Bluebirds on the ground. Heidi in Wales.

Heidi started preparing her medical cupboard as soon as she heard about the big C and stocked up on paracetamol,  vitamins and essential oils.   She kept that topped up, replacing any that was used so she retained her reserve.   

She has followed the same method that her Mum taught her with linens....  one on the bed,  one in the wash and one spare,  to keep other areas up as well.   Heidi noted it is similar to Patera's five can challenge where you build up slow and surely then keep it there.     This saw Heidi's family through various shortages and she even had things like cards,  wrapping paper and birthday candles without needing to go to the shops.    She also had stocked up well on baking needs in the months leading up to Christmas. 

Heidi has kept chickens and ducks for years which supply her family of five and her husbands parents as well.  You can imagine how much help this is to have a source of protein and nutrition on hand.  This is why I say f you can possibly keep chickens to always do that.

When Heidi's family heard about price increases on gas and electricity and possible blackouts they knew they needed to take action.  They installed a wood burner with a back boiler.    Heating hot water with electricity had already become very expensive... so now it is heated with the wood burner.    In summer they have to switch back to electricity but they also have some solar panels.    They also have blankets,  hot water bottles and sleeping bags.    Also they keep oil in case they cannot use the fire.   They have an oil heater which they can use and did to keep a bedroom warmer when her husband was ill over Christmas.   This is a back up to the back up!

Heidi recalls how her Grandparents had thick velvet curtains in front of doors and they used cling film to cover draughty windows. 

Before Christmas Heidi's cooker/stove top stopped working.  They had to order a new one which took seven weeks to come!   She switched over to a gas camping stove which cooked their porridge, veggies etc.    So you can see Heidi has thoughtfully been ahead with her back ups in this area too.

Years ago Heidi bought a Berkey filter.    Recently in a very cold snap her area had no water for four days. Household pipes froze.   Heidi had stored bottles of water on hand and the habit of filling the Berkey nightly ready for the next day.   The local council also gave out  drinking water during this crisis.  You had to collect it from a designated point.  It was based on how many people were in your household.   There was no allocation for animals.   Supermarkets had been quickly wiped out of water.    So again Heidi's preparedness made a huge difference.    Also her husband spent many weekends chopping wood to be ahead with that.  This is so valuable.   She feels very lucky but I note a lot of this luck came with very hard work and giving up other things  ie in summer her husband could have been doing a lot of other things but instead he was preparing for winter! 

Now for some prices in her area of Wales...  I quickly convert pounds to Australia dollars which is about one pound is $1.75  and you can do the same to understand the prices in comparison to your own...

Food: This Christmas food was available but prices have increased. We had family over this Christmas and chose a Turkey to feed up to 17 people. It cost just under £50. 

We went into our nearest supermarket in the last week of Christmas (this supermarket is the one I use the most and will quote prices from) and the shelves for eggs were empty. Even the packs of expensive eggs at £3:10 for 6 were all gone. As of writing this (31st Dec) they are still out of eggs in this store. Also mince pies. I find this worthy of mention because in the run up to Christmas, mince pies in the UK are like a cup of tea to the Brits :) Not everyone likes them but they are in every shop at Christmas!

We were warned just before Christmas by the boss of Iceland, that 1pint of milk could go up to a £1 a pint. Presently 1.13l / 2pints = £1:30. That would be a lot to my family as we use milk for breakfasts, a couple of meals in the week and not forgetting cups of tea & coffee! We have joked about getting a milking cow ;)

Toilet roll  Pack of 24 = £11:25 (named brand).  Loaf of bread (800g)=£1:40 (again, named brand). Spreadable butter (branded) 750g £5:00 250g block = £2.50; Store brand butter 250g= £1.99

Fuel:This has fluctuated quite a bit recently. In June of this year we were seeing diesel nearly hit £2 a litre. Some parts of Wales had ,according to reports in a newspaper. It is now around £1:65 (Petrol £1:42). This is a hard hit to most peoples budgets in areas like ours because, being rural, you need a car. Our nearest Hospital and A&E is 45 minutes away by car. Our nearest supermarket is 20 minutes drive. I lived in a big city in England for a few years and there the buses will pick you up every few minutes. You wait maybe 2 -5 minutes for the bus you wanted. Here, it's 30 min to an hour. When it comes to work, again public transport is not ideal. A high % of people here are farmers or trade. They need their own transport and costs for fuel either get absorbed in the profits or passed on to the customer. Every business does this. If you are a small to medium business, it is much harder to absorb due to your profit not being as large (take into account all the other costs rising too and you can see why). 

Heating your home has been on everyones mind this winter due to the next item...

Electric: Average for non business rates is 33p per kwh and 45p per day standing charge. Business are unlimited but we know of one locally that said they will be paying £1:15 per Kwh in the New Year and prices are forecast to rise again in April.

Mortgages & rent: In our area about 6 mths- 1 year ago you could rent a 2 bed cottage (small patio but no garden) for approx £800 per month. You had to put a deposit down beforehand (against damages) of about £450 and then all your other expenses on top.

Recently I had a friend looking to rent and she found 1 bed flat and they were asking £1000 pmth before any other costs!.  

Interest rates now 3.5%.

Heidi is very modest about it but she is one wise and thoughtful woman!  

Each week I am learning new things from these reports as I read and type them up.  Writing things down is good as I always absorb more information if I write it!  

Thank you so much Heidi for your help and willingness to share.   You are doing a great job!

xxx