It’s suddenly really cold snd I can hear my gas meter ticking…

[Notcontent]

I am in London and so far the weather was quite mild. I was congratulating myself on not having the heating on very much and still not being too cold. But it suddenly feels really cold tonight! The heating is on as I am working and DD is studying for exams but feeling quite guilty and imagining a huge bill at the end! Will definitely need to cut back on other things.

@FranklySonImTheGaffer

Agree the way MN is about heating is a bit odd - similar to the competitive thing of getting 10 meals out of a chicken and buying very few presents for their children for Christmas etc.

I have the heating in for 90 mins in the morning and have been switching it on for an hour or so early afternoon and again in the evening if we need it (which we have for the last week or so).

It makes sense to me to not keep letting the house get freezing cold as it takes more energy to bring it up to temp plus I'm now wfh so I figure the money I would normally spend on commuting can go on heating instead. I wrap up warm but refuse to be so cold I'm uncomfortable while working.

Bit of an empathy failure there, using heating less, making meat last as long as possible and not overbiying gifts ate all basic suggestions to save money if you are struggling financially.

Instead of assuming people are doing it out of sheer competitive stingyness maybe consider that not everyone is as wealthy as you?

Finally gave in and put the central heating on yesterday, set it at 18 but then DH increased it to 20.
We're not poor but it seems wasteful to me, I'd much rather layer up. When I was growing up our house was single glazed and I remember ice on the inside of the windows and we could see our breath. That was the 1980s so not that long ago. DParents were fairly well off but v frugal!

Well said @SushiGo, it's very unusual for someone to go without keeping warm by choice. For many the choice is heating or eating. Or only being able to afford to keep the house warm when the DC are home.
My top tip is simple - dressing gown over clothes & slippper socks with slippers over.

it is not odd to be worried about gas bills

We live in north Scotland in a draughty, old house. Once it hits 6 oc outside (most of the winter) the heating needs to be left on constantly during the day until around 9pm. Two of us are working from home.

I have turned radiators off in a couple of rooms which are rarely used and turn the thermastat down to 17 oc in the day and 18 oc from tea time.

Fingerless gloves (cashmere), sheepskin slippers and a warm scarf make a big difference.

Our bills are still £240 a month.

@JunoMcDuff

Last month's heating bill was up £20 on last year's, despite us using a lot less as it's been really mild.

We aren't poor. I'd definitely say we're comfortable, but I dread to think what this month's bill will be with how cold it has been today. If I'm dreading it, I can only think what those worse off may be thinking.

It's fine saying you just put the heating on, but not everyone is able to do that, particularly with the price hike.

I agree, we’re on a fairly low fixed income. But we pay enough each month when the costs are minimal to cover the more expensive winter months. I remember the days when quarterly bills were the norm, and the winter one was always a worry.

I have a well insulated house and new double glazing. I have the heating on at 16 or 17 degrees then it gets boiling so I turn it down to 14. My bill isn't going up as I am with Utility Warehouse.

We have an old boiler (not unsafe, it has been serviced recently) so only have the heating on for one hour a day (mainly to keep it limping on so we have hot water). We get a replacement early next month. We do have other heating sources like a gas fire in the lounge so we just live in there!

We have a big eiderdown over the bed and also have dressing gowns over it, and I wore socks last night.

When I am working I have a small oil filled radiator but wear a hoodie, scarf and fingerless gloves.

Once we get the new boiler we'll probably have the heating on 7-9 in the morning and 4-8 in the evening. We also turn radiators down in rooms we are not using (not completely off as you need a bit of background heat to avoid damp).

'Empathy fail', the utter pomposity of it. Everyone acknowledges that it's a very different matter if you can't afford heating. These threads start in October and are largely populated by odd women thinking it's still rationing. Oh yes, they very much do compete over who can be the coldest longest.

I have a tendency to feel the cold anyway, because of heart failure. I do wear layers, I have a heated throw that I use without plugging it in and I have woolly socks.
I am trying to keep our heating bills down but I refuse to get cold because it makes me feel ill.
I do empathise with those who struggle with bills, been there and done it ☹️

Some of us are on benefits and don’t have choices.

I also have to laugh on threads like these when people say ‘you just need cashmere socks and gloves, and a heated blanket, and thermal underwear, and cashmere jumpers, and sheepskin slippers’ as though buying all of that for a family wouldn’t also cost an absolute bloody fortune.

@SushiGo If people can't afford to do those things (or heat their home), I completely understand. I've been there, I've made the choice between topping up my electric or gas and having to layer up then huddle under the duvet on the sofa for warmth. I have a lot of empathy for those in that situation and think it's bloody appalling in this country that it happens.

I am not wealthy, just no longer on the breadline (after several years) and I was clearly talking about the posters who are very comfortable but talk as though you are some sort of failure if you don't turn chicken bones to broth, buy your children fun things that have no real educational value or purpose or choose to put the heating on.

In real life I don't know anyone who would willingly be cold just to save on costs if they don't have to, but as always, MN is like a different world.

If life is that bad that you're having to sit around like you're Siberia in your own home, then maybe priorities need to change.

The amount of people lately moaning about putting their heating on, and competing as to how many layers they put on is ridiculous. Especially when they then think nothing of cracking open wine most nights.

It's alright having lots of savings, but not if you moan and live like Scrooge to bolster the coffers. Surely you don't want to end up in a Baltic care home ending your days... Get those savings spent on a few bobs worth of heating. You can't take it with you when you go!

Seymour5 I too remember the quarterly bills and remember the dread of the winter bills come in , but people don't seem to have that awareness now with paying a fixed amount monthly . It did make most of us twitchy with the thermostat . However I still have the twitchyness .

We now have Tado controls on our radiators which can be both set to a temperature, on a timer and controlled by an app. It was expensive but has significantly reduced how much oil we use each year. Our heating is on all year, it just kicks in once it gets to a specific temperature.

@MrsAmaretto

We now have Tado controls on our radiators which can be both set to a temperature, on a timer and controlled by an app. It was expensive but has significantly reduced how much oil we use each year. Our heating is on all year, it just kicks in once it gets to a specific temperature.

Absolutely love our tados!

I pay by direct debit, in credit most of the year then winter snaps come and on goes the heating and the credit pays for theses cold snaps

Just bought tacos also

If you can afford it, put the heating on. Doesn’t have to be tropical but I also grew up in a freezing cold house and honestly it’s all I can remember from childhood. I don’t really remember days out at a zoo, just being cold all winter.

we wont know until April regarding the price.
keep moving, hot drinks, blankets,

i remember ice on the inside windows of my bedroom but it isnt the only memory

@DGFB

We have ours on for two hours in the morning, then put up with the cold while wfh til 4pm when the kids come home. Then it is on 4pm til 10pm. I know it’s a lot but I don’t want the kids growing up in a cold house and remembering it being freezing! My mum said the memory never left her. So we try to cut back elsewhere.

Ours is on 2 hours in the morning, 1 hour at lunchtime and then 4 hours at night, from 4.30. Today I popped it on early at 11 and then again early at 4. I grew up in a house where the only heating was fire in the sitting room, until my dad got a better paid job and then we had the central heating on in the evening and it made such a difference to our quality of life!

Or maybe it's not "weird competitiveness" or "moaning" but just different people having different preferences, maybe? It might be money, might be not wanting to use energy unnecessarily, might just be a preference. It's all those things for me. I don't like stuffy overheated houses, I prefer warm clothes and slippers. It's not miserable, I like it and am always delighted when the weather turns a bit parky. It's the UK, not Siberia.

I also make chicken carcasses into stock, so what? It's tasty and nutritious, why would I throw it away? Don't know why you'd assume that's virtue-signally or competitive misery?

We can't afford to have the heating on all day when we're WFH so I bought myself a sort of hooded 'sweatdress' last year and wear it over my normal indoor clothing. It's loooooooong, calf length, and really keeps me cosy when the temperature drops.

I also don't look too much as if I've just rolled out of bed if I have to open the door to the postman at midday.