A TikToker has urged others to prepare for soaring energy bills this winter by buying a cheap to run electric blanket now. In the height of summer the blankets are going for as little as £12.99 on eBay.
Heidi Ondrak, 51, a project manager from Plymouth, Devon, shared the top tip with her 18k followers on her social media channels, @duchessofthrift, to help others plan for the tough winter ahead. Heidi regularly buys bargains out of season, even bagging winter coats for just a £1 at car boot sale during the last heatwave.
In the video Heidi urges others to prepare for the coming winter by purchasing a money-saving electric blanket whilst they’re still relatively cheap. She told her followers “You really need to start preparing now for when the energy prices shoot up in October and the temperature drops. So let me show you what you want to get your hands on."
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Heidi added: “The price is absolutely going to go through the roof on these [electric blankets], as people are not going to be able to put the heating on like we did. So everybody's going to want these so make sure you get them now because demand will drive the prices up on these things. I guarantee you.”
According to Uswitch, it costs 28p to use an electric blanket for an hour a night - over a week that would cost you £1.96, the Mirror reports. This will depend on the efficiency of the blanket you use and your energy tariff.
In the TikTok Heidi shows a regularly priced electric blanket, going for £99. She then shows an alternative brand going for just £12.99 on eBay out of season.
She told followers: “We're in the middle of summer and we're not even thinking about winter, but I guarantee you try and get your hands on one of these [electric blankets] in the winter and you're going to be paying more than £12.99. I've ordered them for the family now just to be prepared for those energy rises.”
Heidi says she started sharing her “skint mum tips” to help others “close the gap between rising costs and a salary that hasn't risen to match the outgoings”. She believes that her job as a project manager has helped her save money by “thinking ahead as well as managing risk and opportunity”.
She said: “I am lucky me and my partner work full time but our disposable income is shrinking so fast. I put together the TikTok because I do these things and thought that all the small changes add up and it might help other people.
“Even reducing the time you use an electric oven by using an air fryer or George foreman that halves cooking time, that adds up over a week. I buy everything preloved too like the coats I bought in the middle of the heatwave, they were so cheap because it's out of season.”
Heidi’s other money saving tips and tricks include heading to Morrisons half an hour before closing time and scouring the bakery section for pounds worth of savings each day. She also uses a shower timer to get her teenagers to have a shorter shower, saving on water and electricity.
The clothing enthusiast started her Instagram to share budget hacks for finding the best vintage and thrifted frocks. Heidi shares weekly thrifted outfit ideas on her Instagram @Duchessofthrift.
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