The Cost-of-Living Emergency is affecting everyone. If you’re feeling the pressure of rising prices, you’re not alone. With soaring energy, food and property costs, we’re all feeling the pinch. And, for many people, these are very hard times.

We know that even the smallest things can make a difference, so we asked some of our team to share some of their tips and tricks to save money on energy or food. Here are a few hacks:

• ‘Keep the oven door open after you’ve finished cooking and the residual heat warms the room.’ – Hattie
• ‘Dust down your slow cooker! It’s great for batch cooking and use cheaper cuts of meat! It’s definitely reduced my food bill.’ – Abby
• ‘Buy unloved cuts of meat like brisket or skirt, much tastier and way cheaper.’ – Seth
• ‘Love your freezer! Cook once and eat several times – divide your batch cooking into portions and freeze for quick and healthy meals on busy days. Also freeze fresh slices of bread until you’re ready to eat them and switch from fresh produce with a short shelf life to frozen vegetables to save money and reduce food waste.’ – Zara
• ‘When I boil the kettle for tea, I pop the leftover water into a hot water bottle to keep me warmer when working from home, so I don’t need the heating on as much.’ – Afsheen
• ‘If you’re working from home (especially in a room without carpets) don’t just rely on warm fluffy socks – put some shoes on too. Even a thin sole makes a difference to heat loss and helps you stay warmer – and if you’re at home, nobody can see you’re actually wearing Crocs..’ – Ros

And, a few other tips we heard around the workplace:

• Turn the heating down by a degree, it makes a difference over the year
• I have fleecy ‘work from home’ trousers to keep my legs warm
• An electric foot heater is great, if my feet are warm, the rest of me is fine and I don’t need the heating on as much.

If you’re struggling with the cost of living, a wide range of advice and support is available. For more information visit merton.gov.uk/costofliving.