter of wearing a vest for the first time since I was 11 is not going to be enough. Turning down the thermostat doesn’t seem to work but, like Maw, starting later and finishing earlier will be essential, as will not wasting hot water. The very thought of all this depresses me beyond belief but will investigate heated throws as a last resort.

The very threat of power cuts is alarming since electricity is essential in this house - heating and gas hob depend on it and I have no alternatives. All suggestions welcome!

freezer tip: empty spaces use up a lot of energy so fill them with containers full of water, they will also help to keep food frozen when we have power cuts

JenniferEccles

I apologise for mentioning Christmas in August but how about families agreeing to just buy presents for the children and not the adults?
That way every adult in the family saves money, quite a lot in some cases.

Christmas could still be enjoyable with home cooked food, games with the children, lovely country walks.

Now dare I suggest it to mine ?!

I suggested similar several years ago and there was such a big sense of relief all round

It is a good idea to be prepped for power cuts as well as trying to reduce energy use. Thermos flasks are always useful. They can be filled and then used to fill hot water bottles

If you can - forage. I have already picked and frozen over 10lbs of blackberrys and intend to pick many more. I have yet to see or hear of anyone else doing it in our village. I have a very good cookbook called The Hedgerow Cookbook

We live in a rural area and lots of people have apple trees and are putting surplus apples in boxes on the road side. I have also seen courgettes and other veg placed out for anyone to take. As well as blackberries there are sloes hazelnuts, walnuts, greengages all available for free.

Even in towns there will be areas of rough ground with blackberries. The more adventurous can also gather elderberries (makes lovely red wine) and rosehips.

I plan to make apple chutney tomorrow, later when my crab apples ripen I will make apple jelly, bramble jelly and herb jellies. All these make lovely stocking presents, or presents for people.

This morning I was out picking balckberries in the sunshine and also not only enjoyed a pleasant walk I also stretched and bent as I reached and hunted for blackberries. A hint: always take a pair of secateurs with you to cut back big looping lengths of bramble that come between you and your potential bramble jelly.

I apologise for mentioning Christmas in August but how about families agreeing to just buy presents for the children and not the adults?
That way every adult in the family saves money, quite a lot in some cases.

Christmas could still be enjoyable with home cooked food, games with the children, lovely country walks.

Now dare I suggest it to mine ?!

I’ve decided not to buy any new clothes for the next 6 months…maybe longer.

1summer, l ordered a heated throw ready for this winter, one called Dreamcatcher from Amazon as it was recommended by a friend. It is really lovely and soft and plenty big enough. I'm a size 18 so not small by any means.
It has a 2 year guarantee. I got the grey one, it was £45.00.
They come in 4 different colours.

Do radios really use much electricity?

I am trying to airfry and microwave where possible rather than put the oven on. I am also using the heated airer instead of the drier if I can't hang the washing out. At this time of year there is not much more I can think of, but as it gets colder I think I'll notice more.

My sister has had programmable thermostats fitted to her radiators. You can control the heat as with a standard thermostat, but set them so that unused rooms only have heating for an hour or so a day - enough to stop them going musty, but not wasting energy. I will look into those at some point (I think they are about £25 each).

I'm expecting/hoping that my son moving out finally is going to reduce our gas and electricity bill ?
He was a devil for leaving the lights and television on and the radiator in his bedroom on the highest setting if he was downstairs, or even out of the house ?
He's bought his own house now and I have warned him to keep an eye on his bills and meter readings.

In our house I have fleece throws for my Dad if he's sitting watching television.
My husband has lost over five stone in weight over the last year and even he's felt the cold and used one!

Handwashing undies and any other items that really just need refreshing. Wash and rinse then pop in the machine to spin, this cuts down a full cycle in the machine. Use a hotwater bottle when sitting down in the afternoon and evening. One placed in the small of your back seems to be the ideal place for it and use a blanket or throw for your knees and feet. Layer up as others have suggested. Batch cooking for freezer means your own ready meals to pop in the microwave. I have also invested in two halogen heaters which i am told by my neighbour are really cheap to run. They won't heat a whole room but if placed where you are sitting they help keep you warm. I will use one in my kitchen when its really cold in the morning and the other in the sitting room for later in the day. I am also looking to downsize to a smaller home as i really don't want the worry of heating a large 3bed house when there is ony me in it.

I think thermal underwear and adding top layers as and when, is something many have got out of the habit of doing. Turning the heating down a few notches (once it is time to turn it on again) and to come on later in the morning (eg mine comes on at 6.30 but apart from getting up to make a cuppa to take back to bed, I rarely get up before 8 or 9.
It could also go off earlier at night (currently 10.30) as the residual heat would be plenty before I go to bed.
I also need to reduce waste - no throwing veg away once it is past its best - “soggy veg soup” will be on the menu - and made in the pressure cooker for further economy.
There are many bad habits I have got into being relatively “comfortable” but I can remember all too well the days when I had literally barely £10 in my purse to feed us all for a week.

We have oil fired heating and a wood burner. We have that on when it is cold as with all the doors open it heats the house. It is so efficient that DH has been known to put his shorts on. Also we have a big box of blankets I have knitted. We are ready, as if for a siege !!!

I have made lots of soup from the many courgettes we have been given, I had litres of homemade chicken stock so the freezer is full of winter warmer soup.

Air fryer!

Daughter bought an air dryer last week in Lidl for under £30, but their bargains like this go very quickly. Amazon have one for under £35

I like the idea of a heated throw for the winter, does anyone recommend one. A decent one seems to be £40-£50 for one big enough to cover body and legs.

A heated throw is an absolute win! As is an air fryer, I realise that the outlay may be too big for some.

On the food front, lots of very thick (not puréed) vegetable soups - made with mostly relatively cheap root veg, red lentils, pearl barley, etc. I almost look forward to the ‘season of mists and mellow soupfulness’ ?because quite apart from being cheap, we really like them.

Swede, celeriac etc. are cut-and-come-again and keep for ages in the fridge.
Anything that needs simmering goes on the smallest gas hob - fine for even a really big pan of soup with the lid on. I could probably do with an instant pot or other cooking gadget, but the kitchen is far from huge - I’ve already got a slow cooker - and don’t want worktops cluttered up with anything else.

I also have an Instant Pot and its brilliant for pressure cooking or slow cooking. I can cook a whole chicken after using the browning feature and also a roast joint by the same method. Naturally, stews, casseroles, hotpots, steam puddings are all fabulous when cooked in the Instant Pot.
I batch bake like Sago and the only clothes I have bought this year has been new knickers.
MrP and I were discussing C******* recently and decided to not bother with the usual butchers hamper - stuff in it last year that we were disappointed with so this year we plan to. make and freeze our own pigs in blankets and stuffing, pop in the freezer and buy a joint etc as and when they are on offer. Just takes a bit of pre-planning and actually, that keeps the brain active surely?

Nine pages of tips here!
www.gransnet.com/forums/chat/1313937-Living-the-Frugal-Life-Semi-lighthearted

Just read this on Twitter. Not repeating fir political ends, but it may be of use to Welsh Gransnetters

'Huge thanks to @WelshLabour for providing loft insulation & fitting solar panels FREE OF CHARGE. I'm disabled & on a low income. Labour government making a real difference addressing climate &fuel crisis'

Apart from the obvious layers, padded gilet, etc., my best ‘keeping warm’ items are my sheepskin house boots from Celtic Sheepskin. They’re several years old now, so no extra expenditure. Should add that they’re washable in the machine, made in Cornwall, not China! - and can also be worn out of doors, though the soles are lighter than those of their similar style outdoor boots.

My Instant pot is my big money saver, I just love it and have used it so much since buying.
I am making my own butter and only batch baking bread fortnightly.
I have given up my gym membership so that’s a huge saving on petrol and the £35 monthly fee.
I also made a vow in April to not buy any new clothes for a year ( other than what I needed for my sons wedding next week I have stuck to it)
We may have a hive system fitted on our main house and retreat to our holiday let for a month in Jan/Feb as it’s so much cheaper to run and we can walk everywhere.