Cost of living #2

[November]

Insta really caught on quick hahaha. Duno if any of these are cheap enough. They look yum for veggie dishes!

Instagram

www.instagram.com

Nicole Addison, RD, MHSc on Instagram: "COOKIE DOUGH ENERGY BITES by @nourishedbynic SAVE this for a balanced snack idea and FOLLOW for more Ingredients 1/2 cup nut butter (cashew, peanut or almond all work) 1/3 cup maple syrup 1 can (540ml) chic

19K likes, 98 comments - nourishedbynic on August 30, 2022: "COOKIE DOUGH ENERGY BITES by @nourishedbynic SAVE this for a balanced snack idea and FOLLOW for more Ingredients 1/2 cup nut butter (cashew, peanut or almond all work) 1/3 cup maple syrup 1 can (540ml) chickpeas rinsed and drained...

www.instagram.com

Instagram

www.instagram.com

Selma | easy healthy recipes on Instagram: "3-ingredient Spinach Oat Wraps😍 These wraps are super easy to make! Unlike many gluten-free wraps, these are super soft and won’t break when you roll them! Add your favorite fillings and you’ll have a perfe

192K likes, 506 comments - fitfoodieselma on September 18, 2022: "3-ingredient Spinach Oat Wraps😍 These wraps are super easy to make! Unlike many gluten-free wraps, these are super soft and won’t break when you roll them! Add your favorite fillings and you’ll have a perfect lunch💚 I added some...

www.instagram.com

Instagram

www.instagram.com

Clean Kweens | Dietitians on Instagram: "PESTO VEGGIE GNOCCHI BAKE: another one pot wonder 🤣 this one is for our pasta lovers who are looking for ways to add in some extra veg! 🌱 it's a perfect plant based meal prep option, we used GF gnocchi & it st

21K likes, 302 comments - clean.kweens on August 30, 2022: "PESTO VEGGIE GNOCCHI BAKE: another one pot wonder 🤣 this one is for our pasta lovers who are looking for ways to add in some extra veg! 🌱 it's a perfect plant based meal prep option, we used GF gnocchi & it still worked a treat 💛...

www.instagram.com

 

[nightshade]

Just got an email from Bulb, they're lowering my payments, however that's only because of the government £66 monthly discount. I'll edit the amount though, as I expect it'll go up once it gets colder, more using kettle and dehumidifier.

 

[November]

Its a bit annoying having to book a delivery spot a week out now, cos I keep remembering things to add! My $53 shop is now $98 and I could do with a few bananas and french onion soup mix... Much cheaper when I can book it two days before!

 

[ILLYRIAN]

When will the price of all foodstuffs stop going up at the supermarket?

 

[November]

When will the price of all foodstuffs stop going up at the supermarket?

Never.


Now fees on the fuel card are going up. Rural/remote people get a $575 fuel card because there is no public transport or services. But each fill up now has around a 3% surcharge. That is going up too. So the fuel card that once lasted me 6 months barely lasts 3 now, because its not gone up with the cost of fuel either. Its supposed to last a year, but the servos see the card and rort the heck out of it.

 

[November]

Joan the Vampire Slayer A fuel card? Free gas? Never heard of such a thing in America...

Its only for pensioners, I guess like the US has food stamps, we have a fuel card. If we had food stamps here it would get rorted too 🤣
People in the city cant get it, its only for rural and remote areas that have zero public transport options. Turns out I was eligible when I lived in the shed, but I didnt know and they dont exactly advertise this stuff. Would have saved a lot of stress back then!

I checked out more about accessing the big real food bank instead of just the little dodgy food relief and you have to be referred by a charity. I cant just rock up cos they wont give food to anyone who hasnt first gone and begged through a charity. If you use it too much they refer you to financial counciling. So I'm glad I sussed that out instead of thinking it was an option. A charity is gona refer me straight to a psych ward! So no thanks to that. Lol.

 

[nightshade]

@Joan the Vampire Slayer bulb is my energy supplier, for now, they're being taken over by octopus who will hopefully pay me to use less energy!

@Octavia you need a referral here too, but churches, schools can do it as well as doctors, benefits people etc

 

[nightshade]

I'm getting a new tyre for Christmas! Early Christmas present, my car has a flat, pumped it up, but it's going down again, so new tyre needed.
Hopefully I can still get my credit card paid off, but it'll depend on if dad gifts me this tyre as a Christmas present! I am hoping that it can be fixed rather than replaced, but knowing my dad he'll buy a new tyre instead.
My monthly food shop is due on Monday so I can still tweak that, it's at around £45, so can't really go much lower as it's a minimum £40 order.
I need to figure out my aldi list too, and that'll be where I can save.
Bread
Milk, but I don't need as much as have 2 cartons left from this month
Salad cream
Cat food (wet food)

I'm hoping that will be it, and I might manage without buying bread if I can get to the zero waste stall, and get fruit there free too.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

@nightshade, did you check the valve to see if it is leaking, that often is the cause for a flat tyre. I have virtually stopped my milk consumption due to small tubes of Nescafe or Mocona, it cuts down on the coffee used and it comes in various flavours and uses dried milk.
Also I tend to have Cup-A-Soups rather than tea.
Cutting down on cheese as well as that has risen in price by almost 50%.

 

[nightshade]

Credit card is paid!! I did it, but I now have very little money for the month. Worth it though!
It wasn't as much as I thought, only £20 less but that's my Aldi shop sorted now.

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

I'm getting a new tyre for Christmas! Early Christmas present, my car has a flat, pumped it up, but it's going down again, so new tyre needed.
Hopefully I can still get my credit card paid off, but it'll depend on if dad gifts me this tyre as a Christmas present! I am hoping that it can be fixed rather than replaced, but knowing my dad he'll buy a new tyre instead.
My monthly food shop is due on Monday so I can still tweak that, it's at around £45, so can't really go much lower as it's a minimum £40 order.
I need to figure out my aldi list too, and that'll be where I can save.
Bread
Milk, but I don't need as much as have 2 cartons left from this month
Salad cream
Cat food (wet food)

I'm hoping that will be it, and I might manage without buying bread if I can get to the zero waste stall, and get fruit there free too.

This happened to my tire recently. A nail got stuck in it. The tire shop was able to just "plug" it for only $25. This was months ago, and I drove across county and it's still holding up! If I had to buy a new tire, it would be like three times that cost.

What is salad cream?

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

What is salad cream?

 

[Dogs of Winter]

What is salad cream?

I love salad cream. It is not as creamy or as eggy as mayo, but has a sharper taste with extra flavour which is more vinegary with a touch of mustard.
Mayo is better for chips or meat like burgers and tuna, but salad cream is better with things like cheese, eggs and salad.

@Hunga Munga Not anymore. Salad cream costs more than mayo. Nowadays mayo is salad cream for poor people 🙂

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

Miracle Whip is the best 🙂

 

[TamsinValencia]

I'm scared to look at the price of the turkeys this year 😫

 

[nightshade]

I'm scared to look at the price of the turkeys this year 😫

Between the bird flu causing shortages and the price rises in general its going to be expensive. Might be worth looking at alternatives depending on how many people you will be cooking for. Pigs in blankets have apparently jumped up in price as well, so cheaper to make your own.

I need to put diesel in the car, and it's not coming down in price at all here, so that's going to be costly. However car tyre is fine, so no cost there, but I'll have to keep an eye on it, just in case.

 

[nightshade]

@Hunga Munga Not anymore. Salad cream costs more than mayo. Nowadays mayo is salad cream for poor people 🙂

Nope, mayo is still more expensive in Aldi

Own brand:
500g Mayo 79p
520g Salad cream 74p

Not much difference I know, but it all adds up.
Bread had gone up since I last bought it, now 72p for the wholemeal loaf. I couldn't see anything cheaper.

I bought a salmon wellington for either Boxing Day or new years. That's my food splurge for the season

 

[November]

Oh the turkey issue must not have hit here yet cos its been cheap and I got some for the dogs! Maybe i should stock up!

This seems a bit extreme, but then again, we have campaign posters for no more than 4 minute showers, so perhaps extreme isnt so unusual, depending where you are.

Netflix and 20 degree chill: Switzerland looks to curb energy use​

ByVerity Bowman​

December 4, 2022 — 6.11pm

Electric cars could be banned from making non-essential journeys in Switzerland this winter under a COVID-19 lockdown-style plan to deal with potential energy shortages.
Emergency proposals have been drafted by the government that could see buildings heated to no more than 20C, shop opening hours reduced and streaming services limited.

EVs would only be banned from non-urgent trips under the draft plans.CREDIT:GETTY
The strictest measures - designed to avoid a blackout in the worst-case scenario - include a ban on sports matches, concerts and theatre performances.
Switzerland is bracing for an energy crisis this winter due to its reliance on imports to sustain the country through the colder months.

Hydroelectric power accounts for about 60 per cent of Switzerland’s energy supply. Nuclear power, which the government is working on phasing out, contributes a third, while fossil fuel plants and solar or wind generation makes up the rest.

But there are significant discrepancies in how much electricity Switzerland is able to produce month to month. In the wetter months, rainfall and snow pumps up hydroelectric power, meaning the country exports much of what it is able to generate.
Switzerland then imports during the colder months, when production is lower, leaving the Swiss vulnerable to energy shortages in Europe due to the war in Ukraine.

The country’s emergency response to the risks posed has two tiers - emergency and crisis - including three levels of restrictions in the first, and two in the second.
Each stage will be triggered according to the level of supplies available, similar to coronavirus lockdown measures, which were based on cases and infection rates. The lowest level will see public buildings heated to no more than 20C, with people asked to limit their washing machines to a maximum of 40C.
Under the next level, temperatures will be lowered to 19C and streaming services will be asked to lower the resolution of videos from HD quality to standard.
If the situation worsens, shops will be asked to close two hours early and electric vehicles limited to essential journeys.

Crisis measures could see hot water disabled in public bathrooms and the use of electric leaf blowers barred.
Next, escalators will be stopped and outdoor Christmas lighting turned off.
Cryptocurrency mining would then be banned if supplies keep dropping, along with swimming pools closed and lights in sports stadiums turned off.
If the most extreme shortages hit, sports matches, concerts and theatre performances will be cancelled, and all leisure businesses could be forced to close.
The Telegraph, London

 

[Angelic Slayer]

Turkey prices thankfully have stayed put here for now (everything else is still going up astronomically every week 😭), but finding one with the shortage is still an issue. Especially smaller birds for only 2 people. I suppose in all fairness, it's good they are catering to bigger families if ordering is limited.

We usually get a whole chicken or turkey breast for the holidays, but we might scale down to something else this year? Maybe just do potatoes, "stuffing" and sides with some chicken strips or something?

Grocery orders that used to cost us about $150 at the beginning of the year: are up to almost $280 now (and that's after cutting back on our monthly list!). Seems like you can't get even a small bag at the store for less than $50 😳 I don't know how families and seniors are keeping afloat, honestly

 

[nightshade]

I've given in to putting the heater on, but just until the food shopping arrives. Then I'll start my once a month oven use and bake some cheese scones, possibly a batch of apple ones too. All will freeze easily and I can then have them for work lunches.
Thankfully I am in credit with my electric so today's heating shouldn't affect how much goes out of my account next month, plus I have it on low, just to take the chill off.
I have to think about if there's anything else I want to use the oven for this month. I will use it again as I'll cook that wellington later in the month, but I could do that new year's day and bake everything for January that day. I'll think on it!