When it comes to struggling financially every single day of your life, you may already have learned a trick or two to minimize your outgoings. Most of us don’t earn enough to cover the cost of living anymore, which means we are all making sacrifices. Living beyond your means isn’t fun. It can cause a great deal of stress and worry. All you’re looking for is a little good news that means you can break even for once, instead of ringing up more debt.

When you are cutting back on necessities like food and heat, you know you are in trouble. There is some good news on this front at the moment though. For oil fired systems like those that Ingoe Oils supply, the costs have now become lower than mains gas. When you live in rural areas, it gets colder than the mains supplied cities, so you are likely to need more heat on. Older properties may not be as well insulated either so any savings that can be made are essential.

You can make some cheap changes in your home to help preserve the heat in your home. Heat will escape through the roof first. If it is not full of thick insulation in your attic, your roof will leak all your heat out in no time. You may be eligible for help to fund and install more insulation. Even if you’re not, this is the best way to save on your heating bill, so well worth the investment. Whether you use oil fired, gas fired or electric heating, insulation will save you money because the heat will stay in your home for longer.

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Find drafts in your home for free. Wet your hand then feel around all the windows and doors. Your hand will be more sensitive to the sensation of cold air moving to help you detect where the problems are. You can buy fuzzy, sticky draft excluder tape to put around those gaps. It is very cheap and can be very effective. Thermal backed curtains when closed prevent you feeling the cold air moving behind them so can help you feel warmer too. They are relatively cheap compared to putting the heating up high!

Not all homes are eligible for solar panel systems, but while they are free, it is worth enquiring. It is possible to power a four bedroom house for under ten pounds per month through the winter! As you come to replace light bulbs, you may find LED bulbs are cheaper to run than regular energy saver bulbs, and are about on par for their outlay cost. If you have a few old rugs, you can use them on hard floors in winter to help feel a little warmer too.

There are many relatively cheap things you can do to cut back on your bills in winter. The idea of cutting back to save money may fill you with horror. However, if you find you can live comfortably even though you are using less, it may be the ideal way for you to reduce your outgoings.