I won't be able to heat my home..

[Ihateboris]

Due to the war in Iran, I simply cannot afford to heat my home.

I'm on heating oil, and since day 1 of the war, oil prices have risen sharply. I've just done a quick calculation, and to fill my tank today it will cost £550, the day before it all kicked off it would have cost £260. I'm just hoping and praying we have a mild winter. 🙏 Just venting.

I guess we could have emulated the Norwegians with the north pole instead of what happened

The REASONS you CANNOT AFFORD the increased prices of fuel, and food, are as I have Indicated. The PRICES might well " have gone up SUDDENLY because of wars" ( but they have ALSO been going up BECAUSE THE VALUE OF THE POUND HAS BEEN FALLING), but the REASONS That YOU CANNOT AFFORD THE INCREASES ARE INDEED AS ABOVE.
Distinguish between SYMPTOMS and DISEASES, and between EFFECTS and CAUSES.
And dont pretend that "everything is someone else's fault" YOU, TOO, BEAR RESPONSIBILTY for YOUR actions and your inaction.

You seem extremely angry. There's no need for all the capitals. Do calm down.

Maybe jumping up and down with anger keeps the poster warm 😆

😂😂😂

I can’t get my head around living constantly with only one room heated, in 2026. When I used a coal fire during a long power cut, only that one room was an acceptable temperature. The kitchen was its own fridge at 4 degrees. That’s how cold houses without any heat can get in the northernmost parts of the uk. Even wrapping up with coats and hats and such don’t give much comfort as the air was so cold. I honestly started to feel unwell after a few days of it. And the temperature outside was over zero then.

As you are a dog person already, I'd take the dog to bed and keep him/her in the same room. Two lots of body heat will keep it warmer.

Insulate your windows with thick curtains. (Charity shop ones behind your main ones.) Or sheets/duvet cover hung up behind the curtains)

Draught excluders made from old tights along the bottom of the door.

Rug under your feet. (Rag rug, cheap small rug from the supermarket)

Open curtains on sunny side of the house. Close at night.

Air the house well during the day to help prevent mould. Try to heat it for a bit with electricity.

Oh i love snuggling up to my dog...he most definitely keeps me warm ☺️

😡Donald... is that really you?

😂😂😂😂😂

I own a number of properties which are rented out. I think more should be done to obligate landlords to have energy efficiency and decent heating systems. We reduced rents when the fuel prices rocketed, I can't live with making money from tenants unless they are provided with a safe and happy home. I know I am lucky to be able to afford it but if I couldn't, I wouldn't be morally capable of being a landlord.

You sound like a lovely landlord. Unfortunately, from my own experience, you are in the minority. You're not in Cheshire are you? 😂

@SquirrelGG where do you live?

Heating might appear wasteful to you, but some people need heating. I assume you have an energy efficient home that's well insulated? Not everyone does.

ihateboris, don’t get a fan heater by the way, convector heaters are much more effective.

Thank you 😊

I'm 67 and have never had mould in any of the houses I've lived in.

No, I do not have an energy efficient home that's well insulated. Also I didn't say heating was wasteful, I said central heating seemed wasteful, not the same thing at all. It's spring here, the temperature is 1.3C at the moment, I am heating the room I am in, but not any other room in the house.

British homes are cold and damp unheated. Many with no damp proof layer, though lots have been retrofitted. Lots without cavity wall insulation. Often quite small so all rooms used, especially if you have a family. Some poorly designed with open staircase. (80s) (Bloody obvious it's going to be cold) Some with living room straight onto the street as no hall or porch. (Lots of Edwardian terraces)

Plenty have!

We are investing in a Dyson hot cold fan, just for the living room. Everyone has heated blankets, it will be a lot cheaper than trying to heat the whole house everyday.

Moving forward OP, and I say this kindly, you mentioned up thread about a poor credit rating.

im going to assume you have met life’s financial speed humps before this current one that leaves you short…

have you had an appointment with a budget advisor for guidance or considered changing your employment? My friend worked at McDonalds while the kids were at school and she said the money was ok, I’m just thinking it might be better then what you are receiving now minus the running around costs you must have client to client.

she now works in town for a big firm of accountants of an evening doing their photocopying. Because it’s basically night shift the money is better and if she works late, the company pay for a taxi to get their people home.

just thought I would throw in the idea that this current situation in the gulf, despite reports saying crude is still flowing but not much below pre war supply, might not be the last financial hurdle life chucks in front of you….

This may well be irrelevant for you. Here goes anyway. In my previous rented house, I qualified for the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme because the place was freezing and I was on benefits. My landlord was more than happy to sign off on a completely free, state of the art central heating system! The boiler was great, and they even put in an intelligent, programmable controller.

If you're as skint as you sound, you probably do qualify for some benefits. Put your details into the Entitled To calculator. It doesn't matter if you only get a few quid, it's the entitlement that qualifies you for helper schemes like this.

www.entitledto.co.uk/benefits-calculator/Intro/Home

Mine is pre-Victorian (so late Georgian) but as a farm worker's cottage it just has the front door straight into the living room. Tiny cottage but quite big downstairs rooms, bizarrely. I have a logburner which I light if I absolutely have to, and electric radiators (those really space age programmable ones that I have never got to grips with programming properly) in living room and kitchen. To be honest I've just got used to being cold - even in summer my electricity bill is £60 per month and that's with using nearly nothing. I've got only a tiny and variable income until my SSP kicks in next summer so my budget won't allow for any increase. Heated throw (which is cheap) and spend more time in bed is my idea!

I have ME too. Props to you for getting through that - we try to keep the heating low/off as much as possible to keep costs down, but I really struggle in cold weather and also can't get out that much.

Do you find being cold impacts your general health much? This is why I was curious really, I find myself constantly getting ill in the winter and I think it's a combination of underlying conditions and lowered body temperature.