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

happydenial

bouicca21 said:

I’m not badly off - but even so a bit worried.  My utility supplier was one of those that went bust. The new supplier already thinks I should increase my direct debit by 40% and that’s before the April hike in rates.  I’m a great believer in extra layers rather than turning the thermostat up, so there’s not a lot of scope for reducing energy costs.

Our utility supplier also went bust, and then in early January our new supplier decided to take £850 out of our current account. Just like that, no warning, no explanation. It seems they had received incorrect meter readings 🤯 They are due to refund us £600 - three weeks ago. Every time we phone up, we get the different excuse of why it hasn’t been paid back, from ‘I need a manager to authorise it’ to ‘your request has somehow been deleted from the system’. 

I don’t understand how they can do this without contacting you first. Luckily we can afford to live without this money at the moment - but for some, that would be their rent, their food money, it’s dreadful. 

euronorris

trying_to_stay_afloat said:

We moved to Catalonia in Spain 2 years ago and our electric has gone up by 625% since we got here. We do everything we can not to use the electric but still have horrific bills.
Re the comment about it being warmer, last year we had 1ft of snow and the last 3 weeks the mornings have been -2!!
The food is getting more expensive and although there have been attempts to start up Olio collections it's not taken off. Sadly Spain very rarely marks food down and doesn't seem to have BOGOF offers. We grow as much as we can but people here are really feeling the pinch, on a more positive note at least the sun shines most days.

Thanks for the insight. I was just clutching at straws trying to get my head round such an astronomical rise!

Floss

Unfortunately my commute costs me £4 a day even at 40 mpg, but on the bright side I'm only in the office 2 days a week.

I'm expecting my rent & council tax to rise, my broadband will be going up by £2 in April and while my dual fuel tariff is fixed until May, that will certainly go up. However I got my water bill today, and that has gone down as I must have used less over the last 12 months.

Living_proof

@Floss my water bill has also gone down so every cloud ….

Brambling

My water bill has gone down because our water company got in trouble!  

Rosa_Damascena

trying_to_stay_afloat said:

We moved to Catalonia in Spain 2 years ago and our electric has gone up by 625% since we got here. We do everything we can not to use the electric but still have horrific bills.
Re the comment about it being warmer, last year we had 1ft of snow and the last 3 weeks the mornings have been -2!!
The food is getting more expensive and although there have been attempts to start up Olio collections it's not taken off. Sadly Spain very rarely marks food down and doesn't seem to have BOGOF offers. We grow as much as we can but people here are really feeling the pinch, on a more positive note at least the sun shines most days.

That is definitely a positive note! I worked from home today (have been having to go in more often than I would have liked and quite frankly hate the commute) but the sun shone and sitting in my new living room with the sun pouring in was lovely! Not quite the hothouse experience the polycarbonate-roofed conservatory was, but the first time I've actually made use of the room. I can now hit delete on the January blues

Rosa_Damascena

Funny how my water bill is actually 1/2 what it was last time! Still doesn't compensate for the energy bill hikes though.

wondercollie

Most of December and half of January was -20 and worse.

I have a budget natural gas account, based on past usage, my yearly bill is divided by 12 and paid monthly.

My son pays monthly with no plan, usually around $100.   His last bill was $471.

His employer wants him to take a pay cut!  

FatherTireseus

Auntycaz said:

Has anyone else noticed that it is the budget brands that seem to be missing from the supermarket shelves, with only premium branded more expensive stuff on offer. And the buy one get one free offers are mostly junk food like pizzas or biscuits and cakes rather than nutritious food.

The food writer and activist Jack Monroe wrote about the steady removal of budget brands from supermarkets the other week.  I couldn't see anything which identified why this might be the case (although I can guess supermarkets are removing the lowest margin items from their shelves) but it's definitely happening.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/22/were-pricing-the-poor-out-of-food-in-the-uk-thats-why-im-launching-my-own-price-index

TheAble

FatherTireseus said:

Auntycaz said:

Has anyone else noticed that it is the budget brands that seem to be missing from the supermarket shelves, with only premium branded more expensive stuff on offer. And the buy one get one free offers are mostly junk food like pizzas or biscuits and cakes rather than nutritious food.

The food writer and activist Jack Monroe wrote about the steady removal of budget brands from supermarkets the other week.  I couldn't see anything which identified why this might be the case (although I can guess supermarkets are removing the lowest margin items from their shelves) but it's definitely happening.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/22/were-pricing-the-poor-out-of-food-in-the-uk-thats-why-im-launching-my-own-price-index

She was a bit specific though it has to be said. Yes that has happened at one major chain but you can still get pasta for 20p quite happily at others, as well as the other items she mentioned at their original prices or close enough.