Get on a bus to keep warm

We have cause for celebration in our village, on Monday we have a new bus coming through which will increase the options we have of getting out and about. At the moment we have seven buses to town each day, but they are not evenly spaced, so there are big gaps when there isn't a bus when you might need one. Also we have a good bus service to Hull every half hour but that bus does not come through here, so we have to go to a neighbouring village to get it.

Starting on Monday the new bus will come through six times a day, passing through nearby villages, and linking up with the Hull bus in the next village. It will also give us a lot more options for going to town. I will also be able to use it for my walking days out, I will be able to go to different areas on the bus and walk back. It will be great, I never thought I could get so excited about riding on a bus, ha ha.

My combined gas and electricity bill plopped through the door this week, both meters were read so I know the readings are up to date. For the quarter, 17th November to 17 February, I paid £123.08, which is £3.84 less for the same period last year. So I'm pleased with that, wearing lots of clothes indoors and not putting the heating on pays off for me.

I've just totted up the figures for the year. The four quarterly bills totalled £330.14. The total for the previous year was £312.20, giving an increase of  £17.94. I can live with that. British Gas has estimated that my annual consumption for 2012 - 2013 will be £390.05. I am all set to prove them wrong, it won't rise by that much. I aim to continue my frugal usage, cutting back where I can.

I know a monthly direct debit for utilities is favoured by a lot of people, it helps them to budget when they have a lot of outgoings. But for me the quarterly bill works best. I keep track of all the numbers, I have a very good idea of how much I will be paying each time I get a bill, so I can budget for that. Some people might like the idea that they are in credit with their power supplier, but I do not want to pay in advance an estimated figure of what I might use. I want to pay after the bill period for exactly what I have used. British Gas is not my bank, I don't need to leave money lying around in their account. I will pay for their services as and when I use them, and not before.

I am also not a fan of entering into an agreement with them for a set price for a set period of time. Who knows what the market will do next. You might find that at the end of the period the price shoots up dramatically, in which case that would be the time to change supplier. I personally think one supplier is much the same as another, you can tie yourself in knots trying to work out all the different tarrifs, and still be non the wiser. Lots of numbers baffle me, I like things simple and uncomplicated, so I dont change, I just use less.

I haven't had the heating on for several weeks now, and I doubt I'll put it on untill next winter. My body is acclimatized to British temperatures, I sometimes get a bit cold sitting around so I get up and move about. Now I have the cross trainer I can soon build up some body heat by exercising on that. I haven't had a cold for ages, I can't remember the last time I had one. The elderly and small children are the only ones that need constant heat in the winter, everyone else could manage with less if they wanted to. Right, I'm off outside, more gardening to do. Toodle pip.