THE cost of living crisis is forcing energy bills sky high, leaving plenty of Brits struggling.
Luckily, there’s a simple way you could slash the household essential by as much as £15 a month – or a whopping £180 a year.
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Sustainability consultant Naz Yucel-Ozseker, 37, tells us how she managed to shave 20% of her energy bill in a month.
A mum of one who works from home, Naz struggles to keep energy bills down normally.
“With the recent rise of prices in April, we decided to be a bit more careful with what we spent,” she told The Sun.
Because she is at home more often, Naz uses a lot of electricity all the time – including TV, laptop and router.
In order to save that money, she used a simple trick that saved her a lot more cash than she thought.
“Right now, I’m working in the bedroom, and all the plugs and sockets are switched off. So i’m basically unplugging everything,” she said.
“I’ve unplugged everything except for the fridge and even the router. This is one of the things we started doing and I wasn’t expecting such a big difference.”
“It seems like we were wasting almost £15 every month for nothing.”
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Naz said she avoids turning lights on when it’s not needed – and is trying to get her husband to do the same.
She has also ditched her tumble dryer – one of the most energy draining devices in the home – which saves her a chunk of money.
“I’m not being lazy,” she says. “I’m just going to the garden and hanging the clothes out to dry.”
She also says she opts for the longest cycle on the washing machine, often called the “eco” setting.
“I don’t know the exact impact of each,” she says. “But it’s made a huge change in total. I’m shocked.”
Naz checked her account with energy supplier Bulb to see that her monthly bill had fallen from £103 in May to £86 in June after her energy saving efforts.
Naz posted her success to the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK group on Facebook, where shocked commenters thought she was making up the saving.
“It’s very shocking, because we turned off the heating in April, so it doesn’t include that,” she said.
The savvy saver says she’ll keep up with energy saving habits to keep her bill down in future too.
“I’ll absolutely keep doing it,” she says. “I’m trying to find even more solutions to help with gas bills during the winter.
If you feel like you’re spending too much on bills, try this trick, or ask your energy supplier what schemes you could be entitled to.
If you don’t know who your supplier is, you can check here. It will just need your post code.
Here are some contacts that could lend a helping hand for the time being:
- National Debtline – 0808 808 4000
- Step Change – 0800 138 1111
- Citizens Advice – 0808 800 9060
