Inflation 2.2%

SquatNow

!!!!!!? wrote: »

Good to see that people are treating the government figures with the scepticism that they deserve. Anyone who thinks that the cost of living has only gone up by a little over 2% in the last year probably also thinks it's a great time to buy a house

Along that line, I've put forward a formal complaint to the ASA about Barrats Homes's latest advert, where they claim "there has never been a better time to buy a new home"... I'de urge other people to do the same.

There has never been a WORSE time to buy a new home.

!!!!!!? wrote: »

Still, maybe I'm being unreasonable in expecting to put oil in my central heating fuel tank in the winter ... or using electric lights ... or eating and drinking every day.....

Surely you're heating will run on iPods?

And Plasma TVs taste great on toast.

Poppycat

I dont believe inflation is at that amount when you consider fuel, and food have shot up in recent months

Generali

CPI isn't inflation. It's an inflation proxy used by the Bank of England as a target and was introduced as a standardised inflation target with the ECB to enable the UK to join the Euro.

The RPI is meant to be an averaged measure of inflation as is (I think) 4.1% which seems about right to me.

The retail figures for Jan make another rate cut less likely IMO.

Zammo

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7240468.stm

Hamsters have tripled in price in China. :mad:

Expect imported rodent inflation on top of everything else.

We truly are doomed..

fc123

Our retail prices are collected every month (on certain items and comparable ones) and used for the RPI index.

The very nice retired IFA bloke who collects the Data is a mine of info.
There have been all sorts of problems recently about how to apply discounts (like when Debenhams do a 25% event) and a homewares company who you buy a discount card from for 20 quid and are then entitled to 25% of everything in-store.
The data collectors aren't sure what the "real" price is that they should input into the system.
Govt. are now working it so that the discounted prices go into the Data as the actual prices (not "special offer") so the inflation figures go even lower.


PS; the London based part of the civil service that do all this are being relocated to Wales....according to the gossip....and not happy about it either.

PPS; my personal inflation rate FEELS more like 20% at the mo....no matter how much comes in....it all goes out again....and what do I have to show for it???

Zammo

fc123 wrote: »

PPS; my personal inflation rate FEELS more like 20% at the mo....no matter how much comes in....it all goes out again....and what do I have to show for it???

I know how you feel. Eight years ago I drank, smoked 20 a day, went out every Friday and Saturday and bought lots of clothes and worthless consumer tat. Now I'm on a much higher wage and I don't smoke, hardly drink and spend very little on non essentials, yet I have about the same left over at the end of the month once all the bills are paid.

Gordo is steadily making us all poorer.

ManAtHome

Generali wrote: »

CPI isn't inflation. It's an inflation proxy used by the Bank of England as a target and was introduced as a standardised inflation target with the ECB to enable the UK to join the Euro.

Is it based on the same "basket of cheese and plasma tellies" though? EU CPI is around 1% higher than ours and the pound has fallen over 10% against the euro over the last year. Are we comparing ebay cheese (UK) with Harrod's cheese (EU)?

Generali

Zammo wrote: »

I know how you feel. Eight years ago I drank, smoked 20 a day, went out every Friday and Saturday and bought lots of clothes and worthless consumer tat. Now I'm on a much higher wage and I don't smoke, hardly drink and spend very little on non essentials, yet I have about the same left over at the end of the month once all the bills are paid.

Gordo is steadily making us all poorer.

My feeling is that it is the effects of taxation you are feeling.

In the 1980s when inflation was rising but income tax falling, the Tories introduced the TPI, the tax and prices index. The idea was to measure the overall impact on changes in prices and disposable incomes. It was dropped in the end I believe. It would be interesting to see it calculated today.

I honestly don't see the RPI figures as a stitch up. Of course there are disagreements about how they should be collected - there always will be with something like that. But my feeling is that the RPI is as good a measure as we'll find for inflation and that the ONS does a good job of remaining free of Govt interference despite being put under a lot of pressure at times.

I cite the classification of the Northern Rock loans as part of the National Debt, thus blowing the Golden Rule out of the water. That must have gone down very badly in Downing Street but the ONS stuck to their guns.

granville_2

Zammo wrote: »

SNIP

Gordo is steadily making us all poorer.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, (IMO) Mr Brown has made us believe we are all getting richer when in fact we are getting more and more into debt.

SquatNow

Our basket has been fiddled with a lot using discounts and imports, but all is about to change.

With the pound tanking (due to rampant inflation) all our imports get more expensive... including those nice TFT TVs. I bought one a month ago as I'm betting prices have bottomed out.