Winter Money Saving Tips?

instantkitten

Hi all - I'm a longtime lurker and not posted very often but I find this site so inspiring reading everyone's stories - I'm currently trying to rid myself of 17k worth of debt and although I earn a fairly decent salary I'm finding that I'm struggling with basic utilities - I had a flatmate for 3 years up until April who basically left me with huge gas and electricity debts which I have been trying to whittle down (successfully so far phew!) I've just switched to npower from scottish gas and am saving around £60 per month - however I'm worried that with winter coming these bills might creep up - as I am on my own now and desperately trying to save to clear my loans (since I can't pay off more monthly grrr!) - was wondering if anyone had any tips to keep utility bills during the winter months? Thanks all!

econnin

check out the other forum on old style money saving - they have a thread for buttoning down the hatches for winter!!

good luck

sofababe

Don't heat an empty house. Set yr timer to come on half an hour before u get home and go off when u go to bed.
Energy saving light-bulbs everywhere as u'll have the lights on more in winter.
Switch everything off at the plug when u finish with it, especially phone chargers, so many people leave these on 24/7.
Use a slow cooker, delicious hearty warming meals when u get home without having the oven on for a couple of hours every night.
Something I'm doing this year is padding my curtains in the living room as its a bit draughty in there. A layer of wadding between curtain and liner works wonders and not too expensive either.

You've done well already by switching suppliers. As was said earlier, check out the OS board for more tips on a frugal lifestyle

Barricade

sofababe wrote: »

Don't heat an empty house. Set yr timer to come on half an hour before u get home and go off when u go to bed.

Whilst this is great advice.. heating a house until you go bed can increase the cost.
Minimise it at all cost. Turn off radiators that arnt required - Bathroom, spare bedrooms - Even your bedroom.

It only takes a few minutes to warm up under covers.. perhaps invest in a slankey? I got mine from ebay for about a tenner, and it does wonders!!

Invest in a jumper too!!
If you have any spare cash at all, save it in a tin that requires a tin opener! That way you can have some sort of savings if you get an unexpected or high bill!

B

sofababe

My bad. I meant to say before u go not when u go. Mine goes off an hour before I normally go to bed, I have a hot water bottle too.

Sunnylooloo

Don't leave things on standby - and switch off as many things as you can from the acutal plug.

the heating tips are good and I have also turned my boiler down - i think that helps.

Showers instead of baths?

O also i know this sounds a bit obvious but I never used to do it - keep doors shut. It is amazing how much heat you end up keeping in the room then and it seems to stay there - even if the heating goes off.

As also suggested try the OS boards - great tips there too!!

I had huge bills the winter before and have really made and effort this year to try and save wherever possible

cyclura

get yourself some cheap fleece from the charity shop and sew yourself some draft excluders for all your old doors. It has saved us a small fortune.

Do the rounds now on old windows to make sure seals are intact with no crack,

Bulk cook and freeze, its so much cheaper as all you need to do is defrost and reheat your second/third meal.

lay the "I will not turn my heating on until.............game" with friends, it becomes a bit competitive :rotfl:

extra blankets at the ready for bed.

I know this sounds mad to some people but if you have a wee one put the cot in your room, it keeps the room warmer for all three of you rather than having to heat up the babies room as well as your own. (our 17 month old still has her cot in our room and has her own room as a play room only)

Tixy

If you own an electric blanket these cost just a few pence to run and can be much cheaper than heating the whole room.

Aside from that thick fleecy jumpers and slippers make a big difference. And I always have a blanket on my sofa as I find the leather cold in winter. Go round the house looking for any drafts (windows, doors, keyholes, vents etc) and cover them with something.

determined_new_ms

snuggle up in bed with someone (if you have someone available to do this with) cheaper than chips & a lot more fun than getting a huge bill

seriously tho! we're: getting thermal socks, undies from a camping store, word on the os board is while they are more expensive they last for years; buying a small halogen heater rather than heating up a big house just blast the room we're in; extra jumpers/blankets; set the water on timer so it will be hot at the times you need it - its so easy to put it on and forget about it; I have a rule that the heating doesn't come on until Nov (in theory, last year it was so bitter it came on in Oct :eek:) hth x

curlytop12

hi,if you are putting extra blankets on your beds do you put them over or under the duvet?
thankyou

Barricade

gem68 wrote: »

hi,if you are putting extra blankets on your beds do you put them over or under the duvet?
thankyou

I'd put them on top.
The duvet (dependant on TOG) is designed to hold and keep in the heat. Extra layers ontop will prevent it it further from escaping.

But thats just me!