A friend of mine admitted they’d gone a week earlier, because they had friends visiting, and I found myself reacting as if they’d served up lobster and caviar. The threat of sky-high energy bills is worrying us all, but this week pensioners received additional lump sums with their winter fuel payments, and for all sorts of people there is more help on the way.

This week, after a particularly long and cold wait, people on state pensions finally started receiving an extra £300 with their winter fuel payment. If you’re looking out for it in your bank account, it should be marked with the reference: DWP WFP, and if it doesn’t show up by 13 January, contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre on 0800 731 0160.

If you receive pensions credit, you will also have had £324 earlier this month – the second half of the £650 payment for people on means-tested benefits. Unfortunately, 850,000 people who could have received this money haven’t claimed the credit – and there’s £1.7 billion of it left unclaimed.

As with all benefits, qualifying isn’t straightforward, but as a rule of thumb, if you’re 66 or older, and have a total income of less than £182.60 a week for a single person of £278.70 for couples you may be able to claim. It’s always worth checking on the gov.uk website ringing the Pension Credit claim line to check on 0800 991 234.

If you qualify, not only will you be entitled to up to £3,300 a year, but it’s also a gateway to other support – including this cost-of-living payment, as well as council tax reductions, the warm home discount, housing benefit, dental and optical treatment and the over-75s free TV licence.

If you don’t receive this payment, but you think you might qualify, then don’t hang around. If you claim by 18 December, the £324 payment will be included in it, because payments are backdated.

This is the final element of support to kick in from the package announced last May, although we’re still benefiting from the £400 energy bill support payment, which will be paid in instalments until April.

Since then, we’ve had the Energy Price Guarantee, which means the average user will pay £2,500 a year - and the government said would save the average household £1,000 a year. That guarantee runs out in April, when it will be replaced by a less generous one, which means the average user will spend £3,000. This is an even bigger hit than it initially seems, because right now, those monthly payments are taking the edge off higher bills, but from April average earners will have to face these higher prices alone.

Some people will receive additional support, with the extra cost of living payments announced in the Autumn Statement. These include another £900 for those on means-tested benefits, £300 for pensioners and £150 for those receiving specific disability benefits. We don’t have any details yet on when or how those payments will be made, although it’s likely that the £900 will be delivered in more than one slice, and that the payments for pensioners and those on disability benefits will come in the autumn in the same way they did this year – to support people at a time when energy use rises.

While these payments will always be welcome, especially for those on the lowest incomes, there’s a risk that they will be eaten by rising prices on all sides. Benefits and pensions will rise 10.1 per cent in April, but this only reflects how prices increased in the year to September. We haven’t yet reached peak inflation, and there’s no end in sight for some of the most difficult price rises - including food. It may well mean that these extra payments don’t go as far as people are hoping.

So it’s worth being aware of the other energy support available to those who need it. When it gets really cold you may get a cold weather payment. Older people and those on specific benefits will get £25 for each 7-day period between November and the end of March that the average temperature is below freezing.

Meanwhile, the Warm Homes Discount offers £150 off your electricity bill this winter. It’s not paid to you, but goes as a one-off discount on your bill between October and March. If your provider is part of the scheme, you will usually receive it automatically if you’re on pensions credit or on specific benefits, and have high energy costs. You should get a letter between now and January telling you about the discount if you’re eligible. The letter will tell you if you need to call the helpline before the end of February to confirm your details and get the payment.

Your supplier may also offer non-repayable grants to customers suffering real financial difficulties. The major energy providers tend to offer them to their own customers – including EDF, E.on Next, Shell and Scottish Power. British Gas Energy Trust offers grants to people who are struggling – regardless of whether they are a customer. You need to contact them and check their eligibility rules and how to apply.

The Household Support scheme in England is available from your local council and is designed to help people in really desperate circumstances. They will have specific criteria and an application process, so get in touch and ask.

If you don’t qualify for help, and you’re struggling to pay your bills, you may be tempted to try not to think about it, but the sooner you contact your provider, the better. Ofgem rules mean they have to offer a number of potential options to help you pay - including an affordable payment plan, payment reductions or time to pay. However, if after talking things through with them you can’t see how you can pay, you can contact a debt charity like StepChange or Citizens Advice and they can work with you to find a way through.

Property completions were steady through October, down just 3 per cent in a month, but the looming storm is likely to sink sales.

Sales completing in October were largely agreed around July, when demand was falling and mortgage rates rising - but the average two-year mortgage rate was still just 3.74 per cent. By contrast, right now fixed rates are around 6 per cent, which has sent new buyers running for the hills. The RICS Residential Market Report showed that buyer demand fell through the floor, house price growth ground to a halt and sales plummeted.

It’s not just the horror of mortgage rates, there’s also the spectre of falling house prices to consider. The Office for Budget Responsibility expects house prices to fall 9 per cent between now and autumn 2024. It means buyers face the prospect of spending more than they can afford on a property that will get less and less valuable over the next two years. Unless they desperately need to move right now, it’s not a tempting prospect.

Sarah Coles is a senior personal finance analyst and podcast host for Switch Your Money On Hargreaves Lansdown

Pensioners must not miss out on extra £300 to help with winter fuel bills - Sarah Coles