It's Cold!

Well, it's November and, after a balmy October, it officially feels like autumn.  Of course, one of the first things most of us do is switch on the heating - and I'm not going to suggest that you don't - but there are ways to keep your heating costs down.


1. Turn the thermostat down - I constantly read (and put into practice) switching the thermostat down by 1 degree (or more) as it really does make a difference to your bill.


2. Wear more layers in the house - switching the heating on early or for longer can be the difference between putting on an extra layer and not, so try putting on a cardi first.  (I work from home and often find myself in my woolly fleece for outdoors simply to avoid putting the heating on for another hour - I draw the line at icicles from nasal passages or wearing gloves while I type!


3. Don't put the heating on at night - if you're all tucked up in bed sleeping (or not sleeping depending on your kids!) try giving everyone a hot water bottle and an extra blanket at the end of each bed that can be used if it gets cold in the night.


4. Shop around for energy.  Using price comparison websites such as Uswitch can help you to save hundreds of pounds a year.  I ran a cost comparison, found another supplier was cheaper than my current (Scottish Power) then phoned Scottish Power to ask if they could match them - otherwise we were walking!!  Anyway, they did.  So saving me the hassle of changing supplier while also saving us £300 a year!


5. Close the curtains as soon as it gets dark - it makes a huge difference to keeping the house cosy if you've closed all the curtains and blinds just as it's getting dark outside (don't ask me why - physics and I are not familiar bed fellows).  And that way, you won't be tempted to turn the heating up.






Any other tips you've got that work or that I've missed?  The heating companies aren't going to reduce their prices so we need to try to make sure we can avoid paying too much more, if possible.  

Saving Money: 5 Easy Ideas To Adopt

All the news of inflation (sitting at 5.2% as of yesterday) climbing, utilities companies earning huge profits through increased prices, and fuel costs spiralling, does make it seem as though the economy is conspiring against us as we try to cut costs. 

Now, I don't want anyone to be under any impression that I can whittle up a meal from thin air or sew an entire outfit from curtains.  Thrifty Mummy I may be - or at least aspire to be - but I need to work at it and one of my ways is by planning (incidentally, in my business planning is something that I constantly 'bleat on about' to clients so maybe it's genetic!).

There are 5 really easy ways to help reduce your shopping bills.  I follow them myself and they work.  They're not the only ways that I try to reduce my bills but they're a good place to start...

1. Always Plan your Weekly Menus  That way, you know what you're going to eat and when and you can plan for it - only buying what you need and not chucking out so much at the end of the week either.

2. Write a Shopping List - this follows on from the point above, as you should draw up a list from your weekly menu, but I find if I don't have a list, I flit about from aisle to aisle buying what I fancy and spending a fortune as a result.

3. Don't Shop when You're Hungry - if I ever go for a run and then follow it up with a trip to Tesco's I spend much more than I need to (usually on chocolate).

4. Try Not to Shop with the Kids - now I know this isn't always easy, particularly if you've got little ones but it was the bigger/school age ones that I was thinking of excluding anyway.  If I take Cheeky Boy (age 8) on a shopping expedition, he pesters the living daylights out of me to buy things that aren't on the list.  I'm not saying that I always give in but even if I cave in on just a few of his 'special requests' to change items on the list for a brand that he's seen on TV instead and my bill has already gone up. 

5. Play to Your Strengths & Be Realistic - if you like to cook everything from scratch every night that's grand but if you know you don't have the time or inclination then don't feel that you have to become a domestic goddess to save money.  Of course, it makes sense to cook as much from scratch as you can as it will save you money (and be better for you) but if you know that's unrealistic or won't fit with your week, plan to have a few 'easy meals' in there or do a big cook at the weekend and freeze some of it for mid-week meals.  Easy meals could be beans on toast, baked potato with tuna & cheese or French toast.  Our busy day is a Tuesday and I try to make sure the kids have a cooked school lunch and plenty of snacks before swimming and badminton so a smaller tea is fine for them.


None of these are particularly difficult to implement and you don't need to be a fabulous cook either.  Tuesday's are often fish finger days and I don't feel remotely guilty as I make sure the kids get loads of veg with them and fruit for pudding too.  It also means that Tuesday's we have a grown up tea together later on (we try to eat with the kids every other night) so Thai curry or Mussels are on the menu for us on Tuesdays which the kids hate but we love!