Not sure if its really scrmp and save, we had a mention a few pages back of picking up drift wood for the fire and someone else said about burning pallets. Anyway a week before Christmas a farmer buddy who owes me a favour dropped off a load of logs which he had cut over a year ago and they were dry as toast. I also got my hands on two pallets free gratis.
Bottom line combined with the house insulation I put in about 18 months ago, plus my two inset stoves/fireplaces and a bag of singles coal we have had a beautiful warm house all over Christmas, the gas heating does go on for maybe an hour at night upstairs and half an hour in the morning but nothing during the day. I know that most of this is just me being lucky with the weather as well and being more prepared timber and coal wise but I can now look forward to my gas bill with out ending up as a gibbering wreck on the floor

A similar thing here. Last year the neighbours got professional tree fellers, not three fellas, in to chop their pine trees down. I've been burning that all winter. Yesterday I bought my first two bags of coal since last Jan. Your right about the gas bill. Last year it was horrible

anyone got a 1928 calender handy?
http://whencanireusethiscalendar.com/?y=2012

If you have emigrated but still have an Irish bank account with an ATM/Debit/Credit card and you have changed the accounts billing address to your current address outside of Ireland then you should not have to pay Duty on your card.

ATM card Duty charge is €2.50
Direct Debit Duty charge is €2.50
Credit Card Duty charge is €30

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/stamp-duty ... cards.html

I was charged this on 2/1/12 even though my account address is outside Ireland so I've used online mail within Internet Banking asking for refund.

I thought this was normally taken out in April and the link states it is taken in April so I'm wondering have Govt. pulled it forward just to get the tax in earlier.

Got a great sailing jacket in TK Maxx.

Very similar to this model...


... but €100 instead of €760.

Debit/ATM card stamp duty is charged in January, credit card in April. Credit card stamp duty is paid in arrears so if you cancelled your card today you'd have to pay €30 up front for next April.

I found that out last year when a card that I had cleared suddenly had €30 on it for tax despite not being in use and had to pay it to cancel it!

Anyone know where there is one of those coin-changing machines in southside Dublin?

I seen one in Tesco in Nutgrove but that was last year not sure if it's still there...

Eurospar in killiney shopping centre at the graduate pub, at the roundabout.

Thanks. Anywhere closer to town, Ballsbridge/Mount Merrion or the like?

Thanks.

Don't they take like 10%? Expensive if your changing 50 euro upwards.

Yup. Handiest thing is to do the shopping in tesco, go to the self service till, et voila, coins all gone.

in the US they take slightly more IIRC; the one I used gave you an option of an Amazon etc. voucher with no discount (100%)