| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| sally_in_wales |
gosh, isnt life expensiveI've just spent a couple of hours making an up to date list of all the bills, insurances, and other regular expenses that go out in an attempt to work out exactly what it costs to run the house and what just gets frittered away, and isn't it all scarily expensive when you add it up.I've spotted a couple of things that could be reduced or scrapped, mostly cover policies for things that don't go wrong often enough to warrant the ongoing expense when the equivalent of one years policy in a savings account would cover any mishap as and when, but still, all those council tax and water bills do add up. |
||
| gz |
When the government gives you just under £65 a week and says"this is what you need to live on"....even frugally living, it isn't easy 
|
||
| Cathryn |
However you two are rather excellent artists and crafts people and you share this and produce lovely things which I believe are worth paying money for.
(And daft hats  )
|
||
| mousjoos |
there will always be space in the world for daft hats! |
||
| sally_in_wales |
absolutely, today daft hats, tomorrow, world peace 
|
||
| mousjoos |
Oh God not boring old world peace again
|
||
| wellington womble |
Life is horribly expensive. And money has this habit of just evaporating. I'm sure I get paid a healthy amount each month and it just evaporates. I blame my husband! | ||
| Rob R |
Yep, it makes me think that even if we're not making a massive profit we are still contributing quite significantly to the economy by means of the few thousand every month in outgoings. Getting a more economical car recently was a big eye-opener- fuel doesn't seem quite as expensive now
|
||
| Nanny |
the big expense for us is the truck i have to say....but we use it for all kinds of things, it isn't just a run around for the school children...you can't get many bags of feed in a smart car... |
||
| nettie |
Getting rid of the car and using the diesel Citroen Dispatch has helped loads.
I've pared everything down to the bone here bills wise. Has anyone noticed how supermarket prices are creeping up? A weekly shop of £50, for wine, bog roll and basic store cupboard necessities now costs £70. Cheapo tinned toms used to be 12p, now they're 35p. Tinned tuna 35p now 52p. It's the little things that have the biggest price hikes. Every Little Helps, i suppose. The big stuff, like wine and cat food, is relatively unchanged. It's mugging by stealth. I'd go somewhere else if I knew where i could get boxes of wine in a 10 mile radius!!!! |
||
| ros |
I've noticed that my regular shop for tin toms and loo rolls has gone up by ~30% too -- and yet I read yesterday that brand names had gone up by more than s'market own ones -
For those sorting out budgets, have you all seen this: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/Budget-planning#bplanner it's very simple and useful 
The best way we've saved money in this house over the last year or so has been to shop with Downsizers for our meat
|
||
| sally_in_wales |
we'll, its proving quite interesting to see how many utility companies will offer really big discounts if you phone up to say you want to reduce or cancel various policies, I've also discovered that our bank account comes with RAC cover, so between that and a couple of other calls I've just saved us over £300 a year in one fell swoop.
I'm also finding it quite interesting to see how our spending breaks down now that I have an up to date list in front of me, its working out almost exactly 1/3 mortgage, 1/3 bills and 1/3 food and petrol and sundries. |
||
| cab |
It is always worth asking for discounts, shopping around for better deals etc. with utility companies. Don't ask, don't get. | ||
| Ian33568 |
You've inspired me to log our expenses Sally....it's something that I have a 'vague' idea about and generally keep on top of things but taking the time to jot it all down seems good sense to me - especially with the poor sterling/euro exchange we have been having of late. | ||
| yummersetter |
We did this a few weeks back, as all our big annual debits, mainly insurances, seem to bunch together in April and May, and needed to be controlled this year. We called all the insurance and utility suppliers and got the premiums reduced by a third and put onto monthly direct debits instead. So far so good, we patted ourselves on the back.
But then it all went haywire, three companies took both the annual and the monthly amounts, a refund cheque was stopped a week after I'd paid it into our account as it was for too little  a quarterly debit has gone out monthly, the bank accounts have seesawed alarmingly - in all, since mid April we've had over £7000 debited, kept a week and refunded by service suppliers. Today I had a fourth refund cheque from one company which should have been for approx £80 written for almost £500, which is very tempting to keep. Oh I forgot, gas and electricity bills were ahead of this game and have been crazy since January (£450 'meter-read' electricity on an empty property . . oh, maybe they made a mistake). I log onto my bank accounts every morning just dreading to see what havoc has been caused overnight. I must have spent upwards of thirty hours on telephone 'help'lines and am on first name terms with four CEO's now. Yesterday a new twist, Natwest 'in error' took £1500 out of each of 2 accounts - they refunded it by 3pm but it took a hour on the phone to get to the bottom of.
I hope and think I've finally sorted everything, but I'm sorely tempted to close all accounts and start again with cheque and standing order payments, so that the control is back with me. So my most basic advice is - use internet banking and log on and check first thing every morning and know what payments are due to go out. |
||
| Cathryn |
Good grief that sounds dreadful. 
Are you making any kind of formal complaints? I imagine it would be difficult to summon up enough energy. The obscurely written utility bills in particular are very annoying. |
||
| JB |
Perfect example of why direct debit should be avoided. Yes you can get the money back, but only after you do their job fix their errors and they've destroyed your credit rating and bounced your mortgage payments. | ||
| yummersetter |
I give the first person on a helpline a fair crack at sorting it out. Before I call the second time, I research the name of the CEO. Then if I have to call again, at the end I ask for the number and email of Mr Bigshot's PA. That usually causes a sharp intake of breath and some grovelling. If I have to call Mr Bigshot's PA I ask her for Mr Bigshot's phone and email. (Excuse the assumptions of gender here, but it's the way it usually is)
The most annoying thing these days is the barricade you have to go through of 'Helpline' numbers as most company head office direct phone numbers are really hard to track down now. I think they know you've been through the mill when you rattle off your customer number, date of birth and granny's favourite flower before they've even got halfway through their opening script. Oh, and I have got rather a lot of discounts and free months as 'compensation'. Not to mention this unexpected cheque for £500 I'm deciding the fate of right now 
|
||
| BahamaMama |
I found it very 'interesting' to discover how much I was being ripped off for being a loyal (perhaps lazy is more accurate) customer. A quick trip around our bills and expenses netted over £500/year and I have still got to review the utilities 
|
||
| sally_in_wales |
yep, I havent tackled the gas and electric yet, they all seem to cost so much no matter who you go with, its hard to work out what teh best options are on those | ||
| cab |
Insurance is one that irritates me. If a company wants to keep my business year after year then they can damn well give me a better deal than they give to new customers; if I can get a better deal by moving company, wheres the benefit in being loyal? | ||
| JB |
With my insurers I find all I have to do is get an online quote, which is usually half the price of a renewal, then phone them and say I've found a cheaper quote (the conversation then goes alon the lines of "with whom?", "you", "oh! was that an online quote?") at which point they match their online quote. Yes it takes a phone call but it avoids the hassle of changing insurers. |