Cost of Living - How are you handling it?

Winckle wrote:
SEP wrote:
Grumpy David wrote:Pest Control - £3,578.30 - no memory of a pest problem in the communal areas in 23-24 tax year

Seems to be working, then.

Winckle wrote:
SEP wrote:
Grumpy David wrote:Pest Control - £3,578.30 - no memory of a pest problem in the communal areas in 23-24 tax year

Seems to be working, then.

My car insurance is due for renewal in just under 3 months with Churchill and I notice that they actually supply quotes for policies that begin up to 3 months in the future so I went and quoted a policy with them for the same car and I’m happy with the price.

The wrinkle is that they don’t send out the renewal offer until 3 weeks before, and the quoted price says it includes a multi-policy discount. I priced around other places that are charging about 33% more at the absolute cheapest so I highly doubt my actual renewal will come anywhere close to this quote. I’m a little worried that I won’t get away with buying this new policy and letting the current one expire when it runs out. Don’t want to have the multi-policy discount removed and it end up being even dearer than I’d have got elsewhere

Zilnad wrote:Feel like I'm really fixated on money at the minute. I'm really lucky that I can live comfortably but there's a desperation for more than that. Like everyone, I just want to live without having to worry about it. And this feels like probably a selfish thing to complain about but my parents have enough money to pay off both mine and my brother's mortgages but they choose to sit on it, like dragons, making absolutely no use of it. I'd be less bothered if they were spending it all on lavish holidays or something but they just sit in their house on a pile of money that brings no help or joy to anyone. They have a very Tory outlook I think "strawberry float you, got mine".

I get this, but at least they don't pretend to be socialists. :dread:

Over the winter period my energy budget account has built up a debit of a few hundred quid. My energy company has just informed me that they're putting up my monthly charge by 47%.

The whole idea of a budget account is that payments are paced out over the year, with credits in the spring/summer making up for any debits in the autumn/winter.

Strawbers.

jawa_ wrote:Over the winter period my energy budget account has built up a debit of a few hundred quid. My energy company has just informed me that they're putting up my monthly charge by 47%.

The whole idea of a budget account is that payments are paced out over the year, with credits in the spring/summer making up for any debits in the autumn/winter.

Strawbers.

You could call them to discuss this. If you're only a few hundred quid down but think you'll make that up in the summer with the energy prices coming down in April and so don't want to change your DD, I think they'd probably accept that.

Tomous wrote:You could call them to discuss this. If you're only a few hundred quid down but think you'll make that up in the summer with the energy prices coming down in April and so don't want to change your DD, I think they'd probably accept that.

Ta, man. I'm just a little tired of contacting the energy company; every year this happens as they don't seem to pay any attention whatsoever to the idea of the budget account. They used to but, over the past five years or, so this always happens. I dunno if I've got the will to speak to them again.

jawa_ wrote:
Tomous wrote:You could call them to discuss this. If you're only a few hundred quid down but think you'll make that up in the summer with the energy prices coming down in April and so don't want to change your DD, I think they'd probably accept that.

Ta, man. I'm just a little tired of contacting the energy company; every year this happens as they don't seem to pay any attention whatsoever to the idea of the budget account. They used to but, over the past five years or, so this always happens. I dunno if I've got the will to speak to them again.

Who are you with? Sometimes you can change it yourself online, I believe you can with Octupus who I'm with.

Tomous wrote:...Sometimes you can change it yourself online, I believe you can with Octupus who I'm with.

Tom, thanks, dude - I will take a look.

I'm with Sainsbury's Energy (rebadged E.ON Next) and they let me run up hundreds of pounds in debit (it's currently over £500) without any issues. I currently pay £181 a month for gas/electric, with the idea it'll be fine by November, with the additional note: "This includes £11.68 per month towards your target balance. We think you'll hit your target balance on 06/04/2024, so we'll automatically reduce your payments then".

On their website however you can alter the payment amount, along with billing date, or make a one-off payment.

When I was single something similar would happen to me, in that they continually kept estimating my direct debit based on the average usage of a family of 4 (3 bedroom house) rather than a single man, this was even with accurate meter readings. Every year I would phone up and give a fresh reading over the phone and they would be like oh well that's a lot lower than the estimate, no gooseberry fool.

Then I got married with a stepdaughter and that call was no longer required but moral of the story is energy companies don't have your back :lol:

Moral of the story: marry your stepdaughter to align your DD with your energy use, got it

That's how I read that too :lol:

Tomous wrote:Moral of the story: marry your stepdaughter to align your DD with your energy use, got it

Marrying a stepdaughter is only 50% energy efficient. You have to go for full incest to get the 100%.

What tarrif are you using step daughter?!

I only thought this stuff happens in America.

I'd be incest if my tariff was put up that much tbh

I believe we/I set the direct debit online with Octopus and never have any whining about it. Maybe got in touch once or twice or send a meter reader guy around.

But yes. We were using £65 a month a few years ago. We were asked for photos of meters multiple times.

For strawberry float's sake man, you keep telling us to save energy when you want us to spend it. They thought that was an "anomaly" or that our reader was broken. No, we just save energy you banana splits.

jawa_ wrote:I dunno if I've got the will to speak to them again.

Ergh I feel this so badly dude. I feel so drained thinking about how much bureaucratic nonsense you have deal with in this day and age. Always phoning and being on hold.

Cost of Living - How are you handling it?

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