Do you live in fuel poverty?

[Mark]

I'm talking about domestic fuel here e.g. electricity + gas, not fuel for your car!

On Channel 4 last night they were talking about people living in fuel poverty, and they defined that as when you spend over 10% of your disposable (not total) income on your fuel bills.

[gadjo_dilo]

I do. My house is heated by wood and it's very expensive. A tone of wood ( not exactly a tone cos the dealer use to steal a bit ) is not enough to heat a room/month and it costs 250 lei. The gas recipient for cooking is also 50 lei/month. The water is heated by a an electic boiler and although I use it only 2-3 hours/day , electricity is about 70 lei/month . Cold water is about 25 lei. My netto salary is 1640 lei. As you see I pay a lot of money for fuel but still live bad and winter is a nightmare.

[Breeze]

Then I'm definitely living in fuel poverty!! We heat with natural gas and my January bill alone was 300 FREAKING DOLLARS!! No matter how hard I try I cannot get my wife to leave the thermostat alone. Drives me crazy! :mad:

[Hazell B]

10% of your disposable income? Rubbish - they've gotten their figures wrong there! It can't be just a simple sum like that as incomes vary far more than the homes we live in, meaning my house is the same as my neighbours' yet we earn about half the average of those neighbours. It just cannot be that simple!

Anyway, we heat for almost free, so we're not having to choose between heat and eat. If anyone is having to choose perhaps they should have the nouse to contact their council about grants for insulating the house - or move - instead of listening to the current media "pity me, I can't afford" stream of stories. I can believe some are struggling, especially those on pensions, but most are just complainers thanks to the complaint society this country seems to have become. Blame everything else but yourself for your problems - we're all faultless ourselves :rolleyes:

[Rollo]

It costs me $48 a week to drive to work in my Ka, but to take public transport (which I would prefer) requires two trains and a bus and costs $49.50.

I live in NSW which over the past 10 years has allowed the construction of 9 suburban private/public motorways all with tolls on and in that space of time has shut down 12 railway stations.

Fuel poverty is not the issue where I live, but spineless, stupid, short-sighted governments who have not got the testicular fortitude to come up with anything even remotely resembling a sensible transport policy. In 25 years, we will be America!

[Mark]

Not sure what transport has to do with heating your house :p

[gadjo_dilo]

It's not his case but I've seen on TV guys who lost their homes and were living in cars... :laugh: