Sarah* lives in a small bungalow near Blandford and relies on oil-fired heating. She said she has been shocked by the escalating cost of oil and said having to find more than £500 to fill her tank leaves money for little else.
“All my savings have gone,” said the 71-year-old. “ I’m in a situation where I live from day to day, basically.”
She uses her heating sparingly and will often brave the cold to eke out her oil reserves. “I’ve got thermostats, but they’re not terribly good,” she said. “When I get up in the morning, I usually put the heating on just to take the chill off but then I put another jumper on for the rest of the day.
“At night I might put it on again for a little while but I usually just go to bed early.”
She is equally sparing with her hot water. “I don’t put the oil heating on at all for hot water, I use immersion heating,” she said. “It’s more expensive but I only put that on for half an hour at a time. I’ve been having cold showers if it is warm enough outside.”
It’s a real worry, you’ve got to just work everything out
Having to juggle her spending adds to her stress, every outgoing is meticulously planned. “I don’t normally order any more oil until I can afford it, then have to work out when the statement on my credit card comes,” she says. “It’s a real worry, you’ve got to just work everything out. I know I can have one thing or the other and sometimes I have to cut down on the food bill.
“I need my car because we have no public transport at all out here, so there’s servicing to save for. When push comes to shove, you have to do without. I used to take a holiday every year to Bridport but no more.”
She said the Surviving Winter grant took away some of her stress. “Having the grant meant I worried less and I knew I could have the heating and hot water on when it got really cold,” she said. “It was a godsend.”
*’Sarah’s’ name has been changed and the picture is posed by a model.
