If it comes to it would you choose heating or eating?

[Tuliprain]

We were having this discussion the other night. I would choose eating and husband would choose heating - so we are already stuck. Im thinking we could warm up with blankets and hot water bottles etc but nothing you can do about hunger. He says the house will go mouldy and he’s rather be hungry than cold. Such a depressing subject to be considering.

However it’s not really a choice you get to make as your electricity bill is likely paid by DD and standardised payments over the year so without cancelling the DD you don’t get to choose whether or not to pay it, or how much you want to spend on it.

Actually, a lot of Britain's poorest people are on prepay meters - which means the same amount of electricity costs a lot more than if you were paying via DDebit.

I think those on prepay meters - i.e. the poorest - typically pay more than £200 per year extra for their electricity.

Which then makes it harder for them to get out of poverty... More of the Vimes boots theory.

Obviously eating, I can’t imagine anyone would choose heating. You can layer up, use hot water bottles as you say and blankets but you would die without food. It’s a bit of a no brainer.

He says the house will go mouldy and he’s rather be hungry than cold.

Mould doesn't come from not having the heating on, it's from having poor ventilation? One of my friends parents pretty much never turn the heating on, and their house is mould free.

No on is going to sit around with the heating on with an empty stomach.

Oh but means it's quite possible just not to have heating...

I'm opting for half and half.
We never have heating on high as it is.
Oldest DS has an electric heater in his loft room which never goes about 1st setting due to it getting warm quickly.
Upstairs stays quite warm and downstairs warm enough with heating set on low.. If it goes up its for an hour around tea time.

Food DC will eat as normal. If it comes to it will be me that eats less. As it is I tend to do veg/meat for all three of us but if DC fancy something different I eat what they do or have a slice of toast.

Eating but we have one of the MN hated log burners and a lot of wood.

Heat.

But I could probably do with eating less.

If I had to, eating. I used to live in a flat with no central heating, it was shit but we kept warm with double duvets and blankets. I will not scrimp on food.

Heating 100%. Being hungry doesn't really bother me, being cold really does as it makes my disability much worse.

Eating, as you can snuggle up in fleece, throws and duvets to keep warm. And I would just put another dog on the bed if it got very chilly...

@SartresSoul

Obviously eating, I can’t imagine anyone would choose heating. You can layer up, use hot water bottles as you say and blankets but you would die without food. It’s a bit of a no brainer.

If you can afford hot water bottles and decent warm blankets that is. Family of four - that's maybe £60 you need to save to buy those. So if you usually put £5 on the meter you have to save up for 12 weeks and go without heating that whole time.

Mould doesn't come from not having the heating on, it's from having poor ventilation?

True but when it's freezing outside who wants to open the windows?

Ventilation and heating go hand in hand.

I’m reading this and I’m really struck by the seeming lack of anger about this.

I’m absolutely raging that people are even having to think about making such choices.

Eating. Invest in heated throws/blankets. They don't cost a lot to run and you can switch them off after they've warmed you up. I have the central heating on far less since I got one.

@Spanielsarepainless

Eating, as you can snuggle up in fleece, throws and duvets to keep warm. And I would just put another dog on the bed if it got very chilly...

Yeah cos if you're in poverty you can definitely afford to have multiple pets...

Joke? I don't have my dogs in my bedroom. But I am old enough to remember one coal fire downstairs and ice on the inside of bedroom windows.

I've lost several stone through intermittent fasting, as has DH, and something we both found is that on very low food days we got freezing cold even though the house was always 20+. So not eating because you prefer to be warm isn't going to work because if there aren't enough calories going in you might be flipping freezing anyway.

We would have to heat as DH's medical condition would mean he'd 100% end up in hospital if his body got too cold. Layering up might help at first, but the persistent cold would eventually get to him if left too long. Fortunately for him/us, we don't have to make this decision. We are very fortunate, many with his condition can't say the same and do end up in the hospital during the winter.

Surely it's not either or? And no one would choose NO heating and plenty of food or NO food and heating normally. Surely absolutely everyone would try to cut costs across BOTH heating and eating so that you neither froze nor starved?

So thermostat down a couple of degrees and on for less time each day, extra layers and blankets. (and also reduce other energy usage - wash clothes/bedding less often, air dry don't tumble, use recipes that don't need long oven cooking, reduce use of phones/computers/tvs etc.)
Food shopping pared back to cheapest options, whatever's in the reduced aisle etc (even if they're not your preference) in order to ensure that the was sufficient heat and food to get by.

We genuinely should not have to be in a position where this is even a hypothetical question let alone the disturbing reality it will be come next winter.

I am lucky that my foxed rate doesn't end til October 2023 so I have a while to plan but I ha e also invested heavily in replacing windows and doors on my house and insulating the loft etc to ensure that it is as efficient as a victorian terrace can be.

But if it came to it, eat. I can substitute heat by layering up with jumpers and blankets and hot water bottles. I can't substitute food with anything other than food.

I will still maintian the heating for at least an hour in the morning and the evening because your husband is correct, by not heating it you do risk mildew forming.

Eat

You can keep warm with layers, extra blankest, hot water bottles. Growing up we very rarely had the heating on. We had hot bath once a week and shared bath water, it was very normal for people to do this when I was young. I remember putting my clothes under my bed sheets to warm them, sleeping in layers including beanies. Our house wasn’t damp or mouldy, my parents kept windows open, even in winter, heating was used sparingly to maximise keeping us warm and ensuring we had a healthy house. It’s what people just had to do where I grew up.

@bitemyarsenic

No doubt will be flamed but seriously do people think that central heating has always existed? Ridiculous notion. You eat or you starve. Put a jumper and socks on, exclude drafts etc. Stop washing towels after every use.

Agreed on this. How do people think we survived before central heating? We had one room heated with a coal fire . 2 baths a week. One school uniform a week. Playing out clothes. Laundry done once a week. No such thing as a tumble dryer!! Extra blankets and a hot water bottle in bed. Home cooked meals. No such thing as a takeaway, apart from fish and chips as a monthly treat. Guess what we survived!!

OP, was this a hypothetical discussion or are you actually likely to be faced with having to choose?

I’m not British and don’t live in the UK but do follow MN and BBC News and think it’s just shocking how bad things are getting over there. I know most European counties are seeing costs of living increases, but I don’t think any normally stable economies are as impacted as the UK?

What’s causing it?

I would choose food and heating for my kids. I would rather not eat much (could lose a few pounds) and be able to provide for them at all costs. Houses will go damp and mouldy without heat but I would turn it down a couple of degrees and make sure we all layered up.

It's hard to believe it's come to this.