Cost of living crisis 2022 - what have you cut back on?

[mavhc]

They revised the report on wood burners turns out they had it very wrong and a good stove/wood burner properly fitted creates very little polution , way less than a car

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/30/home-wood-burning-in-uk-causes-1bn-of-health-costs-a-year-report-says

[Dos_Box]

I know where all my wood came from the last 3 loads were from the last big storm we had sh wont be usable untill next winter but it was free apart from some petrol for the chainsaw and my time , most wood is from managed plantations , I agree with not touching proper woodlands we need to preserve these

 

My ex (split on amicable terms) has a woodburner and I now live next to a large park. There have been quite a few time after a big storm that I've told her of downed trees and ones that have been cut up by the council awaiting shredding and helped her fill her car boot with nice pieces.

Agree about not touching live trees and woodland. They do need to be protected, but remember that trees don't live forever and then it's fair game once they have toppled.

[kingoranks]

We now use solar light for all outside and fence, I think 8 from costco for £16 - https://www.ebay.com/p/14037832384

 

All bulb are LEDs, lawn mower now manual reel, Reduce boiler temp-

 

Shop around for cheapest decent stuff, lookout for deals in all stores, get all cleaning stuff from poundland, use hotdealsuk- https://www.hotukdeals.co.uk.

 

Looking at DIY solar system for internal lighting.

[AlistairB1983]

And again, people saving money but doing environmental damage

Potentially, although it would depend on the particular wood/forest concerned.

 

My parents used to live inside the Forest of Dean (like literally in the middle of the forest - no other houses for about 4 miles in any direction!) and the Forestry Commission allowed them to pick up anything they wanted from the surrounding woodland. So long as you weren't deliberately cutting it down or doing it to make a profit, they were happy for you to even chop up trees that fell in a storm if you were able!

 

Sadly (for him!) my mother wasn't terribly keen on my elderly father using a chainsaw, so some of the bigger ones had to lay where they fell

[the_quick]

My uncle use to live very near Ashdown forest and he had similar privileges - he was never short of firewood. Apart from that a forest needs to be properly maintained, especially a young one- some trees have to be cut down. In my school we have a lot of huge Ash trees, ever so often we prune dead branches and so on. Site manager has plenty of fire wood

[jmak]

Dead/fallen trees are part of the cycle of life. Ecosystem will become impoverished if it's all removed.

No criticism of individuals who are struggling to pay bills finding a way to stay warm, and it's probably more sustainable than burning gas or oil created over thousands of years, but it's not a long term solution.

[woodham]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/environment/2022/02/15/wood-burning-stoves-cause-half-much-pollution-thought/

[BOOT]

...and another interest rate hike.

[Ditto]

...and another interest rate hike.

Yep, saw that too. I know historically interest rate rises were a key technique to put downward pressure on runaway inflation, but at this point in time with the national and global circumstances we are in, I'm not convinced it'll have the desired impact. Wishing to remaining non-political, but commenting on financials, I suspect the rise will just add to the struggles of those in the lower pay ranges and have minimal impact the better off.

[mavhc]

Yep, saw that too. I know historically interest rate rises were a key technique to put downward pressure on runaway inflation, but at this point in time with the national and global circumstances we are in, I'm not convinced it'll have the desired impact. Wishing to remaining non-political, but commenting on financials, I suspect the rise will just add to the struggles of those in the lower pay ranges and have minimal impact the better off.

 

Turns out everything is political, who knew.

 

Can't have 9% inflation, got to fix it somehow, 2% is recommended.

 

Brexit + covid + war + global heating = massive problem.

 

Can't get staff, so wages increase, so prices increase. But also if you can't get staff, no expansion of the economy to be able to afford the price increases.

 

You can't bounce your way out of an economic shock, because then you overreach and it's just as bad.

[BOOT]

Just done a food shop. Yeah it's been creeping up in cost over the last few months... but 50% up this week?

It's not just the price increases, it's also the lack of multi-deals and such.

[thimon]

Started to shop at Lidl instead of 100% Sainsburys (limited by the shops nearby). Can't get everything we need, have to go to Sainsburys for some things. We've been able to cut 25% off our weekly food shop.

[Danp]

Started to shop at Lidl instead of 100% Sainsburys (limited by the shops nearby). Can't get everything we need, have to go to Sainsburys for some things. We've been able to cut 25% off our weekly food shop.

 

Make sure you use the Lidl app. We get some sort of discount most weeks and because we spend over £200 a month there we get £10 or £12 vouchers a month too

[DalekSec]

Started to shop at Lidl instead of 100% Sainsburys (limited by the shops nearby). Can't get everything we need, have to go to Sainsburys for some things. We've been able to cut 25% off our weekly food shop.

 

As much as i do like Lidl, trouble i find with me, the missus and toddler all being veggies is that they have little veggie range! We tend to stick with Tesco

[ITGuyNW]

Yeah I struggle to complete a weekly shop in Lidl whereas I can do that no issue in Aldi

[thimon]

As much as i do like Lidl, trouble i find with me, the missus and toddler all being veggies is that they have little veggie range! We tend to stick with Tesco

 

With you on that one. We’re also veggie, all ours has is quorn mince and sausages, plus some Linda McCartney foods.

[Wubbalubbadub]

I'm very lucky to earn a healthy living. But even I have made some recent changes. We now make lunches for work, which has had a huge impact on money, and we also now shop at Aldi, rather than the combination of Asda, Morrisons and the Co-Op.

I was spending £5 per day on lunch - now get dinners and lunch for the week for £60 a week.

 

I have also enrolled in the work Salary sacrifice scheme, where I can get an electric car - so that will save me the fuel money.

[hardtailstar]

Something strange I have noticed this week is that mobile companies have dropped their monthly prices for pay monthly phones but £10-20.

 

Im due an upgrade soon so just looking about at all sorts of deals and they seem to be far cheaper than pay as you go

[FlatpackFuture]

I'm very lucky to earn a healthy living. But even I have made some recent changes. We now make lunches for work, which has had a huge impact on money, and we also now shop at Aldi, rather than the combination of Asda, Morrisons and the Co-Op.

I was spending £5 per day on lunch - now get dinners and lunch for the week for £60 a week.

 

Out of absolute curiosity, what are you making for lunch? I need to start eating healthy, and more importantly cheaply, but I'm struggling to think of filling things

[Dos_Box]

One idea @ZeroHour and I discussed last week was, for those with streaming services, is to rotate them every few months. So instead of having, for example, Netflix, Apple TV+ and another, all on the go at the same time. Just pay for one, then once you've watched all the 'must see's' on a particular service, cancel it and move to the next. That way you can cut costs, but still get to see everything, and everything will be (almost) new when you re-subscribe. Edited May 16, 2022 by Dos_Box

[asteer]

Out of absolute curiosity, what are you making for lunch? I need to start eating healthy, and more importantly cheaply, but I'm struggling to think of filling things

Ive been making "packlunch" for work for several years now, Im also on slimming world so the meals are also healthy as well as being cost effective as we make 10 lunchs a week, bacth cooking on a Sunday.

 

Some stuff Ive made is

 

 

• Tuna Pasta - Tuna, Sweetcorn, Leeks, Pasta with Greek Fat free yogurt and Quark as the "sauce" with Aromat for flavouring
  
• Veggie Pasta - Pasta, Peppers, Green Beans, Aubergine, Courgette, Passata, herbs and spices
  
• Orzo Pork - Orzo Pasta , Pork loin steak (fat removed), Cherry tomatoes, cucumber, beetroot with a bit of whitewine vinegar and mint for flavour
  
• Tikka Turkey and Rice - Turkey marinated in (Curry Powder, Ginger, Garlic, Lemon Juice), wild rice, cherry tomatoes, cucumber with mint and lemon juice to loosen it up (also meant to be served with a mint tzatziki, but dont do that for work)
  

 

The Tikka Turkey and Rice is this weeks meals, though the prices of Turkey has gone up quite a bit as it used to be a "cheaper" meat. Most of the meat elements could be replaced with a meat substitute with no detrement really

[foofighterjim]

One idea @ZeroHour and I discussed last week was, for those with streaming services, is to rotate them every few months. So instead of having, for example, Netflix, Apple TV+ and another, all on the go at the same time. Just pay for one, then once you've watched all the 'must see's' on a particular service, cancel it and move to the next. That way you can cut costs, but still get to see everything, and everything will be (almost) new when you re-subscribe.

 

This is exactly what I do, run Netflix most of the year but cancel and take Disney+ over the summer / Christmas holidays for the kids, I'll take Prime if I'm being offered a week for 99p and want to order something anyway.

[LeMarchand]

It seems like the one thing people aren't cutting back on is booze. Can't think why.

 

https://news.sky.com/story/cost-of-living-consumer-confidence-plummets-to-record-low-amid-dismal-retail-sales-12616734

[BOOT]

Personally, that was the very first thing I cut out. I don't drink at home and anywhere else has been far to much of a luxury for quite some time.

[Koldov]

One idea @ZeroHour and I discussed last week was, for those with streaming services, is to rotate them every few months. So instead of having, for example, Netflix, Apple TV+ and another, all on the go at the same time. Just pay for one, then once you've watched all the 'must see's' on a particular service, cancel it and move to the next. That way you can cut costs, but still get to see everything, and everything will be (almost) new when you re-subscribe.

 

This is exactly what I do, run Netflix most of the year but cancel and take Disney+ over the summer / Christmas holidays for the kids, I'll take Prime if I'm being offered a week for 99p and want to order something anyway.

 

Interesting concept...

 

I can't tell you how many evenings the OH and I have sat flicking through all our subscription services and found nothing we both want to watch (and we have Virgin/Netflix/Disney and Now to choose from)...

 

Do any streaming providers have any issue with this behaviour (like a proper services provider like Virgin, where you can't cancel and then become a new customer to get a good deal)?

 

Any 'gotchas' to watch out for like the Fire stick or Now dongle being tied to an account...?