Here are some tips to keep your heating bills under control this winter.
This article was first sent to Fools as an email in our 'Afternoon' series.
My boyfriend and I got our latest quarterly gas bill last week. I thought we'd been pretty careful with heating our little flat - but the total still seemed enormous.
In the last few days, I must admit I've got a bit militant about the whole thing. We've taken to living almost entirely in one room, and going to bed involves a bizarre clothes-taking-off dance (to stay warm) then a dramatic dive under the covers, complete with thermal socks.
Last week - following the coldest start to winter in thirty years - the Department for Work and Pensions announced a special one-off payment of £60 to 15 million pensioners, disabled people and carers, to help with their fuel bills this winter.
Cold Weather Payments have also been increased - from £8.50 to £25 per week - for winter 2008/09.
This is welcome news - but it's nowhere near enough to fully protect vulnerable people this winter. And of course, the majority of us aren't eligible for these payments anyway.
Clearly, we all need to take action for ourselves - right now! Here's my step-by-step guide to slashing your heating bills:
1. Claim what you're entitled to
Before you shell out any money, get your hands on all the cash, grants and other benefits you're entitled to.
If you're over 60, you've got a very good chance of getting substantial financial help on this front. Younger individuals on certain benefits can also get up to £4000 to heat and insulate their homes through the Warm Front Scheme in England, and equivalent projects in the rest of the UK.
Read my Foolish colleague Neil Faulkner's article - Get Government Money To Save On Fuel - for a full run-down of what's on offer.
2. Get hundreds back!
The next step is to find out if your energy supplier has its paws on any cash that is rightfully yours.
In a nutshell, this happens when your provider charges you for a lot more energy than you actually use - many of us are currently £200+ in credit!
Read Neil's article - Save £200 And Get A £200 Rebate From Your Energy Supplier! - to find out how to claw that money back.
And have a look at the `Get in debt!' section of his piece 4 Original Tips To Reduce Your Energy Bills, to make sure you're never in that situation again.
3. Save by switching
Next, see if you can save money by switching energy suppliers. A recent Energy Supply Probe by Ofgem found that around 46% of us have never switched suppliers, or have only done so once.
If this is you, the chances your heating bill is probably far higher than it has to be. Try using The Fool's Gas And Electricity Comparison Tool to find a better deal.
Alternatively, consider using your existing supplier but switching tariffs. In Get Help With Your Energy Bills!, my Foolish colleague Szu Ping Chan investigates `social tariffs'.
These are offered by energy companies to help vulnerable groups and tackle fuel poverty. If you qualify for a social tariff, you could find your heating costs slashed.
4. Pay by direct debit
Once you've chosen the best supplier (and tariff) for you, sort out the way you pay your bills.
Government figures indicate that around 40% of gas and electricity customers still pay their bills by cash, cheque or debit card.
In fact, by paying by direct debit, you could make a typical annual saving of £55 for gas and £46 for electricity.
Energy companies particularly like fixed monthly direct debit payments, as they can be sure you won't default, and they earn interest on any overpayments (see point 2).
If you choose to pay by variable direct debit, always call your energy supplier with meter reading after a bill - don't rely on their estimates!
5. Lagging the lofts
Politicians tend to talk about `lagging the lofts' as if it's the answer to the world's problems - and frankly, it irritates the heck out of me. However, it's undeniable that proper house insulation can make an enormous difference to your heating bills.
Around 40% of all heat loss is through the walls of an average UK home. In Cut Your Energy Bills By 75%?, my Foolish colleague Harvey Jones examines how thoroughly insulating your walls, roof, loft, water tank, pipe and floor could save you on average £501 a year.
6. Stop those drafts!
Research suggests that around 20% of the heat in an average home is lost through ventilation and draughts. Follow these steps and eliminate the chills!
Fill those gaps: Install draught-excluding brushes in letterboxes, and insulation seal around badly fitting windows and doors.
Stop heat escaping up the chimney: If you never use your fireplace, block up the opening with newspaper or a sheet of cardboard to stop chilly air coming in and warm air leaving!
7. Make your radiators work for you
Don't keep all the heating off and make yourself ill. Instead, target the energy you do use so it heats the space - and you - in the most effective way possible:
Don't cover your radiators: Wet clothes on your radiators prevent the heat reaching the rest of the room (and leads to some really crispy clothes, I recently discovered).
Air them on a clothes horse in an unheated room instead. And make sure your radiators aren't languishing behind sofas - or under curtains - which suck up all the heat!
Reflect the heat: Put foil behind your radiators (you can get specially-designed radiator foil for around £14). This will reflect the heat back into the room, rather than letting it get absorbed into the wall.
Add thermostatic valves to all your radiators: And only turn them on in the room/s you're in (make sure you keep all the doors closed!).
Use an electronic heating timer: And make sure you know how it works! I spent months leaping out of bed into an icy flat, because I couldn't work out how to set the heating to come on an hour before I got up.doh.
8. Layer up!
Dress warmly indoors and you could turn your thermostat down by a couple of degrees, save a packet and still be comfortable.
Lots of layers are far more effective at keeping you warm than one enormous jumper.