To think it’s not going to be a case of heating or eating for many families

[LadyCatStark]

We can forget heating altogether! I know it’s a nice little rhyme but for many, many families it’s going to be a case of eating or putting just enough petrol in the car to get you to work to pay all these increased costs. Eating yourself, or feeding your kids (hopefully most people will choose their kids). Eating healthily or eating cheap rubbish.

I’ve just nipped to Aldi as I had a work appointment cancel in the area and spent £40 just on the few bits I needed, not even a proper shop. I could have cried that I’d driven even just the 15 minutes to my appointment and it was cancelled and every drop of fuel counts.

@BlindGirlMcSqueaky

Yeah it'll be a real money saver when you damage the pipes by letting them burst with ice.

Heating has been off at night for 21 years. No burst pipes ! I would be boiling!

@Afan

I think there needs to be a campaign to re-educate people about saving energy. Central heating is a luxury imo. We couldn’t afford to install central heating until late 90s. My friends and now DH can believe that I grew up without it and I’m relatively young. Consequently I don’t crave artificial warmth in the house. I alway ise good natural fibres for warmth (wool throws on bed at night) - our winters are nowhere near as cold as they were in the 80s/90s when snow was guaranteed. Likewise walking. We didn’t have a car. I have one now. But that walk has to be more than 45 min for me to give my kids a lift (school / clubs etc). They happily stride around the city and this save us a lot of money as a family. We all have energy saving tips and practises. Need to reset the culture and share this information.

I don't think your post is smug at all. Which part of the country do you live in and how cold are we talking ? I love goose down pillows and duvets , New Zealand wool under blankets and heated electric blankets. Our curtains are all heavy weight, full length, interlined and padded. We collect wood and twigs for the Woodburner but our house would be damp if we let the temperature drop below 12 /14 degrees.

I know that feeling, Templeblossom I also roast at night. I'm extremely lucky to live in a very well insulated property, so I barely have the heating on.

I do know people who have burst their pipes from leaving it off for too long though so never having the heating on isn't sensible.

It's just miserable in some houses too. Like I say, my place is a godsend. But a lot of houses in the UK are a hundred years old and they just don't keep heat in.

@BlindGirlMcSqueaky

I know that feeling, Templeblossom I also roast at night. I'm extremely lucky to live in a very well insulated property, so I barely have the heating on.

I do know people who have burst their pipes from leaving it off for too long though so never having the heating on isn't sensible.

It's just miserable in some houses too. Like I say, my place is a godsend. But a lot of houses in the UK are a hundred years old and they just don't keep heat in.

I dont think anyone has said they never have it on though. We just dont need it on as much. Was 23.8 in my kitchen and dining room today, cats all spread out soaking it up. Just like you we have a warm house, its damp cold ones that are the issue and some people will have no choice, they wont be able to.pay.

My house is oldish, no cavity walls so it gets mighty cold. I set the thermostat on a low setting so it comes on if it drops too much, so the pipes wont freeze. At the moment I'm constantly hot as my body is making it's own central heating,
SILVER LININGS

@Ddot

My house is oldish, no cavity walls so it gets mighty cold. I set the thermostat on a low setting so it comes on if it drops too much, so the pipes wont freeze. At the moment I'm constantly hot as my body is making it's own central heating, SILVER LININGS

Random but if you don’t have cavity wall insulation / good loft insulation then look into whether your council offers any help with this. I’ve just found out that our council offers free cavity wall insulation and / or loft insulation to certain households, we qualify purely for having a child under the age of 5. We bought our house last year so don’t know how good our house is for these things so they’re coming out to check (for free). Worth looking into!

No cavity insulation because no cavity walls to fill. Loft has been done

I don't think I know anyone who has their heating on overnight. It would never cross my mind to.

When we used to stay at DH's parents house his mum would always put an electric blanket on the bed and switch on before we went to bed. It would make me feel ill even though we would switch it off as soon as we got in the room.

I would only have the heating on (a very low setting like 5 degrees) if it was snowing and freezing outside, to stop the pipes freezing, had an issue with that once before. With our old boiler that didn't have a thermostat, occasionally dh would stay up late and forget to switch the heating off, I used to wake up feeling horrible! Sweating and having bad dreams because I was too hot. In cold weather I prefer to go down the hot water bottle route and pop and extra blanket in the bed and wear more substantial pj's.

@Yorkshirelass04

This is an entirely foreseeable consequence of Brexit.

People got what they voted for and so have to accept what comes with that.

Behave!

This is a global issue, ffs!

It's no more a Brexit thing than Covid is!

@coronafiona

Brexit will remove Uk farmer subsidies won't it? So how grown food will be extortionately expensive too

No. Because British farmers have been promised similar subsidies and support in changing their farming practices to meet new challenges.

Farming is, in general, pretty well placed to be able to increase supply with better welfare, fewer chemicals and other issues. It just needs to be supported in going back to smaller, more diverse units with less red tape, or rather only appropriate red tape.

Round here South West/West Midlands farming community, there is a lot of grumbling but also a lot of renewed hope that they can "get back to just bloody farming" and a lot of kids who were looking at leaving now looking to expand part of the family farm into a new business.

My mum's new fuel charge is 2/3rds of her pension each month. She is getting an extra 45p per week supplement.

Our stalwart farmers along with our brave fishermen are two groups who thought Brexit would bring them a huge bonus by excluding or hampering European competition with no downside as Brexiters promised as good or better than then current subsidies.
Instead, they have got lower subsidies, higher wage bills, the threat of increased imports as our global buccaneering government does one-sided desperate trade deals.

Serves you guys right. Pity the rest of us have to suffer for your gullibility and stupidity.

XingMing
Look into pension credits if your mum is not getting a full pension, also if you mum is unwell or needs help with anything you can apply for attendance allowance which is not means tested

She already has pension credit, @Ddot, and she's in excellent health for her age so no need of an attendance allowance, but thank you for your kind intent.

We are in an inflationary cycle. Along with most of the developed world. It's not brexit, covid has accelerated it but it was happening anyway. It started in 2008 but economic policy has falsely held it at bay until now. It's very worrying and I suspect will get much worse yet.

@bracebrace it's extremely worrying... What can you forsee happening i.e worst case scenario?

@bracebrace what can the average person do to protect themselves and is there any good that will come from it?

I have a family member who worked in the oil rig industry. He had a warning this was happening, he was told to get a tariff sorted for as long as possible. Next year it's going up again in april then again in October. I do hope this is wrong but so far everything he said has happened and then their is also the war which wasnt foreseeable

We've never had the heating on at night, but I guess if you live somewhere like Scotland where it's generally colder, it might be requried sometimes at night.

My 80 year old Mum has her heating set on 17c all day and night - he reckons she aches and pains are better if she's warm at night. As she has it on at night, she won't turn it up during the day, as trying to balance out the cost. In the day, she'll wear her dressing gown and a few times a day with do side steps and swing her arms around to keep her circulation going.

[quote RomeoOscarXrayIndigoEcho]@bracebrace what can the average person do to protect themselves and is there any good that will come from it? [/quote]
The volunteers there’s millions of us average people and if we all do something about it then of course there will be an impact

my heating is off now til november! Hopefully i can scrape enough together by then to last the winter. TV wont get used hardly at all now as the kids are out in the sunshine, laundry is outside and hot food wont be on the menu as much either so I dont think a lot of families will really feel the full hit until this winter when they have to heat and eat. I know for many it is already a choice between the two, but people forget about the families already struggling and it's not til it hits the middle classes that all of a sudden it's an issue. PLus people are still struggling with not being able to work from covid, lockdowns and loosing businesses. It's been a hard few years and it's not going to get easier sadly, unless already minted.

My kids will be warm and fed even if i have to live on spuds and wear a ski suit indoors when they are out. I think this winter will be the hardest in a long time.

"what can the average person do to protect themselves and is there any good that will come from it?"

Pay down your debts as much as possible. Don't wrack up more consumer spending, except for essentials like shoes and work clothes.

Plant a garden. Get as much as possible in the ground. Go for calories, rather than fancy produce. Don't have a garden? potatoes in a stack of tyres, cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets, blueberry bushes in pots on the patio etc.

Forward buy what you need in the next few months now. Think you might be needing a new garden fork or pair of jeans in a few months? get them while they're at current prices and availability.

Cut back on electricity, gas and water use, look out for all the threads on here. Turn off your hot water/immersion heater except for 30/60 mins before you need a shower. Get a shower timer. Have sink washes on alternate days. Wear layers & woolie jumpers etc.

Build resilience into your life. Have alternatives. If you have an electric cooker, do you have a small camping stove in case of power outages? Do you have a woodburning stove in case of gas shortages, or you can't afford it? Can you purify water?

Soooo grateful for the 5p off petrol 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

@Seafog

I think the next year will be quite divisive, into those who can absorb the increasing costs, and those who can not. I worry about the shortage of affordable housing, the lack of mental health resources, the increasing costs of everything, and the looming environmental cascade/collapse. It's not going to be easy.

Society is already massively divided, this will wrench us apart further undoubtedly. ☹️