The cost of living crisis is hammering households across the UK - with skyrocketing energy prices that show no sign of slowing down, real wages plunging by 3% and staggering inflation rates that echo the 1980s. The current climate has forced people to find creative ways to stretch their money, from reusable toilet roll and batch cooking to food waste apps and spot cleaning clothing.
Many people are already feeling consumed by their financial difficulties, with some having to resort to extreme measures to save every penny they can. One person has taken to Reddit to share their father's energy-saving habits in a quest to find others in a similar position.
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The post says: "My dad is slowly losing his mind at the rising cost of the energy bills but for years he's been doing his best to try and bring the cost down".
Explaining the pressures that have been put on their family, the anonymous poster explained: "We all have to do certain things to manage the electricity usage in the house."
The penny pinching trick that the father uses most relates to the oven, a trusty kitchen appliance that cause bills to rack up when used liberally. The post says: "The big one is he makes us turn the ovens off about 5 or 10 minutes before food is cooked because the 'residual heat' will carry on the cooking."
The oven isn't the only appliance that gets shut off ahead of finishing its job. The Reddit user also reveals that "the kettle gets turned off just before it boils because those pennies add up," giving readers a clear picture of how vigilant their family has to be when using household electricals.
In a surprising twist, the anonymous writer questions whether these budgeting tricks will make much of a dent in the family's energy use, as they claim that their father "likes to pass out drunk with the lights on and the TV blaring".
The post adds: "He sure does like to moan if the oven is still on when it doesn't need to be".
Reddit users swarmed the comment section to share their parents' energy-saving hacks, with many complaining of constant pestering from relatives about switching lights off and taking appliances out of plughole switches.
One commenter said that her mum had an issue with plughole switches: "If I unplug something but don’t switch the switch off she goes absolutely wild saying that electricity is still leaking out of the plughole."
Another said: "My dad used to turn off the hall and landing lights while you were still halfway up the stairs. Usually with a mutter about Blackpool illuminations," with many Reddit users chiming in to say they were very familiar with that 'British idiom'.
When asked to share the extreme lengths that friends and family go to to save their pennies, one person shared: "I [sic] had a friend who'd try absolutely anything to see if he could save energy. He had a pyramid of clay plant pots in his living room under which a few tea light candles were nestled.
"The idea is that the clay pots would absorb the heat thus warming the room. He swore it worked but it must have taken an age to feel a difference. He also boiled the kettle once and stored the hot water in a thermos for the day (I do that too)."
When the conversation moved to student digs, one commenter revealed: "I shared a house in uni with a friend who would live in darkness to save money.
"Once, we turned on the lights and found him in the living room eating mouldy strawberries. Part of me thinks he deliberately ate them in the dark because he couldn’t face throwing them."
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