A Brit home spends approximately £2,500 a year on gas and electricity bills. With the government’s support (also called EBSS) of £400, it comes to around £2,100 a year. However, the guarantee scheme or the discount is known to become less generous now.
According to an article in Guardian, “That’s because that £2,500 ceiling is being upped to £3,000 a year from 1 April. In other words, a 20% increase, and this coincides with the end of the EBSS. Critics have said the combination of these two changes will lead to some bills rising as much as 40%.”
With this cost-of-living crisis causing bills to increase in the U.K increasingly, many Brits are worried about soaring energy prices. This is leading many members of the public to do everything they can to reduce household bills and limit expenditures.
In our opinion, there are two ways to deal with increasing costs.
- Do everything you can to save and be frugal.
- Start a side hustle that can ramp up your income and maintain the status quo.
Let’s start with the first one. Recently, a study at A-Plan Insurance revealed various ways to reduce gas and electricity bills.
3 Top Ways To Reduce Gas Bills
Install A Smart Thermostat: A smart thermostat can determine the patterns and adjust temperatures when and even when you’re not home. Besides creating a schedule for climate control, some smart thermostats also factor in local weather to optimize the schedules.
A whopping 1.67 million households in the UK already own a smart thermostat, and it can save you as much as £154 per year says the Eco Experts.
In an economy where electricity bills are soaring, owning a smart thermostat may give you some relief.
Check The Temperature of Your Water: This is a very straightforward tip. If the water in your taps is too hot, you’re wasting gas. So, if you still haven’t already, it is time to turn down the temperature by a few degrees.
Insulate Your Home: While this is not a tip for summers, it is worth looking into. According to this study, many homes across the UK need to be adequately insulated.
Now, on average, you can save up to 20% on your home’s heating and cooling costs or up to 10% on its total energy costs by adding insulation properly. So, why not consider this option?
A-Plan Insurance recommends opting for loft insulation as heat rises and most of it escapes through the roof, causing higher gas bills. The installation cost may seem high, but it will help cut down bills during winter months.
3 Ways To Reduce Electricity Bills
The recommendation for reducing the electricity bills include:
Stand-alone devices: If you habitually have your electronics constantly connected to the electricity, stop that now. Charging it entirely and taking it off will drastically reduce your power consumption.
According to Constellation, The Department of Energy, you could save as much as 10% every month when you unplug appliances when not in use. That’s a huge number!
Turn off non-active appliances – If you start turning off standby appliances, you can see savings on your bills.
Did you know the Energy Saving Trust believes the average UK household spends £65 a year powering appliances left on standby? You can save that by making a small change and turning off the appliances.
Besides that, one suggestion in the recommendations was to use controllable sockets. You can manage them via an app on your phone, which means you can switch on and off your devices when needed.
Cook efficiently – starting meal planning and cooking more than one item in your oven can drastically reduce the bills.
The study mentions that “putting the oven on five times a day for smaller amounts of cooking will waste more energy than if you were to cook more food at one time.”
Besides that, meal planning will also help you cut the costs of eating out.
These were some of the top recommendations by A-Plan Insurance. If you cannot be frugal and looking for more ideas, you should consider starting a side hustle to boost your income.
Starting A Side Hustle To Maintain the Status Quo
According to the latest finding by CV-Library, 60% of UK workers plan to take on a side hustle in 2023. The same study reveals that job security (62%) and earning more money (38%) are the top reasons.
A side hustle can help you make more money and maintain your financial status quo in this economy. Some of the high-paying options to look into are:
- Start selling on Amazon, eBay, or Etsy
- Freelance Writing
- Tutoring
- Getting paid to read books
- Managing social media for businesses, etc.
If you don’t have the time to start an online business but want to make quick money to pay the bills, you can also look into surveys, product reviews, renting a room, or renting a car.
Whether you cut bills by being frugal, supplement your income with a side hustle, or do both, these tips can help you deal with the rising costs.
This article originally published on Mrs Daaku Studio.