To just think fuck it now in regards to the heating?

[FuH]

I have a 2 year old who has chest issues. We've been in and out of hospital with him more times than I can count, he has two inhalers daily, steroids, children's nursing team who are regularly asked to come and see him etc..

It's always worse when it's cold. He's been really unwell again this past week and I was fretting about the heating, being home all day as he's off nursery, but needing to keep the house warm for him and I have just woken up this morning and thought FUCK THIS.

I cannot let my two year old child get even worse in -3 frost because I'm so worried about bills. I don't know what the answer is but I've decided from today that I'm not going to care.

Has anyone else just though 'fuck it'.

What a sorry state we are in.

We have the same attitude to it all! My direct debit has gone sky high with it off! So what am I paying for? I'm using it. We have been ill consistently since November and I have it on now.

I turned the heating on yesterday for more than the two hours on a morning/evening that we have been. The £20 energy bill for the day made sure I’ll just sit with my electric blanked with cold hands whilst working today, especially as it still wasn’t comfortably warm yesterday when I was sat still working.

What a crazy year this is having to sit and actually be freezing because you can’t afford £600 a month has/electric.

I hope you work something out, it’s crazy to think of the poor children suffering because of people having to choose food or heat.

We're the same..have a gas fire on in the sitting room when it gets too much..my fingers are so cold it's hard to type

Apply for the household support fund OP through your council. You may have to wait until Jan for it to reopen, but I think you can get 200 quid towards energy bills if you need it.

How much higher are your bills this year compared to last year?

In your case, I wouldnt hesitate to prioritise heating.

Our family history is not cancer, heart etc. It is lung problems.
Heating is our top priority.

We’ve got an oil radiator so can heat either the living room or toddlers room as required without needing the whole house heating on all of the time but do have it on quite often.

I would put the heating on but make sure you don’t use so much that you can’t pay and end up in a prepayment meter as then you can’t say fuck it and I’ll pay later.
It does take awhile to end up on prepayment

You could get a small electric heater just for the main room you are in? But no yanbu to want to keep warm during the day. My heat is on all the time set at 18.

We are just using what we need now. It’s still below freezing outside here, we are both sitting at desks WAH and so we need the heating. We are lucky we can afford it, but even so, we were trying to use it less than last year to make up for the difference in price this year. But we need to be warm. My persistent cough has gone since the heating has been on for longer each day and the humidity has gone down.

You don’t need permission from mumsnet to turn your heating on.

I didn't ask for it?

I'm getting close to the same conclusion. It's so cold inside I can't concentrate on work and I can't feel my fingers properly. I could go into the office, where it's warm, but then I'd have to pay for petrol and parking so it's catch 22.
I also haven't done my meter readings for a month or two because I can't face the truth of what I'm going to be expected to pay

I wfh and am happy to be chilly until the kids get home, but it's now at the point where the house sits ar 14 degrees which is no good for anyone (or the house) so I'm just "fuck it" it's on all day now. Still can't get warm.

I've now unplugged the smart meter's in home display unit. I can't reduce my usage any further and it was a constant reminder of an already stressful situation.

I know my prices have doubled since my fix ran out. There's fuck all I can do about it apart from freeze which I refuse to do. The £65 from the government helps but that runs out relatively soon and it has been heavily hinted further support will be (quite rightly) means tested and focused on pension/benefit recipients at greatest risk. Which is precious little comfort for everybody else.

Got a 7month old baby, I feel the same. Heating is on! We've had a viral infection for 3 weeks. And I never wanted it to get worse. Bills can be dealt with, not risking her getting worse x

It's a horrendous situation

My friend is a single parent she rents a very small place and has a pre payment meter as the last tennants didn't pay up and she is putting on her card about £50 a week it's just awful for people

My windows are drafty so I've bought some tape and I've taped my window seals up as I have a lazy landlord who won't care if we are cold or not!!

Disgusting really that people are having to worry about putting heating on, especially when its for health reasons. Its like going back in time when people heated one room and all huddled in there.

It was 12 degrees in my house this morning i though nope im not being cold will worry about it after.

Its grim enough in the winter months dark early cold and miserable without being cold indoors.

Im just getting over a particularly nasty bout of flu and now im left with a chest infection so no im having the heating on at the moment.

Op have your heating on surely with an ill child there must be some sort of help for you

The household support fund awarded me £35 with the proviso I could not apply again. Welcome but as a one-off payment it's a drop in the ocean.

Hopefully households get more help.

Yes I've got to this point- two young children, I can't make them freeze. If I run into debt on the acc I'm beyond caring

This is me now.

As PP said, bills can be dealt with. Not having my son get seriously unwell due to being cold.

Definitely put it on. What are they gonna do at the end of the day? Can't get blood from a stone!

The only way to manage is to heat one room and not the whole house. I agree £600 a month is just too much and it’s like 1965 again. Awful.

I set my heating to 18 degrees overnight. It has cost me £9 since midnight to 8am this morning!

I've got a 3 year old with respiratory troubles, putting an electric heater in his bedroom has made a big difference to his cough. We also put the heating on in the morning when he gets up and for when he's back from nursery after he asked to go on holiday somewhere it was warm.

I'd like to keep the bills down, but we're lucky enough that we're not in the financial position to have to make a 3 year old ill and miserable to do so.