A woman earning £27,000 annually can't afford to switch on her heating - her home is so chilly that her friends are avoiding visiting. Julie Prince, a civil servant, reveals that her mortgage and bills consume 80% of her monthly income.
Julie, hailing from Somerset, shared: "A friend was going to visit me tonight but declined when he realised I wouldn't have my heating on."
She explained that if she were to turn the heating on, her monthly energy bill would double - an expense she simply cannot manage.
"My mortgage and bills are 80% of my earnings. I've already cut expenses elsewhere, and I still can't afford it", she stated. "I don't really know if there's anything else that I could cut out.
"I've pretty much never put the heating on, even if it's been snowing, I just can't afford it. The only time I had to was last year when my brother told me that my pipes might freeze, so I just briefly turned it off and on again.
"My friends and family are worried about me, but there's not much they can do." She added: "I've tried hot water bottles, but they just go cold too quickly, and I can't afford an electric blanket, or anything like that".
With Christmas approaching, Julie admitted: "If I just have scraps in and nothing else, I'll go after four weeks."
Despite being on a full-time salary and having a mortgage, Julie is ineligible for benefits such as Universal Credit, which could help her afford heating, reports Edinburgh Live.
"If I owned my house outright, I would be eligible for it, and if I was renting, I would be eligible for it, but because I have a mortgage, I'm not eligible, and that's ridiculous", she said.