The true inflation rate is closer to 10 per cent than five, and may even be higher

Linton

Stompa wrote: »

Indeed, if I had to guess I'd say it was less than 5%.

Agreed. As with all these mail/telegraph/express shock horror stories it is all anecdote and no real evidence.

I personally do have evidence in that I have recorded my expenditure on "basics" - eg food, insurance, utilities for the past 10 years. It has not significantly changed during that whole period.

Some things have obviously increased - food, gas. Others have decreased such as insurance, clothing and telephone.

chucky

Malcolm. wrote: »

Which is another reason why house prices will not crash. Physical (long term appreciating) assets act as a hedge against future inflation. It woulld take a severe blow to disposable income and numbers in employment to see the crashes of the scale many on here predicted.

the same people that are expecting inflation are the same ones expecting house prices to crash. it doesn't really make sense.

robin_banks

amcluesent wrote: »

The painful truth is that the price of just about everything under the heading of middle-class discretionary spending — as well as many daily necessities — is rising at well in excess of the official Retail Price Index inflation figure of 5 per cent

"I’d guess the true middle-class inflation rate is closer to 10 per cent than five, and may even be higher. If you don’t believe me, start with the basics and scrutinise your grocery bills.

So it has dawned on most of us that we have considerably less real money to spend today than we did before the onset of the financial crisis — real, that is, in inflation-adjusted, after-tax terms.

We know that the middle classes have to bear the brunt of fiscal adjustment. We’ve been braced for that since long before the general election — since it became blindingly apparent that Gordon Brown had lost control of the public finances, in fact.

But we didn’t bargain for a punitive bout of inflation on top."

The destruction of the Middle Classes commences

"Mummy, will I ever know anything other than grim, grey, grinding austerity?"

Middle class mums giving up Granola for Frosties shock.

tuggy12

Generali wrote: »

Imagine, £13.40 for 1kg of granola.

Is granola that stuff that looks like squirrel !!!!!!?

amcluesent

>Is granola that stuff that looks like squirrel !!!!!!?<

I guess. It's OK if you cover with organic Greek yoghurt though, I make my own as shop bought granola is too high in sugar and fat

robin_banks

tuggy12 wrote: »

Is granola that stuff that looks like squirrel !!!!!!?

I've made my own in the past, a doddle.

You can ad squirrel $h!t. Make sure they're dried though, a bit of cinnamon makes it no end better.

HTH.

Really2

marklv wrote: »

I'm sure this isn't true. Nowhere in Europe is as expensive as London for public transport and housing costs.

Most expensive cities in Europe (Global rank in brackets)

1. Switzerland, Geneva (3)

2. Norway, Oslo (5)

3. Switzerland, Zurich (6)

4. Denmark, Copenhagen (7)

5. Liechtenstein, Vaduz (8)

6. Russia, Moscow (9)

7. France, Paris (10)

8. Monaco, Monaco (12)

9. United Kingdom, London (14)

10. Austria, Vienna (16)
http://ezinearticles.com/?Europe---Cost-of-Living-2010&id=4565069

You have to look at all costs not just 2, once you move you cant go back to london for a mcdonalds etc.

Generali

A couple of years ago London was number 1.

andykn

Stompa wrote: »

Indeed, if I had to guess I'd say it was less than 5%.

Yes, the last time The Daily Telegraph tried this rubbish they had to include school fees.

The very nature of average figures is some will be higher and some lower, so it's not difficult to pick people who are disproportionately affected by the stuff rising above average.

Either the Govt had been lying for years about inflation (which would then mean that petrol was 10p a litre in 1997) or some people win and some lose.

tuggy12

There's a nifty little inflation calulator on the B of E website:-

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/inflation/calculator/flash/index.htm