Money saving ideas.

I was checking a couple of my monthly bills last night and I noticed that one month I actually paid more in standing charge than I did for gas!!! How daft is that. It was probably the month we were away for most of the time. 

David

Likewise, David. As I mentioned earlier, last weeks gas for cooking only was £0.13, the standing charge for the week was £1.90! I know we have to pay for the maintenance etc of the pipes and cables but why have standing charges gone up so astronomically in what seems like one hit? Is it because the energy companies foresaw a reduced usage coming because of the price of gas and electric so they are recouping some of the shortfall via the standing charge. If so, it is a bit sneaky. 

I think it's a bit extreme turning off freezers to save money and it won't really save that much. I've just look at our electricity costs and usage now and with a huge American style double doored fridge freezer, routers, about 7 items on standby, house phone chargers, some lights and it's running at just under 6 pence per hour. (We only have gas for water and central heating) 

The biggest users will be ovens, washing machines, tumble dryers, and dishwashers, so if one really needs to cut down you'll probably save more than switching the freezer off by washing at lower temperatures on shorter washes and hang things out to dry or use an airer. 

And I suppose don't get a water meter unless it will save you money. 

We have two electricty accounts - one for the house, and one for the farm. The cost for the house pales into insignificance when I look at the farm account, so I admit to being a bit casual about leaving things on standby etc. The router, mesh system and main computer are on all day and everyday, and I really couldn't cope with scrabbling about to find the plug to switch off. Nor would I want the faff of everyting starting up again in the right order. And security never sleeps, so CCTV etc needs to be on 24/7.

Otherwise I am concious of not spending too much on non-essentials. But opinions differ on what is essential. Food definitely is, and decent fresh ingredients. I buy music and books (essential to me), but don't subscribe to streaming services. I cook 99% of meals from scratch (leftovers frozen to tart up for another meal etc). 

And I can't resist the occassional bargain - 20% off my favourite gin was an offer I couldn't refuse. And Gin never goes off.

Where we live and how we live a water meter is much cheaper. We even run a hosepipe on our big garden and greenhouse (not all the time) and our water bills are less than neighbours who think a water meter is expensive. All our washing gets dried outside throughout the year and it's done at a low temperature. Low energy bulbs are useful but my dear old late mother bought a huge amount of incandescent bulbs at a seaside bargain shop so we'll probably leave the remainder in our wills!!  As my late father studied electrical engineering and maths it seems a fitting legacy....

I suppose the advantage of a water meter might vary depending on the part of the country you reside in? When looking at the pros and cons you have to remember that non metered supplies are charge via the old rateable value system. So if your house has a low rateable value (worked out prior to Council Tax) it might still be worth not having a meter. However if the reverse is true then will almost certainly be better off with a meter. In MK where perhaps 80% of the houses are less than 50 years old the general rateable value was quite high. We changed many years ago and I seem to recall we are paying a similar amount now to when our bill was based on the old system.

David

https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/households/your-water-bill/unmetered/

Our water bills are the bain of my life brue, our previous neighbours talked us into getting a water meter as there was only two of us, worse thing done. Three water butts and wouldn’t dream of using tap water on the garden. I’m very frugal but still SW water bills are sky high. Our son in Watford pays a quarter of the amount of ours and there are five of them, they think nothing of baths, dishwasher and washing machine on all the time. He is planning to semi retire back here in a few years time, they want a swimming pool, that was until I showed him our water bill.

Yes Debsc, not good with your water Co. Luckily we're with Wessex Water , but don't let them read this in case they get ideas!!

DEBSC

We pay £33 a month for our water, some years it's been a bit higher and sometimes lower. Not sure how that compares to others. We tend only to shower, rather than baths. Our dishwasher is on every day, washing machine maybe 2/3 times a week. The motorhome gets the occasional wash as does the car and in dry weather I water the garden, we don't have lawns so it's only plants (whilst I am allowed)

David

Our water bill is much higher, dishwasher only on every 3 or 4 days. Washing machine a couple of times a week, showers not baths. Nothing much else. As we have been at the caravan a lot this summer and the last bill was an estimate we are hoping to have saved a bit. We do now get a £12.50 reduction on each bill paid by the government due to rates being so high. We have to pay for all the beach cleaning, which is why SWWater say it’s so high.