Help please as I’m panicking

Toomuchdebt

I’ve posted this in several places so apologies if you see it more than once. 

I haven’t posted for a long time for  various reasons including family issues and health. And I haven’t been dealing with my debt it seems. 

I have been scared stiff today by my energy provider informing me that from my usual price of £1560 a year it will now be just under £4000 a year because of the price rises. I knew it would be more expensive but until I saw those figures today I really didn’t understand how much more it would be. I think I was hoping it wouldn’t be so bad. Yes that was stupid of me but now I have absolutely no idea how I’m meant to afford that. 

I’m not working due to health and therefore have no extra money coming in. Anything I can think of to reduce my electricity usage will impact my health. 

I could stop using my electric blanket - this means my  joints and back will be more comfortable. 

I could stop using the heating - my hands and feet are always cold even with layers and woollen socks and fingerless gloves. 

I could stop using the tumble dryer- I don’t often have the energy to hang things outside in the morning and inside is already damp. 

I could ask the landlord to switch off the ventilation fans upstairs and in the bathroom- the house has a damp problem and we have black mould everywhere. 

I could get rid of my little chest freezer - means no more bargain food as I won’t have anywhere to store it. 

I could use candles instead of lights in the evenings I guess and hope the cats don’t knock them over. 

My final option is to rehome my fish and get rid of my tanks as they all have filters and heaters and lights but this still wouldn’t be much of a saving. 

That’s literally all I can do. I honestly can’t think of any other way. 

I don’t know how we’re expected to go from paying £120 to £348 a month. That’s over twice as much. 

I’m so panicked now I can’t think straight. 

Am I missing anything??? Please don’t tell me I should have thought of this before. Yes I know I should. I was expecting it to go up by double. Not almost triple. 

I’m honestly at the point where I’m wondering if I should go bankrupt and start over. 

Toomuchdebt

I haven’t posted for a long time for  various reasons including family issues and health. And I haven’t been dealing with my debt it seems. 

I have been scared stiff today by my energy provider informing me that from my usual price of £1560 a year it will now be just under £4000 a year because of the price rises. I knew it would be more expensive but until I saw those figures today I really didn’t understand how much more it would be. I think I was hoping it wouldn’t be so bad. Yes that was stupid of me but now I have absolutely no idea how I’m meant to afford that. 

I’m not working due to health and therefore have no extra money coming in. Anything I can think of to reduce my electricity usage will impact my health. 

I could stop using my electric blanket - this means my  joints and back will be more comfortable. 

I could stop using the heating - my hands and feet are always cold even with layers and woollen socks and fingerless gloves. 

I could stop using the tumble dryer- I don’t often have the energy to hang things outside in the morning and inside is already damp. 

I could ask the landlord to switch off the ventilation fans upstairs and in the bathroom- the house has a damp problem and we have black mould everywhere. 

I could get rid of my little chest freezer - means no more bargain food as I won’t have anywhere to store it. 

I could use candles instead of lights in the evenings I guess and hope the cats don’t knock them over. 

My final option is to rehome my fish and get rid of my tanks as they all have filters and heaters and lights but this still wouldn’t be much of a saving. 

That’s literally all I can do. I honestly can’t think of any other way. 

I don’t know how we’re expected to go from paying £120 to £348 a month. That’s over twice as much. 

I’m so panicked now I can’t think straight. 

Am I missing anything??? Please don’t tell me I should have thought of this before. Yes I know I should. I was expecting it to go up by double. Not almost triple. 

I’m honestly at the point where I’m wondering if I should go bankrupt and start over. 

[Deleted User]

Those are a fixed rate offer. You can pay much less by going into the SVR.

That's not to say that the prices won't increase, but you don't sound as if you can afford to fix at those rates.

otb666

Post on the Energy and Debt free boards(i know you might not have debt but they can review your budgets)  Everyone is in exactly the same position of having to review their budgets.  The good news is there are lots of tools and knowledgeable people to help you do this MSE, Step change Council and your Elect/Gas companies They have extra tools eg social tariff and funds available.  You just gotta reach out for the help that is available.  They are called extra support team call the Elect/Gas company back and ask to be put through to them

Toomuchdebt

Deleted_User said:

Those are a fixed rate offer. You can pay much less by going into the SVR.

That's not to say that the prices won't increase, but you don't sound as if you can afford to fix at those rates.

Those are the only options it gives me unless I’m being really dumb. I’ll look again. 

Toomuchdebt

otb666 said:

Post on the Energy and Debt free boards(i know you might not have debt but they can review your budgets)  Everyone is in exactly the same position of having to review their budgets.  The good news is there are lots of tools and knowledgeable people to help you do this MSE, Step change Council and your Elect/Gas companies They have extra tools eg social tariff and funds available.  You just gotta reach out for the help that is available.

I do have debt which makes it all much harder. I’ll post there thank you. 

joedenise

Sorry you are feeling so bad.  That figure seems ridiculously high.  You are a bit higher user than average but don't think it likely your usage will be as high as nearly £4,000.

The cap for an average user has gone up to just under £2,000 pa; you were paying about £300pa more than average so with the rises I think that means your new amount should be around £2,500 not nearly £4,000.

Please speak to your provider and explain how you're feeling.  They should be able to help.

Spendless

Oh I could cry for you. Did you take a meter reading yesterday? If not take one now of both gas and electric, so you can submit accurate readings to your supplier.
Do you have an energy monitor? I keep saying this but when I look at ours it is the items that throw out the heat (and are usually noisy) that cost more. Your chest freezer will not cost that much, plus it will help save money on food costs, the tumble dryer is likely to cost more. I'm unsure about the running costs of tropical fish tanks.  

Toomuchdebt

Toomuchdebt said:

Deleted_User said:

Those are a fixed rate offer. You can pay much less by going into the SVR.

That's not to say that the prices won't increase, but you don't sound as if you can afford to fix at those rates.

Those are the only options it gives me unless I’m being really dumb. I’ll look again. 

Nope those are the only 2 options it gives me 

Toomuchdebt

Spendless said:

Oh I could cry for you. Did you take a meter reading yesterday? If not take one now of both gas and electric, so you can submit accurate readings to your supplier.
Do you have an energy monitor? I keep saying this but when I look at ours it is the items that throw out the heat (and are usually noisy) that cost more. Your chest freezer will not cost that much, plus it will help save money on food costs, the tumble dryer is likely to cost more. I'm unsure about the running costs of tropical fish tanks.  

I have a smart meter so it updates daily anyway. I have an energy monitor and I know the tumble dryer and shower use a lot but we have to stay clean. I will just have to grit my teeth and hang things outside. But is that going to be enough? 

skogar

The most energy hungry items are the ones that heat so your lights will not make as much difference as items that produce a significant amount of heat.

Is where you live small or large? Are you only able to heat the whole house to a similar temperature or is it possible to heat one room to a reasonable temperature and have the rest cooler - if for instance you have a gas fire or similar. Is it just you living in the house or are there others that you also need to keep warm.

If just you then it may be possible to mainly heat 1 room and it may be possible for you to sleep in the same room.

It is cheaper to use an electric blanket than heat the whole room so it may be more practical to use something like an electric throw / blanket to keep you warm rather than heating the whole room to a higher temperature.

If you can tell us a bit more then we may be able to suggest some more things.

If you have a problem with mould already it is best to avoid making it worse so I wouldn't turn the ventilation fans off and drying washing inside without the tumble drier is likely to make it worse. If the air is damp it will feel colder too.