How we can keep bills down during the school summer holidays

Whether it's the oven, washing machine, or dishwasher, what do your kids use with no regard for the bill payer?

Transcript

00:00We're expecting to see energy bills rise, especially as the year goes on, possibly by

00:05as much as £100 or £200 per household.

00:08The summer itself means when people are at home more, they're going to be using devices

00:12more in your household.

00:13Now, although that means some increasing costs, it's nothing like as expensive as winter when

00:18you turn your heating on.

00:19And so far, at least, while summer is mild or warm, we don't tend to put the heating

00:23on during the summer months, at least not in this country.

00:28About two-thirds of families, however, are worried about the rising costs of electricity,

00:32and they should be right to be, with prices set to increase as the year goes on.

00:37It is really important that you make sure that you're on a good deal and that you're

00:42not being taken advantage of.

00:43There are no great fixed-price deals at the moment, in our judgment, at now, but there

00:48are still ways to save money on your bills.

00:49You can use a service like ours, or do shop around, because you may well find little bits

00:54and pieces of savings if you look at different companies and what they offer.

00:58And with children home during the summer, there's an expected increase in household

01:02tasks, such as laundry and cooking.

01:05What are some practical ways parents can cut down on those costs while still maintaining

01:08the household routines?

01:10Washing still needs to get done, I suppose, at the end of the day.

01:13Washing does.

01:14I don't have teenagers, but I do have two little ones.

01:16And yeah, it's amazing how, no matter how many times you ask them, they always spill

01:20pasta on their clothes.

01:22Look, there is a thing here, and about a million UK households are not taking advantage

01:28of the government's childcare credit scheme, which basically means that for every £6 you

01:35spend on childcare, you can get £2 back, up to £500 every three months.

01:40That's up to £2,000 per child.

01:42So if you do qualify for that, it's a really valuable scheme, and worth taking advantage

01:49of during summer months, especially if you're in a family where both parents go to work

01:53every day, and you really need that extra pair of hands to help looking after the kids

01:56during school holidays with summer clubs and things like that.