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Topics: UK News, Martin Lewis, Money
Joe Harker
Martin Lewis has offered Brits some crucial advice for saving money on their energy bills which are set to rise sharply in October.
The Money Saving Expert himself said he felt 'sick writing this' as he laid out how people's energy bills were predicted to rise by 65 percent in October when the price cap rises.
Lewis paints a grim picture, describing the coming winter as a 'bleak' time when the 'cost of living crisis will climax in catastrophe'.
If you're paying £100 a month for your energy bills, by October that's expected to jump up to £165 a month, and that's off the back of an earlier rise in bills.
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The energy price cap already jumped up by 54 percent, so this next rise means a household's average energy bills could more than double over the course of the year.
The UK is already in a cost of living crisis with millions of households receiving payments from the government to help ease the financial strain, but when the price cap rise hits in October it will be another savage blow to many.
Sorry for being a bit of a downer, but the outlook for the future doesn't look particularly good as it's expected that the earliest prices might come down is April 2023, and even then only by a little bit.
Lewis is expecting any drop in cost to be small, and he's giving out advice over what to expect and what sort of help is out there for people.
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The Money Saving Expert has worked out that if you switch to a fixed energy tariff your bills might be more costly now, but you could save money over the course of the year.
He's predicted that Brits will be paying 57 percent more overall for energy bills in the next 12 months, so a fixed tariff cheaper than that is worth looking into.
Meanwhile, he laid out what financial help is in the pipeline including 'cost of living' payments to lower income households, money for pensioners and council tax rebates of £150 for people in bands A to D.
Low income households should already have received the first cost of living payment totalling £326, with a second helping of cash on the way later in the autumn.
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Struggling pensioners may also be in line for this payment, and the Money Saving Expert has suggested people look into whether they're eligible for some financial help.
Lewis has previously suggested people might need to make use of 'warm banks' this winter where they can get out of the cold as many are already facing the stark choice between heating and eating.
Beyond that, he also gives out the advice that keeping energy usage down and being able to keep some extra money aside will help these hard times go a little easier, though he writes that this is a 'pipe dream for many' who are already struggling hugely.