Is your heating ON or OFF?

Rosa_Damascena

The weather at home isn't sounding too good. 

I post from much sunnier climes and technically 1:25am tomorrow since I am 8hrs ahead! But it is so pretty unbearable at 34°C and very humid in the daytime. If we could add the 2 temperatures together and divide by two we would have an ambient environment between us! It has reminded me of just why it is I stay put in the summer, the British summer at home cannot be beaten IMHO. 

ET22

@Auntycaz, wishing you a speedy recovery. 

I have booked in to have a covid vaccinne and flu vaccine at the same time tomorrow at the local chemist via nhs booking system. I have not had a flu vaccinne before and people have 
 talked about how they have suffered wth a flu like illness following the vaccine. Has anyone on here had experience of this? 

Primrose

 Had both together same arm a month.  Ended up with a v bad cough for a week and feelings of exhaustion but have other quite serious health issues including previous pneumonia so expected some issues. Other I know have been fine apart from usual slightly sore arm for couple of days.  Better to have it done than not!

SuzeQStan

I’ve had both same arm / same day too. No I’ll effects other than slightly sore arm

Auntycaz

Thank you for your good wishes @SuzeQStan and @ET22.  I have a flu jab every year and have never had any ill effects from them but after my covid jab this year I had a sore heavy arm for about 5 days and was a bit headachy. I've not had this before from previous covid vaccines. 

HouseMartin567

A lot milder this weekend (if a bit wet) which meant I didn’t have to put the heating on. Didn’t drop below 15 in my living room. Looks like temperatures are going to cool a bit in the coming days so sure it won’t be too long until I hit that switch again!

catz4m8z

Just got my electric bill for the last 2 mths and its not as bad as I thought it would be. Am celebrating by setting the timers on the electric heaters for an extra 3 hrs a day!
They are my only heating so I now have them on for 3 hr intervals morning, afternoon and evening, depending on what room Im going to be in.
I will check again the end of Dec but TBH Im fed up being cold and thinking I cant possibly spend money on heating just because its expensive....Its stupid to be miserable and cold when you dont have to be (I panic so much about heating for winter that I overpay all year anyways and am in crazy credit currently! ).

Rosa_Damascena

catz4m8z said:

Just got my electric bill for the last 2 mths and its not as bad as I thought it would be. Am celebrating by setting the timers on the electric heaters for an extra 3 hrs a day!
They are my only heating so I now have them on for 3 hr intervals morning, afternoon and evening, depending on what room Im going to be in.
I will check again the end of Dec but TBH Im fed up being cold and thinking I cant possibly spend money on heating just because its expensive....Its stupid to be miserable and cold when you dont have to be (I panic so much about heating for winter that I overpay all year anyways and am in crazy credit currently! ).

Whilst this is true, so many are in genuine fuel poverty. I can afford to heat my home but find the costs galling. I am a healthy £300 in credit atm but that surplus will be easily chewed up within less than a month if I do heat my home properly. So for now, it is staying off.

How on earth are those with no or a low income supposed to manage? People are going to end up sicker and reach out to a NHS that cannot help them. This is a systematic destruction of the most vulnerable people in society.

Thankfully today is very mild for mid-December - 14degC - but that doesn't bode well for the rest of the planet.

Nelliegrace

Our gas and electricity bill from Utility Warehouse for November was about the same as the fixed rate BG wanted us to pay every month. I have my old thermal leggings under my joggers now, a thin, inexpensive extra layer, which makes a lot of difference. Aldi has adults hoodie blankets at £9.99 this week. 

I have been reading Grandma Donna’s blog from the USA. The cost of health insurance and other essentials have gone up so much that they have had to cut back their spending. She tries to be more self reliant, as her family were in the past. They have closed off parts of their small house for winter. They have made space for another relative if it becomes necessary, in the same way that people used to have a lodger to help with expenses. 

https://gdonna.com/living-like-the-past/the-hidden-journey/

Matty246

I've heard talk of the standing charge being done away with. I hope so. It's so unfair, especially on people struggling and using as little as possible. You don't get to the checkout at the supermarket and get charged for your groceries and another one on top for the upkeep of the building.