WITH winter right around the corner, if you’re looking for cheap ways to stay warm, you’ve come to the right place.
One woman has shared the frugal hacks she swears by to battle the chill without turning on the heating, but has since been criticised by trolls for living a “very sad life.”
Posting on social media, a teaching assistant who is currently saving money to “get out of renting,” revealed the tips and tricks she swears by to feel cosy when temperatures drop.
The woman, who is “passionate about cheap living” said: “Now that winter is upon us, here are some things that I do around my home to keep warm and save money.”
First things first, the content creator, who shares clips online under the username ‘Frugal Confessions,’ demonstrated the trick she does instead of using a hot water bottle.
She said: “I don’t own a hot water bottle, I don’t wanna waste money on one either, so I just make my own one at home – I just get any thick socks that I have, clean of course, and I put a couple of tablespoons of rice in each sock.”
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After tying the sock tight, the woman then puts it into the microwave for short intervals to avoid overheating, for around one minute in total.
The savvy saver confirmed that she either holds the sock in her hands or will put it up her sleeves and doing so keeps her super warm.
She added: “And the best thing about this is that you can keep the rice in the sock and just keep heating it up each time, or you can reuse it for food.”
Not only this, but to battle the evening chill and to keep draughts at bay, the frugal woman places tea towels and plastic bags underneath all the doors in her home.
She continued: “I don’t have a lot of tea towels so I use plastic bags to compensate instead.
“For outside my bedroom door, I have a polar bear door stopper that I got as a kid, so I use that alongside the tea towel, this hack works really well – the next day, the tea towels are stone cold from picking up the draught.”
The TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @frugal.confession, has clearly left many open-mouthed, as it has quickly racked up 124,400 views in less than 24 hours.
But social media users were left feeling “bad” by the woman’s hacks and some even accused her of “rage bait.”
Is it safe to put rice in a sock in a microwave?
AFTER this woman shared her rice microwave hack, we checked to see if it was safe.
It is generally safe to put a sock with uncooked rice in the microwave to make a homemade heating pad, provided you follow specific safety guidelines to prevent a fire.
Having said that, there are definite risks if you use the wrong materials or overheat it.
Make sure you use a clean, 100% cotton sock.
Use uncooked white rice (not instant rice), flaxseed, or dried beans and avoid anything damp or oily.
To carry out this hack safely, following this guide:
- Fill the sock about halfway and tie or sew the end closed
- Microwave in short bursts – start with 30 seconds, then check the temperature
- Keep microwaving in 15–30 second intervals until warm (usually one to two minutes total)
- Always check for hot spots before placing it on your skin
- Never leave it unattended in the microwave
One person said: “This made me feel so bad.”
Another added: “No life is worth living like this.”
Reuse it as food? Surely not
TikTok user
A third commented: “Very sad life for you.”
Not only this, but one user wrote: “Or just buy a hot water bottle so you aren’t wasting money on rice all the time. This girl is rage baiting us.”
Meanwhile, someone else questioned: “Reuse it as food? Surely not.”
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Cheap gadgets to help you stay warm
MARTIN Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert shared six gadgets that can help you keep the heating off but stay warm.
Heating “the human not the home” means you warm yourself instead of turning on the heating and heating the whole house.
This can save money on your heating bill and means you don’t have to sit in the cold.
- USB gloves – initial cost £10, cost to run less than 1p an hour
- Heated insoles – initial cost £10, cost to run less than 1p an hour
- USB hand warmers – initial cost £15, cost to run less than 1p an hour
- Electric gilet – initial cost £50 (including battery pack), cost to run less than 1p an hour
- Microwaveable wheat bag – initial cost £4, cost to run less than 1p per hours
- Reusable hand warmers – initial cost £5 for a pair, cost to run less than 1p per hour
