Just been notified my energy bills going up by #80 a month from April.

how much has your weekly food bill gone up ? shocking the price of food these days, DWP should be giving out food bank vouchers to everyone that signs on, benefits haven't increased for few years now.

Sorry to read this things are getting bad, positive is that the warmer weather is on its way so perhaps you can save
a bit of money then to help during the winter?

I am thinking about gettiing a wood burner fitted as theres plenty of wood around here.

Pandora

Very very sad to say that a food bank has opened at the bottom of my street every Thursday and very very sad to say  very busy.

WHAT HORRIBE TIMES PEOPLE ARE GOING THROGH
Ronnie.

Yes Ronnie terrible times, I think it will get worse before it gets better.
But there are ways to save you just need to be careful and sensible with food.

Not having a smart meter may work in your favour, as they're thinking of charging higher unit prices for gas/elec used in peak hours then used in non peak hours :( and they can only tell what times you use them with a smart meter.

Our dual bills going up £1200 and even higher if you used a pre paid key.

Disgusting we have to pay £300+ tariff for green subs but get charged full price for wind/solar generated power, we could frack our own gas that would last for decades, but no Greta says its bad !!!!

Energy bills are a big worry.  pandora1963, if you think you will struggle to pay bills talk to your energy company, preferably in writing, don't wait until you miss a payment.

My understanding is Energy companies are going to start penalising customers that don't have smart meters once they are able to offer different tariffs again. They can't do that at the moment as the capped tariff is still the cheapest available.

Also with energy costs effectively doubling in 12 months for any customer previously on a fixed rate deal many of which finished 1st quarter last year, the government are now getting a VAT and a Green Energy levy windfall i.e. nearly twice what they were expecting. I haven't seen anything in the press but halving VAT & Green Energy levy would save £200-300 on the average bill.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10366275/ROSS-CLARK-DOES-green-tax-energy-bill-actually-pay-for.html

I am thinking about gettiing a wood burner fitted as theres plenty of wood around here.


  ... I dont blame you, wonderful things, i had one once when i lived in southampton ( in a small living room ).

  Used to get so hot that you had to keep the living room door open most of the time.!

Without stating the blindingly obvious Pandora you need to cut down on that thermostat and put more layers on.
A pair of leggings and trousers 3 under layers and a fleece you will be fine.
If your able get out the chair and do bodyweight excercises on a regular basis throughout the day and still watch telly @ the same time.

I dont even spend £80 per month on a standard tariff currently heating a 4 bed detached and work from home all day.

The price hikes haven't kicked in yet and we are getting 3 times as many inquiries for solar panels and battery storage. I am dealing with most of them by e-mail or phone and doing a survey when they order.

I think it's shameful that the energy companies are now increasing the standard charge to over a £1 per day for gas/elec if you have both supplied to your home, that's another £182+ per year plus vat on top of the increase of gas/elec unit prices.

pandora1963,

It would be inhuman of me not to sympathise with your post. I'm sorry you may struggle with the rise in energy prices.

BUT, to make such a post on a betting website seems rather odd. Please tell me you are not gambling if money has become that tight for you?

Not having a go, but much of this country has not lived through economic hard times before because of interest rates being kept artificially low for too long. Hence, people don't know what it means to forego some pleasures and tighten their belts a bit. Perhaps the forthcoming summer of hard times will teach a lot of people a lesson that us older guys learned back in the past - and more than once!

If you are still betting, try Happy News(ew) 2.25L

Good advice from Mr M. Duvets, blankets, hot water bottles are also a help. Use a microwave instead of gas. Also, regarding food, most eat much more than needed. Since developing Dr Slicer's Essentials of Life Calorie Counting Diet, the food bills have come right down. A 400gm tin of baked beans provides 2 meals. For any more advice Dr Slicer's Essentials of Life Calorie Counting Diet is available in all not very good bookshops, nowhere in the country.

Try crowd funding.

Just had four very large trees cut down at the back, had all the branches logged and trunks cut into rings. My son is thankfully splitting them. Hopefully will have two or three years worth stocked in the outbuildings by the winter. A wood burner is a bit of a blessing in these times. Having a smart meter fitted next week, usually pay quarterly having done a balancing act on a chair, torch in hand, to read the old meter. See how things go with it.

Sorry this is hitting you hard pandora, no doubt you and many soon. No quick solution with the Urkrain situation now making matters worse. Keep having a little bet to keep your spirits up and you cop a nice winner or two soon.

A mate at work was saying yesterday that he currently pays £118 a month. He was told he could fix at £280 a month now. That’s some hike. Anyway he decided to fix it last Thursday (the day Putin went to war!)and was told that had gone up to £350!

This is going to be crippling for millions of people, and completely overpriced for everyone.

Summer is coming, I've wrapped up this winter and used less than half of the gas I used last year.
Feck em, don't use it unless you need to.

unfortunately food banks have been a thing for far too long now, this will see a lot of people in real trouble. Meanwhile the gap between the lowest earners and the top earners continues to grow.

Exactly Mr Saddo. If some on here sat down & gave as much thought to how to save money on food & energy as they do to assessing the handicaps, they might benefit a bit.

My gas and electric were already about £160 a month and council tax is a fortune here ......as the vast majority of the town get it paid for by the state there are never any complaints ......one of the many reasons we will soon be leaving the north west of England.

I rarely feel cold in the house unless it’s freezing outside. An hours blast of the heating will warm the house nicely. My problem is the missus working from home on minimum wage with the heating on all fecking day! They’re a nesh breed!

My electric standing charge is about to double from 25p a day to 50p.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/feb/26/energy-bills-suppliers-price-r...

nesh ....there is a word you don't hear often enough. I worked with a chap from Halifax  many years ago , had not heard it before. I have been out cycling up 550 feet of climbing in a mile in the sunshine ....sat here with the window open as the missus is at work.

id like to know why 4 very large trees had to be chopped.

They council stripped and prepared a large Ash for felling close to me in early 2020, they stopped because of lockdown. It was being felled because the house nearest to it needed underpinning.
They have not been back since and the tree is flourishing once more.

good. id let the house go

My energy bill is also going up by 80 a month. Robbing bastards.

Do not worry mitolo, plenty more here.

They'll have us begging for their government controlled digital currency once we're all financially ****** thanks to their policies.

Big Aitch, interesting comments mate, have messaged you.

paying £240 a month leccy gas and water.............oh for the days of the stick to stop the wheel !

If anyone's interested in how the smart leccy meters work check out "bigclivedotcom" on youtube, he takes 1 apart and has some interesting conclusions.

link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G32NYQpvy8Q

Mine gone up 168 to 297 PCM

I have a vulnerable wife whose joints aren't going to like the cold weather when I turn the heating off

What with water I'm already coughing up 340 quid before anything else.