How to live without heating - save £000s

Eldi_Dos

Nelliegrace said:

So many people don’t have the luxury of choice @matt_drummer

It is called making a virtue of necessity. 

One of the reasons given by the OP for adopting this lifestyle was so they could afford ski holidays so I would say it was a choice not a necessity.
There could well be a discussion about the acceptability of using  the support we all got for that purpose.

matt_drummer

Eldi_Dos said:

Nelliegrace said:

So many people don’t have the luxury of choice @matt_drummer

It is called making a virtue of necessity. 

One of the reasons given by the OP for adopting this lifestyle was so they could afford ski holidays so I would say it was a choice not a necessity.
There could well be a discussion about the acceptability of using  the support we all got for that purpose.

As I said, I hadn't read everything, there's a lot of it.

If they like skiing I guess they like the cold!

Their money, their choice!

Sill sounds miserable to me.

Swipe

matt_drummer said:

Why are some people not getting this support to enable them to heat their homes?

I thought everybody got at least £550 last year (assuming band d council tax)

They are getting support but some on this thread simply choose to not spend it on heating. That's their choice and shouldn't be criticised for it.

matt_drummer

Swipe said:

matt_drummer said:

Why are some people not getting this support to enable them to heat their homes?

I thought everybody got at least £550 last year (assuming band d council tax)

They are getting support but some on this thread simply choose to not spend it on heating. That's their choice and shouldn't be criticised for it.

And I quite clearly stated that I am not criticising anybody for choosing to live this way, I was very careful about that.

For me, it sounds miserable and unhealthy, for those that choose this I assume they love it.

But would they live like it with unlimited funds or is this just a way of saving money?

dealyboy

Some have little choice.

There are many people, believe me, whose income is limited and who do not receive benefits, for many reasons. With food inflation as it is, and energy prices as they are, they need to economise to survive.

We are not all masochists making a lifestyle choice.

The people my heart goes out to are the families, the children, where the parents are working all the hours god gives us, facing housing issues and the rest, struggling to keep their heads above water.

deano2099

matt_drummer said:

Swipe said:

matt_drummer said:

Why are some people not getting this support to enable them to heat their homes?

I thought everybody got at least £550 last year (assuming band d council tax)

They are getting support but some on this thread simply choose to not spend it on heating. That's their choice and shouldn't be criticised for it.

And I quite clearly stated that I am not criticising anybody for choosing to live this way, I was very careful about that.

For me, it sounds miserable and unhealthy, for those that choose this I assume they love it.

But would they live like it with unlimited funds or is this just a way of saving money?

Not with unlimited funds, but there's plenty of stuff most of us wouldn't do with unlimited funds that we don't bat an eyelid at now. It's all a balance.
To me it does seem more like an extension of the traditionally older generation view of "work your !!!!!! off for 58 weeks of the year and live for the 4 weeks of holidays" that was certainly how my parents and their parents approached life.
The needled has swung much more towards "work-life balance" these days, a bit with millennials but even more so with Gen-Z.
It's the aim for a higher standard of life the year round, even if it means the holidays aren't quite so spectacular, instead of just getting by for most of the year and then living life to the full for the rest of it.

HertsLad

matt_drummer said:

I have read some of this topic, not all of it.

Whilst I admire the determination to save money it sounds utterly miserable!

Money is a man made idea and the only point of it is to buy goods or services to enjoy  its useless for anything else and you can't take it with you.

Some of what I have read sounds really unhealthy.

I am not criticising, it's your lives.

You are wrong, the way I see it. First, I am not miserable or unhealthy in the slightest. If you haven't tried it, you won't know. I agree with you about making best use of money to buy goods or services. I buy several holidays a year, including skiing. They probably add up to about £2500, which happens to be the average amount the energy regulator reckons a household spends on energy. My current level is about £120 and I hope to reduce it further. I agree it's personal choice but I would regard spending anything like £2500 as a total waste, especially compared to the holidays. My income is not high enough to simply find £5000 to do both. Even if I could, I would double the time spent on holiday, instead.

matt_drummer

HertsLad said:

matt_drummer said:

I have read some of this topic, not all of it.

Whilst I admire the determination to save money it sounds utterly miserable!

Money is a man made idea and the only point of it is to buy goods or services to enjoy  its useless for anything else and you can't take it with you.

Some of what I have read sounds really unhealthy.

I am not criticising, it's your lives.

You are wrong, the way I see it. First, I am not miserable or unhealthy in the slightest. If you haven't tried it, you won't know. I agree with you about making best use of money to buy goods or services. I buy several holidays a year, including skiing. They probably add up to about £2500, which happens to be the average amount the energy regulator reckons a household spends on energy. My current level is about £120 and I hope to reduce it further. I agree it's personal choice but I would regard spending anything like £2500 as a total waste, especially compared to the holidays. My income is not high enough to simply find £5000 to do both. Even if I could, I would double the time spent on holiday, instead.

Thanks for your reply and your honesty.

I never said you were miserable, you sound very happy and proud of your achievement.

I said it sounds miserable, and that is to me.

We are all different, I would pay £2,500 NOT to have to go on a skiing holiday!

Good luck and I'm glad you are happy.

HertsLad

I know you didn't say I was miserable. I simply said I wasn't miserable, as an example of someone taking this idea to quite an extreme, very successfully from my point of view. Good luck to you, too.

dealyboy

This thread is an explainer on how to save money! @HertsLad has not proselytized but has provided excellent guidance on how to save money by heating the person rather than the home, with many tips on clothing and the layering approach.

'Heat the human, not the home' is nothing new, in fact it is a Martin Lewis guide.

There has been a deal of skepticism, but HertsLad has explained how it works for him, he is not uncomfortable or cold, but has saved a lot of expense on heating, instead spending comparatively very little on quality clothing. He has shown how it is possible to achieve this alternative approach.

In these times, just as in the 2nd World War, when resources are short for many, practical money saving advice on energy is just as important as money saving advice on food. The shame of our times is that some of us need it.