Martin Lewis / Money-Saving Advice

[Wymsey]

Have read/watched a few of his content recently, and some advice from him that I've recommended to others - saving them quite a good amount.

 

Has anyone got any advice with regards to being savvy with energy costs etc.?

Edited 16 January 2022 by Wymsey

[Foxdiamond]

11 minutes ago, Wymsey said:

Have read/watched a few of his content recently, and some advice from him that I've recommended to others - saving them quite a good amount.

 

Has anyone got any advice with regards to being savvy with energy costs etc.?6

Only the usual. Don't use standby for TV etc. Don't overfill kettle. Do you need heating on overnight. And yes wear a jumper rather than walking around house in t shirt and shorts. 

[Unabomber]

Do people have the heating on overnight? 

[Foxdiamond]

2 minutes ago, Unabomber said:

Do people have the heating on overnight? 

Funny you should ask that. I saw a bloke on tv saying he has it below 18c overnight. Also I would not advocate having it on when out just so it is already warm when you get home 

[SpacedX]

Screw Martin Lewis, you don't need his advice. It's very simple. Cuddle a pet, do star jumps and eat porridge. 

[Zear0]

32 minutes ago, Unabomber said:

Do people have the heating on overnight? 

According to the missus, our youth will perish if it drops below 18 at night so regrettably yes I do. As a miser it's a painful situation. 

[Spiritwalker]

Unfortunately I have a strong urge to turn over when he comes on the TV.

[MPH]

1 hour ago, Line-X said:

Screw Martin Lewis, you don't need his advice. It's very simple. Cuddle a pet, do star jumps and eat porridge. 

 

but what’s the best way to warm the porridge up?

[Mike Oxlong]

EARN big money by displaying a "How's My Driving?" sign on your car, along with an 0906 number (£1.50 per minute) which you can acquire through BT. Then simply drive around town like a complete arsehole.

[SpacedX]

36 minutes ago, MPH said:

 

but what’s the best way to warm the porridge up?

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2022/01/11/sse-sparks-heated-complaints-over-advice-eat-porridge-stay-warm

[VLC86]

2 hours ago, Wymsey said:

Have read/watched a few of his content recently, and some advice from him that I've recommended to others - saving them quite a good amount.

 

Has anyone got any advice with regards to being savvy with energy costs etc.?6

Yeah, have you tried hypothermia? I’ve been practising it for about 4 days and it’s thoroughly ****ing miserable.

[Parafox]

2 hours ago, Foxdiamond said:

Only the usual. Don't use standby for TV etc. Don't overfill kettle. Do you need heating on overnight. And yes wear a jumper rather than walking around the house supermarket in shirt and shorts. Or pyjamas.

[stripeyfox]

3 hours ago, Wymsey said:

Have read/watched a few of his content recently, and some advice from him that I've recommended to others - saving them quite a good amount.

 

Has anyone got any advice with regards to being savvy with energy costs etc.?

not specifically related to energy saving costs but I have been using a web based budgeting software called YNAB (You Need A Budget) for nearly a year now. It has totally revolutionised my budgeting. It has a bit of a steep learning curve. I wonder if there are any other users on FT? 

 

I love it - it does cost about £80 a year, but you can get a free month trial (and they will usually extend that if you ask them while you get the hang of it)

 

https://www.youneedabudget.com/

 

 

[adejo92]

Unfortunately my fixed rate energy tariff of £91 per month has come to an end and the cheapest they can offer is £181 per month.....

 

I mean, it's hardly a small increase.

 

The cost's could go up by another 50% in April if the Energy billing cap is raised which it is rumored to be.

[adejo92]

17 minutes ago, stripeyfox said:

not specifically related to energy saving costs but I have been using a web based budgeting software called YNAB (You Need A Budget) for nearly a year now. It has totally revolutionised my budgeting. It has a bit of a steep learning curve. I wonder if there are any other users on FT? 

 

I love it - it does cost about £80 a year, but you can get a free month trial (and they will usually extend that if you ask them while you get the hang of it)

 

https://www.youneedabudget.com/

 

 

If it's £80 per year membership, how much do you think it's actually saved you at a guess, minus the membership as well etc?

 

I could really do with budgeting, but £80 seems expensive unless it physically blocks HotDeals, Ebay & Amazon on my phone!

[Ric Flair]

8 minutes ago, adejo92 said:

Unfortunately my fixed rate energy tariff of £91 per month has come to an end and the cheapest they can offer is £181 per month.....

 

I mean, it's hardly a small increase.

 

The cost's could go up by another 50% in April if the Energy billing cap is raised which it is rumored to be.

Yeah I don't know what to do, had my renewal through on Friday and its gone from £80 a month to £277 a month. I was nearly sick. Or I can go on the variable rate at £135 but if it is then going to go stupid again in April then who knows where it might jump up to.

 

This feels very volatile, can't recall anything as bad as this since what my parents experienced with interest rates of about 15-20% on their mortgage many years ago.

 

I absolutely love leaving lights on and forgetting to turn the heating off an'all. FFS

[Foxdiamond]

The issue of increased energy should be of paramount importance next to covid. If only the government  was paying attention rather than save a dog that can't be trusted

[RobHawk]

I love the money saving expert website, think it's great and have used it for years. 

 

Haven't seen Martin Lewis on TV but whilst his messages are bang on he's a bit of a douchebag in real life. Can't really fault him though as that websites saved me £1000s over the years

[Guest Mickyblueeyes]

17 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Yeah I don't know what to do, had my renewal through on Friday and its gone from £80 a month to £277 a month. I was nearly sick. Or I can go on the variable rate at £135 but if it is then going to go stupid again in April then who knows where it might jump up to.

 

This feels very volatile, can't recall anything as bad as this since what my parents experienced with interest rates of about 15-20% on their mortgage many years ago.

 

I absolutely love leaving lights on and forgetting to turn the heating off an'all. FFS

Give them a call mate. I had a ridiculous figure on renewal come through and when I called them, I got a decent call centre agent and set me up on fixed rate at £123 until 2023. Much higher then what I’m paying but manageable.

[Mike Oxlong]

Not money saving advice but good advice nonetheless 

 

HUSBANDS. Cheer yourself up by watching your wedding video in reverse. You'll love the bit where you take back the ring, walk back up the aisle, get into a car and **** off.

Edited 16 January 2022 by Mike Oxlong

[Foxdiamond]

8 minutes ago, Mike Oxlong said:

Not money saving advice but good advice nonetheless 

 

HUSBANDS. Cheer yourself up by watching your wedding video in reverse. You'll love the bit where you take back the ring, walk back up the aisle, get into a car and **** off.

This could also apply to wives. 

[Babylon]

4 hours ago, Unabomber said:

Do people have the heating on overnight? 

Some people do Scrooge McDuck 

 

I never used to as it didn't seem needed, but now I have a little one (and their room is the coldest) it'll come on if it drops below a certain temperature after about 2am. 

[Wolfox]

The energy costs are just mental…. I have digital meters and a plug in thingy…. 
 

i got underfloor insulation, an A rated boiler and lots of insulation…

 

I have also put a Drayton Wiser kit throughout the house to manage temps (bedrooms cold until just before bed time and only heating the back part of the house when I work from home)

 

I’m now £650 in debt to bulb and paying a hefty amount each month still….  
 

It’s an old house with no cavity wall on most of it… I’m concerned for when it flips up 50%

3.80p/kWh feels steep for gas

 

[stripeyfox]

1 hour ago, adejo92 said:

If it's £80 per year membership, how much do you think it's actually saved you at a guess, minus the membership as well etc?

 

I could really do with budgeting, but £80 seems expensive unless it physically blocks HotDeals, Ebay & Amazon on my phone!

It's hard to say how much it has "saved" me in pure monetary terms. It's more about the methodology of budgeting properly. In the past my budgets fell down because they focused on the "fixed" bills. So you say, I earn £1000 for example and my rent, gas, electric, phone etc come to £400. Great, I've got £600 left over - happy days. But of course you need to buy groceries, then the car breaks down, it's one of the kids birthdays or Christmas comes along. YNAB encourages you to consider these expenses which are not always fixed but you know they are coming at some point. At it's core it is "envelope" budgeting. You put money into categories like "rent", "phone", "petrol", "fun money", "christmas" etc 

 

You create your categories for spending and saving and each time you get paid you budget every pound into these categories. Then when you spend, you input the transaction and which category it comes from and everything updates accordingly.

 

Of course, all of this can be achieved without YNAB if you are organised enough - I suppose it is just a flashy spreadsheet with a very slick user interface and it probably isn't for everyone, but it works for me. Theres' lots of nice reports showing your progress and they have great helpdesk and customer support. 

 

Is it worth £80 a year? Not to all for sure; I think there are cheaper (or even free) alternatives out there. But considering some months I waste more than that on takeaways or other crap, I can easily justify it for the control I feel it has given me.

[stripeyfox]

2 minutes ago, Wolfox said:

The energy costs are just mental…. I have digital meters and a plug in thingy…. 
 

i got underfloor insulation, an A rated boiler and lots of insulation…

 

I have also put a Drayton Wiser kit throughout the house to manage temps (bedrooms cold until just before bed time and only heating the back part of the house when I work from home)

 

I’m now £650 in debt to bulb and paying a hefty amount each month still….  
 

It’s an old house with no cavity wall on most of it… I’m concerned for when it flips up 50%

3.80p/kWh feels steep for gas

 

It's crazy isn't it? My supplier is still in business (I think), but they haven't taken any payments from since September. I upload meter readings every month but I haven't had a bill. I am chunking £100 a month into a savings pot (see YNAB post above) and have about £700 "saved" for when they do eventually come knocking. I only have a small house so hopefully won't get clobbered too hard!