The cost of living
- Thread starter RedBike
- Start date
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Night Train
Maker of Things
- Location
- Greater Manchester
You could do with one of these cycle powered generators to cut down on your electricity bills.
my mortgage, insurances, phone (which is cheap), council tax, water rates, electricity, car insurance/tax etc without any additional "wants" (they are all needs) comes to over £1300 per month and i earn £1700. this doesn't take into account food and petrol and credit card payments. i'm broke. i know i could be a lot worse off; although my flat isn't posh it's in an ok area and i have a warm bed to sleep in and food in my belly, but i really would like a few more quid per month to treat myself, rather than having to bang treats on my credit card. but i suppose i'm rich compared to some people in the world. only thing is, i'm not sure how safe my job is at the moment 
dudi
Senior Member
- Location
- Ipswich, Suffolk
It certainly is tight, i've got similar incoming/outgoing to you. but we manage... just.
it'll get better... but it'll get a lot worse before that happens!
I'm losing my job in September, lordknows what'll happen if I can't find a job straight away.
it'll get better... but it'll get a lot worse before that happens!
I'm losing my job in September, lordknows what'll happen if I can't find a job straight away.
dudi
Senior Member
- Location
- Ipswich, Suffolk
Night Train said:
Ahhh, what an excuse to do some training! the missus wouldn't mind me spending an hour in the evening blasting on the turbo if she knew I was getting the power for her hair straghteners out of it!
Shame you can't hook yourself up to the national grid and claim back the energy you input...
i've not got a busy day at work tomorrow... maybe i'll write a letter to my local inventor o see if he can think of a way to do it.
Maz said:
Mine are good with the washbasket it's when they come back ironed and get shoved in the nearest drawer. I have tidied all the drawers for them this week and asked my 12 yr old if he likes ironing. If not then he needs to put his clothes away properly or he will find himself growing to like it!! Perhaps we should have sensored controlled lights in the home, wonder what cost v reduced bills would be?
mr_cellophane
Legendary Member
- Location
- Essex
Gas / Elecy: £100pm - with just you probably a bit high
Water: £50pm - Anglian (Is Seven Trent still one of the highest ?)
Council Tax £100 (25% discount for one person)
Car ???? - You've got a bike
Water: £50pm - Anglian (Is Seven Trent still one of the highest ?)
Council Tax £100 (25% discount for one person)
Car ???? - You've got a bike
punkypossum
Donut Devil
- Location
- My own little planet...
I'm pretty bad at leaving lights and appliances on, the computer is pretty much on non stop, and my electric bill is abt £60/quarter...based on a reasonably sized 2 bedroom flat inhabited only by MOI and the cat, so I think you are being overly pessimistic on that score... My gas bill is really low, but then that's because I refuse to turn the heating on and only use it for hot water, so it's not really a very accurate guide...
Dave5N
Über Member
- Location
- Outside The Little Nibble
dan_bo said:
I'm 42 and my mortgage is 38K
Auntie Helen
Ich bin Powerfrau!
- Location
- 47906 Kempen, Germany
Redbike, I've tracked all expenditure for our household (2 people + dog) for the last 13 years. It's surprisingly interesting seeing on what we spend our money - for example, in the last year we've spent more on bicycles than food! I'm away at the moment so can't get to that computer but when I return, if you'd like a general breakdown of costs I can provide it. It's been particularly helpful with regard to bills; in our previous house, a 4-bed Edwardian semi, we spent about £2k per month on bills (inc Council Tax). With our new house, a 4 bed detatched former Chapel, the bills are £500 less because of better insulation and a water meter. We've worked out that we could save £130 per year by switching electricity supplier as well, something we'll do in the New Year probably. Since we got the bikes we've saved an awful lot in petrol, which is great!
beanzontoast
Guru
- Location
- South of The Peaks
Maz said:
It doesn't get much easier when they're older and still living at home - except that even if they aren't are contributing towards the family coffers, they still seem to think they can use as much of everything as they like.
Talking of electricity - beware the meter reader man. Just had a visit and not only has he increased the prices, but apparently since the prices increased in September and they've not had a chance to reset everyones meter in a timely fashion so guess what - they have also increased the standing charge from £1.40 per week to £4.20 per week!!!!!!!!!! In an attempt to recoup the money from the increased prices. I've just phoned them and apparently it's to pay off any "debt" on my account. I suspected as much and shall make sure somebody comes and resets it back in a timely fashion and not 12 months down the line. To be fair they do refund you eventually (after they've made some tidy interest on everyone elses money no doubt), they'll send me a cheque.
It has made me re-think my energy supplier, uSwitch still has them out as one of the cheapest though, so I've got them to phone me back in January to send an engineer out to change my meter back to a normal one. It'll be slightly cheaper for me to manage my account online and pay by direct debit rather than have a pre-payment meter (which funnily enough I had put in to help me budget when I first bought the house!).
It has made me re-think my energy supplier, uSwitch still has them out as one of the cheapest though, so I've got them to phone me back in January to send an engineer out to change my meter back to a normal one. It'll be slightly cheaper for me to manage my account online and pay by direct debit rather than have a pre-payment meter (which funnily enough I had put in to help me budget when I first bought the house!).
