Are you keeping track of usage to ensure you know your upcoming energy bills and predicted annual usage??

[cakeorwine]

Just thinking about the cold weather over the last week, people altering their usage and the increased cost in energy.

Are people keeping track of usage just to see what they are using, if their direct debits are on track etc. I know that I have used a lot this last week.

It's scary to see the usage. But OTOH, it's useful to me to know that I know the usage and if I am on track

The app shows me daily monthly and annual usage and cost for electricity and gas (desperately, and combined). I can see that I am over £1,000 in credit, so even it I go crazy over the rest of winter and double my current usage, I won’t run that amount down before the weather gets warm again.

Yes, we know there will be an overspend now, but it will even out in the warmer weather. There’s a contingency too.

I think people might be surprised by how quickly their credit gets wiped out if they're not careful.

No and part of that is the luxury of not being in the truly awful position some people are in. Some small adjustments have been made such as heating down two degrees to 18, showers were always quite short and we have never had a tumble drier. We just so happened to be bought an air fryer last Christmas as a gift so have been using all year. I have always been a spot cleaner of clothes. So our usage has gone down a bit.

No ... like others I am sensible about use but I am not prepared to be miserable and cold .. I appreciate that I am fortunate in that I can afford the bills (at the moment) and there are other things I would cut back on before heating ... again, I understand not everyone has the choice but I don't buy new clothes (charity shops only), expensive Christmas presents or have extravagant holidays for example.

I'm checking my usage online every few days, so far we haven't used as much as predicted (because we have cut our usage) so we are building up a nice credit as the direct debit is more than we are using each month. This means I can be a bit more relaxed about putting the heating on during this cold weather, although I'm still not being as free with it as I would have previously. I probably could afford to use more but I want to keep the credit going to cushion us from rises next year when the government will be less generous with support.

Yes I am keeping track. I also ‘can’t be arsed with all that faff’ as some PP’s have said, but as we’re on a tight budget I have to keep it under control somehow. I don’t have the luxury of not being arsed!

Yes, I do check daily usage. Also, when price were about to rise, I calculated my last year's usage according to new prices. This way I increased my monthly budget from £150 to £300 to cover winter bills without taking money from my current account. It all goes from "bills" pot.

Nope, I'm being sensible and lucky enough to have a small amout of savings to make up any shortfall

Monthly variable DD - yep
Spreadsheet for yearly budget by months - yep
Weekly check with bank account online to match Spreadsheet to the penny- yep

Caught short by unforseen expenses- Nope

No because I'm fortunate to be on a good fixed tariff rate until April and have £400 credit.

Come April it will be a very different story, our bill will triple and next winter we will struggle if it continues as it is.

How are people affording it on a variable rate?

I'm waiting for my supplier to catch up on my projected usage; my electric usage has just about halved over the last year.
My gas use on the other hand has at least doubled compared to the same period last year....

No, because I have a good wodge of credit, and that's what it is there for. It's been very cold, so the heating has been on constantly, and that's just the way it is.

I did a calculation on 10th Dec and in the ten days since submitting reading to Bulb, we'd used the same amount as the whole of November. I've turned the heating down to just under 17.5-18c but it's taking a thrashing. Think I need to be brave and check again later.

I started being really careful, but a few days ago I was just sitting at home feeling absolutely freezing, and I decided I can't and won't live like this.

We were in credit anyway, but if we end up going over I'd rather make other sacrifices through the year than sit here being cold. I just won't do it, and I feel so very, very sorry for the people who literally have no choice in the matter.

I have OCD so have deliberately decided against having a smart meter as I know it would be something I continuously check and I won’t to be able to relax in my home

This. We have a not-so-smart meter and it never works properly. It was provided by our original supplier but since then we have swapped providers and it doesn't seem to calibrate now and keeps beeping and flashing red. I would feel happier without the bloody thing!

Hopefully it won't be this cold for long. But I do think there are going to be some high bills this month. I think it's useful to know what's coming.

Yes for the first time in my life I have an energy spreadsheet and I update it every couple of days. I am worrying about it but can afford the heating on. I decided to prioritise that over everything else.

I am just so sad reading threads about people who are fucking freezing.

I think that it's useful for people to see if they can afford it or to at least see what it's costing. It's quite hard to know what heating is costing when you get a bill later.

Yes, I'm doing weekly meter reads now and submitting to Octopus, who are very quick at calculating the use in £.
I too have used the same amount as the whole of November within the last 12 days.
If I think I'm not keeping track with my dd, I'll find the money somewhere else to make a one-off payment to cover that week's extra usage. I don't want to impinge on other household budget headings, so I'll probably be looking for something to sell/work an extra shift/try to skip a shop.

Yes - November's usage was 885 kWh for gas and I am 745 kWh already in December. Think I am on track for my prediction - but we'll see.

No.

I sailed past the 1000kwh of gas mark for December yesterday.
The most I've ever used in the past for the whole month is 650kwh. Eep.

I kept an eye on my smart meter usage graphs when I turned the heating on mid November. Wanted to know what worked best and end up with costs within my expectations.

No. Worrying about how I'm going to pay the bills isn't going to keep me warm.