Living with little or without household energy??

Pollycat

LadOnTheHill said:

I doubt the Op will be comforted by them, or the suggestion to look at their entire financial situation. If the money isn't there,  the money isn't there. It's not going to magically appear because they look for it.

Many people have been helped by advice on the Debtfree wannabe board when they too thought that "the money isn't there".
Unless the OP is 100% sure that they can't shave any money from their other bills, shopping, insurances etc I'd say it was worth spending the time doing a SOA.
DFW is a very helpful and non-judgemental board.

The OP doesn't have to take that advice though.

LadOnTheHill

That's a good point.

OrkneyStar

I am not sure where you live but I did hear on my local radio station about an agency who can help people in dire need - it's maybe worth contacting your local council or the CAB. There is financial help, grants etc out there, you never know. Even if you have taken on more than you maybe should have that doesn't stop you needing help here and now, as much as the next person. This might help - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/get-help-paying-your-bills/grants-and-benefits-to-help-you-pay-your-energy-bills/#Grants_To_Help_Pay_Energy_Debts. Having a general finances overhaul might well be a good idea, sometimes other folk see things you might miss, or can even just encourage you on the way - good luck though, sounds like a long, hard journey ahead! 

QrizB

Happy_Sloth said:

Given the current energy prices and our current family situation, I’ve realised we need to figure out how to reduce our energy consumption considerably. ...

Obviously we will have energy available and can’t switch off the work PCs but all other energy usage needs to but cut by about 90% What is the best way of doing this? 

OP has previously posted on the Energy board, which gives some context:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6325370/crazy-energy-bill

We've not been able to establish what their annual use is buy they're currently using around 25kWh of electricity and 100kWh of gas per day. The gas is likely to fall once the weather improves but the electricity could be pretty constant.

If the annual use works out as 25000kWh/yr of gas and 9000kWh/yr of electricity, that's:

• £3100/yr on the current Ofgem cap (£2000 for electricity and £1100 for gas);
• £4700/yr on the forthcoming April Ofgem cap (£2700 for electricity and £2000 for gas).

@Happy_Sloth almost 2/3rds of your energy bill is due to your high electricity use. I know you've tried to uncover where it's going but from your other threads I don't think you've got very far.

In your position I would be doing a detailed energy audit. It shouldn't take more than an hour to go through your house, room by room, making a list of every electrical appliance that's in use.

MrsStepford

If working from home you can claim IIRC pw from HMRC. Self-employed people can claim for heating/lighting for one room IIRC. If you're not in a clean air zone, I suggest having chimney(s) swept and smoke-tested and using them if they're OK. Hot water bottles. Thermal liners on the back of curtains or thermal blackout roller blinds. Hot water bottles. Cellular blankets which trap warm air. Baggy socks in bed. 

Turning fridge and freezer off doesn't necessarily save money. It means you will have to shop more often (so get tempted by ready meals and treats) and can't vacuum up offers/reduced price stuff. Frozen veg can be cheap and there's far less waste.If you get reduced price veg, you can turn prepare and freeze it for soups and stews. 

Slow cookers are great because they will cook a whole meal not just stew eg  Recipe: Easy Slow Cooker Fry-Up (bmstores.co.uk) .

Look out for base layers for cycling/mountaineering/hiking in charity shops or on e-bay.or from military shops. Helly Hansen Lifa tops and leggings are fantastic to keep you warm, for example. 

By the end of the month we'll be getting into spring and you can get foraging for nettle tops (use as for spinach). Libraries often have books on foraging and cookery. 

thriftwizard

I was also going to mention clothing - DD1's boyfriend is constantly surprised when he goes to advise people whose bills are high and finds them wearing t-shirts or PJs whilst the thermostat's set to 30℃ & there are no curtains at the single-glazed windows. Not suggesting for one moment that the OP's family do this! But some do... We live in wool in winter, very little of it bought new - charity & recycling shops rarely charge more for wool, as people are often wary of buying it as it can be trickier to wash than acrylic, but it's much warmer. Thermal underthings are also a good bet, as are lined curtains for the window, or even quilted blinds; I've made a few of those, some by just chopping up & edging big bedspreads & hanging them from hooks screwed into the window frames. Not ideal, or likely to feature in any lifestyle magazines, but as a temporary measure to keep hard-won heat in, they work.

Happy_Sloth

ok sorry... people seem to have jumped on the 90% ... i don't literally mean 90% tbh i think the 2 PC's contribute to more than 10% on their own.  I was simply trying to highlight that we need to get the usage down considerably.  

In some more "real terms" we are currently using.. 

2KWH per day in gas and 24 Kwh per day in electric.  totaling a bill around £200 per month on the fix, £300 on the current cap and in april thats around £450 per month which we simply do not have.

I need to get the total monthly down to around £100 total max including 2 PC's which after using a meter i know cost about £1-2 per day each, which is about £80 a month So i have £20 a month to play with outside the standing charge.  Not quite no energy but outside the 2 PC's it doesn't leave alot.  

Suffolksue

p Please make sure you have applied for every benefit you are eligible to 

QrizB

Happy_Sloth said:

ok sorry... people seem to have jumped on the 90% ... i don't literally mean 90% tbh i think the 2 PC's contribute to more than 10% on their own.  I was simply trying to highlight that we need to get the usage down considerably.  

In some more "real terms" we are currently using.. 

2KWH per day in gas and 24 Kwh per day in electric.  totaling a bill around £200 per month on the fix, £300 on the current cap and in april thats around £450 per month which we simply do not have.

I need to get the total monthly down to around £100 total max including 2 PC's which after using a meter i know cost about £1-2 per day each, which is about £80 a month So i have £20 a month to play with outside the standing charge.  Not quite no energy but outside the 2 PC's it doesn't leave alot.

Are you sure about the 2kWh/day of gas? Because that's heating-off-and-tepid-hot-water-only territory. If you mean 2 units on the gas meter, that's about 22kWh for a metric meter is metric (this post shows metric metering).

• Standing charges for gas and electricity currently work out as around 25p/day each, £15/month.
• 22kWh of gas is around 90p a day, £27/month.
• Plus £80/month for the two work PCs

... we're already up to £122/month without anything else at all.

sammyjammy

Happy_Sloth said:

ok sorry... people seem to have jumped on the 90% ... i don't literally mean 90% tbh i think the 2 PC's contribute to more than 10% on their own.  I was simply trying to highlight that we need to get the usage down considerably.  

In some more "real terms" we are currently using.. 

2KWH per day in gas and 24 Kwh per day in electric.  totaling a bill around £200 per month on the fix, £300 on the current cap and in april thats around £450 per month which we simply do not have.

I need to get the total monthly down to around £100 total max including 2 PC's which after using a meter i know cost about £1-2 per day each, which is about £80 a month So i have £20 a month to play with outside the standing charge.  Not quite no energy but outside the 2 PC's it doesn't leave alot.  

I can't remember whether you said you were self employed or not but is there an office one or both of you can return to?  Can your son contribute an additional amount of money equivalent to his PC use?  Your usage isn't going to reduce much come the warmer months as you are with the bulk being due to the PC usage.