The Money Diet

If you are in a shop and don’t have a loyalty card, or have forgotten yours, ask a random passing customer if they will let you use their’s. They get the points and you get the discount.
I use a local community larder scheme where I pay a token amount for food that would otherwise go to landfill. It’s not a food bank. What you get can vary considerably but it’s always good value if you can be flexible in what you eat.
 
Go to the market just before it closes. Prices are often reduced in the last half hour, or so.

Also, I look for things that are sold by the piece and are almost sold out almost. I count the number of items left and ask for one or two fewer.

For example, if there are five kidneys, chicken legs, sausages or avocados, I say I want three and often the trader will throw in the two others for free. For things sold by weight, it takes a bit more experience, but for sausage meat or mince I can usually guess to within 20% how much is there and ask for, say, 850g and get what's left over for free.

I don't do this every week, though, maybe once every five visits. And I save the butcher a lot of time by not asking for kidneys to be opened and cleaned, for drumsticks to be separated from thighs or for a while rabbit to be cut into quarters.

When I buy stewing steak, I get the bones thrown in for free, which seems to be a bit of a rarity from what I read on other discussion sites.

Very often, we get other fruit and veg thrown in for free because it's looking a bit too shabby and by the time it's been packed away, stored overnight and transported to the next town for the following day's market it will be unsalable. It's a shame OH doesn't like cauliflower and broccoli as much as me... Those are the things we get for free most often. It's the same logic as the yellow sticker bin in the supermarket.
 
Just be savvy about heating the human and not the house in this freezing weather. Burst pipes are not fun, neither are mouldy carpets and peeling wallpaper.
I don't have a garage or carport. and am considering using a car cover to save the expense of anything structural. Chipping out the car in -7C is becoming a regular task!
 
I work at an energy advisory service, we do free home visits - I recommend looking if you have one locally. We can do things like replace lightbulbs and fit radiator reflectors without charge.

I have myself both an electric blanket and an oodie, and tbh the latter I wear for warmth whilst the electric blanket is in a cupboard somewhere. I think the latter is brilliant if you are immobile for long stretches of time but if you are moving about an oodie is better.

Also if you have an immersion tank make sure it's not on all the time. And if you have an immersion tank and an electric shower consider if you need the hot water from the tank at all.
 
hock said:
I wear yoga pants for riding often and I’ve never paid more than £13 and they’re so much over. Luckily I’m not a fan of sticky bum jods.
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Where do you get them from/what do you recommend? I don't like sticky bum jods, but I'm wary of the false economy of buying these because of how thin some things are, and they wear through after one ride!
 
Highmileagecob said:
Just be savvy about heating the human and not the house in this freezing weather. Burst pipes are not fun, neither are mouldy carpets and peeling wallpaper.
I don't have a garage or carport. and am considering using a car cover to save the expense of anything structural. Chipping out the car in -7C is becoming a regular task!
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We run a dehumidifier instead of keeping the house at 20 degrees. 15-17 degrees is fine for us, but we got condensation on the walls. The dehumidifier is much cheaper than the extra heating and dries washing nice and fast.
 
dorsetladette said:
I bought my OH and best friend silk sock and glove liners for xmas. They really keep your feet and hands warm.
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I used to use those long silk gloves that ladies used to wear for balls in the 1950's and 60's under my gloves when I worked in racing stables in the 1970s. Kept you lovely and warm and hid the gap between glove and sleeve :-)
 
maya2008 said:
We run a dehumidifier instead of keeping the house at 20 degrees. 15-17 degrees is fine for us, but we got condensation on the walls. The dehumidifier is much cheaper than the extra heating and dries washing nice and fast.
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Dehumidifiers are great and help with making a house easier to heat too. But be careful of going too low in the house as below 16 I don't think is amazing for the house as such (or people either really)
 
OH had silk liners (vest and longjohns) when he went to Antarctica and as we are the same size, I wear them to ride in cold weather. The brand he got is silkbody
www.silkbody.co.uk

Silkbody UK | Natural Silk Clothing

Natural, luxurious silk clothing for every day and travel. Men and women. Explore our brand story and discover Silkbody for yourself.
www.silkbody.co.uk www.silkbody.co.uk

However I must be honest, that though OH and I walked a lot yesterday, I am following the advice of our YM and taking a break from riding till March. I am 85 and if I fell off, I wouldnt want to be in hospital where there are so many Covid cases just now.
 
maya2008 said:
We run a dehumidifier instead of keeping the house at 20 degrees. 15-17 degrees is fine for us, but we got condensation on the walls. The dehumidifier is much cheaper than the extra heating and dries washing nice and fast.
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We still have to have the heating on despite running a dehumidifier, otherwise the house drops to 14 degrees 😢 the electric bill has been a bit too big for my liking the last two months, but if we don't have the radiators on, it's really cold in the house, to the point you can see my house plants shrivelling
 
criso said:
Just noticed the Lidl has electric blankets and heated personal care cushions in the middle aisle if anyone needs them. Their stuff comes with 3 year warranty.
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I've just bought a heated throw, literally arrived yesterday (Amazon, not Lidl) so first day of use today and it's amazing 🤩

I work from home so sat at a desk all day, but spend a lot of time on video calls and have to look presentable so an Oodie doesn't work, but blanket does as I'm just swaddled in it from the boobs down 😁

I think the blurb said 3p/hr to run, so less than a couple of quid a week to be toasty warm whilst working - winner.

ETA we have heating on in evenings and short period in the morning when we're both in and moving around in the house, but this is ideal for working hours
 
We have a quite a large, fairly open house with no carpet at all (wood floor in front room, tiles throughout rest of downstairs and laminate upstairs) so it’s cold. I have a problem with my body temperature regulation and I spend a lot of winter with mild hypothermia, which is normal for me so I need the heating on a lot in winter or I feel like I’m about to die. I do have an electric throw for if I have to sit around for any reason. Our winter heating bill is huge as a result. Layers, hot water bottles, heated clothes/blankets just don’t warm me up enough to function. I need my environment warm. This week I’m running a body temperature of 34.2- 34.4.
I have cold bones 😅
 
Extra layer for cold days. Cut the feet off an old pair of socks just above the heel. Measure/guestimate about two and a half inches down from the ribbing, and cut a small hole. Put your normal gloves on, and pull the tube over your glove like a sleeve, using the hole for your thumb to go through. Provides an extra layer when using metal implements, makes gloves last longer, covers the gap between glove and wrist, and leaves fingers free to tie haynets etc..
 
Highmileagecob said:
Extra layer for cold days. Cut the feet off an old pair of socks just above the heel. Measure/guestimate about two and a half inches down from the ribbing, and cut a small hole. Put your normal gloves on, and pull the tube over your glove like a sleeve, using the hole for your thumb to go through. Provides an extra layer when using metal implements, makes gloves last longer, covers the gap between glove and wrist, and leaves fingers free to tie haynets etc..
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I wear the copper infused fingerless gloves. So brilliant and warm and can still do padlocks!
 
scats said:
We have a quite a large, fairly open house with no carpet at all (wood floor in front room, tiles throughout rest of downstairs and laminate upstairs) so it’s cold. I have a problem with my body temperature regulation and I spend a lot of winter with mild hypothermia, which is normal for me so I need the heating on a lot in winter or I feel like I’m about to die. I do have an electric throw for if I have to sit around for any reason. Our winter heating bill is huge as a result. Layers, hot water bottles, heated clothes/blankets just don’t warm me up enough to function. I need my environment warm. This week I’m running a body temperature of 34.2- 34.4.
I have cold bones 😅
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I get this as well. I have the copper gloves and use hemp extra strength creme on my feet. That helps. I can have the electric blanket on full in bed and still be shivering cold.
 
Lauraback said:
My horse is a fussy eater won’t eat hay for the past 2 years I’ve been feeding small baled hayledge around £6 a day 😬 my friend and I bought some big round bales of wrapped hay my boy loves it! It will now cost me £10 a week not £6 a day for forage phew 😅
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Bizarrely I have the opposite problem. I have a lot of waste off a big bale and spend more on hard feed because he won’t eat it. I get through a horsehage bale every 4/5 days but can feed less hard feed so works out better. And has to be better for his tummy, brain and feet too really!

I have a big box of the hand hotties (Costco) which are a lifesaver. They’re in pockets at all times. And I love putting them at the end of the bed as my feet get soooo cold but I detest socks.

I am very anti subscriptions and only have 1 (CMH, which I use a lot). And I only invested in a TV the last quarter of 2024 as I don’t watch much!
 
ArklePig said:
do you have a link to the ones you bought? I have raynauds and my toes still haven't recovered even though I've been home for an hour.
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Cashmere, anywhere and everything; my Mother had Raynauds; super cosy and soooo soft. Bit pricey initially, maybe try the January sales? Cashmere socks in sheepskin boots - you wouldn’t regret it!
Hand wash cashmere in cold, with soap flakes / non bio / delicates liquid/ similar, to preserve.
 
angel7 said:
Laminate , wood and tile is so cold in house, invest in wool rugs, carpets and curtains. Often really cheap from the charity shops and they will make the house warmer.
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A very good tip. We had quarry tiles, flag floors and very little in the way of carpet just odd rugs etc. Then we got a dog and to stop him sliding around everywhere we bought cheap carpets (not fitted)/ mats etc to give him traction. I had never considered carpets before but now I wouldn't be without them. Carpet in the kitchen is lovely and makes everything seem warmer. :D
 
Just wanted to add that the idea of leaving things in your online basket in the hopes of a discount code also works for ‘watching’ or ‘favouriting’ items on eBay, Etsy and Vinted. Even if you’re not sure whether you want to buy something, it’s worth giving them a watch as the seller will often make you an offer which might bring them within your budget.

I’m sure many of you know that anyway but just another idea. I watched a secondhand jumper on eBay last night and already had a 10% offer sent this morning.

On the same subject, you really can get a lot of pure wool items on eBay etc which are ideal for this time of year and, in my experience, usually better than a lot of newfangled fabrics. I was riding in Romania recently in very cold temperatures and did much better in my wool baselayer and jumper than others in expensive thermals. Another thing that I see a lot of is vintage sheepskin coats for amazing prices and they are SO cosy!
 
ArklePig said:
Everytime a new post is made on this thread I end up wanting to browse Vinted 😂
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That is the danger really… buying things you don’t need as they’re bargains (then again, how much of what we buy do we ‘need’ I suppose).

Another thing we do here is we ask for useful consumables for Christmas/birthday gifts (if people ask what we’d like, we don’t expect or outright ask for things otherwise). We have a lot of ‘stuff’ already and if people gift us things we’d otherwise buy ourselves then it saves no end of money. We usually say we would be thrilled to have wine/chocs/snacks/cheese/spirits/bird food. Right now we are well stocked with tasty things for us (and the birds!) which we would otherwise have paid for ourselves.
 
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