90 ways to survive the cost of living crisis

On Friday a 54% rise in the energy price cap hit 22 million homes, a desperate, typical £700/yr increase - catastrophic for those with the lowest incomes. Yet the pain stretches further. When combined with all the other price rises, it'll produce a material drop in living standards for most on low to middle incomes.

I'll leave the politics and the 'whys' out of it, though for that listen to this Freeze or starve? BBC interview I did. At the end of that, I called for a collective endeavour to help each other. And that's what generated this new 90 ways to survive the cost of living crisis guide.

That's because while the team and I were compiling it, we reached out on Twitter, Facebook and the MSE Forum to ask for suggestions. The response was overwhelming and uplifting, 1,000s replied. We added suggestions and testimonials - and hope to keep building on this.

Of course, we already have our How to budget guide and the 37 Money Makeover tips guide, but that's about cutting bills without cutting back. The scope here is also about tips to cut back, to be thrifty, on little-known support and more. Here's a taster selection for you...

1. New. Heat the human not the home guide. I felt sad when I asked the team to put this new Heat the human guide together, analysing the cheapest ways to keep warm. Yet I can't ignore my overflowing emailbag of people panicking that they can't afford their energy bill. Don't see it as a 'we say you should', more as options and info if you must drastically cut down on energy usage.
   
   As ginger_titch tweeted: "I invested in a heated blanket to use at my desk, it costs 2-4p a day to run, cheaper than heating and so cosy!"
   
   
2. Over 800,000 people are eligible for a top-up of their state pension. Pension credit is a tax-free, means-tested benefit aimed at retired people on low incomes and can be worth £1,000s a year. Plus it's a gateway benefit that gives eligibility to council tax discounts, free TV licences for over-75s and more. Check pension credit eligibility.
   
   
3. Make do and mend via a Repair Cafe. Forumite Brambling: "If you have broken household items you are unable to repair, check for local Repair Cafes. We've a monthly one where volunteers repair anything from clothes, toys, electricals, computers etc. It's free, but they appreciate a donation of what you can afford. It avoids adding to landfill." The Repair Cafe site lists some of them.
   
   
4. 16m people are out of contract on broadband and mobile bills - and could halve bills at speed. Many are on legacy contracts where you simply pay bog-standard full price. Yet two minutes on our Broadband comparison and Cheap Sim comparison can often find deals saving over £200 a year - offsetting some of the impact of energy hikes.
   
   
5. Or are you eligible for long-term low-price broadband 'social tariffs', eg, £15/mth? Comparisons list deals which are priced hot for a year, but after, to keep it cheap you need to ditch & switch. Yet if you're on a lower income, for example, claiming universal credit, we've a full list of social tariffs which are cheap long-term. Some looking for work are even eligible for 6mths free broadband.
   
   As David emailed: "Martin, thank you for the advice about BT's social tariff, this isn't widely advertised, nor does it come up on comparison sites. Thanks to your website I've switched a friend on to this and he'll save £96/yr."
   
   
6. On minimum wage? Are you actually being underpaid? It's thought HALF A MILLION minimum wage employees don't realise they've been underpaid - as they have some unpaid working times, or have to buy things to do their job. If so, you may be due £100s or £1,000s back. Read what to look for in our National minimum wage guide.
   
   
7. Choosing between heating and eating? Speak to your local council. Councils have just got a new tranche of £500m for the Household Support Fund - to prioritise money to meet essential costs - you NEEDN'T BE ON BENEFITS. Frustratingly the last tranche just closed, and the new one isn't yet up and running everywhere, but contact your local authority to see if you are or will be eligible (they may also be able to point you to other help).
     
8. Struggling to afford period products? As KellyBilsland tweeted us, in Scotland: "Order free period products from your council's website (some have in-person pick-up points). Some include reusable pads, pants and cups in this."
   
   Elsewhere, there are a range of other ways to help with period poverty, including asking for an emergency 'Package for Sandy' in Morrisons. See our Cheap or free sanitary products guide for more.
   
   
9. Band A-D council tax in England, Scotland or Wales? You are due a £150 rebate to help with energy bills from THIS month. This is one of two measures the Chancellor announced in February. If you pay council tax by direct debit, the £150 should be paid into you bank account, hopefully in April. If you don't pay by DD, you'll be notified how to claim it, and if you don't do that, it'll be a rebate on your bill. See How to ensure you get the £150 council tax help.
   
   PS: The other measure is the £200 loan-not-loan due in October.
   
   
10. Not in band A-D, but struggling to pay energy bills? I may claim a little of the credit for this, as on a call with the Chancellor three days before his energy announcements, when he said there'd sadly be gaps in help, I suggested a discretionary fund to fill them in. He said 'good idea', then announced £140m for councils to give to those who don't qualify for the £150 rebate - see more on the discretionary payment.
    
    
11. Family income under £30,000 (or £50,000 in rare cases)? Spend 10mins to check if you're due benefits. I'm not saying you'll get it, just that at this income level it's worth spending the time, especially if you have children. Even if you're only eligible for a small amount, it can open the door to other support, such as council tax reductions and reduced utility tariffs. Use our 10-minute benefit checker.
    
    
12. Attendance allowance ISN'T means-tested, it helps with extra costs for those with disabilities severe enough to need help being looked after. This is an oft overlooked and a really important benefit. Rachel emailed: "I had success with applying for attendance allowance for my 81-yr-old father. It's for people of state pension age who need help to remain in their own home. He received £60/wk and this meant he's also entitled to a higher housing and council tax benefit - so he doesn't need to pay a penny for his council tax bill and only £5/wk towards his rent."
    
    The allowance is covered in our 10-minute benefit checker tool.
    
    
13. Free KFC, doughnuts, coffee or even get PAID to eat. Take advantage of clever tricks, coupons, apps or cards to eat and drink for nothing (or very cheaply). See Get free or cheap food.
    
    
14. Check if your child is eligible for free school meals and the pupil premium. If you're on a means-tested benefit (like universal credit) and have a low income, it's worth a check if your child qualifies for free school meals. Yet it doesn't stop there...
    
    Ellie Allen on Facebook wrote: "Filling out the pupil premium paperwork can entitle your child to lots of financial help throughout their school years, with trips, free school meals, free school milk, funding for the school to help your child, and many more positive benefits." It's generally for some on low incomes, apply via your local council.
    
    
15. Free food from local bakeries, supermarkets & neighbours. Free food and drink-sharing app Olio offers leftover grub for nowt. Instead of binning surplus food, people sign up to the app and offer it to their local community. Major supermarkets and retailers such as Tesco and Pret - as well as independent outlets - have also jumped on board.
    
    
16. Batch and bootstrap cook. Changing cooking patterns can help. BrylewskaF tweeted: "Use your oven to cook multiple things/meals, then freeze the ones you don't need and reheat in the microwave."
    
    And if you're trying to scythe down meal costs, anti-poverty campaigner Jack Monroe's Cooking on a Bootstrap site has a host of recipes costed to the penny that may be able to help.
    
    
17. Get £1,000 help towards childcare costs. Working pays less if you have to pay for childcare. Whether you have a wee tot or a big teen, the costs can be huge. Yet 100,000s of working parents are missing out on £1,000s of help with these costs. Our Childcare costs guide covers the available schemes. It's worth checking.
    
    PS: Within the survival guide, there's also info on
    - £500+ maternity grants
    - Vouchers to help feed pre-school kids
    - Extra help for disabled children
     
18. Got a microwave? It's usually cheaper than an oven. Microwaves are high wattage but tend to be used for shorter time periods, and crucially they only heat the food. With an oven, you're heating a much larger area so there's waste. We've estimated that to cook a jacket potato in the microwave, is often substantially less than 25% of doing it in an oven.
    
    
19. 100,000s of free water-saving gadgets available - help cut energy bills too. Water firms hand out free water-saving gadgets via water efficiency site Save Water Save Money. These include shower heads, tap inserts and garden hose nozzles. As well as saving money for those on water meters, as much of the water we use is heated, it reduces energy bills too.
    
    PS: Also in the survival guide you'll find...
    - Can you halve bills switching to a water meter?
    - Income under £21,000ish? Cap water meter costs
    - Help with water meter costs if you're on benefits
    
    
20. Need in-depth advice or practical support? If you need extra advice or support, many organisations and charities offer detailed guidance and advice. Here are a few that you may find useful:
    
    - National Energy Action. For help paying energy bills (or Home Energy Scotland).
    - Turn2Us. For benefits, grants and accessing support services.
    - Citizens Advice. All aspects of finance and consumer life.
    - Gingerbread. Primarily aimed at single-parent families.
    
    And if you're already in debt and need help, please see our Debt crisis help guide for more info and how to get 1-on-1 free help.

For 70 more cost of living survival tips, see our guide.