The thing that's worrying me atm is the things that are often mentioned as money saving tips are things I already do such as shopping at Aldi. Have done for the past 7 years and do the odd Tesco top up but that is a rarity. Both myself and partner are in decent tops but have high outgoings so it's a worry.
Discontent #5 food, energy, transport, cost of living etc
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Regarding holidays. Sometimes when the kids were little we would do day trips instead of holidays and they absolutely loved it, though the driving was tiring. I think children just like time together as a family.
same! i pay £80 atm (very small two bed house with just me in it) and it’s come to something that i worked out my monthly budget paying £170 and would actually be grateful if that’s how it works out
also very very glad that i genuinely like the cold and never put all my radiators on in the winter!ultimately i’ve just got me to worry about, i feel so deeply for families or people with commitments that mean they have to run electricity all day etc. i don’t know how they’re being allowed to get away with this.
everytime i go to primark at the moment i’m buying their discounted knitwear and cosy socks etc. asos also have a lot of their thick knit jumpers in the sale. i’m going to be like that scene in friends where joey wears all of chandler’s clothes
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Yep, I'm buying fleecy blankets.same! i pay £80 atm (very small two bed house with just me in it) and it’s come to something that i worked out my budget paying £170 and would actually be grateful if that’s how it works out
ultimately i’ve just got me to worry about, i feel so deeply for families or people with commitments that mean they have to run electricity all day etc. i don’t know how they’re being allowed to get away with this.
everytime i go to primark at the moment i’m buying their discounted knitwear and cosy socks etc. asos also have a lot of their thick knit jumpers in the sale. i’m going to be like that scene in friends where joey wears all of chandler’s clothes
The problem with not turning on your heating is that it creates a damp cold house which isn’t great in the long run
Yep I live in an old terrace house and one year I tried not turning the heating on as much and wrapping up more and the house got damp and mould, I have to have the heating on a decent amount regardless of the cost for the sake of mine and my family's health. I was spending around £80/£90 a month on gas last winter so god knows what it will be this year
My old house was awful in winter, the windows would be dripping if the heating wasn't on enough. I'm in a new build now but my girls room is dorma style, north facing and struggles to get over 16 in winter (heating on at 20) and that's got damp
I am due to renew, not sure whether to go variable or fix, currently paying £75 for gas and electric, variable is £122 currently, fix is £180 but that might be cheaper than variable come October. I am in the fortunate position to be able to afford it but really begrudge the increase. I have been really skint in the past and struggled when my son was young, so I do really feel sorry for the people who are struggling.
I filled a cab with petrol at Asda last night, just filled my lawnmower and it lasted less than half way around my garden - usually lasts a few weeks??? 
what is going on with fuel!!
what is going on with fuel!!
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I have seen that with my car too. Fuel doesn't work as well as it used to? It's super weird. Only used to get that on holidays when putting in petrol in Croatia, always had to fill up twice when going home. Rumor was that the petrol stations used to add water to it so it would make them more money but I can't imagine that happening on a global scale now?I filled a cab with petrol at Asda last night, just filled my lawnmower and it lasted less than half way around my garden - usually lasts a few weeks???
Or do they want to kill our cars faster so we have to buy new ones?
I'm hoping that was just people being sarcastic!
Hard to tell sometimes...
It's the fuel change from last September to E10. It gives you less MPG and also can damage the engine even if they reckon it is safe for them.. Really smart green thinking if we all have to renew our cars more often.
You should check with your lawnmower to make sure it is suitable or if you need to use the super stuff.
You should check with your lawnmower to make sure it is suitable or if you need to use the super stuff.
our gas atm thanks to it being Summer is averaging about 77p a day, so hoping that helps us when it goes up.
I'm dreading the price this winter as last year it was around 4-4.50 so i'm guessing we'll be needing to top up alot more often
I'm dreading the price this winter as last year it was around 4-4.50 so i'm guessing we'll be needing to top up alot more often
I’ve just checked the manual and the minimum is 87 octane. E5 is 95 and E10 is 90, so E10 should be fine.
maybe it just burned off quicker because it’s a hot day? So strange
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The one I buy is always 95 Octane, its the minimum available here but it still doesn't last as long as it used to.
Have you changed something in your daily routine due to prices? I finally found that my boyfriend seems to have taken the hint and showers a bit shorter by now, he seriously was standing in there for ten minutes. At least he always switches the water off while lathering up.
I've always been fairly good about planning meals and tried to e.g. bake bread on a day where we'd use the oven also for dinner. I'm being even more careful now. Today I'll bake bread even though we still have half a loaf in the freezer, as otherwise I'll need to bake in two days. But I'll also make Scones today and Pide, so I'll just need to heat it up once.
I'm currently looking at other stuff we do daily that could be optimized a little bit, so curious if you are changing up anything. Or downright not doing something anymore.
I've always been fairly good about planning meals and tried to e.g. bake bread on a day where we'd use the oven also for dinner. I'm being even more careful now. Today I'll bake bread even though we still have half a loaf in the freezer, as otherwise I'll need to bake in two days. But I'll also make Scones today and Pide, so I'll just need to heat it up once.
I'm currently looking at other stuff we do daily that could be optimized a little bit, so curious if you are changing up anything. Or downright not doing something anymore.
Omg pide sounds yum! Enjoy!
We’re just about to move into a much bigger, much older house with glass windows so our changes are less day to day and more broadly how we’re gonna manage the house. When we first moved into this house it was all about decorating whereas the second house will all be about energy improvements, driven by this ridiculous situation. We’re in a lucky position where we don’t need to worry, but I can’t wrap my head around a potential direct debit for £500+ a month for utilities. It’s actually a life changing amount of money if you overpay your mortgage by that you’ll shave years off the term, or save it for your kids they’ll be able to be student loans debt free or buy a property at 18/21. It’s an obscene amount of money to pay over for a transient utility bill for no good reason other than the government doesn’t want to cap it. I’d be interested to see how this impacts household savings tbh.
I imagine for the older generation there will be people in large older homes bought back in the day paying similar in a mortgage to what they do on utilities now. They’re going to have to add this to affordability checks on mortgages at some point, surely? I wonder if we’ll see some of the older gen downsizing from this. My MIL was speaking about her options the other day :/
I used to buy a Shu Uemura eyebrow pencil. Cost me around £30 as I has to get it shipped from Japan, as they don’t sell the brand in UK anymore. Recently bought an e.l.f one from Superdrug for £3 and I actually prefer it to the Shu Uemura one! I’m definitely keeping an eye out for cheaper alternatives when it comes to products I use.
@Blonde_moment That's a nice find for sure! I'm also keeping an eye on the products I use and whether I truly want to replace all of them. Sadly, I've found a hair care brand that I quite like, but it's also rather pricey (Maria Nila), so I'm currently battling the urge of ordering several products, despite having one of those huge pump flasks nearly full of shampoo still here. I really should be better about using what I have, I have a tendency to "save" some items for a nice occasion that then never comes around 
@heretoreaditall2019 £500 is an insane amount if you think about it! In Germany, there's "marginal employment", which is usually paid 450€ /month. Imagine an entire side-job or marginal employment job going to utilities.
Congrats on the new house though!
I actually suspect that a lot of the people living in too big houses will downsize with the rising prices. Previously many cited that they didn't move as a smaller place would be at least the same price or even higher. Likely still true to some extent, but if energy prices go up by such extreme levels, downsizing, in the long run, would still be sensible.
I still worry that BF and I will never be able to afford a house, it's truly my biggest dream. We have a nice flat, but I#'d like to have a proper garden and put at least some space between me and the neighbors. We have good jobs and are quite good at saving and not living the high life, yet when I see a typical monthly mortgage payment around this area, it's getting quite insane. Yesterday I saw one for a house that was calculated to come out at ~3500€/month. That's higher than many household incomes. Sure, it was a nice house and not exactly cheap, but nothing is...
@heretoreaditall2019 £500 is an insane amount if you think about it! In Germany, there's "marginal employment", which is usually paid 450€ /month. Imagine an entire side-job or marginal employment job going to utilities.
Congrats on the new house though!
I actually suspect that a lot of the people living in too big houses will downsize with the rising prices. Previously many cited that they didn't move as a smaller place would be at least the same price or even higher. Likely still true to some extent, but if energy prices go up by such extreme levels, downsizing, in the long run, would still be sensible.
I still worry that BF and I will never be able to afford a house, it's truly my biggest dream. We have a nice flat, but I#'d like to have a proper garden and put at least some space between me and the neighbors. We have good jobs and are quite good at saving and not living the high life, yet when I see a typical monthly mortgage payment around this area, it's getting quite insane. Yesterday I saw one for a house that was calculated to come out at ~3500€/month. That's higher than many household incomes. Sure, it was a nice house and not exactly cheap, but nothing is...
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