Cooking The Books

OPINION: Each week, the NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB's Cooking The Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's how to save money on your power bills this winter. Hosted by Frances Cook. Tomorrow is the first day of winter, and along with the cold and dark, comes the annual spike in power bills.I remember all too well the misery of cutting back electricity use to the bare minimum. In my student days it wasn't just a case of not using the dryer.In one flat I lived in, I saw a major argument over people daring to use the hot water to wash their hands. There was a screaming fight, followed by an icy stand-off, the whole works.I was horrified by the argument, but at the time, understood why my flatmates got so mad. When you're barely getting by, every cent of power becomes a big deal.But even now that I'm working and winter power bills aren't quite so dire, it's still helpful to learn new tricks. I can afford to pay for a heater now thank goodness, but if there's a cheaper option for my heating, I wa