Five top tips for saving money in the home this winter

We’re all trying to make our money stretch during the cost of living crisis - whether it’s using the washing machine at night or freezing food to make it last longer.

Everyone is trying to cut down costs wherever they can. Most people have already conquered the obvious ways to save money, but there are actually a number of tips and tricks that some may not know about.

Joe Duffy was blown away by the advice some of his listeners had - and even Daithi O'Se has benefitted from one of these hacks. So here are five things you can do to reduce costs this autumn and winter.

Timing is important

Earlier in the year, the Government advised people to promote efficiency and highlight the support available to those struggling with rising inflation through their campaign, ‘Reduce Your Use’. One of the ways they recommended that could help people to save money was by choosing when to use appliances carefully.

Avoiding the hours between 4 and 7pm could help to cut costs as this is the peak period for usage. As well as that, the campaign advised people to use cookers, tumble dryers, washing machines, showers and kettles efficiently.

Be aware of your mortgage rate

Experts have warned that mortgage holders on either variable or fixed rates with less than two years to run need to act now to avoid challenging repayment hikes. Those rolling out of historic low fixed-term contracts in the next few years will face immediate rate increases of more than 1%, it is understood.

Homeowners are paying an average €4,595 in extra mortgage repayments per year by not switching lenders, the quarter two doddl.ie mortgage switching index found. This is almost €500 more than 12 months ago.

Switch suppliers

This tip has been Daithi O’Se-approved, as the RTE star took to Twitter to show his massive savings. Daithi had Conor Pope to thank for this, as the Irish Times journalist shared how to knock hundreds off your energy bill on Friday’s Late Late Show. Pope said households could save up to €1,000 every year just by switching energy providers.

Speaking on the show, he said: “500,000 households have not switched, every single one of those households is wasting money. I’m not talking 50 quid, or 70 quid - they’re all wasting up to €1,000 a year. Because the way the business works is when you move from company A to company B, they give you a discount of up to 40% for the first 12 months. But if you don’t move after the 12 months, you go back up to paying the standard rate which is 40% higher.”

Find out more about this hack and Daithi’s impressive saving here .

Use the kettle

RTE’s Joe Duffy asked listeners to call in with any tips they had to save money. He was blown away by one caller’s simple hack to use when cooking dinner. The money-savvy listener recommended “just something very simple” when it comes to boiling potatoes. He said: “It saves a lot of energy if you actually boil a kettle of water and put your six or seven potatoes into the pot.

“Throw the boiling water into the potatoes. Put on your gas, let it come to a boil for about 5 minutes. Leave it there. Half an hour later, the potatoes are done, and it actually works. It prevents you from leaving the gas on for 20 minutes, half an hour, steaming up the whole house."

This trick also works for carrots and turnips too.

Re-use hot water

Another hack involving a kettle was shared with Joe Duffy, as one caller shared what her mother used to do. She said: "My dad every morning had a soft-boiled egg for his breakfast, and he didn't believe in porridge. He always said that was a false filler.

"So anyway, he would have his soft-boiled egg. My mam would make the tea and then when she'd made the tea, she would put the egg - the uncooked egg - into the kettle and cook his egg."

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