NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

Martin Lewis’s team has revealed a list of advice for families facing the cost of living crisis – but the UK’s money-saving master still warns that Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are the only people who can really offer a lifeline to struggling Brits.

The financial expert famously warned ‘I’m virtually out of tools’ as energy bills and petrol prices soar and food banks face critical demand.

There are still some tricks left up his sleeve, with a ‘cost of living crisis survival guide’ on the MoneySavingExpert website offering 90 ways to save.

However, Martin says civil unrest may soon be on the cards – with some of those forced to choose between heating and food ‘still destined to face both freezing and starving’.

‘When I said I was nearly out of ways to help, I was making a point that for some people money-saving, which is what I spent my career doing, will not solve this problem,’ he told MailOnline. 

‘And, therefore, it is political levers that need to be pulled to solve the problem.’

Devastatingly, fresh crisis awaits and Christmas is expected to be impacted in Britain as energy bills are predicted to surge again by another 30% from October.

Martin says the ‘big picture is just too scary’ and advises people to ‘look at the small picture, go to every single thing that you spend money on and, first, ask yourself, “Can I do it cheaper and the same way?”’

1. Heat the human, not the home

Martin’s team has put together a new Heat the human guide after he concluded he couldn’t ‘ignore my overflowing email-bag of people panicking that they can’t afford their energy bill’.

Getting extra warmth from electric blankets, heat pads and footwarmers is recommended, and they have worked out the cost of each of these per week.

Other tips include dressing in a base layer, mid-layer and an outer layer, using thermal socks and using the hot water bottle in a sleeping bag’ trick.

I invested in a heated blanket to use at my desk – costs c. 2p to 4p a day to run – far cheaper than heating and so so cosy!

2. Pension credit is a tax-free, means-tested benefit aimed at retired people on low incomes – and it can be worth £1,000s a year

It’s also a gateway benefit that may make you eligible for council tax discounts, free TV licences for over-75s and more. Check pension credit eligibility.

3. 16 million people are out of contract on their broadband and mobile – and could quickly halve their bills

MoneySavingExpert’s broadband comparison and cheap Sim comparison tools can often find deals saving over £200 a year.

They look at the 18 biggest providers and flag special deals.

4. Get free food from bakeries, supermarkets and neighbours

Free food and drink-sharing app Olio offers leftover grub for free. Instead of binning spare food, people sign up to the app and offer it out to their local community.

Those struggling to eat can also take advantage of introductory offers of meal boxes like HelloFresh and Gousto.

Foodbanks give out free parcels that should last at least three days.

Take advantage of those huge first-time discounts of meal boxes (HelloFresh, Gousto, etc). Some even offer free first boxes. Most of them have a no subscription obligation so can cancel anytime. I’m cycling through a bunch of them, saving £££ and reducing food wastage.

— Julie Wong (@Juls_W) March 31, 2022

About 20 million households in England in council tax bands A to D are due to get a £150 rebate on their council tax.

Those who don’t qualify may be able to get another discretionary payment. Another measure is the £200 loan-not-loan due in October.

6. Get help towards childcare costs

Hundreds of thousands of parents are missing out on help with Childcare costs and could be owed thousands.

Water firms hand out free water-saving gadgets via water efficiency site Save Water Save Money.

This includes shower heads (which help regulate water usage and are normally £20), tap inserts (which also regulate water flow, normally £5) and ‘Buffaloo’ cistern bags (which you place into your toilet cistern so each flush uses less water, normally £2).

8. Healthy Start vouchers for those pregnant with a child under four and on benefits

They can be used by families on low incomes to buy cows’ milk, formula milk, fruit and veg and other food. Apply via the NHS.

9. Use the free cheap fuel finder

At PetrolPrices.com, you can find the cheapest near you.

MoneySavingExpert has also given driving tips that could save gas, including staying under 3,000 revs, changing up gears sooner and making the most of the car’s momentum rather than braking.

More than one million people in England from April 2020 to April 2021 would’ve been better off using an NHS prescription prepayment certificate.

Paying £9.15 for each prescription, rather than a single payment of £108.10 for unlimited prescriptions shows an average overspend of around £40 a year.

11. Get tactical with your oven and washing machine

Doing one fewer load of washing a week, using your machine on a 30-degree cycle and making sure your machine is full when you use it can save about £28 a year on your energy bill, the Energy Saving Trust advises.

If you use your oven use it to cook multiple things/meals then freeze the ones you don’t need and reheat in the microwave. Shorten your wash cycles, use the rapid wash on your machine and not the longer ones. Watch the weather report. Sun due out, washing goes in the day before.

12. Check if you’re in too high a council tax band

Due to the way properties were valued when the council tax system was launched in 1991, over 400,000 homes are in the wrong council tax band. You could be owed thousands.

Dropping down a brand level on groceries can cut 30% off bills.

MoneySavingExpert has a monthly 40+ supermarket coupons guide.

From cutting dishwasher tabs in half, to saving wrapping paper from opened gifts, all the little things add up. See hacks here. 

‘The real difficulty is that people are always saying, “You can’t help me, I’m terrible with money”‘, he said.

‘Actually, that’s not the case. The people I can’t help are the people who have already done everything and are on the lowest incomes and they have no wriggle room, and those are the ones I’m worried for most at the moment.’

Read all 90 of MoneySavingExpert’s tips here.

MORE : Veterans ‘slipping through the net’ as living cost crisis leads to spike in homelessness

MORE : Tory MPs vote down emergency budget to tackle cost of living crisis

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