Cost cutting tips. So with the spiraling cost of food and electricity I thought this would be good.

Throw all of the children into the same shower at the same time!

Shauna677

Use an air fryer.or slow cooker where possible. If you do use the main oven, bake a cake as you roast the chicken, make full use of that big oven.

When cooking on the stove, use steamer pots, you can buy a three piece set on amazon for £16. It means you only use one ring instead of three, and your food is healthier too.

invest in an electric blanket or two, they fantastic if you working from home, just wrap one round you when working on the desk or watching tv and they make a cold bed so cosy, cheap and economical to run. Its a no brainer.

Only put enough water in kettle that you need.

Rinse the dishes under cold water as you go through the day, then just do the one hot wash after dinner in the evening.

30° wash is perfectly fine for most laundry and any bit dry weather, hang them outside, even in depts of winter you can dry clothes outside if its any bit dry at all.

If your windows are old, go to a charity shop and buy heavy curtains, they do make a difference. Seal any draughts around the house.

brokenangel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119562421#Comment_119562421

Its called a bath 🤯

igCorcaigh

I read somewhere that the power that a microwave uses is less than the lights on it. I dunno.

But, zap your water in the microwave for tea and coffee, rather than using the kettle. I hope some nerdy types will have the know how to validate my point, or not.

Either way, the microwave oven is extremally cost/energy effective.

Montage of Feck

Sell the country to the Chinese and move to Portugal?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119562438#Comment_119562438

A bath is a luxury!

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119562444#Comment_119562444

It absolutely isn't less than the light uses. The magnetron in a normal microwave at normal power is usually 800w, the light might be 10w if even!

It's still the most efficient way to heat water, though.

Purple Mountain

Are electricity companies going to do discount offers to new customers so we can switch and get at least 1 year of a saving?

I bought a load of fleeces and thermals to wear at home for us all. Mountain Warehouse were selling child fleeces for €3.99 instore.

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119562461#Comment_119562461

Oh thank you! I thought that didn't sound right either...

Any idea about microwave v's kettle for making a cup or pot of tea?

corner of hells

Gather roadkill early in the morning , obviously if there's maggots it's not to be eaten .Nothing like a badger stew on a Winters day.

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119562437#Comment_119562437

Excellent advice, thanks @Shauna677.

babyducklings1

Jog 5km round the block every morning and evening to warm up.

Baby wipes instead of shower and dry shampoo for hair.

Eat canned food by candle light.

‘ Shur it’ll be grand.’

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119562512#Comment_119562512

It's not straight forward but the kettle wins out overall

Kettle Vs. Microwave For Boiling Water | What's The Difference? (gadgetreview.com)

Kettles are cheaper than microwaves for 1 cup of boiled water - Mirror Online

thegame983

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119562275#Comment_119562275

Nope. We will not see any benefit.

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119562550#Comment_119562550

Wow. That's so counterintuitive. Thanks @Jim_Hodge. I must read into it further...

fun loving criminal

Not really a cost cutting tip, but more like a saving tip for anyone with cheap enough rent or anyone who can manage it.

If you can, save rent over 3 weeks but also save rent for the fourth week. That fourth week adds up every month, which helped me when I was given my notice last year as I had a rental deposit and first month saved up without having to wait to get deposit back from previous landlord. Also helps if you need to take a day or two off sick and you get low pay one week, you have the rent saved over three weeks.

Gen.Zhukov

Haven't read all posts

My one- Frozen food instructions- 'Best results are to cook from frozen at 200 degrees for 35 mins' Complete horse - Defrost it for free and cook it for less time. That should be mandatory on packaging cooking instructions

Snugbugrug28

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119562444#Comment_119562444

My granny has always done her cuppa like this

We bought a cheap outdoor, sensor light in Tesco for €10 and it works great! We don't turn any of our outdoor lights on now at night to save on Leccie. At least we have a bit of security with the sensor lights.

Have about 8 kids and feed them and your partner on McDonald's and other fatty foods. They will heat your house for you. No oil bills, and you can scrape the fat off them to fill oil lamps.

You can also bottle and store their farts to run your air conditioning systems for the hot summers ahead.

Mr. teddywinkles

Use both sides of the Jack's paper when your wiping your arse op. Saves a shitload. Btw don't shower and be a smelly bastid. Expecting to be sitting beside a lot of smelly fookers on public transport this winter. Dont blame them thou. I'll prolly be one of them. Dont judge me when the hum comes your way

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119562505#Comment_119562505

They all do.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119562512#Comment_119562512

Its significantly more efficient (seconds at 800w vs minutes at 3000w), but the water doesn't get consistently boiled and if you leave it too long, can 'explode' from locational superheating.

Using just the right amount of water in a kettle is much more efficient than the usual fill-and-boil, and possibly safer than microwaving it albeit still using more power than microwaving.

BorneTobyWilde

It will be a case of people, especially businesses not being able to pay, so it's pointless to charge, the French would not put up with it, the Sheep in Ireland need to grow a pair.

brokenangel

One question, we have George Foreman grill and a Philip air fryer

We have started to use the Air Fryer more as the cooker is a big old Rangemaster and not every efficient

Would the air fryer be cheaper to use than the George for burgers etc?

Shauna677

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119562088#Comment_119562088

Worst advice ever. Leave oven door open while cooking dinner.......

.

barneygumble99

Best advice I could give anyone to save electricity/heating bills would be to replace all windows and door seals. We got this done last year, guy came out and replaced all the rubber seals and adjusted all the doors and windows , made a massive difference to heating as regards how long it needed to be on and how it retained it for afterwards. Cost of doing a 250sq m house was €120, plus a noticeable reduction in wind noise.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119563336#Comment_119563336

Read on dear, Read on.

Did you also think the OP was good advice?????

olestoepoke

I know a lot of people who put the heating on far too often. I have one friend who would have the heating on and sitting there in shorts and a t-shirt. A lot of the time a pair of pjs socks and a warm top or housecoat is enough and leave the heating off. Ok there are times in the year when you absolutely need the heat on but some are far too trigger happy with it.

Also, completely cut out to go tea, coffee and sandwiches. Make your own sandwiches, they can be nicer anyway.

Jim_Hodge

@brokenangel Look at the wattage on each and multiply by the length of time each takes to do a task.

AvalonEnaid

On the topic of 30'c vs 40'c for your washing, I've never used heated water for washes my entire life and nothing bad has happened.

My bad, @AMKC.

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119563366#Comment_119563366

Do you want legionella bacteria? Because that's how you get legionella bacteria?

I don't get it. What is it I said that I could get it from?

I have never hot it thankfully that I know of.

I wash my clothes in the washing machine at 30degrees was that it?

The Mighty Quinn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119562287#Comment_119562287

I know this falls into the "only joking, but not really" category, and my wife is the same.

I've turned into my father walking around the house turning off lights and things. It wouldn't be unusual for me to come home to a house with ceilong lights on, bathroom lights and fans on, lamps on, television on, sometimes a hair straightener still plugged in - and she's left the house 3 hours ago.

Despite repeated requests to be a little more careful... Still fairly regular carry on.

AvalonEnaid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119563406#Comment_119563406

Aaaah! I quoted the wrong post. My apologies good sir.

AvalonEnaid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119561993#Comment_119561993

Do you want legionella bacteria? Because that's how you get legionella bacteria.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/healthservices/legionella.htm

Keep your hot water above 60'c.

is_that_so

My own 2c, most which have already been mentioned

Sit down and honestly add up just how much you spend per day and per week. Excel will do it or I am sure there are apps. It's also useful to break it into mandatory, discretionary and slightly frivolous spending.

Budget by the week, even if your income is monthly, it focuses the mind on where it is going.

Write a shopping list and just stick to it, no just trying new things. Buy what you need not what you always get in a shop.

Look at the treats you buy and remove one or more of them

Introduce self and family to the glory and cheapness of soups, stews too

Look into the likes of lentils and other pulses to see how you can introduce those into diets. Canned tomatoes can enhance your life too.

Plan a meal menu for the week and roughly calculate how much it will cost per meal.

Microwave your vegetables (if you don't have a steamer)

Learn to make your own bread. Can be a fun activity with younger family members plus you can fill the oven and freeze it

Add up your shopping bill as you shop - it may be way out but it's still a ball park indicator and it's good mental exercise.

Microwave your vegetables (if you don't have a steamer)Sweaters and tops are not just for outside

If you drive, slow it down and set a weekly budget on what you spend.

Invest in throws and covers etc. Great for when it's that in-between time where it's not quite cold enough to have much heating but out of habit we turn it on.

barneygumble99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119563429#Comment_119563429

Same in my house. All lights have to be on regardless of how dark/bright it is. But do u think she’d turn on the extractor fan whilst having a shower???

teediddlyeye

https://m.independent.ie/life/christmas/a-real-life-santa-is-buried-in-a-quiet-kilkenny-graveyard-30852923.html

Taking the kids to see Santas grave could save a fortune over Christmas.

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119563482#Comment_119563482

Fair one. I'll look into that. Cheers.

FFS, you can't win.

brokenangel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119563499#Comment_119563499

Excellent points

When Eamonn Ryan said to slow down this place went mad. It's the best advice ever. Just because he said it people went nuts!!!

Even in my X5, I have 3 modes, Eco, Comfort and fast something. By dropping back into Eco mode I dropped down from 10-11ltr/100km to 8-9ltr/100km. By slowing down I am now running at 7-8ltr/100km. So thats 2ltr saved per 100km by doing very little

Also a big hint, stop buying cheap shite tires on cars. The fuel efficiency is terrible. They will cost you a fortune in the long run. Buy the proper tires which are fuel efficient.

Also it is soccer morning here, instead of 20 parents all going to soccer we have all grouped together to bring the kids. I know some people might do it but this should be automatic. 20 cars with 1 adult and 1 child is so inefficient every weekend

Akrasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119563538#Comment_119563538

Lmao

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119562552#Comment_119562552

Gotchya!

So there's no point whatsoever in reducing or increasing one's consumption of energy, as, no matter what we do, those evil electricity companies will still screw us! Thanks for the tip.

Akrasia

Learn to crochet.

Then you can crochet your own scarves and head-bands and blankets to keep warm, and save money at Christmas by giving everyone hand made wooley things

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119563881#Comment_119563881

Have you seen the price of wool recently. My wife gave up knitting and crochet this year as it's just not practical given the cost of wool.

Leg End Reject

Surprised it hadn't been mentioned, batch cook where possible and freeze in portions. If your heating isn't zoned look into that, there's no need to have heating on for long in bedrooms and water only needs an hour or so a day unless you've a large family.

Realistically there's only so much you can cut down on before you seriously impact on your quality of life. Some good advice here on replacing seals on doors and windows, shorter showers, reducing speed, only boiling the required amount of water etc, but walking around the house with a torch is for power cuts.

So much private label food is made by the same companies that sell branded food. Price differenc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119562516#Comment_119562516

And if you have dogs, great to feed them suitable roadkill. My 3 had a fine hare yesterday.

Ubbquittious

*If you have a freezer that's sitting in a heated utility room move it out to an unheated shed. It will use a lot less power in cold surroundings

*Put torch in fridge when it's dark and close the door to identify leaking gasket, replace if you can see the light shining through usually not a big or expensive job to do.

*If you are using immersion heater make sure it's on a timer and thermostat isn't set above 60 degrees.

*Go on holidays some place warm for a week or two in November-March & don't bother with foreign holidays in August if it's feasible for you.

*Check all sockets for unused "wall wart" style power supplies and remove them, unplug any standby device you can live without.

El_Duderino 09

Yuzet Radiator Heat Reflective Insulating Foil, Energy Saving, Reduces Heat Loss, Easy DIY Fitting. Pack of 2-0.6m x 5m Per Roll https://amzn.eu/d/59ZpAKu

Does anyone know if things like this radiator wall insulation make a difference? Seems sensible but would like to know if anyone has any expertise.

rob316

As another poster said, batch cook. It makes a big difference heating up the oven a few times a week instead of every day. Get an air fryer too, way more effecient than an oven.

I got a single induction hob portable thing too for boiling any pots and I use it for making my coffee, again far more efficient than the electrical hob and kettle.

I have a sort of pergola coming off the side of the house, so I closed in the sides half way down and installed clothes lines across the width, so that eliminates the tumble dryer.

I'm in an old house, old heavy wooden doors on the exteriors I got draught excluders for every door in the house, this kind of draught sealing tapes around the door frames where the door meets.

Turning off led lights and going around with a torch is a bit ridiculous and won't save you much.

I'd rather spend twice on energy saving products than line the pockets of the energy companies this winter to be honest.