Winter is coming. And as if the thought of all those cold, dark and damp days ahead wasn’t enough to darken your mood, winter will bring with it higher prices with everything from the cost of heating and lighting our homes and feeding ourselves to knocking a bit of craic out of the world set to sky rocket.
By the time summer rolls around again, most Irish households will have spent thousands of euro more than in the six sun-kissed months that have just passed. And yes, we ARE using the phrase sun-kissed sarcastically after an Irish summer that could best be described as gloomy.
Now, we know this sounds a bit miserable but while there is no way to avoid the higher cost of winter there are simple steps that can be taken to stop those cost climbing any more than they absolutely have to.
And that is where this newsletter comes in.
On the Money: the personal finance newsletter from The Irish Times
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Even though energy prices have fallen, and are likely to fall more in the weeks ahead, people will still be paying at least €1,000 more between now and next September for energy than they did in 2021 with most of that spending squeezed into the next six months.
Keeping your home lit will set you back around €1 each day, and you will pay €180 more between now and April than between May and October.
There won’t be much by way of clothes line use either which is where tumble dryers come in. They are – sadly – financially ruinous and if used three times a week for just a couple of hours each time, every week until the end of April, they add another €200 onto winter spending.
Then there’s heating. If you don’t want your house to be in a constant state of permafrost you will keep the heat on for six hours each day over the six months of winter – some days it will be more and some days it will be less. That will cost you around €1,850. By contrast, your heating bills in the warmer months should be next to nothing.
So, merely heating and lighting your home and drying your clothes will cost more than €2,200 this winter than last summer. But what can be done?
Energy awareness
The Government has hinted at more energy credits to be announced in the budget so that should help but the key thing is energy awareness.
Heating your home typically accounts for around 60 per cent of your energy bill, with hot water accounting for 20 per cent and electricity the remaining 20 per cent.
Turn your heat off half an hour before leaving a room or your house or before going to bed, and turn it on 30 minutes before you plan to return or get out of bed and lower your thermostat by just one degree.
Dry at least some of the clothes that you wash indoors on a clothes horse and have showers, not baths, and be quick about it – every minute you shave off your shower saves money.
Pay close attention to your white goods – don’t run your washing machine or dishwasher half full and run them on the eco settings or lower temperatures. Just washing your clothes at 30 degrees, instead of the default 40 degrees, will save you money and make your clothes last longer too. None of these steps in isolation make much difference, when totted up they could save you as much as €300 of your winter energy bills.
But the easiest way to save is to switch energy provider. And the sooner you do it, the sooner you will save. Energy prices have fallen from an average annual cost of around €4,000 to closer to €3,000 now but a canny consumer can save up to 30 per cent more by moving from the standard rate they are on with their current provider to a discounted rate offered by a rival.
There is no threat to your supply when switching and no difference between the gas or electricity offered by company A or B. You don’t have to even call anyone if you don’t want to. The people at bonkers.ie or switcher.ie – both of which have the approval of the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities – will do most of the work for you.
Check out the insulation in your attic and if the last time you had your attic done was in the 1990s, it might be worth getting it topped up – there are grants that can take the sting out of doing it and you’d be amazed at how much better the technology is today compared to times past. Getting a decent job done on it in the weeks ahead could see your energy costs over the winter ahead fall by well over €100.
Subscriptions
If you have a spare couple of hours, carry out an audit on yourself. Have a look through your bank and credit card statements online to see where your money is going. If you spot fees for any subscription services that you are not using or using only very rarely then cancel it. Not only is this act of empowerment gratifying, it is often the case that simply by threatening to cancel a service or switch from one provider to another is enough to prompt the supplier to offer you a discount just to keep you on board.
When we talk about the cost of winter, we have to include the season to be jolly – it’s too early to say the actual word just yet. Based on virtually all the studies we have seen the festive season will cost most households about €1,500.
But you can buy better presents by allowing yourself plenty of time to get them – a last-minute shopper is a bad shopper. So start now and spread the cost over three months rather than three frantic days from December 20th. If you take our advice now you’ll be very glad you did later. And you can take that to the bank.
You can contact us at OnTheMoney@irishtimes.com with personal finance questions you would like to see us address. If you missed last week’s newsletter, you can read it here.
