Can you (really) not afford gas /electric bills and how are you managing

[Gasmyarse]

I had my heating on for the 1st time a couple of days back .it was on for 2 hrs and cost me 5.00. That is to much monru for me if I was to do that everyday or for longer. So I have decided not to put it on again at all . Although I'm considering having it on Xmas day if I'm able to.

My situation is not really bad but I just can't afford to have heating on . If i did do that I would end up at food banks.

I think people who say they can afford it who then say well I'm not going cold so I will put ot on anyway. Or say to others just put it on you can't go cold like that . I don't think some people get it. Some people (really) can't afford lt. Especially people on prepay meters.

Also people saying they can't afford it saying they can pay it later in the summer. Or they had to dig into savings.

I think there are different categories or can't afford it.

My house is not bad as its a new build. We have blankets , dressing downs warm clothes to be warm. My kids don't seem ti care . But i do feel bad for people in colder areas and in old houses. Who are truly choosing heat or eat .

I’m paying 150% more than last year by DD. I am getting into a debit which I will eventually pay off. 150% shows willing but I wouldn’t be able to afford the massive monthly usage.

I think you have misunderstood @MiniTheMinx I took it to mean it should not be happening in 2022 people should not have to leave their homes to find a warm place .

We've hardly used our heating, we've had it on 14 for a couple of hours a few times and then kept doors closed and used blankets and hot water bottles. That somehow seems to cost £10 per day. I'm on a prepayment meter so can't even "worry about the bill later"

We're planning to open the local community centre as a warm space Christmas. With various activities supplied on different days. Eg board games, craft stuff etc. I think soup and bread are planned too.

If anyone has any children they can not afford to keep warm ill adopt them.

How are you planning on doing that? What if people don't want to give their children up for adoption?

I'm struggling to get my head around this idea of warm banks. WTF. What does one do all day at the warm bank? who are they for? Ridiculous... I don't believe this sort of charity would be necessary in a more equal society where everyone could earn enough or have support and be able to stay warm and eat.

That's nice for you!

I go to our local warm banks, not so I can keep warm but to provide something for people who use them something to do - we do hand stitching, darning etc. In half of them there are people from the foodbank, community support, GP surgery, all there to offer support and information.

They are all ages, usually single and are scared by the size of their utility bills.

None of the organisations that set up or support such things should exist. But we do, no matter how ludicrous.

I have a 2 bed mid terrace with large radiators in the living room and dining room. Small radiators in bathroom and bedrooms. No radiator at all in the (cold!) kitchen. Valves on each radiator set to full at the moment due to the recent very cold weather. The boiler was turned down to 60C years ago (seen that recommended a lot recently as a way to save money). Newish double glazing, loft insulation, draught excluders for every door.

The central heating cost me about 70p per hour last winter. This winter it is over £2 per hour. I'm on the standard variable prepayment rate which is BG cheapest rate at the moment if you're not on a fix you arranged before prices went up.

I couldn't get the warmest room in the house to go over 14C last week, even if I put the heating on for 8 hours straight (which I did by accident one day and it cost me £22 for the day!!).

We have one Warm Bank in walking distance, that is open for 3 hours one morning a week. 3 more within 10 miles, again open once or twice a week for a few hours, so pretty useless. Rural poverty is often ignored.

In urban areas, I can imagine they are a lot more useful though.

Plus extra money if elderly or disabled.

I am lifelong disabled and don’t get any extra money.

I'm so sorry, OP It's a miserable situation.

We can afford to be as warm as we like; we're not rich, but we did fix our energy prices very early this year. I've had the heating on as and when since it got colder in November. It's costing rougly £2-3 a day. We have a nearly new, efficient boiler and a well insulated home. We pay our bill quarterly. Our electricity cost will be almost entirely covered by the government intervention, because we are also incredibly fortunate to have solar panels fitted, so what we use over the winter is balanced out in the summer.

SamphiretheTervosaurReturneth, thank you. I'm only making the point that it shouldn't be necessary.

I'm thinking about volunteering but I'm never going to celebrate the need for this form of charity.

I work with children in care, I'm horrified that so many families are slipping into such poverty that even the basics of heat and food can not be afforded. And yes, if I could do more I would. I was joking when I said I'd adopt them.....but I was making the point that it wasn't that far back in history people did indeed give up their children due to poverty. And the Labour movement and unions, leftist radicals and anarchists fought for a fairer society, decent wages and conditions. But here we are in 2022 sitting on our hands doing nothing.

Are you in receipt of any disability benefits @Krakenwakes ?

I opened my post today and my council have sent me a voucher for £70 from the household support fund (they've automatically identified me as low income via my council tax support claim). It's incredibly helpful and completely unexpected.

my electric is ok not to bad my gas is £10 a day if i use the heating all day so i dont bother with heating i got me an m&s bathrobe very fluffy and warm i only use my gas for hot water i live alone no chilldren so it dont really bother me as much

I have sola panels on my house . But because its council the savings go to the grid and onto the council. So we get nothing from it which is frustrating. I'm in a new build with good glazing and insulation so I'm lucky in that way.

With the bills I have been doing meter readings average of twice a week. It shows Me what I owe within a couple of hours . So I make a payment. So I never get into debt pay bit by bit so it hurts less .

I assume that you may be a troll or similar, because it is hard to imagine that anyone in 2022 is genuinely this stupid. There is nothing ridiculous about have heated public spaces for those who can't afford heating in their homes, for example, the poor, the vulnerable, the disabled and the elderly. It must be nice for you in your ivory tower

No, I think there is a valid question about warm banks. I looked at the list sent out by my council and I just don't think they will be used by the people who need them. Yes, the library is full of teens and young adults using WiFi etc. But they would be there anyway. And with limited and idiosyncratic hours, the church ones are not much use to elderly, infirm or insecurely housed people. And I don't see anyone walking into the nice and busy restaurants who have volunteered as warm spaces and saying "I'm just here for the warm, where shall I sit for the next 6 hours?". I think a lot of it comes down to councils appearing to do something and well-meaning businesses generating goodwill.

That's so annoying!

We don't have smart meters as they're not compatible with our panels, so we never know exactly how much our bills are until they come through, it can be nervewracking!

Can you access other support to free up money for the utility bills? I hate the fact that we've come to this, it's horrendous.

Ah it's hard without smart meters. I know some don't like them. But I have found them helpful. So I can pay the bill in smaller payments. I would hate to have a large bill come in.

You can have a free shower in Oldham
oclactive.co.uk/shower-go/

Wow back to the old days when people used to go to their local swimming baths. To actually have a bath. 😔

But "Who are they?" and "What does one do all day at a warm bank?"

Who do you think they are? I don't the question if you were in fact being genuine?

I have the GCH on the time at 19 -20
house is about 25 years old
well insulated
I have shutters on every window and roller blinds which I think helps as well
gas - prey pay is costing around 5.50 a day inc SC that with it on pretty much all day

electric also pre pay is around 3.50. .4 a day

we can afford it but I think the higher prices are criminal and I don’t think they will ever reduce only go up more in the future

my son has just bought a new flat with wet underfloor heating and it’s heated via a
bio mass ground source ( or something like that 😂)
it cost him around £10 a week to keep his flat at a constant 19 degrees
it’s incredibly well insulated despite being open plan and huge windows / balcony doors and a listed building

There seems to be a huge disparity in what people are paying for gas and electricity! We are in a 3 storey, 5 bedroom townhouse. We have the heating on from 6am until 7pm, the TV on all day, the radio etc. The only two rooms that we don't heat are the two bedrooms on the top floor, because with the heat rising they do not need heating. We pay £4.50 a day (£135pm) for everything. And the account is in credit. We are with EON. Could people look at switching to another supplier?

I can afford it but the extra is all my disposable income so there's nothing left at the end of the month where I used to have £200 or so for other things.

I've put Christmas on a credit card despite saving for it just so I have better cash flow.

Well, in the warm space that I run, we provide board games, card games, books, jigsaws, children's crafts etc. I'm in touch with a person who wants to come and give art lessons. We have knitting supplies, too. We also have internet access and charging ports and a video screening license to show films. And there is always someone available for a chat.
We provide simple hot meals like soup and sandwiches followed by rice pudding and fruit. There is unlimited access to tea/coffee, biscuits etc and a fruit basket that people can help themselves to.
We have a supply of handknit blankets, scarves, gloves etc and warm socks that folk can take home with them and a Coatrack of good quality, good condition warm coats that have been donated for anyone who needs one.
We run this alongside our foodbank.
It's not as some as just turning on the heating and opening the door.

I've been using the £650 cost of living grant for this month's heating. I've gone through just over a quarter so far stuffing the meters for December and well into January but that's got us through the cold snap and it's got milder so it should last okay.

I'm dreading next winter though. The price cap will be £3000 and the help on that will be £900 compared to a current cap of £2500 and a total of £1050 help. I much preferred Truss's and Kwarteng's plan but as usual it was political gameplaying over actual results for poor people and now we're stuck with Hunt's far worse plan. The disabled people I care for will be stuffed. So will I.

What some people don’t realise is that for people who are on prepay meters and top up the subsidy with a voucher that arrives in the post, those vouchers are now stuck in a sorting office somewhere because of the strikes. I’m in favour and support the postmen and women, but for people who live from month to month like my neighbours, it’s very difficult to manage cash flow.