Cut your costs
If you're struggling to make ends meet, there might be ways you can reduce your household costs.
Try these tips to save money at home on energy bills:
- Keep the heat in – keep your doors and curtains closed, especially in rooms you don’t use.
- Put a rug on laminate or tiled floors – 10% of heat can be lost through the floor.
- Switch to LED bulbs – they use 75% less energy.
- Bleed your radiators – so your boiler doesn’t have to work as hard.
- Use air fryers and slow cookers.
Get more energy saving tips from at www.citizensadvicemanchester.org.uk/energy-advice-tips. And from www.energysavingtrust.org.uk.
Other ways to cut costs:
- Check if you can get money off your council tax bill.
- If you start work after unemployment, you can get help with travel costs.
- Compare mobile, broadband and energy deals at moneysavingexpert.com.
- People claiming benefits can get cheaper broadband and phone packages (see Ofcom's page on social tariffs).
- Find other cheap or free ways to get online.