Utlility Frugalness is Paying Off

I can't believe I forgot to mention this, hence I'm posting again today.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been cutting back on the amount of running water I've been using whilst washing/showering in the mornings.  I had hoped this would reflect on the gas bill as the combi boiler wouldn't be firing for so long.

Well I am so chuffed as the latest gas bill for a month (we submit meter reads every 4 weeks and only pay for what we use) was....£18.09!  That is the cheapest it's been, ever.  We can't get away from it completely because of washing up, washing hands after loo and also hubby is yet to take on board my "hosing down" method but I am hoping this will help encourage him.  I can't tell him what to do but I do hope he'll see the light soon.  Also I hope that the water payments will come down in October which is when the next meter reading is.  I can't believe my new method won't help and we use water butt/buckets for the garden pots & I save the washing up water that comes out cold (whilst waiting for it to heat up) for the pots at the front of the house too.  So that's all got to help.

Electric. Our electricity has fallen a bit too but is still at just over £24 for a month.  I was a bit disappointed with that but then there are still washes to be done in the machine, meals to be cooked in and on the oven and a fridge freezer to be run.  We don't watch that much TV and we don't have loads of gadgets so really, the big players of washing machine, oven & fridge freezer are the ones I need to concentrate on.

It's my mission to manage next month's bill down to lower than £24.  I don't care if it is even only by one pound....I just want to prove that I can do it.

So that means:  making sure I get the best out of my washing machine 'loads', ensuring we use the grill where we can instead of the oven, and ensuring I keep the freezer full with the right choices so it runs efficiently.

I think the TV could probably stay off a bit more though to be honest.  We got into the habit of watching the news over dinner then leaving it on an hour or so after that but really TV is crap at the moment and the news is depressing (sorry - I know I sound like an ostrich but I do read news on internet instead) so may as well save electric and keep it off.  Another year like this and I may decide not to bother with the licence fee at all and just keep TV for DVDs!

So there you are....utility bills down this month.  Good stuff!  Not looking forward to the winter though......brrrrrrrrrr!