14.05.08
Haggled for….and got!
Looking at the way prices are zooming up now I’ve been on a bit of binge of money saving.
I now have only the barest minimum of stuff on standby – my tv, DVD player, Wii and digibox are on one extension so that’s switched off the whole time I’m not using any of it, the heating’s not been on for a 10th of the time it was when K lived here, I don’t take baths now (still showering so no holding noses in a pantomime stylee), only one room in the house that doesn’t have energy saving bulbs and that’s only because I can’t be bothered to fit a new light there, I get my 25% discount on council tax as I’m sole occupier and of course I’m back on the bike more.
Another of my unnecessaries was my mobile phone. I was paying £22.99 a month and that gave me 75 free minutes of calls and that was that. Worth it for the free upgrades every so often etc…
Well I cancelled that and asked to go to pre-paid. They helpfully obliged and cancelled and someone just phoned me to tell me that everything was ready to be switched. Hurrah – an effective company.
But then he says:
“How would you like to have your 75 minutes AND 100 free texts a month for £7 including VAT?”
Hell yes I’ll have that. £16 saved per month for more service, marvellous. No free phone upgrades but I don’t need that, as long as the thing sends and receives I don’t need anything newer.
Just shy of £200 saved. My gas bills have gone down a third over the last 6 months (and that’s in winter), electric’s about the same (savings offset by rising price), petrol spend is about half of what I spent per month last year, house phone is cheaper too with free weekend calls and that. Food’s about the same even with the rises in costs as I’m buying less rubbish and throwing less away.
I think I’m doing well. Woohoo.