What cut backs have you made recently?
Discussion
I realised some years ago that the UK was in a downward spiral - I was right. So I reduced my outgoings dramatically by moving to Spain. Now I sit in the sunshine, drinking beer at home for 60p for 2 pints or at the beach bar for 1.60 a pint, a very very nice wine is a pound a bottle, council tax for my detached 3 bed 3 bath in the centre of facilities, is 250 pounds a year. Car tax is 30 pounds a year for the Smart and 75 of the VW UP! I can walk to the supermarket/bar/shops. I am intending to build a pool but my wife likes me to drive to the beach, 5 minutes, while have a beer and she swims..... I commiserate with you - NOT!!
grichard said:
I realised some years ago that the UK was in a downward spiral - I was right. So I reduced my outgoings dramatically by moving to Spain. Now I sit in the sunshine, drinking beer at home for 60p for 2 pints or at the beach bar for 1.60 a pint, a very very nice wine is a pound a bottle, council tax for my detached 3 bed 3 bath in the centre of facilities, is 250 pounds a year. Car tax is 30 pounds a year for the Smart and 75 of the VW UP! I can walk to the supermarket/bar/shops. I am intending to build a pool but my wife likes me to drive to the beach, 5 minutes, while have a beer and she swims..... I commiserate with you - NOT!!
Give yourself a pat on the back. A very nice wine for £1 a bottle! That must taste like cat piss.Deep Thought said:
Nickbrapp said:
r3g said:
I'm surprised that around half of the cars on motorways are still bombing around doing 80+ ! These are not little ecoboxes either, they are your average Audi and BMW saloon type stuff, so at those speeds 40mpg for diesel and 30mpg or less for petrols, and obviously much lower for the heavier SUVs. Where are they getting the money from to pay for the fuel? Diesel is near enough £2 a litre now and petrol is only 10p behind. Are they just maxing out their credit cards and will worry about how to start paying it off next year when the 0% runs out?
I think the reality of the situation is going to hit people like a brickwall come October when the energy price cap ends and 50%+ rises are expected. If Russia turns off the taps to Europe as many analysts are predicting then that 50% could easily become 100%. So many people seem to be completely oblivious to the incoming shtstorm.
Lots of company cars and people with fuel cards? I have all my fuel paid for so it doesn’t make a difference to me. Others will pay the standard flat rate tax for fuel so don’t pay for it either. Some people are just loaded? I think the reality of the situation is going to hit people like a brickwall come October when the energy price cap ends and 50%+ rises are expected. If Russia turns off the taps to Europe as many analysts are predicting then that 50% could easily become 100%. So many people seem to be completely oblivious to the incoming shtstorm.
Average annual mileage in the UK is 7,500 miles. Plenty of drivers do 5,000 or less (myself included).
Fuel costs for 5,000 miles at:
- 40mpg & £1.20 per litre = £680 per year
- 25mpg & £1.90 per litre = £1727 per year
Plenty will have “fixed costs” of owning a car >£5k pa: £300-400 pcm for the PCP, plus £500-1000 pa for insurance, £520 pa in VED, then add servicing…etc.
An extra £500-£1,000 per year for fuel is neither here nor there really.
For me the high used car prices and resulting reduced depreciation have had a much bigger impact on my cost of ownership than fuel prices.
I can’t really see myself cutting back on a lot if I’m honest.
Having a family of 5 to look after does get interesting as kids need random stuff at random times. If I was to cut back on anything I think it would be good because of the amount of waste.
My food shopping has gone up by £60pw but we all need to eat
My car costs me £200pw in petrol.
Utility bills for me has been this biggest eye opener, I compared my recent bill last week to last year and was actually shocked, less energy used but the increase in price was nearly double the price.
I’m sure I’ll have to start tightening my belt at some point but I don’t think it will be for the foreseeable future as I think money is being well spent atm and there’s nothing really I can cut down on
Having a family of 5 to look after does get interesting as kids need random stuff at random times. If I was to cut back on anything I think it would be good because of the amount of waste.
My food shopping has gone up by £60pw but we all need to eat
My car costs me £200pw in petrol.
Utility bills for me has been this biggest eye opener, I compared my recent bill last week to last year and was actually shocked, less energy used but the increase in price was nearly double the price.
I’m sure I’ll have to start tightening my belt at some point but I don’t think it will be for the foreseeable future as I think money is being well spent atm and there’s nothing really I can cut down on
r3g said:
I'm surprised that around half of the cars on motorways are still bombing around doing 80+ ! These are not little ecoboxes either, they are your average Audi and BMW saloon type stuff, so at those speeds 40mpg for diesel and 30mpg or less for petrols, and obviously much lower for the heavier SUVs. Where are they getting the money from to pay for the fuel? Diesel is near enough £2 a litre now and petrol is only 10p behind. Are they just maxing out their credit cards and will worry about how to start paying it off next year when the 0% runs out?
I think the reality of the situation is going to hit people like a brickwall come October when the energy price cap ends and 50%+ rises are expected. If Russia turns off the taps to Europe as many analysts are predicting then that 50% could easily become 100%. So many people seem to be completely oblivious to the incoming shtstorm.
Why do people make so many assumptions on others...........worry about our own finances and let the rest worry if they need too or not. I think the reality of the situation is going to hit people like a brickwall come October when the energy price cap ends and 50%+ rises are expected. If Russia turns off the taps to Europe as many analysts are predicting then that 50% could easily become 100%. So many people seem to be completely oblivious to the incoming shtstorm.
Edited by tighnamara on Friday 24th June 22:58
Edited by tighnamara on Friday 24th June 22:59
brickwall said:
£200 PER WEEK?
That’s 500 miles a week in something that drinks super unleaded at 21mpg.
If so - this is PH, so hats off to that.
X4 40i roughly 450-500 miles pw, 95% London driving.That’s 500 miles a week in something that drinks super unleaded at 21mpg.
If so - this is PH, so hats off to that.
I’ve got a B4 Volvo xc40 too which only gets 27mpg so if I’m driving that it’s about £160/170pw.
I am seriously thinking about an electric car.
Edit: hopefully within the next few weeks I can cut down on mileage significantly. When the kids break up for 6 weeks I’ll only be working 2/3 days per week.
Following on from what I said earlier, I do think something has to give because that’s a heck of a lot of money just on fuel.
I don’t know where I can tighten the belt but this thread has made me think and maybe I do need to re-evaluate a few things.
Edited by aaron-j9c9a on Saturday 25th June 03:19
ChocolateFrog said:
PF62 said:
ChocolateFrog said:
Washed the dog in the garden with the hosepipe yesterday, that saved £50.
You pay someone £50 to wash your dog? £50!!!It used to be something like £28 for a large dog and they put it upto nearly £50.
He's not been since, but also hadn't been washed for about a year.
Is your dog large ?
Not been washed for a year! Phew, peg on nose. What might be living within the coat ?
We don't have a dog now, but had a succession of smaller sized labradors.
Always washed them in the bath. Stood or sat quite happily in warm water (hosepipe sounds a little unkind) and then dog shampoo was applied, followed by a rinse and drying. Smelt lovely after that and appeared to enjoy the activity.
Cost - well I suppose some warm water, a small quantity of shampoo and some power for the hair dryer.
Don't know how much, but it must have been 'buttons'. £50 gosh!
brickwall said:
Fuel costs really aren’t a big deal for many car owners.
Average annual mileage in the UK is 7,500 miles. Plenty of drivers do 5,000 or less (myself included).
Fuel costs for 5,000 miles at:
- 40mpg & £1.20 per litre = £680 per year
- 25mpg & £1.90 per litre = £1727 per year
Plenty will have “fixed costs” of owning a car >£5k pa: £300-400 pcm for the PCP, plus £500-1000 pa for insurance, £520 pa in VED, then add servicing…etc.
An extra £500-£1,000 per year for fuel is neither here nor there really.
For me the high used car prices and resulting reduced depreciation have had a much bigger impact on my cost of ownership than fuel prices.
Average annual mileage in the UK is 7,500 miles. Plenty of drivers do 5,000 or less (myself included).
Fuel costs for 5,000 miles at:
- 40mpg & £1.20 per litre = £680 per year
- 25mpg & £1.90 per litre = £1727 per year
Plenty will have “fixed costs” of owning a car >£5k pa: £300-400 pcm for the PCP, plus £500-1000 pa for insurance, £520 pa in VED, then add servicing…etc.
An extra £500-£1,000 per year for fuel is neither here nor there really.
For me the high used car prices and resulting reduced depreciation have had a much bigger impact on my cost of ownership than fuel prices.
Exactly - someone who understands the arithmetic involved ( very high annual mileages, obviously a different situation ).
The motor trade will hate you though. They want everyone to keep thinking about MPG and emissions, certainly not depreciation and fixed costs. Dwelling on that does not sell cars ! Consider for a moment, the £40,000 EVs, with owners talking about saving money.
Jon39 said:
Can we take the test?r3g said:
Deep Thought said:
I think theres still a huge middle ground of people who arent particularly badly affected by this.
They have a monthly financial buffer and / or they've cut back elsewhere.
Yet.They have a monthly financial buffer and / or they've cut back elsewhere.
Jon39 said:
Consider for a moment, the £40,000 EVs, with owners talking about saving money.
MaxFromage said:
Jon39 said:
Consider for a moment, the £40,000 EVs, with owners talking about saving money.
But there are some big numbers hiding in deferred depreciation on some older and less efficient ICE stuff.
MaxFromage said:
But a large number of EV owners have seen very little depreciation for a number of years due to demand
I sold my 5.0 supercharged XFR for the same as I paid two years ago.The Jaguar cost many times less to own than my new EV.
I think it’s something like four months of payments on my EV is the same as running the XFR for a full year
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