Cost of living #2

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

Out of curiosity, for those of you with a thermostat, what are you keeping it at in the winter? And what's the temperature like where you are? I've been keeping mine at about 68, which I've read is good for conserving energy. I've heard that for each degree you lower your heat, you can save 3 percent or more on heating costs. This is working well for me. If I get a but chilly, I just put on a sweater. But in all fairness, it hasn't been that cold here, around 40s at night and even getting up to the 60s during the day. My struggle is this... I have heard that it's bad to turn it on and off a lot (that uses more energy) but I don't feel like I need the heat during the day (especially when I'm out). So I guess I'm just supposed to leave it on. All that said, my gas/heat bill for November was only $57, so I must be doing something right!

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

Yeah, it is really crazy how much the cost of groceries has gone up, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. Also, out of curiosity, do you have taxes on groceries where you live? Where I lived previously, in Washington, there was no tax on food. But where I live now, In Oklahoma, the tax rate is 4.5 percent and does apply to everything, including groceries. I'm finding that does really add to the bill, so I have to budget for that. Also, some weeks even if I have more money, I just don't want to pay what they're asking for some items - like $8/lb for peppers? Come on. On principle I don't want to pay that, you know!

And lastly, yes I also have no idea how people with kids or seniors on a very strict budget are affording to eat right now. I live alone and just support myself thank god and that's hard enough. Luckily, my mother who is retired and single now lives with her brother so they can share household expenses. I'm very grateful for that.

The good thing though is gas is going down steadily here - it's down to $2.69/g now. Wow! So that's something I guess.

 

[nightshade]

I don't have a thermostat for the place, and my heaters are electric and I put it on 17.5c for about 45 minutes this morning just to take the chill off first thing. Hopefully I'll not need more than that, as its a cold week this week.
My shopping arrived, all correct this month, however I really didn't buy much. My freezer was still mostly full, so only really chips added there, and crumpets!
I spent more money on toilet rolls and cans of coke than anything else this month. Roughly £65 spent on groceries this month, I'll need bread and probably butter, as well and some baby potatoes later in the month, but that's about it. I'll try and pick up some stuff going free from the zero waste, and pull up some veg from the allotment.

 

[Hunga Munga]

Made egg and chips today ,another UK wartime classic .Don't think I've made it at home since the 1990s ? 😀 50p a big plate . Had lots of eggs to use up .

Spent 150 quid on stuff to fix my woodburner flue 😵 . Ouch ! Getting way too cold to do without heating .Dug out a little 400 watt flat oil radiator for now . The dog's wearing a coat 24/7: I'm wearing two coats and snowboarding trousers 😀 -3 is a bit much . Hoping I'll be burning wood before Christmas . Got bits of stuff coming from 5 different places , it's a logistic nightmare 😱 .

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

Here in Los Angeles, stores like Target and Ralph's have many things behind locked compartments. Entire aisles of soap, lotion, pain killers, coffee, alcohol, shampoo, etc cannot be directly accessed by customers. You have to call someone to get the items you wish. Prices have increased so much that people don't hesitate to steal what they want now. And no one is going to stop a thief walking out with stuff because so many people are carrying guns....

As for me...I recently spent $250 for three cartons of cigarettes, and $230 to fill my gas tank. Nearly $500 gone in an hour! If I didn't smoke or drive, I'd save a lot of money.

 

[nightshade]

Here there's product limits, I could only buy one box of eggs, once I finally managed to add it to my basket.
However there's more police popping into shops now, more stealing happening.

@Hunga Munga I've been worrying about the cat staying warm when I'm at work, so just before I leave I've been warming up a heat bag and leaving that out for him, don't know if he uses it but at least I know he can.

Didn't do any baking like I planned today, but will tomorrow morning instead. Need to figure out if I have all the ingredients for banana bread as I've got a few bananas going brown I could use up.

 

[TriBel]

Out of curiosity, for those of you with a thermostat, what are you keeping it at in the winter?

I don't have a room thermostat - the radiators have their own. The boiler is set to 60 and the radiators in the bathroom and kitchen are on 1 (I haven't switched the others on). I really have no idea what this means. 😕

I'm wearing two coats and snowboarding trousers

I'm wearing 2 thin polo-neck tops; 2 big wool jumpers and my dressing gown! I went Charity Shop shopping last week and bought a Montcler down padded coat (about 2-3K new) for £15 and a Scotch & Soda down jacket (about £250) for £6. I planned on wearing them in the house but they look good so I'm wearing them outside and I'll stick with the old M&S sweaters inside! I don't want to be found dead of hypothermia wearing a really expensive coat. What would the Daily Mail say? 😀

 

[Plasma]

I don’t have a fancy schmancy new thermostat. I just have a knob on the wall lol

I keep it at 70 and I have noticed exactly 0 changes in my usual electric bill. It is still as cheap where I live as it ever was.

 

[Angelic Slayer]

Out of curiosity, for those of you with a thermostat, what are you keeping it at in the winter? And what's the temperature like where you are? I've been keeping mine at about 68, which I've read is good for conserving energy. I've heard that for each degree you lower your heat, you can save 3 percent or more on heating costs. This is working well for me. If I get a but chilly, I just put on a sweater. But in all fairness, it hasn't been that cold here, around 40s at night and even getting up to the 60s during the day. My struggle is this... I have heard that it's bad to turn it on and off a lot (that uses more energy) but I don't feel like I need the heat during the day (especially when I'm out). So I guess I'm just supposed to leave it on. All that said, my gas/heat bill for November was only $57, so I must be doing something right!

Yeah, it is really crazy how much the cost of groceries has gone up, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. Also, out of curiosity, do you have taxes on groceries where you live? Where I lived previously, in Washington, there was no tax on food. But where I live now, In Oklahoma, the tax rate is 4.5 percent and does apply to everything, including groceries. I'm finding that does really add to the bill, so I have to budget for that. Also, some weeks even if I have more money, I just don't want to pay what they're asking for some items - like $8/lb for peppers? Come on. On principle I don't want to pay that, you know!

And lastly, yes I also have no idea how people with kids or seniors on a very strict budget are affording to eat right now. I live alone and just support myself thank god and that's hard enough. Luckily, my mother who is retired and single now lives with her brother so they can share household expenses. I'm very grateful for that.

The good thing though is gas is going down steadily here - it's down to $2.69/g now. Wow! So that's something I guess.

We are in an all-inclusive building, so no heat control here, but my brother keeps his place around 63 degrees to help control costs? And he's heating with gas, thank goodness, much more manageable for them than electric would be.

Here we pay 13% taxes on pretty much everything, except "essential" groceries. So things like milk, egg, bread, fresh items... they aren't taxed at all (which does help!). But on the flip side: soft drinks, milk substitutes, non-fruit juice, frozen desserts, snack foods are taxed at full rate. Also our groceries like toothpaste, shampoo, paper products or cleaners: they're all taxed at full rate too.

(and OMG on the $8 for peppers! 😳 groceries had 3pks of romaine lettuce for $8.97 last week and that was the talk of the town lol... I feel like we're all used to meat being astronomically priced, but it hurts to see veggie prices now going the same way)

 

[nightshade]

My dad has gas heating which comes on automatically when it hits 16c or below on the thermostat. Not sure what temp the heating is though.
Currently the cat and hot water bottle is enough to not need the heating on, but meant to be really cold from tomorrow here, with potential snow as well. I doubt I'll see snow, rarely do as I'm in a valley, but definitely will feel the cold.
I have put the dehumidifier on this morning to dry washing, and I am now back to trying to only do 2 loads of washing a week, as it takes longer to dry and I need to spread everything out more to make use of the dehumidifier.

 

[Dogs of Winter]

Looks like we are starting to have a cold snap here, so will have to abandon plans to not use the heating too much to keep the costs down 😟
Still I would take cold dry weather over the milder but wet weather we have had for about the last 3 months.

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

At Tesco the store brand versions are similarly priced with mayo slightly lower. But store brand mayo is always awful. I will try store brands for a lot of things but have never found a decent store brand mayo.
And comparing brand prices mayo is way cheaper
Heinz Salad Cream 425g - £2.80.
Hellmans Squeezy Mayo 430g - £1.99 (with Heinz Mayo at a similar price)

 

[nightshade]

Well baking has been done, apple scones, banana bread, rice pudding and pumpkins for soup. Should keep me going for a while, once it all cools down I'll portion and freeze. Not the rice pudding, that's going into the fridge for lunches this week.
Of course having the oven on has warmed up the place too, which helps.
I've taken the last of the chicken thighs out of the freezer for curry tomorrow, I'll have leftovers Thursday as well.

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

What is the zero waste and the allotment? I am fascinated by these things you all have in other countries that we do not have in America.

 

[nightshade]

What is the zero waste and the allotment? I am fascinated by these things you all have in other countries that we do not have in America.

The zero waste stall is where the supermarkets allow food to be collected that they would throw away. Stuff past their best, but still edible. Usually bread and veg, but you will get other things as well. Been going for a couple of years now but it's so busy now and the supermarkets are donating less. Anyone can go as long as you can get there on time.

The allotment, we've talked about before, and I think the nearest thing in America is a community garden. But I rent a space to grow fruit and vegetables, its cheap to rent, water on site, and I get an outside space, which I don't have at home.

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

The zero waste stall is where the supermarkets allow food to be collected that they would throw away. Stuff past their best, but still edible. Usually bread and veg, but you will get other things as well. Been going for a couple of years now but it's so busy now and the supermarkets are donating less. Anyone can go as long as you can get there on time.

Interesting! I wish we had that here. I think the supermarkets may donate their food to the food banks.

The allotment, we've talked about before, and I think the nearest thing in America is a community garden. But I rent a space to grow fruit and vegetables, its cheap to rent, water on site, and I get an outside space, which I don't have at home.

Right! Sorry! I'm such a space cadet these days...

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Turkey prices thankfully have stayed put here for now

You're lucky. Spanky saw the price of turkey for thanksgiving and nearly had a cow...

 

[November]

I just got my electric bill and it is still in credit, so no bill to pay! Next bill will be the big one since I will be using the air con a lot. I decided not to pay too far in advance cos we've already had a few fire warnings and I never know how long I will be blessed with this place, especially with how sick I am getting in the heat already. It will be nice to save up a bit over Christmas time.

 

[nightshade]

Windows full of condensation today, bedroom and living room ones, so definitely a dehumidifier day.
Haven't put the heating on though, still wrapped up in dressing gown and blanket on the sofa. I'll be putting tights on under my jeans today, and multiple layers on.
Thankfully we have a kettle and microwave at work, so hot food and drinks to keep me warm as well as a heater.
My craft group had our Christmas party on Tuesday and I gained some leftovers, so they're doing me for lunches, shortbread and crackers, I've got cheese to use up, so I'll have soup, cheese and crackers for lunch once I've had all the rice pudding and shortbread.

 

[Hunga Munga]

...egg and chips? Like, french-fry chips!? Never heard of that but I think I need it in my life!!

Yeah fries . It's a UK thing , from wartime meat shortages . Egg and chips even has it's own Wikipaedia entry ! 😀 Egg and chips - Wikipedia Pretty delicious meal for such humble origins .

 

[nightshade]

Yeah fries . It's a UK thing , from wartime meat shortages . Egg and chips even has it's own Wikipaedia entry ! 😀 Egg and chips - Wikipedia Pretty delicious meal for such humble origins .

And yet same ingredients but I prefer omelette and chips! However dipping the chips in the yolk is the best

 

[November]

I never knew chips were so healthy for you until I started eating way more of them. Some have a 4/5 star health rating (5 star being the highest). Im not sure how that star system really works but I'll take it!

Chips and gravy, chips and mayo, chips and cheese, chips and dips, chips and fish, chips and egg, chips and chicken salt, yum! And SO cheap. So I do hope this Spud king guy does save us from the hot chip shortage.

Spud King’s plan to SAVE WA from hot chip shortage

Australia is facing a potato shortage after wild east coast weather ravaged farms and delayed growers’ sowing crops — which means hot chippies are becoming scarce — but don’t worry, there’s a man with a plan.

www.google.com