Cost of living - cutting back and heated heating negotiations

Another real term pay cut for me and my wife (a local government lawyer), soaring inflation and ludicrous childcare costs makes for tough financial times ahead.

In all likelihood my wife will effectively be paying to work as a public servant by the end of the year when childcare fees are increased further and government salaries and support is not.

Quite an amazing and infuriating situation to be in really. We can only complain so much though as we are in the top 60% of incomes and even have a little wealth in our house.

If you want to put your finances in perspective too, the ONS website includes a calculator which gives a fascinating look at how you compare with the rest of the UK population. 

With the help of Snoop I’m trying to put my worries to work and save some more money where possible.

The main change I made this month was stopping Amazon Prime and Netflix subscriptions (Around £200/year). 

Through another Tesco Clubcard reward I’ve been able to get six months of Disney+ for £8 in vouchers. (And just a heads up, but I’ve also been advised you can threaten to cancel NowTV and get 50% off for 3 months!) 

I’ve got mobile bills down from £70/month whilst paying off a phone to £0 SIM-only by using Tesco Mobile and Clubcardpoints, which are doubled in value. (Offer ends July this year)

Now spring is here heating is less of an issue. I bought the minimum amount of oil I could for the summer months - prices were up 6x on the Covid-19 lows of a year and a half ago.

Unfortunately heating oil is not covered by a price cap and I’m hoping that prices will settle by the end of the summer.

Luckily I installed smart home heating when we moved in two years ago which has been really helpful to keep bills down as I can selectively heat rooms we will be in and lower the temperature of rooms we do use.

This has led to more heated heating negotiations at times and I have to say I’m glad the weather is picking up!