lifestyle
Life Hacks
How to ‘Marie Kondo’ your diet Meal planning is one of the easiest ways to maintain a healthy diet. It plays a key role in staying consistent, which is the foundation of any lifestyle change. Not only will a meal planning help you achieve your health goals, but it can also help you save money and time in the long-term. So how can we organise our diet? Registered Nutritionist Sophie Thurner shares her tips which include… 1. Start by tidying up your kitchen, get rid of items you don’t need and store items by size in little containers by frequency of use. 2. Take 15 minutes on a Sunday to think about what meals you want to prepare for the week and write
down everything you need for it. This will result in a more organised, targeted grocery shop that will have you spend less time browsing around, trying to decide what to get, and going for offers that don’t really have you save money in the end (3 for 2 – you never really need 3 of anything).
3. Take a couple of hours on your free day to batch cook the meals. Batch-cooking and freezing is extremely time-efficient. The washing up only has to be done once and you can have perfectly portioned meals, nicely labelled in freezer-proof containers. That way, when we don’t have the energy to cook, we can look forward to a lovely home cooked nutritious meal.
UNDERSTAND YOUR BILLS! According to a YouGov poll conducted for Uswitch, 60% of us find energy bills difficult to understand. So here are some common terms and what they mean… kWh: A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is simply a unit of
measurement. It’s equivalent to the amount of energy used when you run a 1,000-watt appliance for one hour.
Cubic feet: This is another unit of measurement, used to record the volume of gas you’ve used in cubic feet or cubic metres. One cubic metre is equivalent to 35 cubic feet.
Calorific Value: The calorific value (CV) is used to describe the amount of heat generated when a volume of gas is burned away. This can vary by region and will be displayed on your gas bill. This measures how efficiently your gas is used. Economy 7/Economy 10: These refer to a type
of electricity tariff that uses different energy prices for day and night consumption. Electricity used during the night period will cost less than electricity used in the daytime. For an Economy 7 plan, this will cover a 7-hour period, while the Economy 10 structure will cover 10 hours.
Estimated readings: Your energy bill is based on
the amount of gas and electricity your household uses. Next to the meter reading section, you’ll
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see if these readings are estimated (E), or actual (A). Estimated figures are based either on your previous consumption or the national averages. Actual readings are based on the most recent meter readings you’ve submitted.
IGT charges: IGT stands for Independent Gas Transporter, which is a type of network separate to the National Grid. Some small suppliers charge extra for supplying this type of home. MPAN: The meter point administration number
(MPAN) is also sometimes called your "S" or supply number. You’ll find it on your electric meter at home.
MPRN: The meter point reference number (MPRN) is the number assigned to your property’s gas meter.
Standing charges: When you look at a breakdown of your bills, you’ll see standing charges referenced. All plans must include a standing charge according to Ofgem regulations. This is a fixed amount covering the costs of network connection and distribution. Some suppliers charge £0.00 to get around this requirement. VAT: The standard VAT rate is currently capped at 5%. All energy bills will show unit prices before VAT, so it’s important to include this in your final price if it’s not already factored in. lifeinmagazines.co.uk
