How to cut your personal inflation rate

MSE_Martin

What's this all about?

The current official measure of inflation, the rate at which prices rise, is now at 3% (though it's at 4.4% under the old retail prices index system), the highest for 11 years. Yet that rate is for the UK as a whole, many people are seeing their costs rise much more quickly, others more slowly. The Office of National Statistics has launched a new free calculator allowing you to see your own rate.

What is inflation?

Inflation measures the rate at which prices increase. In other words, if inflation was at 10%, on average things costing a pound this year cost £1.10 next year (see the student loans: should i pay mine off? article for more on inflation and borrowing)

How to get the calculator

Your personal inflation rate differs from the national average, depending on what you spend. Afterall, if the things you spend on have prices rising more quickly, your inflation rate is higher. To check, follow the instructions for the Personal Inflation Calculator from the Office of National Statistics.

What can I do if my inflation rate is high?

None of us can do much about the economy as a whole (unless you're Gordon Brown or the Governor of the Bank of England) yet we can manage down the cost of what we spend. Some of the big hit inflation products are the classic MoneySaving topics - so to get your inflation rate down - read the articles and ensure you're paying as little as possible.

Inflation beating articles: Cut the cost of

Gas and Electricity
Petrol
Mortgage
Home Insurance
Train Fares
Digital TV
Car Insurance
Mobile Phones


I hope you save some money

Martin

nhp

I tried to use the calculator and just got a load of error messages, had to close it down.
Has anyone else got it working? What's missing on my PC??!!!!!!!!
Help please !!!

nearlyrich

nhp wrote:

I tried to use the calculator and just got a load of error messages, had to close it down.
Has anyone else got it working? What's missing on my PC??!!!!!!!!
Help please !!!

You might need to install the file viewer, I did, it's not a type of file I had come across before but the viewer is available on the site as a download. Hope that helps;)

Ken68

I managed to download the file viewer, but can't understand the calculator. It mentions house value immediately followed by 'depreciation figure'.
Don't houses APPreciate.
Also the pro-active info is not unlike the fuel comparison sites, so why the special viewer!!!!

curtlyb

Ken68 wrote:

I managed to download the file viewer, but can't understand the calculator. It mentions house value immediately followed by 'depreciation figure'.
Don't houses APPreciate.
Also the pro-active info is not unlike the fuel comparison sites, so why the special viewer!!!!

I think it assumes that ALL houses appreciate by the average amount depending on the area you live but then adds a depreciation value which would come into effect if it wasn't maintained or kept in good condition/ state of repair.
For Depreciation read 'the amount it hasn't increased due to lack of maintainance'