Living a joyful & happy life on a LOT less! Part I can be found here
This week I’ll be focusing on utilities, vacations/holidays and car costs!
Utilities: There are a lot of websites where you can compare costs, my post will focus more on reducing your bills.
- Wear seasonal clothing – it sounds silly but when it is winter, you it is perfectly acceptable to wear winter sweaters in the house.
- Keep socks on in the house – sounds really simple but I notice when I wear warm socks I rarely put the heat up!
- Look at water rates – if it is cheaper to use water before 6am set your washing machine to wash at 5am. When you get up you can spend 10 minutes hanging your clothing and then you are ready to start your day!
- Forget drying/tumble drying clothes – get a good clothes horse, if you have a utility/laundry room see if you can get a hanging rack , use your airing cupboard, just don’t use a tumble dryer!
- Make use of the windows – there is no point paying to run air conditioning or even fans if there is a breeze outside, open windows at both ends of the house/flat to create a through breeze.
- Get showers instead of baths
- Limit your time in the shower, while I’d hate to feel rushed every morning, a good 7 minute shower usually is suffice!
- Take your shampoo & soap when you go swimming, I swim three times a week and it would be ridiculous to come home to shower, so I bring my products with me; I’m sure this ends up saving me a few pounds per week!
- Wash your dishes together – I don’t fill the sink for every 2 or 3 dishes, often I’ll rinse breakfast dishes and do a good wash in the evening.
- I use a dish basin to fill the sink – this saves how much water I use.
- Before I go to bed in the winter I fill a hot water bottle and place in my bed – this does wonders and really stops me putting the heat up at night. Good hot water bottles can be brought for about £6 or so and yet once I started doing this, shaved a good £15 off my heating bill each month!
Vacations/Holidays – I have written about this here and here, but I’ll focus on my biggest tips in this post.
- Allot a certain amount each month into a vacation fund – a yearly vacation (even if a simple camping trip) does wonders for the soul, repairs relationships, allows us to connect with our family & friends and can be such an educational, enriching experience. Make it a priority.
- Keep this separate to your savings, your emergency fund and your checking account.
- You do not need to spend your yearly budget each year, practice a rolling system, if you save £100 a month into the travel fund, holiday one year in the UK with a budget of £500 and put the rest of the money into next year’s pot meaning you’ll have £1900 for a larger holiday, further afield.
- Look into house swaps.
- Travel off season if you can – although admittedly this is harder when you have school age children.
- Stay at Universities – they can be so cheap and provide a great base for exploring a city – I remember staying in Oxford for 4 nights at a rate of £18 a night.
- Join the Youth Hostel Association – there are some brilliant family rooms and accommodation (usually with self-catering facilities) for a fraction of hotels.
- Stay in a Yurt, a tent or a tipis!
- Ask a friend if they’d like to swap houses for a long weekend or week in the summer (you make need to look into legal/insurance). I have a friend in Yorkshire, she may just want a few nights in Devon as a swap.
- Be a good guest when you stay at someones house – don’t stay too long, buy them flowers, insist on getting the groceries & making meals, treat them to a meal out, write that thank you card. If I’m in Scotland I will often stay with a friend in Edinburgh for 2 nights, followed by 5 nights further afield.
- Regional Airports have good charter flights, which if you book early can be very affordable. Last year from Exeter airport you could fly to France for under £30 including taxes, a couple of months prior to departure it was over £150.
- Make use of free stop overs – it is a great way to see a city without having to pay for the flights! Stay a night and see the city!
- Plan, plan, plan. Where do you want to go & how are you going to get there?
Car Costs:
- Think carefully about where you purchase you car, one of the best things I ever did was purchase a second hand car from the Nissan dealer in Exeter - they provide so much free support, are always happy to throw in free labor and simply have me pay for parts. Before you purchase a car, look at the dealer’s policies and ask for recommendations.
- Share your car – again you’ll need to know the legal and insurance implications. Is there someone you know you only needs a car at the weekends or has a similar schedule?
- Don’t buy a big car – you really don’t need a van if you have one or two children, you really don’t need an SUV unless you live in the middle of nowhere. A smaller car is more economical with petrol and in most cases insurance as well.
- Cost up using the bus & trains to get to work, it could be much more cost effective then taking your car – not to mention greener too.
- Look into car shares and carpools for work. Your local council/government should know of any schemes.
- Keep your car serviced, deal with small issues before they become big
- Research cars that last – I always drive Hondas or Nissans, they both serve me very well and seem to run for years and years without needing any major work.
- Have a car account - set aside an amount each month into an account earmarked for car tax & car repairs. Then when the need arises you already have money handy! You can do the same to save for a new car (or more accurately new to you vehicle).
Have you any tips that you can share? How do you save money with cars, holidays & utilities?
And now I’m going to get lost once again in all things Jane, tonight’s instalment is Sense & Sensibility – the tv version. That Colonal Brandon sure is dishy ;0)
Thanks for your comment! I added you as well as your wonderful co-op blog to my roll. Your blogs are fab!
I love that you put this list together. People don’t really think about how the little things can all add up to huge amounts.
Thanks!
Great list- I completely agree on the socks and hot water bottles!
I’m also planning to watch this Sense and Sensibility again tonight, I watched the Emma Thompson version at the weekend- I have to say I think Alan Rickman is a much more dashing Col Brandon *swoon*
Thanks Saver Queeen!
Momma – soooo true!
Oh Looby – no way ;0) You can keep Alan and I’ll keep David ;0)
I LOVE the idea of the hot water bottle. I am going to try it this winter because I get extremely cold in bed.
And the socks make sense too, but I cannot sleep with them on…
Great tips.
A great set of tips for anyone. I wear socks in the house and in winter wear furry boots, have done for the last few years and I’d never go back to freezing barefooted.
Oh how I love money saving tips… I thrive on them so thank you for this update and reminder. And for the cheery reminder of how gorgeous that man is!!
x
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Love this blog I’ll be back when I have more time.
@ FT- haha, I’m glad i don’t have to fight with you over my beloved!
I forgot to mention above that this past winter I bought a pair of down filled bootee style slippers to wear about the apartment and they were amazingly warm!
i love your hot water bottle idea … i’ll have to try that this winter ..
also, i always thought showers wasted more water than baths? hm ….
i like your ideas for parcelling/setting aside money into different areas. are you the one who uses jars of cash to do this?
of course, my flannel-covered goose down comforter works great, too. …
Hi there-fabulous tips my dear! I’m so with you on the hot water bottle-I need to give it a break now our weathers getting nicer, LOL!
Loving your blog!
Had to have a chuckle at the 7 minute showers. Here is the south east corner of Queensland (Australia) we have just been through the worst drought on record. When our dams hit 20% capacity, we were limited to 140 litres of water a day per person. This included a recommended 4 minute shower. 7 minutes is a luxury!! Thankfully the dams are almost up to 60% again, but hopefully everyone remembers how to be frugal with water. (I get so angry whenever I see someone hosing down their concrete driveways. Use a broom!)
Being is Queensland, cooling is more of an issue than heating. I don’t even own a heater. But I do have ceiling fans in every room.
Hi! Love your blog!!!! I read one of your older posts titled “Just how many items of clothing do we really need?” and I so enjoyed that!! I would like to know if your wardrobe has changed since this post was created? I have so many things….I need to organize and toss!!!!!!
Hello! My first visit here…LOVE your blog and all it’s very practical and friendly advice for the good life.
) And I couldn’t agree more…that Colonel Brandon is a treat for the eyes! ;o) Happy Days
Karen – showers take 1/3 rd of the average bath! I’ll try to find an article for you & send!
Melinda
I’ll do a post on that sometime soon! Thanks for the reminder!
Tracy – that he is ;0)
That would be fabulous! I have no idea where to start. I know I just need to get in there and do what needs to be done. I step back and look at all of these THINGS and all the money that was spent and it sort of makes me feel sick. What in the world was I thinking????? Any tips on getting started with this project would be helpful. I absolutely love your blog, I have read bits of it all throughout the day. You are an inspiration!
Thank you!
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Some other ideas to save on utilities:
-Open the curtains/blinds in the day and let Mother Nature brighten your rooms.
- Turn off appliances when not in use & unplug them.
-Turn off the TV & Computer when not in use.
-Try using the same glass/mug throught the day to cut back on dishes to wash & water.
-Use energy efficient light bulbs.
Cars:
- Consider carefully whether you truly need a car. One of the ways in which urban living can be simpler is that you can often eliminate the need for a car. We have got along just fine without a car for about 9 years now.
Utilities
- Consider the “navy shower”. Turn the water on until you are wet. Turn it off. Soap up, shampoo. Turn the water back on just until you are rinsed off. This saves even more water, but I can only bring myself to do it in the warmer months.
in my opinion, saving money is the best thing you can do for yourself. People should realize this before they are in a crisis, or the economy in a recession. Being financially secure allows you to live a happier and more independent life.
I’m loving the blog – mean and green and just the way I like it; living simply by simply buying less; truly loving it.