Benefits/credits advice

bestpud

rogerblack wrote: »

turning the temperature of the washing machine down - all of these can together make a massive difference.

And yes, this is a serious comment - I'm at 14C at the moment.

How do you do that? I didn't realise you could.

Oldernotwiser

bestpud wrote: »

How do you do that? I didn't realise you could.

It depends on the washing machine. My last one had a separate temperature dial which over rode the temperature of the chosen programme. My current one doesn't so you can only adjust the temperature by the choice of programme.

sooperb

I sympathise I really do. My daughter is currently being nudged towards working as she is a single parent with 2 children and an ex who pays peanuts although he has his own business etc. Every time she looks at the figures they give her re. support if she works part time, there is a figure there for something which she tells them every time she doesn't get yet they still add it in. She has no qualifications, hasn't worked for over 12 years so no references, and knows that if she takes a job she will be worse off than she is at the moment. She too would have childcare issues during the holidays. It's madness. She feels that she is being penalised for wanting to be there to look after her kids while the ex is free to get on with his life (he since married and has had FOUR more children). Why aren't they making him pay more?

Anyway, rant over lol. Your fuel bills do seem high. There is an option with most providers that you can take a monthly reading and pay that amount monthly so that there is never a big bill to find. I don't know your lifestyle but do you buy a lot of prepared meals etc? One of the biggest ways to save is to learn to shop wisely and cook economically. Get yourself a good cookbook that shows you how to make the most of what you have available. For example, one chicken should make you at least 3 meals, you add more veg. so the meat goes further. make a second meal with the leftovers such as chicken in tomato sauce with pasta and boil the bones to make soup. Shop later in the evening if you can and look for the reduced sections, there can be some really good bargains, daughter got a leg of amb from Sainsbury reduced from £18 to £8 which has fed 6 people for one meal and will feed another 3 after boiling the bones and making soup.

sunnyone

We have the big American washer and dryer and we always use cold water to wash with and add nappisan to the powderto sanitise things (DAZ is best for very low tempratures)

The best thing is colours dont wash out, I wear over dyed denim and they stay like new, as do the school seatshirts and white school shirts which were lucky to last a term when we washed things at the temperature indicated on the labels.

seven-day-weekend

My E-On Bill is just around £1000 a year for a three-bedroom terraced house (gas and electricity) with three adults living in it. Do you know why yours is so high? If so, is there anything you can do about it? It seems a HUGE amount!

Can't help you with Tax Credits, sorry.

Why don't you try a Benefits Advisor at the CAB (I think they still have them), who will be able to tell you what you might be entitled to?