Eating Before Heating...

[Baby_Sham]

I've just been listening to a phone-in on Radio 2 on 'eating before heating'.
Call me naive, but I had no idea things were *so* bad, and listening to how some people have to cope through the colder, winter months, has left me feeling both saddened and sickened.

A woman having to choose between feeding her three children, or keeping them warm... how did things get so bad and why are we in this situation? Why does the government not do something about it?

I just broke my heart listening to a lady phone in and break down in tears live on air, as she explained how she was forced to get into debt, using a payday lender to have the heating on.
More and more people are having to make a choice between 'eating or heating' and I just wondered if anyone on here has to make similar choices over the winter?

Surely change HAS to happen?

[lcg]

btw.....i am using a laptop my employer provides and am sat under a blanket with the back door open so my cats come in and out freely (and they are all rescue cats which have adopted me as their owner). i don''t choose to be poor, but i do choose what bills to pay! x

[tamborine]

Its unfair on pets if you cant afford them. They can be re-homed suitably. I've just acquired 8 chooks someone dumped & theyre in lay. The Cock is a great alarm. I wouldn't have bought them as I dont want extra work but now they're here & happy, me too ;)

[lcg]

i agree with the pets thing. i can feed, de-flea and worm my cats....but resent paying £60 a month on heating. in the hospital where i work, the heating goes on in october and switches off before april, irrespective of the weather (and it is a brand new building!). a complete waste of money, breeds germs and makes the staff and patients hot and miserable. whoever built it has no common sense whatsoever.....the thing is i know lots of people who do the same. first whiff of cold and they crank the heating up and wander round in t-shirt and shorts.

[hc4361]

Tambo, you are naive if you think pets can be rehomed. The RSPCA destroys over 50,000 healthy animals every year. Too many unwanted pets, not enough people willing to take them on.

The lady we were discussing earlier has had many offers of money from the radio listeners. She has said she doesn't want it and those who want to donate should give to the homeless charities.

[vulcan42]

I do find it strange that a lot of people with central heating have it set in the winter at the temperature they complained about during the summer.

[lcg]

this happened in my parents house until i moved out in 1993! they only had central heating put in 3 years ago. i just refuse to put my heating on.....but i draw the line at having cold baths!!!

[emmie]

some of those who remember living in underheated houses, may well have been children, one could snuggle under duvets, or blankets then, i think that as you get older you feel the cold more, i have no central heating and make do with various fan heaters, and if really bad stick on jumper or more.

[lcg]

indeed....in the bad weather earlier this year, i was wearing two sets of clothing, my dressing gown, gloves and a scarf....sat under a fleece blanket on my sofa.

[emmie]

for some the benefit changes have had a major impact, a single person in council property will need to find a deal extra if they have a spare bedroom,
if they are not able to work, because of physical, mental health problems there are no fallbacks, pay it or move, and even if they move, well could be away from their support network, be it doctor/mental health people, perhaps some family, friends even, hard one to call.

[jd_1984]

Not to gloat, but we are £160 in credit with our gas and electric.
Simply by making some sensible changes at home. This time last year we used exactly what we paid for £0 balance. When I was younger and rented I was always owing the gas and electric money because admitedly I was wasteful.

[ClaryS]

Perhaps these people who think they have to choose between heating and eating should get some practical help budgeting and advice on making low-cost filling heating meals. I don't mean to sound patronising but when in supermarkets it seems the ones that look as if they are struggling are the ones spending a fortune on ready meals that could be made for a fraction of the price from scratch. I don't mean gourmet food just pasta based meals, rice and stews made for cheaper cuts of meat. I'm a firm believer that budgeting and basic cookery should be mandatory in schools right up to year 12.

[emmie]

i think that home economics as it used to be called should be compulsory right through school, even if you think oh no not that, it's amazing what you remember, and basic home, finance advice, budgeting is also necessary.
agree about the folks you see stacking trolley full to brim with packet foods, waste of money and much of it is pretty unhealthy.

[vakayu]

Vulcan made a very good point,I was definitely not one of the complainers in the beautiful summer heat,would like it like that all the time,but then we can't have everything!

[Baby_Sham]

These are all very good points, and I totally understand people saying about better budgeting and stuff.... but.... the fact of the matter is, people are having to choose between eating and, what should be, a basic human right - keeping warm.

If the government actually gave a toss about any of us, it wouldn't have to be like this but, the simple fact of the matter is, they don't.
Whatever happened to David "call me Dave" Cameron's "we're in it together"?

[emmie]

do you really think any of them really care ?

[vakayu]

Baby Sham THEY are all in it together lining their own pockets very nicely thank-you and a worry-not pension at the end of it,and we are all in it togeher struggling to make ends meet,they all live in a priviliged world!

[ClaryS]

people are having to choose between heating or eating? Frankly I don't believe its that clear cut its more than likely they eat less so they have more money to put in the meter or pay their fuel bill. I will shortly have to find £500 for some oil for the central heating, so the steaks and roasts will go on hold and we will have a few weeks on sausage, mince and pasta. At the moment I'm turning all heating and hot water off while I'm out during the day and only turning on the hot water when we have a shower or bath. its what people do, not go moaning to the radio they can't cope. Oh and if I'm cold during the day I put some more clothes on. People who say they can't cope should be able to access information and help to facilitate them in budgeting.

[emmie]

some of those people may be on pasta, mince and sausages already, and are not able to afford steaks and roasts, what if they are elderly and live alone, fuel bills don't stop because you get old, at least for the moment there is the winter fuel allowance, if you are over a certain age, how long that stays is anyone's guess. Fuel has become the commodity that people are paying a lot more for, gas, electricity, which for the most part you can't do without, unless you want to go back to candles and coal fires.