‘I live in the dark’: How rising bills are shaping daily life

As evenings grow colder and household budgets come under renewed pressure, 79-year-old grandad Errol McGuiness has developed a routine to keep costs down.

The pensioner collects rainwater, spends much of his time in a single room and piles on extra layers rather than turning up the heating.

“I keep lots of clothes on, but don’t tell my daughter,” he said.

His most striking money-saving measure comes when night falls.

“I live in the dark.

“You don’t need a light on to watch telly. You don’t need a light on when you go to bed. You know the way to the toilet and the kitchen, so you don’t need a light on.”

Errol admits he has a health condition and says his daughter regularly reminds him to switch the heating on.

But he is far from alone in trying to cut household costs.

New figures published this week showed inflation rose to 3.5% in September, its highest level for almost a year, while higher fuel prices have pushed up living costs for many households.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised measures aimed at easing pressure on household finances, including removing standing charges from gas bills.

Four years into the cost-of-living crisis, almost two-thirds of low-income families say they struggle to afford essentials such as food, heating and clothing, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Almost half said they had skipped meals or reduced portion sizes to save money.

Among them is 83-year-old widower Bryan, who says he now lives largely in a single room to keep bills down.

“I put a cardigan on and whatever it is you put on to keep yourself warm, shut the door, put the fan heater on to warm the house up,” he said.

“When you see the price keep going up, I think,’ well, I’m sitting in one room’.”

At Affordable Foods in Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent, centre manager Melissa Baydilly says stories like Errol’s and Bryan’s are becoming increasingly common.

The organisation runs a food bank, social supermarket and outreach service helping people with debt, benefits and employment issues.

“Every supermarket you go into, everything’s gone up,” she said.

“There isn’t a place where you would go now and not say there’s at least a 25% to 30% hike on prices.”

She believes pensioners are among those feeling the strain most acutely.

“I don’t believe, in this day and age, our seniors of the city should go to the supermarket, look at the fruit and veg and think, ‘I can’t have apples and oranges this week, I’ve got to pick’.

“Should they be doing that in their 60s and 70s, when they’ve worked all their life?”