Worried about electricity prices.

[Digestivebiscuits1]

I am very worried about the energy prices. Im tied into a deal last year until Next year I currently pay £236 per month. Out of curiosity I checked on a comparison site to see what I would pay just now and they were looking for over £700 a month and that’s not even including the October rate.

I check my usage regularly and send in meter readings every week.

It doesn’t stop me worrying even though I’m tied in. I am a single parent, unfortunately I live in a 5 bedroomed detached. I say unfortunately because my husband and I split last year. I am a foster carer and I have 2 kids of my own (17 and 24). 24 year old is in a minimum wage job so has absolutely no chance of getting a place of his own. I had to keep the house when we split as I couldn’t afford to buy a 4 bedroomed property elsewhere, husband wouldn’t let any of our kids stay with him (it wouldn’t fit in with the life he wants with his OW), so it was that or split up our family ie, make my oldest homeless, or tell the young boy who has called me mum for the past 9 years that I cannot look after him any more.

I have not slept thinking about this as I feel I have to try to think of the future. I fought so hard to try to keep us together as a family and now I feel as if I have hit another hurdle.

I’ve thought to myself even if my oldest did get a place to stay there would be no point in selling as the house needs a little bit of work and no one is going to buy because of the price of gas and electricity now.
I just don’t know what to do.
Sorry I just had to post this here to speak to someone.

The title should say energy prices.

Yes, also very worried. My fixed rate dual gas/electricity finishes in August and I'm terrified at what it may increase to.

I think suppliers are going to have to be dealing with a lot of debt management plans over the next year. I think it will become much more normal for people to put food low down on their list of priority household bills/outgoings and rely on charity for this/food banks.

People can't just magic that money out of thin air. Suppliers are going to have to come up with a solution in order to get their conumers to pay. No matter how much they might threaten with debt collectors, scary late bill letters etc, this still won't put extra £££ into our pockets. It will be completely unmanageable for them to chase so much debt. So they will - hopefully - start offering competitive repayment plans at some point that are informally arranged between consumer and supplier which won't affect our credit ratings.

Naive? Wishful thinking? Probably!

I can’t even have debt because I’m a foster carer, I can’t have people chasing me for money.

You need to change your mindset and start thinking about what you can reduce. Have a look at some threads on here for advice on how to cut your usage.

That might mean turning the thermostat down 1 degree, or having the heating on less, or shorter showers, or stopping tumble drying.

It is possible.

I'm worried too, I'm in the process of splitting with my husband and moving out into a smaller new build so on the plus side that should be warmer...

However, both of my jobs I feel are at risk. I work in both a golf clubhouse and a pub. If everybody's prices are rising who is going to want to either pay an expensive golf or gym membership, come in for coffee or lunch or even go to the pub?

If I'm unemployed how do I pay my bills?! I'm wondering if it is a good idea to split up and maybe we should just live together for more financial security (even for him although he has a good secure job) We might not be the happiest but at least we won't be worrying about money wondering if we can afford to pay the bills or buy a food shop.

A lot can change in a year and the Government are taking 200 off bills from October. I'm on a variable rate and stuck between a rock and a hard place.

@poshme

You need to change your mindset and start thinking about what you can reduce. Have a look at some threads on here for advice on how to cut your usage.

That might mean turning the thermostat down 1 degree, or having the heating on less, or shorter showers, or stopping tumble drying.

It is possible.

Absolutely. As Martin Lewis said the new rates are based on your consumption remaining the same. Our heating is off and has been since end of Jan. We cycle to work and shower there. Warm clothes, heated blankets and we batch cook. We have never had the heating on that much. I hate hot houses. We have a waste crisis in the UK with food, utilities and clothing being wasted/discarded not to mention the obesity crisis.

Yeah I’m worried. We are in a fixed at the moment but according to compare sites it is going up by 3.5 times. It will be more than my mortgage payment a month.. with childcare, mortgage and Gas/electric we will be bare bones with no luxuries at all. Basically heating will not be coming on until its an absolute must and food budget will be cut by a third.