I got into a heated argument with my brother-in-law last weekend about air fryers. Like, embarrassingly heated. He swore up and down that his precious kitchen gadget was saving him "hundreds" on his electricity bill. I just smiled and nodded while silently thinking he was full of it.
Turns out I was right. (Sorry not sorry, Dave.)
The Dirty Truth Nobody Wants to Admit
Those trendy air fryers that everyone and their mother seems to be obsessed with lately? They're not always the money-savers we've been led to believe. In fact, cooking your Sunday roast in one could actually cost MORE than using your regular old oven.
Sales of these things have gone through the roof since 2022 when energy bills started making us all hyperventilate. I nearly bought one myself during Black Friday when I saw them marked down to £49 at Argos. Thank god I hesitated.
Size Matters... A Lot
Here's the thing. Air fryers are fantastic for small meals. Making chips for one person? Perfect. Reheating last night's pizza? Brilliant.
But try cramming an entire roast dinner in there.
Natalie Mathie from Uswitch.com breaks it down: "Air fryers and microwaves are great for cooking small meals, as you don't need to waste energy heating the whole oven."
She continues: "(But) there are times when the oven comes out on top – and that's usually when you're cooking a large meal with lots of elements, like a roast dinner."
"Putting them in the oven all together means you're using its full capacity, making it a more cost-effective option. Using teh air fryer to cook individual parts – like roast potatoes, veg and meat – separately would mean having the device running constantly for hours."
Show Me The Actual Numbers!
I'm a numbers person. Always have been since my accounting days back in 2017. So let's get specific.
According to Uswitch (who I trust because they have no skin in the air fryer game), cooking a half leg of lamb, roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings costs around 54p in a standard two kilowatt oven, using it for up to an hour.
Cook those same three items one after another in a 1.4 kilowatt air fryer? 73p. That's 19p more expensive!
My neighbor Jane bought an air fryer last Christmas and texted me yesterday: "Feel like such a mug now. Been using this thing for everything thinking I was being clever."
Even Martin Lewis Says So
Look, when Martin Lewis speaks about money, I listen. The man saved me £340 on my car insurance with one tip last year.
He explained on his BBC Radio 5 podcast: "If you're doing a jacket potato in the microwave for 10 minutes it's going to be far cheaper than doing a single jacket potato in an oven and keeping it on for an hour and a half."
"However if you were doing a full roast dinner and you were cooking many of them, that is where it's probably cheaper than putting five or six jacket potatoes in a microwave."
This is because each additional object you put in a microwave, you need to keep it on longer because a microwave just heats the individual object.
Wait... So Should I Throw My Air Fryer Away?
God no. I'm not saying that.
The savings (or extra costs) depend on a bunch of variables. Some foods need boiling or pre-cooking on the hob before finishing in the oven anyway. And air fryers are genuinely brilliant for certain things.
My sister swears her chicken wings come out better in the air fryer than they ever did in her oven. And she's right - I've tried them both ways.
Do The Math Yourself
If you're really curious about what's costing what, there's a simple equation:
Cost = power (kilowatt) x cost of one kWh (pence) x the length of time.
For example, a two kilowatt electric oven under the current price cap costs about 54.06p to run per hour. That's the current cost of one kilowatt of electricity (27.03p) multiplied by two.
I spent an entire Sunday afternoon working out the costs of different appliances in my kitchen. My wife thought I'd lost the plot. Maybe I had.
Track Your Usage (Without Going Insane)
One quick way to monitor how much a specific appliance is costing is by using a smart plug. These little gadgets can tell you exactly how much electricity an appliance is using.
Some even let you enter the price you pay for energy adn then calculate the cost for you. I bought one for £12 on Amazon last year - worth every penny.
Smart meters can also help you track energy costs in real time, though mine seems to exist purely to make me feel guilty about boiling the kettle.
Listen. At the end of the day, use whatever cooking method works for your lifestyle. Just don't assume that trendy kitchen gadget is automatically saving you money... because it might be doing the exact opposite.
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Investing in the stock market involves several risks, including market volatility, economic downturns, and company-specific factors that can lead to losses. Investors may also face liquidity risk, where they cannot sell an investment quickly without incurring a loss. Diversification and thorough research can help mitigate these risks.
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The main types of money include commodity money, which is based on physical goods like gold or silver; fiat money, which is government-issued currency not backed by a physical commodity; and digital currency, which exists electronically and is often decentralized, such as cryptocurrencies.
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The primary functions of money are as a medium of exchange, facilitating trade; a unit of account, which provides a standard measure of value; a store of value, allowing individuals to save and transfer purchasing power over time; and a standard of deferred payment, enabling credit transactions.
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Statistics
- The average cost of raising a child in the U.S. is estimated to be around $233,610, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
- According to a Gallup poll, 56% of Americans report that their financial situation is better than it was a year ago.
- According to the World Bank, around 1.7 billion adults worldwide remain unbanked, lacking access to basic financial services.
- Research by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that individuals who receive financial education are 25% more likely to save than those who do not.
- According to the Federal Reserve, approximately 39% of Americans do not have enough savings to cover a $400 emergency expense.
- According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American spends about $1,500 per year on coffee.
- As of 2021, the median household income in the U.S. was approximately $67,521, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
- A study by the National Endowment for Financial Education found that 60% of Americans do not have a budget.
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How To Develop a Good Saving Habit
Developing a good saving habit begins with setting clear financial goals. Determine what you are saving for, whether it’s an emergency fund, a vacation, or retirement. Start by automating your savings; set up a direct deposit from your paycheck into a savings account. Aim to save at least 20% of your income, gradually increasing this amount as you become comfortable. Track your spending to identify areas where you can cut back and redirect those funds to your savings. Regularly review your savings progress and adjust your contributions as necessary to stay motivated and achieve your goals.
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