“Heating before December? Never!” : Forced to save due to inflation, TikTok users share tips for coping with the cold

“It’s dead, I won’t turn my radiator back on.” For several days, this kind of resolution has been flourishing on TikTok. As temperatures begin to drop, Internet users are taking on the sad challenge of pushing back the date of turning on the radiators as long as possible.

With soaring energy prices and persistent inflation, each additional degree represents a cost, on a fuel, gas or electricity bill. This situation leads many French people to review their consumption habits as soon as the temperature drops. According to the annual barometer of the national energy mediator, published Tuesday, one in three French people say they are having difficulty paying their energy bill.

Among those under 35, this ratio even rises to one in two people. The situation could become even more complicated as winter approaches. After an increase of 6.6% on November 1, gas prices could see a further increase in December.

“As of December 1, the benchmark price of gas will increase by 7%. This represents an additional 10 euros on the monthly bill of households who have an offer indexed to the benchmark price of gas,” assures Maxime de la Raudière, general director of the contract comparator Selectra, to France 2. “I don’t look like anything, but I save” Some therefore choose to resist.

In a TikTok video, Yona explains that she prefers to dress very warmly rather than turn on the radiators. To hold on, she brings out the heavy artillery: down jacket, jogging pants and layered clothes. “With this, I feel like it’s 20 degrees at home, but no!

Frankly, I don't look like anything, but at least I'm saving," quips the young woman. "No, because frankly, it's too expensive," she says. In her home, the thermometer reads 16 degrees, but there's no question of giving in: "Pay for heating before December?

Never ! ", writes Yona in the caption of her video, "whether it's 14 degrees, 12 degrees". Same atmosphere under the publication of Camille Montagnac, content creator, which is accompanied by the sentence: "The first one to turn on the heating loses".

The message was a real success, with nearly 80,000 likes and more than 900 comments. Some rely on fallback solutions: “I bought an electric blanket, I swear, it makes for pleasant nights without heating.” Or fall into irony: “Thermal colander, some see that as an inconvenience.

Me, I see it as a challenge,” jokes a TikToker. Another sums up the situation with a more bitter formula: “Poverty will keep me going until December. "Anti-heating tips are multiplying. Beyond resorting to traditional layered sweaters and thick duvets, some young people are using their imagination to maintain a feeling of warmth without touching the thermostat.

Machine-translated from French