How to keep warm? Can't afford heating

Oh dear! Covid took my job, and for the first time ever, I had to resort to benefits. I barely had enough cash to grab a decent meal and decided to give up heating for the entire winter because I have a stupid Ecodan system that's bonkers to figure out and I ended up finding easier to switch the thing off entirely. After much trial and error, I discovered two valuable lessons (which cost a pretty penny, but worth every penny!). Firstly, get yourself an exercise bike from The Range and pay using Klarna. Secondly, an electric blanket is not only a precious investment to keep you warm, but it's also cheaper than boiling the kettle repeatedly for hot water bottles.

I know from experience they will cut you off , child or no child. Respiratory diseases or not , elderly or not. They say they don't but they most definitely do which is a sin. If this happens seek legal action. They should let you make extra payments during the summer to cover what extra you couldnt pay in winter. Citizens advice are good at making phonecalls for you and getting things done generally. Also seek a welfare benefits officer as they will be able to tell you what extra money you can apply for.

Convecter heaters. Cheaper to run than central heating. We have a combi boiler which is ridiculously expensive to run. Usually its gas is cheaper than electric to heat your house but not for us. We were £140 a week last year to heat one room a day. My combi boiler cost over 150 a week 13 years ago so as you can imagine gas just isn't an option. We got a camping shower which is the cost of one kettle which is way cheaper . Wear lots of layers and hats indoors. Get an electric blanket too. Surprised you need heating on at 14°c though. But im way north and guess we're more hardy . Heat doesn't go on until it drops to 7°c . Thermal wool socks and boot slippers also are a must. Also look at hiking and camping clothes that are designed to keep body heat in. But also open all your windows wide for over half an hour in winter to ventilate and keep mould/damp at bay. Use cleaning products with antimould agents in for cleaning in winter. Also dont get cavity wall insulation as this soaks up damp and keeps the property wet within the walls. Its a con. Hope you fair better this year.

It is awful but as Madame Zelensky said, we have to put up with it

"when you start counting pennies, we are doing the same and count our casualties"

President Zelensky said rising bills are "painful" but if we don't "stand up to Putin and are willing to lose something, there will be even graver risks"

On his last visit to Ukraine as PM, Boris said,
"We're paying in our energy bills but the people of Ukraine are paying in blood"

We knew, when the war started and we supported Ukraine that the energy bills would go through the roof as we could hardly expect Russia to supply gas to a Europe that is sending weapons to Ukraine.

Nothing has changed except that winter is now here, it's cold and those prices are starting to bite.

I do what other posters have suggested, OP, and also remember what the Zelenskys have said. I'm sure they're cold too and have other worries.

Better to be cold than not support Ukraine.

Haven’t RTFT so apologies if I’m repeating. With curtains, if they are light weight and you can’t afford to buy heavier ones you could stitch/safety pin fleece blankets behind the curtains.

I can't speak highly enough of heated throws! If you can afford the initial cost (around £50-£60), they keep you really toasty! I really feel the cold and normally have the heating on mid-September but so far, no need to as I'm really warm under this blanket.

Call L.E.A.P energy, they're an organisation helping low income people with energy costs, they can even give you knew lower energy consuming kitchen white goods like fridges. Worth a phone call!

You're getting £67 a month towards your bills (we all are), so can you have the heating on a bit, even if it's only for an hour every few days? As a pp said, damp is a major problem if you don't heat your home at all.

Do you qualify for any other help - you mentioned council tax, what band are you in? There was extra help for those in bands A to D.

Not quite giving away to everyone….

Thanks for that!

If you're with Octopus, they're giving away 10,000 free electric blankets:

octopus.typeform.com/to/TuwzbHC2?typeform-source=www.itv.com

Hoard your housework for cold days.Cleani ng a room thoroughly is enough to get you flinging off jumpers even on a very cold day.
I have a heated throw for this winter.Trials so far show that a heated throw also means you have 2 cats sitting on you saving even more fuel as you have to turn it off as the combined heat is too much!

I work nights from home. I do a quick (10 mins or so) workout-are you physically able to do that, apologies if not? Every couple of hours. I have a cheaper version of an Oodie, I get too hot with that on sometimes. Heated shawl. When I was young in the 80s/90s I used to smother myself in vaseline under my clothes, sounds ridiculous but I may start that again. Long socks too, slippers, hat.

LOads of good tips here.

Natural materials used for centuries are better than man made I think. When I was a kid people had proper "woolly jumpers" and there were loads of knitters. Now we're stuck with horrible (and cold) acrylic jumpers. So wool is better than made made fleeces. Look in charity shops etc for woollen blankets for bed and sofa.

If you have a bath, leave the hot water in for a while as it heats the bathroom. Likewise if you put the oven on. Once you take the food out, open the door and let the residual heat heat the kitchen.

Thick curtains are better than cheap flimsy things. As soon as the sun goes down, draw the curtains across. Some people have door curtains if their front door is draughty or they don't have a porch etc. Get a draught excluder/sausage dog cushion type thing for your front door.

If you have any source of heat like an electric fire or heater, use for a very short time to heat just one room, and KEEP THE DOOR CLOSED to keep the heat in the room. So many people just leave their internal doors open then wonder why their rooms aren't heating up. Open plan obviously doesn't help when you want to keep things cosy but not sure what you can do about that.

Don't let your feet get cold. Heat for your Feet socks are good. But if your feet are already like blocks of ice I don't find them great for warming your feet UP, they are good for keeping them warm. Wool socks are better for that.

Woollen ponchos and scarves are nice to wear in the house. Keep your chest and neck really covered and warm. Same with your wrists. Three quarter length sleees are a no-no. If you can find a thick proper arran jumper anywhere in a charity shop etc then grab it.

OP - sorry to hear about your difficult situation

I grew up in a cold house & have also spent some time in a v cold house (no heating at all due to building work in Scotland 🥶 )

What I think is worth it /cheap

• seal any and all gaps - even stuffing loo paper in will help. I covered an air vent in my old flat by taping over one of those envelopes made of bubble wrap- it made a big big difference
• Block off any draft coming down a chimney (an old duvet or similar in a bin bag, even old newspapers can be used for that
• hot water bottles. If you don’t have them make a ‘rice bag’ by sewing up a bag of rice (eg in a pillow case folded over & sewn shut) and heat in microwave
• Sleep with a blanket under you as well as over you
• hats, onesies, thermals etc but you know this
• tea, soups etc (hot squash for your child?)
• sitting in whichever room catches sun
• Curtains closed 10 min before dark to keep heat in
• dry washing/towels etc outside to avoid damp air (& wipe down any condensation on windows/shower etc)

a cost but worth it

• heavy curtains (charity shop.?) & rugs (ikea?) if you don’t have them - I appreciate this is an expense
• i do have an electric blanket and it is v helpful as I don’t need heating on when watching TV etc

I had not heard about the tea lights but will try them

I hope you manage ok OP, I appreciate its s lot tougher with a child

We did a bit of a burns test tonight to test the price of our electric fire. Worked out 1 hour at full blast is about 76p. If I have worked it out right, the central heating will be about £2.40 an hour. (24kwH boiler, 10p/kwh gas) Its going to have to be pretty cold to put it on. Im getting a heated airer, already have electric blankets, hot water bottles, blankets, high tog duvets. Been gradually testing certain appliances to see what costs the most.

I lined the childrens beds with duvets under the sheets to make them extra toasty.

The oven is expensive, but I can batch cook and since it throws out a lot of heat, there is an extra benefit to that too.

I am watching usage closely at the moment to make sure I know what to expect when the statement comes.

I have been trying to think back to when I was little-we lived in a terraced house that didnt have central heating and I do remember upstairs being so, so cold. I dont want our house to be like that.

Don't count on school being that warm this winter. They haven't got money for heating either. And still need to ventilate for COVID to some extent. My school is freezing at the moment. There is no heating on yet.

I have a heated throw but with a child I'd get a blanket(they're also cheaper)Use on the sofa with cheap fleece sheeting or blankets over you.
Don't skip on hot food,microwavings cheaper.
Library's and storytimes are great for your child and later you can snuggle on the sofa reading.
It's going to be a tough winter for so many.

A lot of good suggestions however unless you have the items suggested around the house they aren't going to work.

Hot water bottles are great but not enough unfortunately.

Could you contact SVDP or any other charities in your area that could help financially towards some real heating.

It's already very cold and going to get much worse.

Heating not been on yet
We have heated throws and hot water bottles
I wear a gilet and cosy scarf,as well as fingerless gloves which make a huge difference. Extra blankets on the bed
Bolster thingy at front door along with curtain. Curtains in front room lined with fleece.
Hot bath to warm up when really cold

Can you cut back in any other area? Can you pay for what you use not an estimated bill?

Can anyone loan you an oiled filled radiator? You can move them from room to room, again not instant. When I moved to this house it was freezing, there was hardly any insulation, the boiler leaked and the windows were crap. It was miserable first few months living here. I got mine from screwfix and it was a flipping godsend whilst I was sorting the issues out.

Im sorty but i thunk you will need the heating on a little bit as the house will get damp.

Hot water bottles, onesies and thick socks around the house. We don't put the heating on much anyway and always find that helps take the edge off. hot water bottles in bed too. Draft excluding, curtains over doors.

Heated throw.

Op I've spent a bitter winter in a caravan that wasn't for for human habitation really eg windows not properly sealed and damp.
.it was meant for seasonal fruit pickers.

I'e not habitat in winter. ..what' saved me was a hot water bottle.

So get lots and a heated throw.
.as pp said initial outlay is about 40/50 but costs pennies to run.

I won't go for tea lights as they are pollutants and fire risk.

www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/getting-help-if-you-cant-afford-your-energy-bills
For when you do need to incur energy costs