What’s the point in being frugal anymore?

[DesolationRow]

I have a fixed low income and am good at cutting my cloth accordingly, I have no debt and free/cheap hobbies and social life.

My average fuel consumption these past few years has been 6500kWh gas and 2000 electricity = around £750 a year. I pay quarterly, always promptly.

On very cold days I put the heating on for an hour early evening. I have reasonable insulation, heavy curtains, I ‘warm the person, not the room’ ie base layer, wool jumpers and socks, fingerless gloves and a hat, hot water bottles and electric blankets. I have an air-fryer and microwave and have two baths a week. My luxury is a small coffee machine and putting the heating on when I have visitors (because my home is definitely too cold for most people to bear!)

So I’m happy and comfortable enough BUT I’ve used an online calculator and my new annual fuel cost will be £2,400 - way, way more than I can afford!

AIBU to think why the fuck should I pay £2,400 to live like this? As I’ve no way of avoiding debt now I might as well heat my home properly and bathe and cook hot meals every day. To me, £3,400 (or £4,400) is as unaffordable as £2,400. My credit rating doesn’t matter and I’m on the ‘priority register’ so think I could avoid being put on a pre-payment meter.

I think you may not be alone in feeling this way..

Have you checked what support your entitled to as you are on a low income?

I think if you never need credit or say a mortgage there's not not much incentive to not getting into debt. But I must warn you it's an insidious place to be and you'd be trapped and shackled to debt forever.

@IncessantNameChanger but that’s my point, debt is stressful and horrible and that’s why I live frugally. But this debt is being forced on me/us - I can’t avoid it, even with claiming all the support (so far) available. So I could live like a pauper in a freezing home and be in debt, or be warmer and more comfortable and be in debt 🤷🏻‍♀️

That’s the weird thing about this cost of living crisis.
a few months ago people were panicking about how to afford it, how to cut back etc.
now it has got (or getting) to the stage where the maths simply don’t add up.
I’ve spoken to some people who are strangely relieved about this additional hike in utility prices and food inflation. Reasoning is that if they spent nothing apart from fuel and food they still couldn’t afford it - so nothing can be done and no amount of coth cutting can solve that.
it’s a relief for some people that it is impossible to make this work regardless and mental health has been improved from just knowing fate is out of their hands.

Amazingly sad situation to be in.

I can see what you mean OP. If you're going to be in debt anyway why deny yourself a level of basic comfort?

Of course YANBU, many more will think like that, and the more it goes up the more people will just carry on as normal if you are going to be in debt anyway.

There is no point in trying to be the ideal citizen, thrifty, gentle and patient. We have all got to work together to kick out the politicians (and their funders) who have proved so utterly self-serving and incompetent, and find more capable ones who facilitate how we want to live.

OP, in your position I would set a negative budget so you have what you need. Worry about the implications of that later - inflation may erode it as long as future grants/tax credits.

*as well

I see your point. I've always lived like that to some extent. For me though there are just some non-negotiables e.g. showering less than once a day isn't something I could do so I swallow the extra cost.

I'm with you. Already there. Sod it. I dont intend to freeze.

Frankly I'm too old for this shit. 😂

I'm still in denial. I'm mentally geared up to freeze and stink this winter. We are just about to finish paying off dhs dmp. I'm not happy to go back there. I'm selling the kids clothes on Vinted to buy new things on vinted.

BUT I think a lot of this is fear mongering. We don't know until we know. If it's three times my summer bill we can cope. Yes it will be grim but we will cope. If it means no heating like summer and no tumble dyer like summer OR the house being repossessed then it is what is.

I'm not loosing my house. Once I got certain of that I feel calmer. We are six on one very low wage too.

Something will be done. The economy will collapse otherwise not to mind the health and well being of most of the population.

Truss is focused on licking the arses of the ERG right now, so once she gets that done, annoys the fk out of the EU, has a trade war, sees terrorism restart in NI due to the Protocol, she will get around to it. Priorities you see.

My sole income is the State pension BUT my annual utility bills have never been as high as £750

There must be corners to be cut somewhere: maybe change those two baths a week to showers, or only one. “Fuck it!” won’t be the answer. They’ll put you on a pre-payment meter and claw back your debt that way

If it means no heating like summer and no tumble dyer like summer

But it's nothing like summer. No heating and no tumble will mean freezing damp rooms and constantly wet clothes.

My friend got into financial difficulties way before this recent crisis and they forced her into having a pre-payment metre and it costs her loads more for her utilities than it does say by direct debit is avoid this like the plague

@BitterAndOnlySlightlyTwisted £2,400, debt, a cold home and down to one bath a week, ffs please tell me you don’t really think I should have to live like that! Re prepayment meter, I have a life-limiting illness that is made worse by damp and cold so, from my research, I think (hope) I can avoid that.

Yes I’m on the priority register too and as far as I can tell also they can’t cut you off or put you on prepayment. I feel the same as you OP. Fuck it.

But if its that or a £1000pm bill and your take home is £1600 can you not see it ain't gonna happen? We do not have other options.

It might as well be 10k a month. You can not spend what you don't have. The dmp is crippling option and I'd rather see my kids breath freeze than see them loose their future security. They really are horrible things debt management plans. But so much better than unmanged debt.

You can run the heating just enough to not let the pipes freeze.

Like I say I will see what happens when it happens. If we go bust and loose our home then that's what will happen. If we can cut corners and cope then that's what will happen.

I cant live my life in constant fear. Covid tought me that. It's no way to live. Terrified of things that in reality probably won't happen.

No one will bail me out and I'm resourceful. I have to be with a disabled child. With debt you have to pay it off at some point unless you go insolvent / bankrupt. Not sure you can do that repeatedly. That's no credit ever. No credit for a car, no credit for a new washing machine. It's not good.

I feel like we as a country should go on strike as energy customers and not pay the bills. They can’t switch us all off surely?

@LeggyLinda it is really weird, I’m so used to being careful but having realised that none of my usual strategies can beat this situation I’m almost (not quite 😬) feeling a bit of relief. I love the idea of a warm home!

And I am hugely grateful that there’s only me to think about these days, I can only imagine the stress people with young children at home are going through, and people who need to protect their credit rating.

@BoffinMum I will join in any and all protests that have a chance of working, but must admit I feel pretty defeated by our politicians and economic system.

@MistyGreenAndBlue @Univalve
thank you so much for the solidarity. Fuck it, absolutely!

I honestly feel lots of people don’t understand the realities of the increase in energy costs. The future is bleak if something isn’t done to reduce energy costs.

people will die either from being cold, or from not being able to afford to eat. People will take their own lives due to the impact on their mental health.

Obesity will increase as lots of people will turn to cheap unhealthy food, the cost to society especially the NHS will rise due to the impact of obesity and poor nutrition, as it makes people prone to becoming unwell, plus the impacts of people living in cold damp houses which will cause things like asthma and lung conditions to increase from cold mouldy homes. The NHS will be in crisis again over winter.

Cost of food going up will mean many people will go hungry.

Businesses will start getting rid of staff as they can’t afford to pay their utility bills and they’ll have to increase their prices, meaning loss of customers.

People will end up out of work as businesses close down, especially the leisure and I suspect the beauty industries.

I honestly don’t understand why more people aren’t seeing the bigger picture. The rise in energy costs will effect everyone and society on the whole.

My heating on in winter 18 c from 21c, enough, bill average about £900 per year, I refuse to be cold, despite normal cutbacks.
more help will come, how is the question