Warm and Cosy for Less: Simple Ways to Beat the November Chill at Home

November has well and truly arrived. The mornings are frosty, the evenings are dark by teatime and the house seems to cool down the minute you step through the door. The good news is that staying warm doesn’t have to mean cranking up the thermostat. With a few clever habits and some cheap cosy buys, you can keep toasty all winter without the costs creeping up.

Warm yourself, not the whole house

It sounds obvious, but heating an empty room is money out of the window. Focus on keeping you warm first:

• Layer up indoors. A thin thermal vest under a jumper traps far more heat than one chunky layer on its own.
• Look after your feet. Thick socks or wool slippers make a surprising difference, especially on hard floors.
• Bring back the hot water bottle. It’s one of the cheapest ways to warm up on the sofa or in bed.
• Keep a throw on every sofa so it’s always within reach on chilly evenings.

Stop the warmth sneaking out

A little draught-proofing goes a long way, and most of it costs pennies:

• Check letterboxes, keyholes and loft hatches. These are easy to forget, but brush strips and covers are cheap to pick up.
• Line your curtains. If your curtains are thin, a thermal lining or even an old fleece blanket hung behind them helps hold in heat.
• Seal gaps around windows with self-adhesive foam strips from any DIY shop.
• Use rugs on bare floorboards to stop cold air rising from below.

Smarter heating habits

How and when you heat your home matters as much as how much:

• Time it right. Set the heating to come on shortly before you get up and switch off before you leave, rather than running it all day.
• Don’t block the radiators. Furniture, long curtains and drying racks in front of them soak up heat before it reaches the room.
• Close doors to rooms you’re not using and focus on the ones you live in.
• Let the sun in. On bright winter days, open the curtains to soak up free warmth, then close them as soon as it gets dark.

Cheap cosy buys worth looking out for

Lots of shops are stocking their winter ranges right now, so it’s a good time to keep an eye out for offers on:

• Fleece throws and sherpa blankets
• Thermal socks, base layers and slipper boots
• Flannel or brushed cotton bedding, which feels warmer than standard sheets
• Draught excluders and door brushes

Supermarket clothing and home ranges are often great value for basics like these, and charity shops are brilliant for wool jumpers and knitted blankets at a fraction of the price.

Warm from the inside

What you eat and drink can help too. Batch-cook big pots of soup, stew or chilli. They’re cheap, filling and warm you right up. A slow cooker uses relatively little energy and fills the kitchen with lovely smells while you get on with your day. And a flask of tea for the school run or the walk to work is much kinder on your wallet than a daily coffee shop stop.

Stay snug this winter

Staying warm on a budget is all about small, sensible changes that add up over the season. Pick a few of these tips to try this week and you’ll feel the difference, in your home and in your bank balance. Keep checking back for more deals and money-saving ideas to help you through the colder months.