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Why are our bills so high? 6k a month...!

139 replies

NewtothisFBK4921 · 25/04/2024 18:59

Is anyone able to workout why our bills so high aside from suggesting we move house?! Are other people in similar size houses (5 bed, very old single glazed farmhouse) paying similar?

We pay about:
2k nurseries fees as work full-time (cheapest local village nursery, another year still school starts!)
£400 electricity bills each month (this is so high as bloody kitchen is only heated by underfloor heating, no radiators, which we didn't realised cost so much when we moved last year, we set it to 17 degrees so always freezing still)
£400 oil (thermostat to 17 daytime, 18 evening, single glazed house)
1.3k mortgage
£35 tv subscriptions
£35 Gigaclear
£100 for x 2 phones (£50ish each)
£265 car (Renault Clio)
£368 council tax (!)
Rest on food and baby wipes and trains to work etc.

Don't get me wrong we live in a gorgeous 5 bed in a village and appreciate we have a wonderful life but we moved from a terrace house in London and just can't workout why our bills have got so high. Especially as never eat out or anything like that anymore. Struggling to afford everything but on our salaries it shouldn't be so hard... am I missing something blindly obvious we can change (besides selling the house!) or is life just crazy expensive?!

OP posts:
Wafflefudge · 26/04/2024 16:53

Gigaclear is Internet provider apparently.
You say 6k in your heading, so you spend 2kish on food and wipes and trains?

Heronatemygoldfish · 26/04/2024 17:24

Yes to double-glazing if you are allowed to. If you're not, then you can always use secondary glazing on the inside of the windows which isn't bad if properly sourced and fitted. I replaced some blown double-glazed aluminium bays a year ago with good modern uPVC windows (not in a listed house!) and the difference was amazing - so going from single to modern double-glazed would make a massive difference.

Agree with others on tax-free childcare to help with some of that cost if you've not got it already.

Have you got thermostatic radiators? You can limit which rooms are heated which will also make a difference if, say, a spare bedroom isn't used all the time.

Elphamouche · 26/04/2024 18:32

Your mtg is fine, it’s the same as mine in a 3 bed. Its childcare and energy that’s killing you.

Why is oil £400 a month plus £400 on other energy? Mum has an Aga and heating on oil, they pay around £200 a month and then £100 on electric. Have you got gas as well? If so what’s the oil for?

thankfully childcare doesn’t last. Do you qualify for the “free” (not free at all!! But helpful) childcare hours at all soon?

IMBCRound2 · 26/04/2024 18:38

Listed /single glazed farm house with multiple missing or cracked windows so basically a giant tent.

The heating/gas comes to £85 a month winter and about half that in summer…. just have it on when it’s brutal so maybe two hours a day max? We get by on thermals, hot water bottles, blankets.

Its not easy but it keeps the bills down to something just about manageable.

MikeRafone · 26/04/2024 18:46

you have 5 bedrooms, how many are empty? How much money could they make you? 2 empty bedrooms, rent out both at £65 per night once per week on average so 104 nights per year at £50 net a time could see you making £5200

That'd go some way to pay for the windows to have inside secondary glazing if the farmhouse is listed. Ask around for a local one man band window person - don't use a big company and get 2/3 windows done each year rather than all of them at once.

Get loft insulated, or insulated better

If you're home during the day - which if you have heating on it sounds like it - look at solar, it will help with the cost of underfloor heating, white goods running cost during the day

WillYouPutYourCoatOn · 26/04/2024 18:53

OP "My £6k bills a month are so high, it's a mystery"

Also OP "I pay £2k a month nursery fees"

It really is a riddle.

NewtothisFBK4921 · 26/04/2024 19:19

Wow you are all amazing!!! I haven't finished reading them all yet but the oil filled kitchen plug in radiators sound amazing, I'll definitely try those as I think it's hard to plumb the kitchen into the oil due to location which is why they didn't do it when they built it. The house is listed so sadly can't double glaze the windows. Going to keep reading. Thank you all, sort of just nice to hear others are crazy high too and some amazing tips. Really appreciative

OP posts:
NewtothisFBK4921 · 26/04/2024 19:19

Ps people on cheaper phones what makes do you have? We have iPhones which I'm thinking might be the issue there

OP posts:
Redlorryyellowlorryblue · 26/04/2024 19:30

I have an iPhone that I bought outright and use a £11 a month tesco sim.

Ariela · 26/04/2024 19:35

I was looking back at our bills, and it's obvious from ours that the various improvements have made a huge difference. We did it in this order
a) loft insulation & door curtain for front door. New curtains with thermal linings
b) double glazing & new porch & front door (gives a buffer and the hallway is amazingly so much warmer) Edited to add you will need to talk tothe listed building people, may have to get internal glazing

c) solar. This, when generating more than we are using diverts to heat the hot water. Edited to add this may be more complicated as you are listed.
d) changed boiler for a new Rayburn 680k which works the hot water & heating on timers. Also flushed all the radiators. They're only on about an hour a day max for water (due to solar) and the thermostat means the heating almost never comes on before Christmas/after mid March, and we can turn the Rayburn off completely for hot water for 6 months.
e) Replaced conservatory at back of house with one with better roof (insulated)> This acts as a buffer to keep the back of the house as toasty as the front)
27 years ago we spent over £80 a month on electricity (now £55 at current rates!)
Oil we used 2000 litres a year, now we use less than 500 litres a year (about £55p/litre I hope, waiting for oil price to drop lower). Oil was most expensive circa 2014, just after we changed the boiler luckily.
You could look at cutting the TV subscriptions, certainly there's a limit to how much TV you can watch! We don't subscribe to anything other than a free Amazon prime month every now and then.
You may be able to shop about for a cheaper broadband deal than Gigaclear, but may be tied to a term.
Ditto the phones, that sounds expensive. There are some good deals on at the moment for SIM only - check if you have paid for your phones now and whether the contracts are appropriate.
Baby wipes, can you mostly use flannels esp at home, and wash? Particularly if child is no longer in nappies, loo roll for bums & flannels for hands, take a small squirty travel bottle for out and about.
Trains to work - can you share travel anyhow? Cut down on office days to cut travel costs? My neighbour and another chap down the road take it in turns to drive to the station, and share a car = 1 car in the car park (I think it's about £8 a day), sometimes there's another chap they pick up too.

Cannot do anything about council tax, we also pay similar for a small 4 bed house, but you could look at which band you are in vs similar properties and contest the band you are in if you find evidence of other larger properties in lower bands than you (but they'll likely just put the other properties up that's what they do here)
For food, as you presumably have a nice farmhouse garden, I'd consider growing tubs for the more expensive items eg tomatoes, peppers, cut and come again salad leaves, strawberries, and blueberries. If time, a few rows of other veg (we had some marvellous brussels that went on all winter), carrots, beetroot, beans, peas etc. We picked masses last summer and I have a cupboard full of jams, chutneys, pickled stuff, etc. Good activity with kids. You could consider a few rescue chickens and sell the surplus to pay for the feed, we always more-or-less got free eggs on that basis.

Bobbybobbins · 26/04/2024 19:36

We buy a reconditioned iPhone then have a sun only contract - mine is £15 a month and my iPhone was around £100.

BrieHugger · 26/04/2024 19:40

So 2500 on mortgage, council tax and fuel, plus 2000 childcare and 500 on car and other monthly payments.

Where’s the other grand going, how much are your train and food bills?

Showmethemoneyyy · 26/04/2024 19:46

Look in to secondary glazing, which will make a big difference, and I don’t think would require planning permission, though might need listed building consent depending what you go for. Also concentrate on keeping the house DRY - so regular ventilation, unblock vents, use breathable materials where possible. Both of these should make a difference to your oil use.

laclochette · 26/04/2024 19:49

Ooh yes you can definitely save on phones! Obviously don't replace your current ones until you need to but once the contract is paid off, make sure you switch to a SIM only deal - I have a good Giffgaff one for a about a tenner.

Then when they do inevitably need replacing, I highly recommend Back Market for really good second hand phones. You can get a good phone outright there, save yourself a lot of money Vs buying a brand new one on contract and just keep your SIMO deal.

Shiveringinthecountry · 26/04/2024 20:09

I lived in that kind of house when I was growing up and we didn't use heating. In fact, I'm not sure we even had it!

I remember ice on the inside of my bedroom windows 🥶 We had a big wood burning stove downstairs (my father was always collecting and cutting up logs) and used a lot of hot water bottles, and also blankets in case of dire emergency.

I know expectations have changed, but I still enjoy hot water bottles. I'm sitting in a cold country cottage with feet on hot water bottle as I type this. In the kitchen I manage with slippers and layers of PJs, sweatshirt and voluminous dressing gown 👍

YouHaveAnArse · 26/04/2024 21:59

Rollercoaster1920 · 25/04/2024 20:05

Those heating and council tax bills are horrific! Combined mine are £190, but I'm in a 3 bed reasonably insulated hose with gas.

Would you qualify for any grants to improve insulation or add solar to the house? Insulation must be the answer for you to lower those bills.

Our council tax is £200 a month. For a small two-bed flat.

EwwSprouts · 26/04/2024 22:04

Check if you have loads of insulation in your roof space.
Really heavy curtains for external doors as well as windows.

YouHaveAnArse · 26/04/2024 22:04

MikeRafone · 26/04/2024 18:46

you have 5 bedrooms, how many are empty? How much money could they make you? 2 empty bedrooms, rent out both at £65 per night once per week on average so 104 nights per year at £50 net a time could see you making £5200

That'd go some way to pay for the windows to have inside secondary glazing if the farmhouse is listed. Ask around for a local one man band window person - don't use a big company and get 2/3 windows done each year rather than all of them at once.

Get loft insulated, or insulated better

If you're home during the day - which if you have heating on it sounds like it - look at solar, it will help with the cost of underfloor heating, white goods running cost during the day

Not many lodgers would be into sharing a house with two toddlers.

Agespot · 26/04/2024 22:12

Well child minders are a lot cheaper and I think if you find a good one better.
Also I pay £8 a month for my SIM with sky, ok not much data but unlimited calls and texts
And yes your paying way too much for gas and electric, when we had our thermostat set at 18 our bills was huge, cause the thermostat was by the front door!!
We've now moved it and set a timer for morning and bedtime
Good luck and please let us know if things improve with a few suggestions

Georgianbase · 26/04/2024 22:15

Luckily nursery fees won’t last and I think you’re lucky your mortgage payments aren’t bigger. It’ll get better soon when your child is older hopefully!

Mirabai · 26/04/2024 22:17

NewtothisFBK4921 · 26/04/2024 19:19

Ps people on cheaper phones what makes do you have? We have iPhones which I'm thinking might be the issue there

I have a Motorola and a @ £9 per month contract for unlimited calls and 20GB.

I have 2 iPads though. I just don’t use my phone as much as other people.

HaggisHhahaha · 26/04/2024 22:23

It’s all relative to your income however…

if children are out of home during the day do you need the heating on?

we work from home and our joint income is over 8k, the heating doesn’t go on during the day unless it got to around 5

we use heat pads/heated gilets

our electricity is about the same but we have gas heating/hot water and that’s about 100 pm

we do have a log burner that goes in at 4pm low

Sometimesnot · 26/04/2024 22:35

I really recommend mobiles.co.uk if you want to keep getting iPhones on contract. Particularly if you go for their refurbished phones (literally brand new phones without the box that have been returned within 30 days of purchase). I pay £29 a month for an iPhone 14 on contract with 100gb of data from them.

Dinosaurpoo · 26/04/2024 22:43

How are you spending that much on oil and electricity?
We have a 5 bed detached old house with single glazing. Our oil boiler is ancient but we have a relatively new underfloor heating system downstairs. We also have open plan and no porch or hall, so lose heat very easily!
we pay £114 electricity and £120 oil. And we are warm! Thermostat is 14 in the day while we are out at work and 20 all other times apart from 11-5:30.
have you got a smart meter?
Something can’t be right.

junebirthdaygirl · 26/04/2024 22:57

Could you pay a flat rate for electricity throughout the year including the summer months when no heat on. We do that and build up credit for the incoming winter bills. It means no expensive months. We also have underfloor heating which is expensive but no gas

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