I can only afford to eat one meal a day after my energy bills tripled – there’s no light at the end of the tunnel | The Sun
A MUM has said she can only afford to eat one meal a day after her energy bills tripled – and she doesn't think things are going to get better soon.
Helen Somers, 52, has been forced to make some extreme decisions with her budget in light of the cost-of-living crisis.
Soaring energy bill predictions mean that the mother-of-four has had no choice in the cutbacks.
Helen, from Yorkshire, says she could be paying more than £500 for her gas and electric come January.
Her situation is a harsh reality that millions of households will have to deal with this winter.
It comes as Ofgem announced the energy price cap – which limits how suppliers can charge customers – will rocket to £3,549.
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The rise is a bitter blow to Brits who are already battling soaring inflation and the prospect of a recession.
Helen, who works as a teaching assistant, describes the cost of living crisis as affecting her family "dramatically", reports Leicestershire Live.
Working in a school means she gets a school dinner at a reduced price.
But this will often be the only meal she has all day so that her son Charlie, 18, and her pets have food.
Helen says: "We’ve always lived from hand to mouth. I’ve got four children, I’ve raised them on my own. Now I’ve just got my youngest son living with me.
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"We’re basically living on his tax credits and child benefit. I come home with about £840 a month.
“I do get, at the minute, working tax credit but all that will stop, when Charlie’s classed as not being a student anymore.
"Do I pay the water bill or do I pay the community charge? Whatever I pay, I’m going to be in debt to someone.”
Helen first started noticing her expenses going up when doing her food shop and started being more aware of exactly what she was putting into her trolley and the meals she was cooking.
She adds: "I used to think that beans on toast, eggs, things like that were a cheap meal. Cheese omelettes, a quick cheap meal, but it’s not any more.
"I put my meter readings on and it gave me a forecast of how much (my energy bill is) going to go up.
"At the minute I’m paying £197.45 a month for gas and electric. Last year I was paying £70 a month for both.
"By October, it’s telling me it’ll be £293.67 a month. November, it’s saying I should be paying £380.72 a month. December, £459.57 to keep on top of it. January, £511.98.”
And Helen admits she never thought she would be in this situation til she was a lot older leaving her "sickened".
The mum said: “I didn’t honestly think as I got older I’d be worse off than I was. I didn’t think I’d be worse off now than I was when I first became a single parent.
"I had four children and we could afford to go out, we could afford to do things.
"Whereas now, it’s school holidays and I can’t afford for us to go anywhere. I’m sickened really, I am. I’m really low with it."
Helen adds that she's checking her bank everyday "to see whether I've got anything in it".
She continued: "You’re watching every penny you spend, you’re watching the petrol in the car before you go anywhere. It’s ridiculous.
"I love the fact that all my children are earning more than me, but I shouldn’t be feeling like this at my age.
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“We need someone that does understand the cost of living. Not someone that gives us false promises, someone that will actually do something. We’re not wanting handouts, we all work hard.
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better. That’s the hardest thing, there’s no end in sight, there’s no light at the end of the tunnel on this one is there?”
How to save on your energy bills
SWITCHING energy providers can sound like a hassle – but fortunately it’s pretty straight forward to change supplier – and save lots of cash.
Shop around – If you're on an SVT deal you are likely throwing away up to £250 a year. Use a comparion site such as MoneySuperMarket.com, uSwitch or EnergyHelpline.com to see what deals are available to you.
The cheapest deals are usually found online and are fixed deals – meaning you'll pay a fixed amount usually for 12 months.
Switch – When you've found one, all you have to do is contact the new supplier.
It helps to have the following information – which you can find on your bill – to hand to give the new supplier.
- Your postcode
- Name of your existing supplier
- Name of your existing deal and how much you pay
- An up-to-date meter reading
It will then notify your current supplier and begin the switch.
It should take no longer than three weeks to complete the switch and your supply won't be interrupted in that time.
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