Cost of Living

[Tredman]

Think its worthy of its own thread as its going to get very messy very quickly. So far we are looking at:

1. Very big NI increase - costing anything between £89 and over £1000 a year, dependent on earnings
2. Increased energy costs by 54% (about £700 a year for average usage)
3. Inflation around 5% but often a great deal more for affordable items (see Vimes-Boots index)
4. Log wage growth
5. Record house price increases in 2022 already

So far we have around £200 deferred (but not discounted!) on energy cost and a £150 rebate on council tax if you are bands A to D. Won't touch the sides IMO.

 

[Sniffer]

Interest rates have gone up by 0.25% today too.

I don't see how global supply problems and increasing prices because of this will be solved by the UK increasing interest rates.

Inflation and energy price rises will be taking money out of the economy.

 

[Tredman]

Its a really blunt tool to drive down other items to offset the massive increases in energy, shipping and raw materials. Won't work and will just push more people into poverty.

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

Yep, interest rates have just been put up too. its a shit show, I have been tackling inflation for the past 2 years on construction jobs. There's a general feeling that costs have now plateaued although it will take some time to filter down the lines.


I must admit this was before the latest energy bombshell, any idea why energy has gone up so much?

 

[Sniffer]

Yep, interest rates have just been put up too. its a shit show, I have been tackling inflation for the past 2 years on construction jobs. There's a general feeling that costs have now plateaued although it will take some time to filter down the lines.


I must admit this was before the latest energy bombshell, any idea why energy has gone up so much?

A cable from France which gave us energy burnt and can't be fixed for a few months. Noordstream 2, a gas pipe from Russia to Europe is not on stream yet and won't be as the political problems with Russia means that it won't be signed off. Energy consumption across the world increased after the Covid crisis which has pushed up costs. I'll find an article that explains it better than I can.

What is the Ofgem energy price cap and how much are bills going down?

Ofgem has announced the latest price cap which will see bills fall from April.

www.bbc.co.uk

Kent’s burnt-out electricity cable will take two more years to get back to full service

Lost capacity will compound UK’s energy woes while ‘extensive work’ is carried out on French connection

www.theguardian.com

 

[Tredman]

Biggest cost of living increase ever:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1489208574962249738

 

[The Saturday Boy]

I think this is going to have way more of an impact on household income than the Global Financial Crisis. I am planning on being somewhere between £200 and £300 per month worse off, maybe more. My fixed rate energy deal comes to an end this month so I will just revert to the variable rate and not the eye watering fixed rate deals they are offering me. I am on protected pay at work so no pay rise and a decrease due to NI increase. I don't qualify for the Council Tax rebate although I already have one rebate - the Disabled Reduction - because we have one room that is dedicated to my son.

I am not poor. I probably fit into that term that is rarely used now "the squeezed middle". Relatively speaking I am asset rich - 3 bed detached house in a quiet residential area, disposable income of around £1000 per month after bills (at the moment) so as long as I stay in work I won't be in any trouble but I am going to have to make choices.

My wife can't do any more hours or she will lose carers allowance and she couldn't work full time and be the main carer for our son. I can't reduce hours to take on more caring responsibilities because I am the main carer. Beyond the state support we already get (disability benefits - we don't get child benefit) there is nothing else on offer for us from the government apart from the "loan" that means I will get a few quid a month of the energy bill.

Can I afford to pay for mine and my son's season ticket (particularly as he works most weekends)? Probably not both. Do I prioritise Sky, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV over going out - probably, because going out is going to be more expensive. Will I buy Aldi baked beans? No. Never.

I am not alone and whether you believe that the cost of living rise is the government's fault or not - this is going to hurt them,

 

[BillyDee]

So just a minor thing, but I'll add it anyway. I got an email from one of the breweries I order from, and they are putting up the price of a cask by around ~£10-15 each (ex vat). Will probably equate to about 15-20p on a pint.
All the usual issues, but more specifically a large increase in the price of malts, hops and cleaning products.
Most breweries have kept things fairly level, as obviously pubs have had to deal with covid related challenges, but I expect others will have to bring in increases too soon.

 

[Alan]

My rent went up 33% over last year for 2022/23.

Fucking everything is going nuts right now.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

It does feel like everything is creeping up together lately. To be honest I've probably always been a bit ignorant to it but it's starting to look like I might have to pay a bit more attention going forward.

Sensibly we didn't overextend ourselves and push for our dream home when we bought our house so we've always had a degree of comfort there. Just had a look at the budget we put together when we were looking though and the prices we factored in for bills and stuff have been eclipsed now despite being fairly accurate at the time. Thankfully we've both been fortunate enough to see our careers progress over that period too so we've just sort of absorbed most things so far without too much thought but in refection we're now living a more affluent lifestyle than we did 5 years ago but our outgoings have increased significantly.

Going to have to have a proper look into some of our bills when I get chance rather than take every increase on the chin as we have been. Picked a bad time to get out of a company fuel scheme as well just when prices starting escalating and still waiting on my new company car to avoid some of those costs.

Bit of a wasted opportunity in one sense on the interest rates as well, we renegotiated our mortgage just before Christmas as the fixed term ends soon. However, we opted to keep our monthly payments about the same and reduce the term when fixing to the lower interest rate that was offered but now perhaps we'd have been safer with the extra bit of breathing space.

 

[BillyDee]

Residential parking permits almost doubling in East Herts. Sunday parking in public car parks, which was free, and was going to change to a flat rate of a quid will now be no different to any other day.

 

[Aikiwolf]

Think its worthy of its own thread as its going to get very messy very quickly. So far we are looking at:

1. Very big NI increase - costing anything between £89 and over £1000 a year, dependent on earnings
2. Increased energy costs by 54% (about £700 a year for average usage)
3. Inflation around 5% but often a great deal more for affordable items (see Vimes-Boots index)
4. Log wage growth
5. Record house price increases in 2022 already

So far we have around £200 deferred (but not discounted!) on energy cost and a £150 rebate on council tax if you are bands A to D. Won't touch the sides IMO.

Great reference btw

 

[WolfMan]

Can anyone help me with a question I've got re energy costs. Our fixed period is due to end in April, and we've been quoted 250 quid a month, which as far I can tell is the cheapest we'll be able to get it. It's been about 120 a month for the last few years.

We live in an average 3 bed semi, I've just seen the energy prices cap is 2k a year, I'm struggling to work out how we'll be paying about £2.5k a year. It's virtually doubled for us so a 100% increase, but I'm seeing in the news the increase is between 40-60%. Am I missing something.

 

[Alan]

Can anyone help me with a question I've got re energy costs. Our fixed period is due to end in April, and we've been quoted 250 quid a month, which as far I can tell is the cheapest we'll be able to get it. It's been about 120 a month for the last few years.

We live in an average 3 bed semi, I've just seen the energy prices cap is 2k a year, I'm struggling to work out how we'll be paying about £2.5k a year. It's virtually doubled for us so a 100% increase, but I'm seeing in the news the increase is between 40-60%. Am I missing something.

Don't suppose the UK is better than the US and you actually have more than one energy provider to choose from?

If you're as screwed as we are over here, it's kind of just tough shit. The only thing that's ever worked in those situations for me has been threatening to walk away from the SP all together. Otherwise they just run roughshod.

 

[Sniffer]

Can anyone help me with a question I've got re energy costs. Our fixed period is due to end in April, and we've been quoted 250 quid a month, which as far I can tell is the cheapest we'll be able to get it. It's been about 120 a month for the last few years.

We live in an average 3 bed semi, I've just seen the energy prices cap is 2k a year, I'm struggling to work out how we'll be paying about £2.5k a year. It's virtually doubled for us so a 100% increase, but I'm seeing in the news the increase is between 40-60%. Am I missing something.

Yes - prices rises before the latest increase. The Cap increased last Autumn too (17% Gas - 9% Electricity)

The cap isn't at £2k per year, the cap is on what they can charge you for the kilowatt hour costs. The £2k is an average household figure that they use.

I think you'll automatically go onto the capped rate.

 

[Tredman]

Can anyone help me with a question I've got re energy costs. Our fixed period is due to end in April, and we've been quoted 250 quid a month, which as far I can tell is the cheapest we'll be able to get it. It's been about 120 a month for the last few years.

We live in an average 3 bed semi, I've just seen the energy prices cap is 2k a year, I'm struggling to work out how we'll be paying about £2.5k a year. It's virtually doubled for us so a 100% increase, but I'm seeing in the news the increase is between 40-60%. Am I missing something.

The cap has increased by 54%, but unless you were a bit daft or your supplier went pop you probably were on a fix rate quite a bit under the cap.
Watch Martin Lewis on ITV tonight for advise I would say.

 

[Tredman]

Don't suppose the UK is better than the US and you actually have more than one energy provider to choose from?

If you're as screwed as we are over here, it's kind of just tough shit. The only thing that's ever worked in those situations for me has been threatening to walk away from the SP all together. Otherwise they just run roughshod.

We have a fake market with a bunch of shysters buying ‘energy’ from wholesalers and then doing nothing other than mark it up and send bills out. Total bullshit system.

 

[Alan]

Same cancer, different name. Guess I shouldn't be surprised.

 

[Tredman]

It’s literally impossible to have a free market in utilities with sensible capital expenditure. Pretending otherwise is utter nonsense.

 

[The Saturday Boy]

Can anyone help me with a question I've got re energy costs. Our fixed period is due to end in April, and we've been quoted 250 quid a month, which as far I can tell is the cheapest we'll be able to get it. It's been about 120 a month for the last few years.

We live in an average 3 bed semi, I've just seen the energy prices cap is 2k a year, I'm struggling to work out how we'll be paying about £2.5k a year. It's virtually doubled for us so a 100% increase, but I'm seeing in the news the increase is between 40-60%. Am I missing something.

The cap applies to the default variable rate - fixed rate deals will be higher because you are paying for the benefit of the fixed price. I currently pay £190 per month on a fixed rate and have been quoted £530 per month for a new fixed rate deal - I will be letting my current deal default to the variable rate.