It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

t14cy_t

council tax will go up £10 a month from next month and combined gas and electricity up another £66 per month. wow. just wow. 

Florenceem

At this rate Mr F won't be able to retire even though he is 70 in April.

euronorris

Our council tax is actually only going up by £5pm this year. I was expecting far worse as we've had high rises for the last few years and with inflation etc, I expected this year to be worse. Thankfully not. Energy though.....honestly terrifying. Going up so much. If it increases by the new predictions, then I don't see how the government can avoid stepping in further. People can't magic the extra money out of thin air.

poppy811

Every yearly bill is coming through as an increase.  The increase in my pension certainly won’t cover it.  Need to look at reducing food and fuel etc.  I will need to stop the odd lunch out with friends and make it a coffee instead.  Trying hard to reduce my electricity but am already a low user but house is heated by oil, no gas in the village so will relay even more on the woodburner 

Ms_W

London_1 said:

Yesterday on TV a chap was saying that with the war in Ukraine and rising energy costs its likely that the cost of living may be rising to 10% by the Autumn. 
So a lot of people will really be feeling the pinch I shall dig out my online Misers cook book that I started a good few years ago now and see what other recipes I can find to streetch the food stuffs out with) a few of you on here may remember it as I sent it to a good few of you.Its got a lot of things in it that had had tried myself ,also stuff that some of you on here sent to me its been invaluble at times and anything that helps a little to streetch the budget I shall be happy with.

JackieO xx

Hello, could anybody please forward the recipes to me or tell me how I may get them. Looking for super cheap teas to make. Thank you

joedenise

Just got my council tax bill and will be going up by £5 a month so not as bad as I expected to be honest.  Still no idea how much gas and electric will be going up but know I'm not paying enough at the moment but better in my bank account than theirs!  My annual review is due in May so no doubt what they tell me it will be in April will go up again in May!  Currently paying £85 a month so expecting that to go up to at least £125 if not more.  Definitely going to have to cut back somewhere.

When we get the £150 CT rebate I think it will be paid straight to the gas and electric company to hopefully reduce the monthly amount needed.

Greenqueen_2

Do check your fuel figures.  Like you, we have been paying £88 per month for gas and electric. I was expecting the rise to reach around £100-£120.  It came as £302 !!!!!!!!

nannygladys

JackieO - I was also one who had your book, but my laptop gave up the ghost and it disappeared, but there were lots of lovely recipes.

Up to a few months ago I was really looking forwards to things, managing my finances, planning my future, being frugal etc and now I feel as if I have had the rug pulled from under me completely taken and burnt. With all the bills going up, the threats of more increases and the all the awful things happening in the Ukraine I'm not sure how I feel anymore. I know what I receive at the moment won't cover everything, and difficult times are about to really kick in for me.
Nannyg

EssexHebridean

Greenqueen_2 said:

Do check your fuel figures.  Like you, we have been paying £88 per month for gas and electric. I was expecting the rise to reach around £100-£120.  It came as £302 !!!!!!!!

If your £88 DD has been covering your use, and you’re on a standard variable tariff, then there’s no logical reason for THAT much of a increase. I worked through ours last night and our £70 electricity DD (which we’ve maintained a slight level of credit on) will need an extra £35 a month thrown at it. (Our gas one is tiny to the extent of being almost irrelevant in the grand scheme of things - £9 a month - that may need to increase by a pound at some stage later in the year.) 

If that £302 figure is based on an estimate from your energy company, then they may be estimating including far higher heating use thanks to a combination of a very long cold winter and lockdown last year - it would be reasonable to contact them and point out that last winter was by no means “usual” and you’d like them to re-forecast. If you have figures for use from a pre-covid year then perhaps give them those as a guideline of what you expect to use. 

I do agree that everyone should calculate what they expect to pay going forward though.  Unpleasant the answers might be, but it IS better to know, and be able to plan accordingly.

Floss

joedenise said:

When we get the £150 CT rebate I think it will be paid straight to the gas and electric company to hopefully reduce the monthly amount needed.

Check your council's website - I know mine still haven't had direction from Westminster as to how this will be applied, and it may well be knocked off your 2022/23 CT rather than given as a £150 rebate.