Saving energy, saving money

We recently received our annual summary of the communal charges for the building. This includes our annual heating and water bill. We pay a monthly sum to the building managers, and at the end of the year they read the meters and send an invoice to settle the bill.

This year, we're due to get almost €1000 back.

It's a good feeling when you open that envelope. We were similarly delighted last year when our electricity supplier cut our monthly bill by two thirds because we were consuming less than they had expected.

Saving energy and water is good for the planet and good for the pocket. The annual heating and water bills have prompted me to think again about how much we use - partly because I'm genuinely surprised about how we've saved so much, and partly because I think we could probably do even better.

I've noticed recently that we've got into the habit of having only one light on in the flat. When we curl up on the sofa in the evenings, one uplighter is enough, and we don't even turn on the main light for the room. I'm not sure when we started doing this, really. I suspect my dad ("Were you born in a power station?") and my boyfriend ("Are you sleeping with the owner of Gazprom?") are finally getting through and I now turn lights off when I leave the room. And they're energy-efficient bulbs. Booya.

All the appliances we've bought have been energy (and in the case of the washing machine, water) efficient. I think the easiest trick is not to own as many. I've been reading tips on saving water and energy online, and am boggled by some of the tips. Get rid of the second fridge? Who are these people?

We don't own a dishwasher or tumble drier. Or a second fridge. I'm not giving up the washing machine, though. Don't even think it.

For heating, we use the fabulous insulating power of curtains, which insulate the room brilliantly. We have full-length wall to wall curtains on both external walls with two layers (blackout lining for the bedrooms, a separate net curtain for privacy for the living room. We also use 'passive solar' - I open the curtains for the east-facing window each morning and allow the sun to warm the room, and then close the curtains when I get back after work. 

 

Since our curtains have gone up last spring, we have only turned on the heating three times - when we had visitors. We turned on the radiator in the spare room for a few hours each time - and were told the room was too hot. The rear wall has just had another few inches of insulation stuck on the back of it too, so I don't think we'll be turning the heating on at all this winter. Sometimes it gets a bit chilly but that makes it all the nicer to snuggle up under a blanket with a hot cocoa. My top tip if you're cold is to go for a run or walk outside - the apartment will feel lovely and warm when you get back.

While we have installed low-flow tap heads in the bathroom and reduced the water level in the toilet tank to reduce our water usage, there are plenty more savings to be made here. I never remember to turn the tap off while I brush my teeth, I enjoy long showers, I wash dishes with the tap running and I never think to re-use water from washing or cooking vegetables on the plants. 

As a side note, I have seen analyses that suggest that dishwashers are more efficient in water usage than handwashing, but when you take into consideration the electricity used by the machine, and particularly the energy and resources tied up in its manufacture and disposal, I plump for handwashing. Plus that gives me more space in the kitchen.

There's some really good tips for those who are interested in saving energy and water over at the Energy Saving Trust. 

How about you? Where do you save energy, and where do you want to do more?

Homemade pizza

Saturday night is treat night. For several years now, we have planned, cooked and eaten (well, my boyfriend largely does the planning and cooking) healthy meals during the week, and on Saturday we can forget about diets and weight loss and cholesterol, and splurge.

It's a great trick because it's not that we can't eat pizza, burgers, ice cream, chips - we just have to wait until Saturday, so it helps with will power when one of us is trying to lose some weight. It also means we don't get too tired of eating healthy meals, or too tired of cooking, because we have usually eaten out on Saturdays, or got takeway. No cooking, no washing up.

Then we had a go at homemade pizza. I don't think we will ever again be able to spend €30 between us on a couple of takeaway pizzas, when we can make even more fabulous homemade pizza for half that, and have enough to invite some friends over to share it with us. We can even open a nice bottle of wine, or some craft beer, and still spend far less than we would in a pizza restaurant.

Homemade burgers followed, with homemade bread buns, grilled cheese and bacon. Yum. Why go out to a noisy pub when we can enjoy something so much nicer and cheaper in the comfort of our own home? (I've been checking out recipes for barbeque sauce, might have to have a go at that.)

I strongly encourage everyone to have a go at homemade pizza. I've been making bread for years and thought pizza dough would be difficult, but its the easiest bread recipe I've come across. I use this recipe from the River Cottage Bread Recipe Book. It only needs to rise once before baking, so I can have it from the bowl to the oven in less than an hour, or it can be left to develop more. 

 

My boyfriend mixes up a paste from tomato concentrate, which we always have in the cupboard. The only thing we need to go out and buy for this is the cheese, ham or other toppings. It's super quick and super tasty and super filling.

Saturday night is still treat night, but we are increasingly using it to invite people over. A couple of pizzas, a bowl of salad and a bottle of wine makes for an incredibly easy but really nice evening. Throw in some decent ice cream or even a pre-prepared tiramisu and we can call it a dinner party. 

I've even been able to add some fresh basil - my first homegrown ingredient on a homemade pizza.

The sinking fund

I never used to be very good at saving money, and through much of my student years I lived at the very edge of my means. At the time I don't think the concept of paying back my student loan had really sunk in, but I didn't take on credit card debts as many other students did, partly thanks to my parents helping me out with rent.

But even though I didn't save anything during these years, I was very aware of the value of having a small cushion in the bank. I vividly remember my astonishment when, at my first full-time job in the first year of full financial independence from my parents, I discovered that one of my colleagues (now a good friend) was living from paycheck to paycheck. She was upset because the salaries were taking an extra day or two to enter the accounts (I think owing to a delay in authorisation somewhere in the chain) and she was worried about paying the rent. I was confused - can't you just pay it from last month's salary, or your savings? But she didn't have any, and a delay of even 24 hours caused her huge stress and worry.

On the narrow boat we used to share with other families, there was a sinking fund. This was a tupperware which everyone paid into when they came onto the boat (so it was directly linked to usage) and this pot paid for any repairs that were needed - ie when the boat is sinking, you have the funds to deal with it.

My boyfriend and I both have sinking funds - in fact we have three, a joint one to cover repairs to the flat or other unexpected joint expenses, like the washing machine gives up the ghost and needs replacing, and one sinking fund each. We have enough that if we both lost our jobs tomorrow, we could live for a year with no income, which gives us a cushion to find other jobs or failing that, sell up and move elsewhere. I think it's definitely a good goal to aim at - a 12-month cushion against whatever may come, to give you time to deal with a crisis, to take stock of where you are and to take action before you find yourself pushed to take on debt or make rushed decisions that will have additional costs further down the line.

This cushion was really not so difficult to build up - I have worked out a budget allocating portions of my monthly income to mortgage payments, bills, food, social/hobbies, travel and savings. I set up a monthly standing order from my current account to my main account, so that the savings account grows almost without me noticing. I have still not perfected the art of sticking to a budget, and every year find I have forgotten something, but at the end of the year I usually find I have added to my sinking fund. (This was not the case last year - there were a number of family health issues and I dented my savings to travel back to the UK several times at short notice. I was grateful to have the sinking fund there to dip into for this unplanned expenditure).

My sister is about to take the step to full financial independence this year. She lives with my mother at the moment and is about to make the leap to renting her own place. I've been rather unpleasantly surprised at the advice she got from my parents on saving money. I suggested trying to save even ten pounds a month, as it all adds up, with interest. My mother agreed - 'then at the end of the year you have enough to buy a new coat!' My father urged her 'not to be like your sister and save so much money'. I doubt she would be able to build up a 12-month cushion any time soon, as living costs are much higher in London than Brussels, but I think my sister will find that life is less stressful if she has a growing sinking fund in the bank, even if it's just one week's rent, and I hope she'll be able to give saving even a small amount a try. I have to say that I think she has been far more sensible with her money, and far more disciplined about sticking to her budget in flat-hunting, than I was a few years ago, so I think she'll be just fine.