So, another week without gas. I'm trying an experiment to see if I can get by with just electric heating and how much it will jack up my electricity bill. I've got a 2kW fan heater that I use to take the chill off the living room quickly while either the central heating (non-working) or wood-burner kick in. I've also got a 2kW oil-filled radiator for my daughter's room.
The little radiator works fairly well. I stick it in, leave it running and pretty quick her room is comfortable. The actual central heating radiator does fuck all anyway: it's under the window and it is blocked by her bed so you never feel like it makes a difference. The small radiator I leave just inside her door. Run it full blast for an hour then dial it down. It has a thermostat so it isn't running all the time so should actually be pretty cheap to run.
The problem is my bedroom. I don't have a spare electric heater to put in it. It is fucking freezing. I'm sleeping really badly because of it, even with two duvets on the bed. It takes ages to fall asleep then I wake up loads because I'm too hot with the extra duvet. I've been using Sleep Cycle, an app on my phone that tracks your sleep pattern. It listens to how much noise you make through breathing and moving and it shows that I'm waking up every hour or so.
This worries me because I switch off my daughter's radiator when I go to bed. If she's similarly cold in the night then she is going to be sleeping really badly. This makes sense because she's been really tired in the mornings. Might have to bite the bullet and leave it running on a low setting all night.
The nights she is not here I've been nicking the radiator and warming my room with it. I sleep loads better on these nights. Might also have to bite the bullet and buy myself one as well.
The other heating related news is that I am running out of logs. Probably got enough to last me to the end of the week. So that's where I am at with heating. It's cold as fuck and I can't wait to spring. People who say "put a jumper on" are fucking idiots. I've got a jumper on, I've got the fan heater running and I'm still cold.
I got a letter from school about unpaid bills for breakfast and after-school club. I swear I've never met such a bunch of self-important bastards as those who work in the admin of primary schools. They beat GP receptionists hands down for just shear cuntishness. I've battled with them since last year to actually tell me what they have been charging me for, how many days they think I owe them. Well, I finally get it and guess what? The 600 quid bill they say I owe them is actually £250 because they've been charging me for services I've never used.
It pisses me off. Not a word of apology, fuck all. How many people just pay this stuff and don't question it because these people act with just utter conviction that they are right. God forbid you question one of them. It also pisses me off that their attitude has been to go straight "pay this or we take legal action". In the six years my daughter has been there not once has anyone said "we know you are a single father, is there anything we can do to help?".
Not once. I never ask for help. I'm proud as fuck that I get by. It's a struggle but I shut the fuck up and get on with it. I don't expect help, I expect to have to do all this myself. But it's nice to be asked. I'm not too proud to appreciate that. I might say no but I'll respect you for asking. So it's like this bill. No "if you are struggling then we can do something to help". Nope, straight nuclear.
I have to point out that this is a middle class village school in an affluent area (my ex likes to pretend she's a character from The Archers). Anything that tarnishes the image is severely frowned upon. Single parent? That smells of scumbag and we don't want your type here.
Anyway, I'm happy that the bill is now manageable and I have got one up on the smug bastards.
Some bad news, I thought I was doing well on the work front. I'd lined up a job interview for a new job that potentially was going to give me a 3 grand increase on my salary. That would make a huge difference right now. I fucked up, I got caught in traffic on the motorway and missed it. They were pissed off and I get the impression I have screwed the pooch here. I've asked the recruiter to try and talk them round but I don't have a lot of hope.
Wednesday night is my weekly financial catch up night where I sit down and look at what I've spent over the previous seven days. I'm going to do a post on how I budget but basically I give myself an allowance from which I pay everything other than rent, utilities and car insurance. Food, diesel and any other non-bill spending comes off that allowance and when it is gone it is gone.
For the last two weeks since the start of the year I've managed to save about £35 a week. That's just from being a bit more conscious about food shopping, not buying my lunch every day and not driving all over the place without having a plan. So that would have been £140 a month that I've pissed up the wall, £1680 over the course of the year. That really annoys me because I could have put it to my savings or I could have paid it against the 5 grand debt on my credit card. That would have been more than a third of it. For fuck sake, it's such a stupid thing.
I want to keep this up as much as I can. Running total so far is £70.10. I will update next week.
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