Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally

pennywisepoundstupid

Hi HHOD, it's worrying how fast everything is going up, it's going to be a tough time for many.
I'm glad you are enjoying your new job and i agree working with children is exhausting but it's so rewarding.
Take care xx

Sun_Addict

Good to hear from you. Glad your new job is going well. The price hikes are very worrying, I’m dreading what our gas and electricity will go up to as we’re heavy users at the best of times. Our fixed rate is just about to end unfortunately. Our mortgage fixed deal ends in June but we’ve got less than £18k left to pay so it won’t be a huge difference thankfully. 

badmemory

elizabethhull said:

Fortunately DH negotiated a 2 years fixed price energy rate that goes on until Summer 2023, as I think getting a decent price now would be impossible.
I have also noticed food prices going up, and Asda keeps stopping selling the things we've got used to having.. For example, DH, on his enforced low-fat diet, likes to have Wheaties (own brand Shreddies) and they used to do several flavours, all now gone, just the basic one

Well done to DH, there are a lot of us wish we had done that.

badmemory

Some of the price increases are really huge.  I had an energy fix until my supplier went kaput, so then I was on the Oct SVR & next will be on the April SVR.  So in 6 months my energy bill will have gone up 245%.  I'd love to know how they work out the increases because they certainly don't tie up with the ones that I'm having to pay - that's always supposing I can actually buy things.  Prune juice is just one item.  85p a couple of months ago, not seen on the shelf since at either Tesco or Asda.  Price according to the website is now £1 & they still have none on the shelf.  That is 17.5% price increase!!

Willowtree222

I’m worried too. I’ve noticed gluten free items have gone up so I’m not having things. Dreading the new fuel increase as well not sure how that will pan out. X

jwil

Glad the job is going well.  The price increases are so worrying.

beanielou

Glad too job is going well.
The price increases are   

Cherryfudge

Your first week back sounds exhausting, I'm glad you felt more energetic the following week. I find that reassuring as I've applied for a job with longer hours and was wondering how I'd manage them (should I be offered it), but I think we get used to it.

I hope the cold goes quickly.

I'm just back from the supermarket and yes, prices are definitely going up and as @badmemory says, some items just aren't there, though we aren't getting the gaps on the shelves that we saw a couple of years ago. I saw Martin had drawn attention to a forum discussion where people were sharing hints for saving energy (of course I can't find it now) and the the heated throws were mentioned. I'd not heard of them for some reason, but they would make life a lot more comfortable for people working from home, for instance. Do you know whether they cost much to run?

badmemory

You have to watch some of those things as they can cost as much as running the full heating on properly, also gas fires can be expensive to run & unlike central heating on a thermostat you land up overheating then overcooling then overheating again.  The blurb should tell you what they use.

foxgloves

Yes, @HairyHandofDartmoor, I am definitely worried about inflation generally & energy bills in particular. Our monthly energy dd increased to £119 pm last year & the amount of credit we built up showed that this was too high an increase for our usage. I'd planned to get through this winter, then request a refund & a modest dd reduction. That's not going to happen now. We are still well over £300 in credit on our energy account, but the price rises will swallow that up fairly swiftly. I have managed to cut our bills in the past by using as many little energy saving methods as I could think of, so I'll be looking at those again. On the % rises stated, our projected dd would rise to around £180 per month - an insane amount for 2 people in a modest 3 bedroom house. I am beyond grateful that we no longer have a mortgage. I do think that younger mortgage holders who have known only these flat low interest rates will not immediately realise the effects on monthly repayments of successive small interest rate rises. I didn't have a mortgage during the Thatcher years of 15 - 16% interest rates, but I do remember the succession of building society letters in the early to mid 90s, each one increasing my mortgage repayment as interest rates rose.
These are worrying times indeed. Already planning to batch cook a bit more & tighten up the grocery budget.
F x