When it's freezing and you can't put the heating on and breakfast is porridge made with water...

[UndertheCedartree]

AIBU to wish so hard the uplift was never taken away? We were doing so well with that extra amount! But now that has gone and utilities have gone up we are left with little for food and heat.

Sorry, this is just a vent! Nothing anyone can do but I'm just feeling a bit upset this morning.

@Unsure33

i am in my 60s and it is not just a conservative government

my dad was very low paid on a farm and there were no benefits to top up available to us and we had one heater in the whole house . the bedrooms were freezing and literally had holes in the wall with ivy growing through and ice on the inside of the windows . And no i am not going to say it toughened me up - it was grim and i hated it . this went on through many labour and conservative governments . food was tight and we did have people in the village who helped us out .

It's a Conservative government in the here and now. That's what matters - that and the people who support keeping people in poverty.

I saw you also mentioned that your house was draughty - you can get up to £1,000 in free insulation if you are on qualifying benefits. www.simpleenergyadvice.org.uk/grant-eligibility/questionnaire.

You said your boiler isn’t working - you can get a free boiler also under the Energy Companies Obligation under the Eco3 scheme which helps families on low incomes living in fuel poverty to install efficient boilers. You are likely to qualify in you are disabled and have children. Call your energy company and ask.

You can also get replacement windows if they are damaged or rotting and in receipt of Disability Living Allowance - Home Repair Assistance Grant or through the local council. They have grants available to help disabled people make home improvements which include improving heating.

Another thing that is rarely mentioned and may not apply to you OP but certainly applies to many is the bedroom tax, in order for many to keep their 2 or 3 bed flat so they can actually stay in an area or flat they have made home, they end up having to pay part of the rent , this can be substantial in private rented and means they actually have very little for food and Bill's. This is why the country desperately needs more good quality social housing at fixed sensible rents,so if benefits are needed, then money received actually goes to food and Bill's

Try to keep your feet warm all the time OP. Same with the kid. I’m sorry you are going through a hard time.

Go on Freecycle or similar apps to ask for fleecey dressing gowns, blankets and fleece sweatshirts. They are free central heating. I wear a dressing gown over my clothes at home, and sometimes a fleece blanket over that. I actually prefer a cold house with warm clothes that a hot house as the heating dries the air too much (trying to put a positive spin on it)

I also strongly recommend you consider applying to a food bank. No shame in it and many of them have so much food they need to give away including dried and UHT milk, as well as lots of staples such as rice, pasta, tea, coffee, beans, tinned toms etc.

Bless you op. Definitely join any local free page on Facebook as people give away all sorts for free and you can also ask for things on there and people often oblige. Definitely find something to use as a draught excluded for doors and windows like long socks or tights stuffed with something or towels rolled up. If you have a dressing down you can add it over layers or lay it underneath you whilst in bed for extra warmth. Powdered milk and eggs can help stretch food further.

I don't think a thread has ever made me feel so sad, angry and yet grateful at the same time. How, as a society, have we ever got to a point where a family with a disabled mother and children on a CiN plan are choosing between heating and eating? So shameful of our government. It puts everything into perspective for me when earlier I was feeling hard up because we won't be able to do a big Christmas this year.

Lots of posters have great advice here. I definitely second going back to your social worker and asking for more help.

This helped with the huge heat loss from the windows in our old draughty house…bubble wrap can be applied directly to the glass, slightly dampened or spray misted.
It makes a lot of difference retaining heat and the only disadvantage is reduced visibility.

Could you put your outgoings and incomes , people might be able to help

I just been on sainsbury's which I know is more expensive and for 40 pound I could make meals for the week

Chickpeas, lentils etc are really filling and cheap

Hello everyone

We've had a number of reports from people concerned about this thread so, as we usually do in these circs, we're putting our heads round the door with some important reminders.

Right now we can't see any evidence to indicate that the OP isn't above board – if we did, we'd remove the thread straight away. But the truth is that, sadly, we at MNHQ can't know with 100% certainty that any poster is genuine, no matter who they are or how long they have been here. As frustrating as it is, we're not able to vouch for anyone here.

So we always ask users to remember that not everyone on the internet is who they say they are – and remind folk not to give more to another poster, either financially (in cash or gifts) or emotionally (in time or care and support) than they'd be prepared to lose if things went wrong. We strongly advise against parting with any cash or giving away your personal details, and if you receive a PM which makes you uneasy - report it to us and we’ll take a look.

Sorry to hijack your thread briefly there, OP – we really hope you get it all sorted soon. In the meantime, you might find some useful information on our guide for dealing with financial difficulty

Are you cooking from scratch? Youtube has lots of cook for £2.00 recipes.
I just made three loaves of bread. (I shop at Aldi)
1 bag of flour 45p
3 packets of yeast 21p (from a pack costing 59p)
salt nominal
Olive oil (20p)
86p in total so 29p a loaf.

I’m sorry that you are in this situation OP. Hopefully some of the suggestions here will help you access more help. One other idea is to look into whether there are community fridges or similar in your area. I’ve recently moved and my new area has a community fridge twice a week, which has lots of food donated by supermarkets which would otherwise go to landfill. No referral needed, you don’t have to provide details, no limit on how often you can visit and for a voluntary donation of £2.50 you can get meat, vegetables, bread, milk etc. It varies each week but there’s always lots of different things, and enough to make a few good meals.

Here's the earn £10 a day thread
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/4391072-Earn-10-a-day-Nearly-Christmas-November

Prolific.co are good for surveys, they pay better than the other sites and the surveys are shorter and more interesting.

Phillips have a home tester website where they send selected users free electrical items in return for testing them, you sign up and they let you if you are successful in the next 30 days. Might be worth signing up and seeing if there any items you think you may need to replace soon.
www.producttester.philips.com/s/?language=en_GB&locale=en_GB

I'm sorry you have to live like this, it's criminal that people are struggling so much in a modern, developed economy. The government are so cruel.

If you have an issue/fault with the boiler put a post on the properties section and also here.
Include the make, model etc and someone might be able to help. It could be that the system pressure is low and that is an easy 5min fix.

Ask friends & family to keep aside any bubble wrap they get sent in packages - when you have enough use it on the windows - it was invented as insulation and will keep what warmth you have in. Not being able to see out doesn’t matter so much in the winter anyway!!

@greta4563

Are you cooking from scratch? Youtube has lots of cook for £2.00 recipes. I just made three loaves of bread. (I shop at Aldi) 1 bag of flour 45p 3 packets of yeast 21p (from a pack costing 59p) salt nominal Olive oil (20p) 86p in total so 29p a loaf.

Don’t forget your electric cost to bake them.

People like me that were already on UC for disability benefits never had the extra £20 in the first place.

I do all the things @RachelHasThoseInBurgandy listed. Every little helps.

I was given a heated throw (from Aldi I think) for Christmas a few years ago. Best. Present. Ever. Saves me from putting the heating on a lot.

Turning off the radiator valves upstairs when I'm downstairs and the other way around when the heat is on also helps. I set an alarm an hour before the heating goes off in the evening so I can do the reverse and upstairs warms up before bed. It's a bit of a faff but it warms me up a bit at least.

Sometimes it's a bit of a miserable existence but that's life.

That sounds so hard, OP.

There's a charity near where I live called The Felix Project. They donate food from supermarkets to people in need.

Maybe there's something like that near you?

It's so sad and wrong that so many of us can share tips on how to cope with no heating and little food.
I work full time but on less than £9.50 an hour. Have a mortgage to pay, need my old car to get to work and not eligible for any benefits. I lost my PIP last year and my mental health is in pieces. So many of us suffering. At least a third of my colleagues only eat if there are leftovers from nursery meals. It's appalling.
My tips, for what it's worth are draught excluders, thick curtains over external doors, homemade soup from all the leftover bits of veg like leaves and stalks and an oodie type thing with a hood. Keeping your head and feet warm helps a lot. I always have thick socks and a hot water bottle for my feet in bed. Old fashioned wool blankets, like army issue, are very warm too. Also my dog, he's like a little furry hot water bottle, but that might be a step too far!

thefelixproject.org/

@BashfulClam and me. Even if it was skimmed milk. Porridge made with water is pretty miserable but like PP suggestion of milk powder, may be worth a try OP.

I know gas and electric are so expensive as well but I have just bought a little fan heater from Dunelm for a tenner as I am now permanently wfh. I don't want to heat the whole house just for me sat there and it's brilliant. Switch it on for ten minutes and heats the room.

I look for oversize men's hoodies and jumpers in charity shops to wear over layers when at home in winter. Slipper socks worn over old socks are cosy. I get bright, cheerful, warmly coloured ones -reds, oranges, pinks.

Apparently Tesco are doing free kids meals in their cafe, and adults don't need to buy a meal to get them.

www.angelfish-opinions.com/current-projects/
Earn money of this. I made 55 quid other day doing an amazon survey for bbc