Posts filed under 'Finances'
The BBC have reported this week that the average food bill has now increased by £15 a month for a family of four. Coming from a family of four I can completely agree with these statistics.
According to the report, a basket full of staple items costs 15% more now then it did 12 months ago, staple items would include bread, milk and tea bags. The increase in costs has not be put down to the rising food prices internationally. The price of wheat as an example has risen sharply in 2008 which has pushed up the price of wheat based products like bread. Corn prices have surged due to bad weather and flooding in the US and now farmers are having to pay more to feed their livestock which is compounding on the price of meat and dairy products.
A report by ASDA shows that although people are receiving reasonable pay rises they actually have less money each week to spend due to the increasing cost of bills. It is also evident that people are feeling the pinch as less people are paying their credit cards off in full each month. One of the problems with this is that people will be charged interest if they do not pay for purchases in full in the credit-free period. Paying part of the bill is not good enough.
A case study detailed in The Guardian found that someone had left 62p on their credit card by mistake, having paid off over £5,000 of the cost of some flights, but because there was this remaining balance he was charged £61.40 interest. Unbelievable. So make sure that you don’t over spend on your credit card so that you don’t have to worry about escalating interest charges.
One good piece of news today is that Gordon Brown may not go ahead with the 2p a litre increase in fuel duty this autumn. It isn’t confirmed yet but that would be one less thing to worry about, for now!
July 3rd, 2008
I love a bit of glitz and glamour and this time of year is a fantastic time for it. The warmer weather always seems to bring the more daring side of us out as we dare to bare a bit more flesh and wear bolder, brighter colours.
Ladies day at Ascot is one of those events that you can be as outlandish and daring as you possibly can - at least as far as hats and colours are concerned as you can see from the picture above. But I wonder just how much betting takes place at this event. Do people have much money to gamble away?
We all know about the growing cost of petrol and the decreasing value of property but now Malcom Wicks, Energy Minister, has warned that a significant increase in gas and electricity prices is ‘very likely’. He blames the increased cost of oil, gas and coal, and estimated that the increase could be as much as 40%.
The one area that seemed to buck the trend was that retail sales in May unexpectedly surged with sales up by 3.5%. According to The Times this is the fastest pace of growth since the 1986. However, this may prompt The Bank of England to raise the UK interest rate in an attempt to control inflation.
So it looks like we all need to continue to keep those belts well and truly tight, but it doesn’t mean we can’t try and enjoy ourselves at the same time. As long as we plan and budget how to spend our money carefully we should all be able to enjoy a little flutter on the horses.
June 19th, 2008
Shell and its tanker drivers have finally come to an agreement over pay and Shell have agreed to a 14% pay rise over two years according to BBC news. This should take a little bit of strain off of us drivers as Shell garages should now be back to normal with full supplies at least for the next two years.
However, there is still the very real issue of petrol prices which now stand at 118p a litre across many garages. A debt charity called Elizabeth Finn Care helps professionals who have fallen on hard times and give financial support to those that are struggling including those with long-term physical or mental illness and family breakdown. Rebecca Ward from the charity says that “The rise in the amount we have paid out in the past month is entirely to do with the increase in cost of fuel”.
Unfortunately we aren’t able to influence this but there are ways in which we can make our petrol go that bit further.
The Telegraph and car insurer swiftcover.com have come up with their top tips for driving more economically.
The top tips include:
Lightening the load - The more weight your car carries the harder it has to work, so lose any unnecessary weight. For example, remove roof racks that aren’t being used and make sure that the car doesn’t contain too much clutter.
Pressure - driving on under-inflated tyres requires more engine power so keep you tyres at their recommended pressure level.
Smooth driving - according to Swiftcover, driving smoothly and intelligently can save up to 30% on fuel consumption.
Be speed efficient - the most fuel efficient speed for driving is 55-65mph so try not to exceed this.
One of the top tips is - if you don’t need to drive then don’t! For short distances it may be worth forgetting about the car and walking instead. Not only will you save on fuel consumption but you will also feel better for the exercise. Also, driving less miles can have a positive effect on your car insurance premium so that could reduce your costs even further.
June 18th, 2008
I read a really sad article the other day that there have been some surprise victims to the current credit crunch. Apparently as people struggle to cope with the rising cost of living, pets are being abandoned.
Many animal rescue centres are reporting a huge increase in the number of pets being brought to them. Vanessa Eden, a worker at the RSPCA said “We have people bringing in their pets because they can no longer afford to pay their energy bills, let alone vet bills or pet food.” The RSPCA are reporting a 23% increase in the number of pets abandoned in 2007 compared to the previous year. The Independent reports that last year the RSPCA was forced to rescue 7,346 animals that had been abandoned by their owners. 2,621 have already been picked up in the first four months of 2008 alone.
Apparently the average cost of looking after a dog for its lifetime is nearly £10,000 which is a big expense so you have to be sure that you can commit to that when first deciding to have a pet.
People may also be deciding to abandon their pets due to the expensive vets bills but this needn’t be the case. There are some great deals on pet insurance with some policies starting from as little as £5.00 a month, the equivalent of a bottle of wine or a portion of fish and chips. So don’t give up on your pets if you are worried about pet insurance costs, shop around and you will find some great deals.
The BBC Online reported that two-thirds of cat owners said that curling up with their pets was the best way to beat stress and I remember reading reports that many people preferred spending time with their pets rather than their partners.
So as the credit crunch worsens maybe we will start to see abandoned partners too!
June 2nd, 2008
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