To be cold and panicking about how I will pay the winter heating bills...

[notevenamousie]

I know, it's only September 2nd. We've been in our new home since July. It's got cold.

Or maybe it's not that cold. I am cold in the mornings when I get up and in the evenings when we get home. But with my recent decision to take a lower paid job to get a better work life balance... it's going to be cold in my house because I don't know how I am going to be able to afford winter heating bills.

I need suggestions. My biggest worries are my dd (2.9) at night time and my feet (Raynauds). Low cost suggestions would help.

We have full waterproofs as it is rainy here. But they are not warm. And I do not want my gorgeous girl to have childhood memories of being cold. Or me to not be able to get hands and feet to a temperature where I can sleep before work the next day.

Riven I can't imagine how stressful that must be.

its bloody annoying. Esepcailly when rich old poeple get the winter fuel allowance but poor disabled poeple don't. My in-laws use that money to go ski-ing ffs. Its not targeted properly.

You're right it's not targetted properly at all. I read an article about expat Brits in Spain who got it and obviously don't need it out there.
It must be really stressful Riven, and hard work for you as well, I knew you ahd a DD with SN, just wasn't sure exactly what.

We are aiming for dec 1st this year, managed nov last year.

I find the mornings are the worst.

I didn't know about the fuel allowance. That's disgraceful.

Riven I can't even begin to imagine how hard it must be.

notevenamousie another thing we do is have a nice cup of hot milo (or chocolate) with a shot of something special in it at bed time (obviously DS doesn't get the something special), Malibu is favourite - tastes like a Bounty.

We also tend to sleep more in the winter. DS is in bed by 8, and DH and I are usually tucked up with books by 9:30. I know for most people this sounds boring, but to be honest it is kind of nice to snuggle up with a nice cup of something in bed with a book. I pretty much hibernate, and it is excellent.

Also the wheatpacks you toss in the microwave are better than hot water bottles I find. No fiddling with water, waiting for it to heat up, wasting the cold water etc.

Lots of stews and heavy stodgy food. Carbs warm you up as well (but they also make me fat).

I get angry that some use the WFA for an extra holiday. I also think it should not be paid immediately before Christmas as I have seen too many old people waste it on Xmas presents. It should be paid when the big bills come in Feb-ish and some sort of system in place to ensure that it does actually get spent on heating.

YANBU
we are still paying off last winter's gas bill and will be until april. Combination of basement flat, small baby over winter, fuel prices at their highest and dodgy boiler meant our use was ridiculous. This year we have electric storage heaters, a well insulated 1st floor flat and baby isn't tiny so maybe we can make some savings so we aren't doing the same next year.
We are also paying water and council tax arrears

thermal socks and fake ugg-type boots (I gor some for 4.99 on market stall) as slippers.
leggings under trews, and thermal long sleeve tops- is what we live in.

stick some elastic on the corners of the flece blankets and put them on under the sheets on the beds. makes a big difference.

I am coveting the Lakeland heated throw to snuggle up on the sofa with.

And I am going to buy a heated underblanket for the bed this year.

2 duvets is the way to go, not one extra thick one. The 2 duvets trap air which keep you warm.

Have you done everything you can to insulate the house? Draught excluders, thick curtains or liners, and look into grants for loft insulation, boiler lagging and cavity wall insulation - you can sometimes get them really cheap even if you are not on any benefits (and possibly for less or nothing if you are), depending where you live etc.

There is a film you can get to put over single-glazed windows and shrink to fit with a hairdryer for a cheap way to keep a bit more heat in, I used it when in a very draughty houseshare once. Oh and make sure any unused chimneys are well blocked off.

agree, you must check that the house is properly insulated.
if you're worried it isn't, then you need to go round and check for draughts. the easiest way is to hold a candle around door frames etc.

i know this sounds barmy, but have you any sheep farmers near you?
the reason i ask is because our local sheep farmer has his sheep sheared but doesn't sell the fleece because he can't get any money for it. it might be worth approaching them and offering a small price for any spare fleece. you can use that as extra loft insulation and put it on the outside walls in cupboards etc.
(or, make wool from it )

my winter warming methods are all extra layers and blankets. i wear 2 pairs of fluffy socks in bed when it's really cold and sometimes gloves too. wear several thin layers, as the weave/knit will overlap on each layer.
also, i wear a swimming costume under my clothes when i'm outdoors, because it keeps my back warm if i need to bend over.

my house is drafty but its mainly badly fitted windows we cant afford to change.

A plain cream fleece blanket sewn onto the back of the curtains really helped in our house.

Riven I feel angry on your behalf that there is not funding for your dd to have a warm room. I Have been stomping and mumbling.

its just how it is. Could be worse, could be a Tory govt....oh wait!

lets all move somwhere else !

Maybe you need to shop around and change supplier? Visit uswitch or one of the other comparison websites.

And pay by monthly direct debit - not only do you pay the same every month, avoiding heavy winter bills, but you also get a discount for direct debit, especially if you have an online account rather than paper bills.

You can also save by having both gas and electricity from the same supplier (dual fuel). And I've heard that Briitsh Gas is the most expensive - don't know if that is still true.

It's the energy companies, they're shafting us all with ridiculously inflated prices. We recently got one of those thingies that helps you track your energy usage, and I thought we were doing really well keeping our usage down, plus we were away for a month so I was expecting our quarterly bill, to be like, £50 max. It was £120 And that's for a very small 2 bed flat. Now I'm really dreading the winter bill, it was £500 last year...

I get incensed about the winter fuel allowance too. Utter nonsense that my dad and stepmother who own three houses and both work as well paid lawyers get it, and my v.v.v. low income family don't. We were paying off the last winter bill for 6 months, it's a farce.

Our biggest energy loss is in the draughty old windows. Our tighwad landlord only provided us with cheap Ikea blinds, so I'm gonna buy some curtains and that way I can use the plastic film stuff and hopefully keep out the draughts.

I cannot pay by direct debit, our income is tiny and inconsistent. I don't have an overdraft and the last time I set up a direct debit I ended up paying shitloads of charges because there wasn't enough money in on the right day etc. It's just too stressful on such a low budget.

I have a low budget too...and enormous fuel bills I have storage heaters throughout and they are so expensive. I only really have a couple on throughout the winter and never heat the kitchen and bathroom, our house is freezing. We have only just caught up from last years bills and expecting another one soon....