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

[hardtailstar]

It's a funny thing how people with very little record of debt and a good record of paying off what they have

 

tend to have s lot of trouble getting a loan of any kind

 

weird

 

That is very true. I was in ten grand of debt until 2020. Now I have no debt and getting loans or credit cards is harder.

 

The irony was that when I was in debt was that my credit card provider kept upping my limit, forcing me to be in more debt until it got to 10 grand! Now they wont offer me a credit card!

[mikeprice]

That is very true. I was in ten grand of debt until 2020. Now I have no debt and getting loans or credit cards is harder.

 

The irony was that when I was in debt was that my credit card provider kept upping my limit, forcing me to be in more debt until it got to 10 grand! Now they wont offer me a credit card!

 

Yes - at one point I had no debts and hadn;t had for some time

 

I tried to get a store credit card from one of the big shops - they were offereign a 10% to anyone who applied for one at the same time as buying soemthing

 

I was turned down for some reason but still got the 10% off

 

I managed to wangle that 10% off 3 times before they stopped the promotion!

[bknaggs]

 

I tried to get a store credit card from one of the big shops - they were offereign a 10% to anyone who applied for one at the same time as buying soemthing

 

I was turned down for some reason but still got the 10% off

 

Debenhams?

 

On topic. Our gas/electricity supplier has said they are going to reduce the direct debit so the tide is starting to turn albeit slower than it went up.

[BOOT]

Finally sorted the mortgage. Was not easy. But it's now just a simple, repayment mortgage. No complicated shenanigans. Phew.

[Roberto]

Finally sorted the mortgage. Was not easy. But it's now just a simple, repayment mortgage. No complicated shenanigans. Phew.

 

That’s huge, if I remember rightly didn’t you have all kinds of issues with it before? Glad to hear it’s sorted!

[PotNoodleTech]

Finally sorted the mortgage. Was not easy. But it's now just a simple, repayment mortgage. No complicated shenanigans. Phew.

 

Well done mate that's massive. Now you can move forward with less stress!!!

 

Onwards and upwards!!!

[Dos_Box]

Finally sorted the mortgage. Was not easy. But it's now just a simple, repayment mortgage. No complicated shenanigans. Phew.

 

I'm very happy for you, it must be some relief to have that worry lifted

[LeMarchand]

Not a huge saving but if you regularly use Iceland, top up your card with £20 and they give you an extra £1 (5%). There was an even better Xmas offer, but that's expired. May be worth keeping an eye out next October.

 

On the luxury front, @Arcolite pointed me in the direction of https://www.cheapcharts.info/gb. They also do games service; both email you when stuff on your wishlist drops in price. The US versions are more comprehensive but I have had some great bargains, like all 6 extended Middle Earth movies for £23.

[LeMarchand]

Saw this one on HUKD: If you get the GDK (German Doner Kebab) app, they do 2-4-1 Tuesdays only - buy any main or Doner box and get a second free. Most of the people in the comments weren't keen, but ours is better value and seems healthier than the "locals" so BOGOF seems a great deal. Looks like we'll be having date night on Tuesdays: GDK followed by a Meerkat Movie*.

 

*Hint: not one to try early in a relationship!

[BOOT]

Fixed Energy deal ended. Looks like I'll be relying on imaginary heating again this year.

I know it's gone up a bit... but £63 to £183 is ridiculous.

[mikes]

They are allowing plug in solar kits now (for those of us without our own homes), but I'm not sure if they are yet worth their price (£600+ for 200W). If these companies can use any excuse to ream us they will. So will this result in a lower standard of living where people have to make their own energy/heat.

My friend lives rural and has a log burner in his house but that wouldn't really work in the average town/city suburb. Heat for free provided you get the wood but it doesn't really heat that well unless you sit by it.

[Rob_D]

58 minutes ago, mikes said:

My friend lives rural and has a log burner in his house but that wouldn't really work in the average town/city suburb. Heat for free provided you get the wood but it doesn't really heat that well unless you sit by it.

We've got a log burner in our 3 bed suburban semi and it gets the most of the ground floor and the upstairs landing up to a nice toasty 26C most evenings (would probably heat the bedrooms okay too if we left the doors open). I don't disagree with anything else you say. Having to buy in fuel means it's probably not a cheaper alternative, but it works great.

[Andrew_C]

1 hour ago, Rob_D said:

the upstairs landing up to a nice toasty 26C most evenings

!!???  What is this extravagance?  We keep out house at about 18-19 through the winter.  Too cold?  Put a jumper on!

[Rob_D]

18 minutes ago, Andrew_C said:

!!???  What is this extravagance?  We keep out house at about 18-19 through the winter.  Too cold?  Put a jumper on!

It's fire, it doesn't have a very accurate thermostat. 😁

[southhamster]

On 16/09/2026 at 12:07, mikes said:

They are allowing plug in solar kits now (for those of us without our own homes), but I'm not sure if they are yet worth their price (£600+ for 200W). If these companies can use any excuse to ream us they will. So will this result in a lower standard of living where people have to make their own energy/heat.

My friend lives rural and has a log burner in his house but that wouldn't really work in the average town/city suburb. Heat for free provided you get the wood but it doesn't really heat that well unless you sit by it.

Yes, they are overpriced and a limited range of type approved systems, but the price will come down.  - keep an eye on the Middle of Lidl..