How on Earth do people intend to cut back to meet these new energy bills?

[MissMediocre]

I plod along saving a little cash but it's going to be nigh on impossible now and I'm going to have to look at cutting back. I've a professional job in the software industry but bills of £300+ a month are going to bite.

How is everyone else planning to cut back?

@mogsrus

It’s very interesting to read how many people say they are charging phones etc at work, it costs less than 60p a yr to keep a phone charged, but apart from that, you are actually stealing someone else’s electricity, as I was told many yrs ago, you do not have the right to actually do it.

You do if it’s a company phone.

I've not had contents insurance for years, TV licence went 10yrs ago.
Have nothing I cant replace except my dogs and they aren't any use to anyone at 15 and 18 :-)

pet Insurance cancelled as they are so old now it will be end of life decisions from now on sadly :-(

I was lucky enough to qualify for a grant for solar panels so I had a 8 panel system fitted last week. Just waiting for the electrician to come and wire me in. I don’t expect them to cover all much use but every bit helps.
I have already cancelled the man who cleans the gutters each spring so that is £50 saved.
The window cleaner will go next.
I usually have a man come and my garden rubbish each spring and costs around £75 in clearance and dump charges( I only use a licence carrier so you know it won’t be fly tipped) cancelled for this year and I will compost what I can, take some to the tip myself and gradually dispose of it that way.
Reducing food budget where I can but that’s hard as I am a diabetic so a lot of the cheap filler foods like jacket potatoes, rice and pasta I can’t eat but Morrisons wonky veg is cheaper than even Aldi or Lidl’s and I always look for yellow sticker items for meat.
Only using the car for work and shopping. I have stopped using the independent garage I usually use as the supermarket petrol is cheaper and I can fill up when I do my shopping.
Looking on Facebook market place for items I need cheap. I needed a hedge trimmer as I can’t afford to get someone in to do it this year. Cheapest I could find was around £45 new but I managed to get one for £8 on marketplace. So a nice saving there and at least the neibours won’t be complaining about overgrown hedges.
I am now looking for cheap raspberry canes and strawberry plants so I can grow my own. I am also going to grow as much salad stuff as I can.
No clothes shopping this year so I will go through my waldrobe and see what needs mending or altering and make do.
I do have a holiday booked but it was paid for and then put back due to covid but it is an appartment so can eat quite cheaply and just send days on the beach and isn’t until the summer so I won’t be paying for heating then anyway.

We're hit with my SMP going to 0 as the energy prices go up, plus moving into a new home mid April.
We already save EVERYTHING we can, and pre baby were saving £1500 a month.
I'm exploring evening jobs for when I'm out of SMP payments before I go back to normal job in August, which I hope to keep going with on weekends while back at normal job. Hate missing out on time with my daughter, but need the ££
Trying to get pay rises, start investing a little bit, and doing surveys.
Then selling ANYTHING and everything we can.

We use a community larder which is saving us £70 a month on food shopping
Oxfordshire based folk- www.sofea.uk.com/purpose-projects/community-larder/

We also pre-allocate food plus takeaway money onto a dedicated card (monzo). Then we can see how much is left. With roundup that helps shave a bit more money off each month to reallocate to bills.

Petrol will be rationed to one top up a month and the bike will be used more when we can. But, we need a new bike (or 2 if both going to have one) so need to find ££ to buy them.

Next to go will be haircuts and dental, sadly as I need about 3 fillings.

The next few years are going to be horrific.

Oddly, if I DON'T go back to my full time job, we may end up better off. We'd get grants to do boiler / insulate house, and save £1200 a month on childcare.
(income needs to be under £30k for a couple to get grants).

It's preposterous.

Stealing leccy by charging a phone at work?

Biggest fucking laugh of the day😂😂😂😂

Does an air fryer actually use up less electric than an oven though? If so then I will consider getting one. I’ve realised we often have the tv on in the background so that’s now stopped. I only use the tumble dryer now if absolute necessary e.g. I will put creased stuff in it for 5 minutes just to get rid of the creases then will hang up to air dry. I have to wash my hair everyday as it gets so greasy. I’ve tried over the years to stop this happening by not washing it for ages but it never worked. I will start washing my hair the night before so I won’t have to use the hair dryer. I’m giving up alcohol - that will save quite a lot of money in our household 😂

@MrsDThomas

Stealing leccy by charging a phone at work?

Biggest fucking laugh of the day😂😂😂😂

I took my charger in today . I'm totally doing that

@Cheesecakeandwineinasuitcase

Does an air fryer actually use up less electric than an oven though? If so then I will consider getting one. I’ve realised we often have the tv on in the background so that’s now stopped. I only use the tumble dryer now if absolute necessary e.g. I will put creased stuff in it for 5 minutes just to get rid of the creases then will hang up to air dry. I have to wash my hair everyday as it gets so greasy. I’ve tried over the years to stop this happening by not washing it for ages but it never worked. I will start washing my hair the night before so I won’t have to use the hair dryer. I’m giving up alcohol - that will save quite a lot of money in our household 😂

Try a shampoo bar. I used to have really greasy hair until I started using one. I now can get away with once every three days. Alberto basalm have one in most supermarkets although I’ve not tried it yet.

Not your typical Virgo ,,, I’m not shaming anybody, but it is the absolute truth, it is classed as stealing

The proof ..

Also by taking unauthorised or PAT tested equipment into a work place can be serious

This is how a recession starts, the more everyone cuts back, the less need for the services and staff in that sector. No judgement but this is the way the UK is heading, which after all we've been and going through is awful

@MrsDThomas

Stealing leccy by charging a phone at work?

Biggest fucking laugh of the day😂😂😂😂

That made me laugh out loud as well.

I am amazed at how scared of authority some people are in the UK.

Its like a mass of lemmings.

There is no such rule. You can charge your phone via the USB port of your laptop at work if you want.

Heck, you can use any outlet you want really as long as you do your work for the day.

@mogsrus

The proof ..

lol Quora

I think you will find that the "answer" is US based.

In the US they have "Right to Work" laws.

You can be fired for any reason.

Doesnt work like that in the UK

I cancelled some insurance policies on household gadgets/appliances. Using eco wash and washing at 20.

Trouble is the standing charge has increased so much it’s going to be difficult to save money on energy.

@HesGotHisTrombole

FT reporting this morning that the energy cap and prices will go up a further 50% on top of the April rise in October!

Yes it will be a bigger rise in October/ November and stratospheric compared to the already untenable rise for many.

We can't really know what the October rates will be yet though, surely? We are only in the first month of six which will determine the October rates.

Given that my electricity has been charging my work laptop for 2 years, I don't have too much of an issue charging my phone twice a week in the office

Wonder why it hurts when the truth is out there, it is in actual fact true here , anything taken into a work place should have a PAT test, & it still constitutes stealing a 3rd party electric,

Ahh but sometimes we need our phones to allow us to sign into the system so we need to have phones charged up

I don't put the heating on except an hour a week to help dry washing. I'll have to start using the food bank again. I'll skip meals so my DC have more.

If you can afford a heated throw they are wonderful for keeping warm with no heating. Hopefully it will warm up soon too! We've had a few nice spells then gone cold again!

My heating is already set to 13. Not sure it is healthy to go any lower, although it is warming up generally now anyway. I am ok to layer up, or even do some cardio to get my blood pumping.
I don't work, so I probably use more electricity because I am home and using devices. I already don't eat for 3 days a week, so can't cut back on food costs much more.
I have a relative who is talking about suicide now due to the rising costs

It does make me worry substantially more when I realise I'm already doing most of the things you guys say you will now do to cut spending. And my house doesn't have cavity walls (to insulate) and has high ceilings so I'll be living in a freezer next winter. Sigh.

@mogsrus

Wonder why it hurts when the truth is out there, it is in actual fact true here , anything taken into a work place should have a PAT test, & it still constitutes stealing a 3rd party electric,

Pat testing fair enough, but if work require you to use a mobile for work but do not provide a company one then they're on pretty thin ice.