A winter of very expensive heating and little food?

My standing order for gas has just been increased by nearly 50%. Maybe somebody on here could tell me it's my imagination ... or advise how I can reduce the bill.

I already delay turning on the heating and keep the thermostat at 18 degrees.My house is so small that I don't have any rooms which are being heated unnecessarily.
The house where I live already has good insulation.
I reduce cooking costs by bulk cooking and freezing. I eat quite a lot of meals which don't require any cooking anyway.
I rarely have baths. I prefer a quick shower and reduce use of hot water when I can.

I'd be grateful for any tips.

Thank goodness I've just become a pensioner and will receive my £200 winter fuel allowance, but that won't cover the whole year and what are those who haven't reached pension age supposed to do?

I'm sure no one will starve, it might do some people good to lose a few pounds and think twice about what they are eating.

I usually think about what I'm eating. In fact I think about it a lot as I plan the meals and cook the meals.
And eat them.

A question:
If we eat less will we need fewer toilet rolls?

growstuff you sound as if you're doing everything right.

Have you got a slow cooker? I think they're economical to run and you can put everything in together - sounds boring but there are some interesting recipes to try.

It was much easier when the utilities were nationalised. I just don’t understand all these different fuel companies. Are they in it for shareholders?
I was married and had my children just after the war ended. We managed and in spite of rationing my children were healthy, happy and not overweight.

Yes, I have a slow cooker and use it often. I plan my meals too and always think about using as little fuel as possible, as well as nutrition and cost.

PS. I'm on my provider's cheapest tariff and my landlord did an efficiency check for me earlier in the year. It seems my boiler is set to the most efficient setting.

PPS. We might need fewer toilet rolls, but not if we eat more cabbage.

PPPS. I have noticed that a few of my "staples" have increased in price over the last few weeks, including milk and yoghurt. Some cuts of meat are frequently not available - and there's STILL a problem with the only cat food which my cats will reliably eat.

It must be miserable not to be able to afford to keep yourself warm. One thing I got for my mum which she absolutely loves is a heated throw. It costs about 4p an hour to run, and as she’s very elderly she sits down for most of the time. Even with the gas fire on she was always cold, and this is much cheaper to run.

Grow stuff, quite obviously you are just not British enough. You need to pull yourself together

GillT57

Grow stuff, quite obviously you are just not British enough. You need to pull yourself together

Would it help if I had a union flag or two about the house and sang the National Anthem before I go to bed?

I'm a little puzzled. According to some on GN, there isn't a problem with anything. I did wonder if it was only Conservatives who aren't having problems, but that can't be it. I live in a true blue Conservative constituency and we're having problems (according to the long threads on the local Facebook page).

If there's no problem with gas, how come so many of the smaller suppliers are going bankrupt?

It goes like this growstuff:

There isn't a problem!

There is bit of an issue but its not that bad!

Even if its bad, people need to toughen up, remember the War!

It would have been even worse if Corbyn had been in charge!

Boris did his best leave him alone!

May the odds be ever in your favour.

growstuff

Yes, I have a slow cooker and use it often. I plan my meals too and always think about using as little fuel as possible, as well as nutrition and cost.

PS. I'm on my provider's cheapest tariff and my landlord did an efficiency check for me earlier in the year. It seems my boiler is set to the most efficient setting.

PPS. We might need fewer toilet rolls, but not if we eat more cabbage.

PPPS. I have noticed that a few of my "staples" have increased in price over the last few weeks, including milk and yoghurt. Some cuts of meat are frequently not available - and there's STILL a problem with the only cat food which my cats will reliably eat.

Yup, the bills have gone up.

Stiff upper lip, old gal, we're British.

Okay firstly the energy/carbon dioxide issue is NOT directly related to either the EU or Brexit. Worldwide gas prices have gone sky high as a result of the massive lull due to covid and countries all firing up again together all at once. We need this gas to produce carbon dioxide - which is used for so many things from operations, to slaughterhouses, to producing any kind of carbonated drink...I could go on.

Us personally in the UK have both the sky high price issue and a reduced capacity for storing gas - not to mention over reliance on other countries for a large part of our gas supply. We need to sort out this issue for the future - nobody really fancies fracking but we need to become more energy secure in our own right rather than relying on dubious allies to help us out.

As I understand it, the government is going to let the small energy companies go bankrupt if necessary (whilst protecting the supply of their customers and moving them to another provider) and will likely provide government backed loans for the largest companies in order to get them to take on the customers from the bankrupt firms. We do not need 70 different gas/electricity providers - apparently by the end of the current issues we will likely be down to low double figures.

Finally, our wind turbines in the UK have not been producing much wind this year - one of the quietest summers for wind in a long time, apparently. This just proves the idiocy of relying too much on wind power.

I am no climate change denier but we need to accept the fact that it is now too late to stop it happening - we should have taken action long ago. In my opinion we should now be looking towards mitigation of each country's individual risks (for example increased flood defences in the UK). This does not mean we shouldn't carry on with sensible measures such as recycling and reducing pollution - particularly air and plastic pollution - however anyone who thinks we can solve this problem by becoming "carbon neutral" is kidding themselves.

How did we got so quickly from " it's not real" to "it's too late"?

Alegrias1

It goes like this growstuff:

There isn't a problem!

There is bit of an issue but its not that bad!

Even if its bad, people need to toughen up, remember the War!

It would have been even worse if Corbyn had been in charge!

Boris did his best leave him alone!

May the odds be ever in your favour.

Thanks for the explanation .

I get it now. I was born ten years after the end of WW2 and just after all rationing was officially stopped. I'm obviously one of those snowflakes.

Anybody got a decent recipe for nettle soup and stewed chicken bones which doesn't require any fuel to cook? Maybe somebody can remember how to rub two sticks together?

Whitewavemark2

Found on twitter

“1. Nobody to kill the turkey
2. Nobody to pack the turkey
3. Nobody to drive the turkey
4. No CO2 to store the turkey
5. No gas to cook the bloody turkey.”

They missed number six.

6. No b---dy turkey!

Saetana I'm not disagreeing with what you've written. I haven't blamed Covid, Brexit or even the government.

However, the fact is that I (like many others) have a very limited income. I seriously do count my pennies.

I have noticed that car fuel, domestic heating gas and food prices have increased dramatically over the last few weeks. I have also experienced shortages.

It's really irritating when people deny that this is the situation. Overall, my regular outgoings have increased by 6-7% over the last couple of months and that's a lot when a person has already cut most "extras" (eating out,cinema, holidays,etc) to the bone. I don't need teaching about budgeting - I already do that. I'm an expert juggler of money, but I can't pay bills when I have no money.

I don't expect the government to wave a magic wand and make more gas appear or train up 100,000 more HGV drivers overnight, but I do wonder how they intend to support the poorest who really don't have anything to spare.

Bijou

It was much easier when the utilities were nationalised. I just don’t understand all these different fuel companies. Are they in it for shareholders?
I was married and had my children just after the war ended. We managed and in spite of rationing my children were healthy, happy and not overweight.

Apparently Kwasi Kwarteng tweeted today that the Government will become the supplier of last resort.

You wish may come true Bijou.

Maudi

I'm pleased there is no one to kill the turkey, veggie Christmas for me and my family. I'm sure no one will starve, it might do some people good to lose a few pounds and think twice about what they are eating.

You are really being very insulting to many people. Don't you realise that?

Channel 4 News. Not sure who Nick Allen is. He has just been saying that animals may have to be culled on farms. I cannot think how the public will react if meat is not coming through to us but is killed and buried on farms.

My apologies for not know who Nick Allen is. He knew his subject and was trying to play down the problems.

Sorry growstuff wasn't referring to you personally - just a general summing up of the comments I've read. No two ways about it - gas is getting more expensive, I've already had my letter from British Gas with the October prices rises and I am sure they will not be the last. We are lucky in that we are 2 adults in a smalll 1 bed flat with double glazing so it will not be as bad for us as some. I do wonder that it seems nobody saw this coming - surely it didn't happen overnight?

No need to apologise Saetana. I didn't take your post personally and I thought it was fair.

I live in a small house with double glazing and a well-insulated loft. Financially, I'm very near the edge, so I always budget carefully. I just wonder how those with the lowest incomes are going to manage.

I'm annoyed when people claim that people could manage better if they gave up take-aways, didn't smoke, drink alcohol, gave up holidays, didn't have the latest phone or TV, etc etc. I don't do any of those things and I struggle. I'm far from the only person in that situation, but it just seems that the poorest are ignored or made out to be liars.

Alegrias1.
So much anger and political venom towards people who do not agree with your views is tedious to say the least!

This is not aimed at you Saetana but to all those who think they can tell people how to manage on a budget lower than they have to live on.

Unless you are walking in those shoes it is insulting.

Anybody got a decent recipe for nettle soup and stewed chicken bones which doesn't require any fuel to cook? Maybe somebody can remember how to rub two sticks together?

Hay boxes, growstuff

www.woodland-ways.co.uk/blog/outdoor-cooking/making-and-using-a-hay-box-to-cook-in/

20:35PippaZ

Maudi

I'm pleased there is no one to kill the turkey, veggie Christmas for me and my family. I'm sure no one will starve, it might do some people good to lose a few pounds and think twice about what they are eating.

You are really being very insulting to many people. Don't you realise that?

Faux outrage on your part me thinks. ?

Lemongrove Where in the UK are you worriedwell ? What supermarket was it that had no food? Was it a tiny local shop? No it was Lidl. I think I said it was short of stuff in August but we had so many holiday makers here we just thought once we got to September things would go back to normal. Last week was the worst, don't know if they had problem with deliveries that morning but I've never seen anything like it. Everyone was walking round looking puzzled, it was surreal.

I got some stuff I needed in Iceland and as I said I went o M&S today, in another town, and they had more but still some gaps on the shelves and the main thing in the fruit and veg aisle was beetroots. I hate beetroots. Things also seemed to have very short shelf life so although they had more I didn't actually buy that much as not much use having too much stuff with a sell by date of tomorrow and I don't want to be driving that far 3 times a week. I might try Sainsburys in a couple of days and see how things are there. I get eggs from the farm so I can always do something with them and always have a few cartons of longlife milk in case I can't get out. We won't starve but the shortages are real, maybe not everywhere but they are happening.

On a positive note there was plenty of loo roll but worryingly for me there didn't seem to be much chocolate. I can do without alot of things but I do need chocolate and potatoes but not cooked together.