Energy Prices (Strictly NO referrals!)

[Foghorn Leghorn]

As unfortunate as the situation is, some people only have themselves to blame. Anyone who is earning OK money should have been saving over the years for a rainy day instead of blowing it on rubbish.
The day of reckoning was always going to come, and it's now coming fast. We're seeing the same types of people behaviour we saw in the 80's and 90's, and whether we see mass home repossessions remains to be seen, but highly likely.

I certainly wouldn't want lots of financial commitments over the next few years. The 20% predicted cap increase scheduled for October is going to be woefully under based on price rises this week, there were a couple of reports yesterday suggesting 40-50% would be more likely.

 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

I feel it has to come.
It's going to be the people who bought on 5 percent mortgages during the pandemic who took out short 2 year fixes that suffer.

Surely prices have to come down? A correction of as much as 20 percent still wouldn't drag this house down to what it was when bought in 2020.

I can't see it not happening.

And they are talking of loosening restrictions on earnings for mortgages! Crazy really. I think current levels are just right.

I'd be very surprised if there was a significant dip in house values, prices may stagnate in some areas for a while, maybe a dip of 5% or more in some areas but I'd be amazed if it was anything like 20%.

 

[Retro6]

As unfortunate as the situation is, some people only have themselves to blame. Anyone who is earning OK money should have been saving over the years for a rainy day instead of blowing it on rubbish.
The day of reckoning was always going to come, and it's now coming fast. We're seeing the same types of people behaviour we saw in the 80's and 90's, and whether we see mass home repossessions remains to be seen, but highly likely.

I have invested in quite a bit plus I've saved money so no matter what happens I'll be able to keep a roof over my head for a few years at least even if I lost my job this being worst case scenario.

 

[wingman]

I certainly wouldn't want lots of financial commitments over the next few years.

It's one of the reasons I'm running an older, paid off car, as I'm concerned with the entire market right now. I really do fancy something newer but difficult to know what to buy.

 

[Freefaller]

It's one of the reasons I'm running an older, paid off car, as I'm concerned with the entire market right now. I really do fancy something newer but difficult to know what to buy.

Yes we've scaled back significantly (saving over £200 per month) - we were going to do an extension but I think we'll delay it, we have 3 years for the planning so we'll just have to hope that things settle down in time.

 

[Purgatory]

I'm horrified by the new estimates on my electric and gas bill, it finally came today from EON Next, almost had a meltdown but remembered this from last night.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1499436078733967360

I hope it gives some of you in the same boat some peace and why it's worth it for now and until the world is in a better place and things get back to normal.

 

[adam cool dude]

Yes we've scaled back significantly (saving over £200 per month) - we were going to do an extension but I think we'll delay it, we have 3 years for the planning so we'll just have to hope that things settle down in time.

I cancelled Disney plus, sky, bt sport, Spotify and Netflix. Saved myself a good £100 a month. YouTube will have to suffice and good old VPN . My commute to work has also halved so that extra £150 a month on energy will be soaked up by those.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

How many people talking about high bills can honestly say they have 300+mm of loft insulation at the moment?

 

[Zenduri]

I cancelled Disney plus, sky, bt sport, Spotify and Netflix. Saved myself a good £100 a month. YouTube will have to suffice and good old VPN . My commute to work has also halved so that extra £150 a month on energy will be soaked up by those.

Dont forget to renegotiate broadband and phone contracts if you are in a position to do so.

I refixed my broadband for another 18 months, was speaking to a friend who hadnt done his in 9 years and just let it run form when the original contract ended. He was paying 95 a month for his tv and broadband package. i coached him how to deal with virgin media retentions team and he locked in for 18 months at 60 a month. As i said to him, he had prob thrown away £3k by not renegotiating at the end of each fixed contract

Edit: Also to anyone who lives alone and doesnt have a water meter, enquire with your water provider about sole occupency water rates. I asked for a water meter as i was paying £35 a month on water for my house. They couldnt install a water meter in the street as its a shared water supply but they put me on a single occupency water rate with is £12 a month.... 8 years i had been paying £30 odd quid a month rather than just over a tenner

 

[Puzzled]

I'm horrified by the new estimates on my electric and gas bill, it finally came today from EON Next, almost had a meltdown but remembered this from last night.

I hope it gives some of you in the same boat some peace and why it's worth it for now and until the world is in a better place and things get back to normal.

The price increases we are seeing at the moment aren't due to the war in Ukraine, we still have those to come later in the year (October).

 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

How many people talking about high bills can honestly say they have 300+mm of loft insulation at the moment?

OOh! Ooh! Me! Me!

I know it has as I did it myself, and under all my suspended floors and cavity walls too.

Gives self gold star

 

[Purgatory]

The price increases we are seeing at the moment aren't due to the Ukraine conflict, we still have those to come later in the year (October).

I know mate, but we all know what's coming because of this mess with this war. Everything will soon be not normal prices because of this and other factors in the world. As you said later in the year this mess will add to our power bills again.

 

[Freefaller]

I cancelled Disney plus, sky, bt sport, Spotify and Netflix. Saved myself a good £100 a month. YouTube will have to suffice and good old VPN . My commute to work has also halved so that extra £150 a month on energy will be soaked up by those.

It's amazing how much you can save when you really make an effort. Took so much of the stuff at home for granted, leaving stuff on etc... But this has been a bit of a wake up call for us. sure, we can probably afford it, but why wouldn't you try and save?

 

[Haggisman]

As unfortunate as the situation is, some people only have themselves to blame. Anyone who is earning OK money should have been saving over the years for a rainy day instead of blowing it on rubbish.
The day of reckoning was always going to come, and it's now coming fast. We're seeing the same types of people behaviour we saw in the 80's and 90's, and whether we see mass home repossessions remains to be seen, but highly likely.

Yes, this is excellent advice - the only problem here is how much of a buffer do you need to have built to cope with your outgoings increasing by 50-100% over the space of a few months with no/little increase in income? This isn't a one-off having to pay for a new boiler/car repair etc. which you can pay off and then build your savings back up, it's ongoing and it's not just energy prices which are increasing.

Over a 12 month period:

My car insurance has doubled
My energy bills will be increasing by 127% next month
Petrol/diesel is now ~20% higher than this time last year
Mobile, internet, TV etc. have all increased by ~10% (e.g. the max allowable before they have to allow you out of your contract)
Council tax is going up again by 3%
NI is going up to 13.25%
Food costs have increased by 5-10% and based on knock on effects from the above, I expect them to go up quite a bit more.

Then there are knock on effects from all of the above, e.g. businesses will start charging more because their costs have also increased.
I fully expect our childminder to increase her rates by 5-10% because obviously her costs are going to be going up.

I estimate our outgoings have already increased by £4-500/month since this time last year, with a payrise a fraction of that.

Come October, I fully expect that to be more like £6-700 - how many families on low or even middling incomes do you think can sustain that for any length of time?

 

[Surveyor]

Edit: Also to anyone who lives alone and doesnt have a water meter, enquire with your water provider about sole occupency water rates. I asked for a water meter as i was paying £35 a month on water for my house. They couldnt install a water meter in the street as its a shared water supply but they put me on a single occupency water rate with is £12 a month.... 8 years i had been paying £30 odd quid a month rather than just over a tenner

As you've realised you have to ask for a water meter first and only if one can't be fitted can you go onto a single occupancy rate. Also, not all water suppliers offer a single occupancy rate.

 

[wingman]

I cancelled Disney plus, sky, bt sport, Spotify and Netflix. Saved myself a good £100 a month. YouTube will have to suffice and good old VPN . My commute to work has also halved so that extra £150 a month on energy will be soaked up by those.

I'm subscribed to a silly number of services but genuinely can't see me getting shot of NetFlix, Spotify, or YouTube. Sure, the rest can go though.

 

[Zenduri]

As you've realised you have to ask for a water meter first and only if one can't be fitted can you go onto a single occupancy rate. Also, not all water suppliers offer a single occupancy rate.

Yeah but if it helps 1 person its better than nothing

 

[Retro6]

It is quite concerning because its not just energy prices going up but everything in general like food, broadband, clothing, water and wages not getting any higher. My broadband is nearly 50 quid a month and that is just for internet.I'm with Virgin Media and at some point I will need to find an alternative if I can leave Virgin Media problem free.

It wont be long until people start living in there cars and all housing will be for the wealthy. We'll all be living in tiny pods in the future.

There is a saying... What we have now will be a luxury tomorrow. Make the most of things. There is so much we take for granted and we don't know what we have until its gone.

One thing I want to point out is how much waste there is, Energy being wasted "not by households" and masses of unsold food being wasted by grocery stores, electrical goods and other things. Also this country seems to be giving almost all of its charity to other countries rather than helping there own citizens.

 

[Diagro]

Many are cutting back though as commercial energy supply isn't covered by the price cap.

For some businesses the cost of energy is having a huge impact and will lead to further price increases on their goods.

Yup,

Even so, some don't have a clue

 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

It is quite concerning because its not just energy prices going up but everything in general like food, broadband, clothing, water and wages not getting any higher. My broadband is nearly 50 quid a month and that is just for internet.I'm with Virgin Media and at some point I will need to find an alternative if I can leave Virgin Media problem free.

It wont be long until people start living in there cars and all housing will be for the wealthy. We'll all be living in tiny pods in the future.

There is a saying... What we have now will be a luxury tomorrow. Make the most of things. There is so much we take for granted and we don't know what we have until its gone.

One thing I want to point out is how much waste there is, Energy being wasted "not by households" and masses of unsold food being wasted by grocery stores, electrical goods and other things. Also this country seems to be giving almost all of its charity to other countries rather than helping there own citizens.

Certainly is, local Shell garage has put regular diesel up to 168.9 this morning, oof!