My house is 8 degrees. 8 degrees

[Bonecold]

Heating oil ran out yesterday. I have £200 in the savings pot with boiler juice. For a minimum order I need 500 litres which is £468.

So I’ve left the heating off until either the price per litre drops, the weather gets better, or my savings pot reaches the amount needed to do an order (£65 DD a month).

In the meantime I have a fire place so I can heat one room (but no wood so have to outlay for that).

I can’t work out if I should:

a) remove the £200 from the savings account and spend it on wood/coal to get through to warmer weather. Pro - would be warm now, Con - even further away from filling the tank

b) heat one room with wood, live near a wood so could scavenge enough wood weekly to do this?

c) plug in electric radiator. Pro: heat, con: eats electricity

D) small loan for £300/400 and top up oil. Pro: heat, con: small loans have huge interest and would be another bill each month

I’m at work all day and kids at school usually so it’s not like we would be freezing all day and can boil water for cooking and have electric shower for washing. But it’s Easter holidays here so they’ll be home for the next two weeks now

What would you do?

Are you on benefits? If you are you can get your home insulated & a new boiler free, is there gas in your area?

Sorry didn't see you rented, can you afford to get a couple of halogen heaters? They are about £25 each, they are brilliant & warm up quickly.

@SquirrelG

I just wondered how many of those telling the OP that she should put up with it as they had to once upon a time were also currently sat in an 8 degree house

They are not telling the OP that she should put up with it, they are merely pointing out that life hasn't always been this easy and offering advice on how to deal with it being so cold and suggestions to heat up, based on their experiences.

The poster I was addressing didn’t offer any advice or suggestions.

Are you sure you're getting all the financial assistance available to you? With a rent of that much as a single parent then unless you're earning a decent amount you're likely to be eligible for universal credit which would also cover a lot of your DC's childcare costs.

Can't believe someone suggested 8c wasn't cold. I wouldn't be able to function at that temperature long term. I grew up in a very cold house. We had central heating but it was powered by the coal fire so as soon as that went out the heating went off and the hot water cooled. We'd all get in Aron d 5 and the fire with be lit then so it would be bedtime by the time the house actually warned then the fire would go out and be freezing again by the morning. My parents although thrifty allowed me an oil filled radiator in my room as I could t bare the cold. They don't use loads of electricity so maybe a short term option for you? I'd also look in to council hardship payments and food banks to free up money for electric and fuel. I'd probably also go with the PayPal solution for now as just could not live in that cold

Can you get hold of some unwanted pallets from a local warehouse or industrial estate?

@ReadyToMoveIt

The poster I was addressing didn’t offer any advice or suggestions.

Most of the suggestions I had were already covered but OP could try this as it appears the landlord is in breach of his/her duty of care ;

homelet.co.uk/tenants/blog/article/energy-efficiency-your-landlord-must-ensure

@bluetongue

Are you still cold after layering clothing and having rugs over you while watching TV? I’ve always lived in cold houses. I’m in Australia but the southern states get surprisingly cold overnight in winter and having single glazed windows and are often not well insulated. I used to get chilblains as a child.

I’ve only ever had heating in the living room and have lived in a couple of houses where you could see you breath freeze in parts of the house (not sure how cold it needs to be for that to happen). Wearing shorts and T-shirts inside in winter has never been a thing for me.

If you can use the fire safely I’d go with that and get everyone to rug up.

With the greatest respect you have no idea how cold it can be in the UK.

Seeing your breath can happen at 15 degrees C. Cold in the UK is where your window glass is covered in ice on the inside.

At 8 degrees the OP doesn't need to put anything in the fridge.

I know there are cases of hypothermia in NSW and that Tasmania is cold by Oz standards but not on the scale in the UK.

Layering and rugs are fine when it is a bit chilly but I've gone to sleep wearing PJs covered by jogging pants, jumper, hat, gloves, socks and still been cold.

Have you ever had your hair freeze because you washed your hair and didn't dry it?

And this is not overnight, the temp the OP posted is mid afternoon, that's usually the warmest part of the day.

Glad your neighbour is able to help with pallets. I would collect as many as you need and try to muddle through until the warm weather arrives 🙏

@Ladybyrd

I assume that people who say this are trying to help by showing that its not the end of the world and people can cope with it, children can cope with it as long as there is the right equipment (hot water bottles, socks, jumpers, heated blankets, hot drinks etc)

We had no central heating and single glazed windows when I was a kid - a fire in the living room. Finally got an oil radiator in my room in my teens. There used to be ice on the inside of the windows sometimes. I can assure you that while it is possible, it isn't a comfortable way to live by any means. I had bronchitis for months.

It's how it was when I was a child too but none of us got ill, it was pretty normal. I bought my first house in 1987 - no central heating and drafty windows. The curtains would actually blow about in the wind. Of course, I remedied these things as soon as I could but until then my daughter and I had fleecy pyjamas and shared a bed. A bath was as quick as possible in the unheated bathroom. We stayed in one room (as people mostly did then anyway) and snuggled under a duvet watching TV.

The sun is shining here!!

It’s still bloody cold but the sun is shining. Off to collect pallets and 2 DC are at sleepovers tonight so I’m feeling good about today.

Just a quick note, I’ve had some messages offering financial help. I appreciate that people would reach out to a complete stranger like that but I can’t and won’t take money - I cannot thank you enough though, it means the world that people would do that.

@MurmuratingStarling

8 degrees C in your house? Do you live in an igloo?

8 degrees INSIDE a house doesn't sound too cold?!

It's far too cold and well below any recommendations for healthy living, especially in damp cold weather outside.

No one should need to be living like this in our country in 2022, it's scandalous.

@Febrier

I wonder what's worse for you? Inhaling from a real fire in the living room or your house being so cold

Many people have used real fires for hundreds of years now and survived. So I'd assume the cold, otherwise that's what people would have done in the past rather than faffing about trying to heat dwellings and homes over the years.

@Bonecold

Off to collect wood now and have just found a bag of coal in the woodshed so that’s a start!

If you can buy a bag of dry wood and starter wood you can burn scavenged wood.

Lay up fire with starter wood and three logs.

Get it burning hot but keep a close eye on it.

The moment it's confidently hot enough add coal. I use 6 pieces on top of the wood. Get that to carry on burning until glowing.

Then add the scavenged wood.

You need a good amount of heat to get it to burn but it does burn.

This way a bag of pre bought firewood lasts four days and with coal and scavenged wood can heat my whole house.

I just wanted to show my screenshot for my house to show those who think a house couldn’t possibly get to 8 degrees. Full disclosure, I’m staying with a friend for the weekend but it’s not impossible to have a v cold house. I’d have lit the log burner first thing, in my fleecy dressing gown if I were home.

If you're burning pallets, make sure they are heat- treated. They will have HT stamped on them, or KD (kiln dried). Methane-bromide treated pallets should be rare in (ex) EU countries now, but might still be some around. MB-stamped ones are the unsafe ones to burn. You can find pictures of what the stamps look like on pallets.

It's very warming to saw pallets down... do you have good saw(s)?

"No I live in a very old house which the landlord refuses to insulate and which I pay £1200 a month for"
"It’s single brick so can’t do cavity wall insulation"

I also live in a house too old for cavities, and it's listed/conservation area too, so not allowed double glazing either. Insulating my house would need to be done from the inside, which would be a huge job.

In the long term, would it be possible for to find somewhere more modern to rent? The house you're in can't really be insulated so you're going to have this problem again come next winter.

We live in Scotland with no central heating and only a gas fire in our living room. We simply put on extra clothes when it gets down to 8 degrees or lower. You get used to it. When I go to visit friends their houses are far too hot and I am ditto g in a Tshirt while they are wearing fleeces!

Isn't there any filling stations near you that you can fill some large drums up with? We had to do that when we moved in and had to wait for oil delivery??

Are you on any sort of benefits? Is it a private landlord or housing association? If you have any sort of benefits then check to see if you can get an emergency loan or Discretionary Housing Payment through the housing department at your local council. One of our participants (I run a charity) managed to get his housing association to pay for a half tank of oil because he was in a desperate state. You have children who need to be warm and protected under the childrens act 1989 so you may be able to get something. Worth a try!

I'm seriously ashamed of my country. Sorry OP that you have to go through this. I'd forage for wood. I think after a cold snap the weather is going to turn warm. Any chance you guys could get a leisure centre membership and use that for Easter hols entertainment as well as hot showers and general warmth?

Sorry to hear this.

The only comfort is it’s now April. These temperatures are unusual for this stage if Soring and won’t be the norm, the temperature will rise. The only slight comfort is at lest this isn’t December with 3. I this more ahead.

Keep a room warm with wood.

In another week things will be a bit warmer. It’s hideous but there’s not long to go now.

Bonecold

Always feels better when the sun shines, I find it really warms the house up, front of the house warm in the morning back in the afternoon in mine. I would also just use the fire in the living room, get kids to help you find the wood, also look on facebook and gumtree as alot of people are give wood away with all the trees coming down this winter. Hopefully we will get a long hot summer so you can get oil in the late summer. When it’s cold next winter try keeping to temperature at 16/18 degrees and use the fire at night to keep living room really warm. It’s just mental that in the 21st century we are all worrying about keeping warm. Agree with what others are saying check that you are getting all benefits you can , and ask your landlord if they can help make the house more energy efficien

I'd go with a combination of B and C and other measures like extra blankets and a hot water bottle at night, extra jumpers, thick socks during day.

Take the chill off one bedroom so you can all get dressed in comfort in there. Light a fire in the living room, keep the door shut and camp out in there.

We don’t have central heating - it’s an old house
Our bedrooms were about 4 degrees last night - onesies, bedsocks and extra blankets

If you have decent credit, I would get a Sainsburys Credit Card (currently 31 months interest free on purchases) spend the £468 on the oil, divert the £65per month to the credit card and you will have cleared the £468, interest free, in 8 months and still have your £200 savings as a buffer for any other emergencies. You can all see if your bank offers a rounding option for savings - this means if you spend £9.99 it rounds to £10 and a penny goes to savings. I get around £20 a month this way and I don’t miss it.

You can do an eligibility check on the MSE website and the tell you all the best offers for credit cards and your likelihood to get them.

Only do this if you are disciplined to not spend further on the card and stick to the repayment, you loose the 0% after the term and then it’s more expensive (typical APR is normally 20-30% dependent on the card).