Genie Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Inflation rises unexpectedly from 10.1% to 10.4%, driven by the cost of vegetables, driven by shortages, driven by Brexit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 5 minutes ago, Genie said: Inflation rises unexpectedly from 10.1% to 10.4%, driven by the cost of vegetables, driven by shortages, driven by Brexit. Whoever saw that coming? Brexits been so good for us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 I think anyone that has done any food shopping in last few weeks would not be surprised. Food prices are going up monthly at the moment, it is crazy. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VILLAMARV Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Just a few words on the council tax hike debate on the last page and the ever worsening of services. Always worth remembering they got handed a non profit wing of the NHS to magic up some way of paying for. Unless that changes any time soon get used to bigger bills and less 'visible' benefit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted March 23, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted March 23, 2023 30 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said: I think anyone that has done any food shopping in last few weeks would not be surprised. Food prices are going up monthly at the moment, it is crazy. And you have to question why. The price of fuel isn't going up. The energy hit has been taken, wage rises have been demanded. I know there will be residual issues still coming through but it really shouldn't be still increasing so significantly at this point surely? So much for Sunak halving it. He's just going to keep trotting that line out till nature takes it's course. Don't suppose any journalist will actually ask him what he's personally done to achieve that when it does finally happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, sidcow said: And you have to question why. The price of fuel isn't going up. The energy hit has been taken, wage rises have been demanded. I know there will be residual issues still coming through but it really shouldn't be still increasing so significantly at this point surely? So much for Sunak halving it. He's just going to keep trotting that line out till nature takes it's course. Don't suppose any journalist will actually ask him what he's personally done to achieve that when it does finally happen. Well food supply chains are complex so prices take a while to cascade downwards but the increases have no sign of let off. Dairy and meat I reckon have probably had about a 30-40% hike in the last year so even if you move down from best to better, or better to good, you are still probably paying more than a year ago for an inferior product. There is an argument that we need to eat less of this stuff for global warming but fruit and veg has shot up as well. Food prices are increasing more than restaurant prices at the moment which either suggest that they are taking a massive hit or wholesale is a lot lower price. Edited March 23, 2023 by The Fun Factory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 (edited) 21 minutes ago, sidcow said: So much for Sunak halving it. He's just going to keep trotting that line out till nature takes it's course. Don't suppose any journalist will actually ask him what he's personally done to achieve that when it does finally happen. Yes, it’ll quickly switch from “out of his hands” to “I fixed it like I said I would” when it eventually comes down. Edited March 23, 2023 by Genie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 We were very lucky to get an inflation matching payrise last year. Usually we get pay rises in June/July time and about now the first talk about what is important to people terms, conditions, that kind of stuff. Given inflation is still absolutely rampant it’s no surprise it’s still very quiet. Last year was a hit to the bottom line, another 8-10% payrise would be impossible imo. Maybe there will eventually be something later in the year like the NHS has (under inflation rise plus a bit of a lump sum). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craigyh74 Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 1 minute ago, Genie said: Oh joy that's my mortgage rate up to 7.73% now. The joys of being a Mortgage Prisoner and being told by normal High St lenders that I can't afford to pay mortgage rates of 5% 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PussEKatt Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Well,looking on the bright side.Im glad I owne my house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osmark86 Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Using interest rates to curb inflation might have been an effective thing in the past, but when we've had near 0% interest rate markets for 15+ years causing a housing bubble this is a recipe for kicking regular people in the nads. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davkaus Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 19 minutes ago, PussEKatt said: Well,looking on the bright side.Im glad I owne my house. ?! Good for you mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 11 minutes ago, osmark86 said: Using interest rates to curb inflation might have been an effective thing in the past, but when we've had near 0% interest rate markets for 15+ years causing a housing bubble this is a recipe for kicking regular people in the nads. If inflation was being driven by clothing, holidays, TVs, phones etc then I could see why interest rates would be the way to go. As it’s being driven by basic food, heat, electricity and petrol I don’t see how it’s going to help much. Inflation will more than likely come down later in the year regardless of interest rates. Maybe next year they’ll be slashing interest rates again to stimulate the economy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Hmmm my fixed rate is due to finish soon. Helpfully, my mortgage provider has informed me that as I have less than 2 years remaining, I can’t have a fixed deal as the minimum term is 2 years. So they suggested they’ll be putting me on the standard monthly variable to see out the last 20 months. I suggested I’d be shopping around elsewhere if that was the best they could offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted March 23, 2023 Moderator Share Posted March 23, 2023 42 minutes ago, Genie said: If inflation was being driven by clothing, holidays, TVs, phones etc then I could see why interest rates would be the way to go. As it’s being driven by basic food, heat, electricity and petrol I don’t see how it’s going to help much. Inflation will more than likely come down later in the year regardless of interest rates. Maybe next year they’ll be slashing interest rates again to stimulate the economy. The normal logic is that if interest rates rise, borrowing is more costly and saving is more rewarding, so the incentives are for people to spend less and save more, which means demand for goods and services drops and when demand drops then prices fall and inflation falls. As you say, though when the inflation is caused by an inadequate supply of essentials like food items and fuel for heating and travelling to work people can't easily reduce their consumption of those things, so the impact on inflation will be lower. And then higher interest rates increase mortgage costs and thus add to inflation (unless accompanied by house prices falling, perhaps). The tool of interest rates is not nearly enough to solve the problems. Prices being 10%+ higher than they were a year ago, isn't going to be addressed by higher interest rates, it needs commodity prices to fall - that's the "fix". So the UK should be concentrating much more on how we get lower lecky, gas, petrol, food prices over the long term. The current model is completely broken. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 3 minutes ago, chrisp65 said: Hmmm my fixed rate is due to finish soon. Helpfully, my mortgage provider has informed me that as I have less than 2 years remaining, I can’t have a fixed deal as the minimum term is 2 years. So they suggested they’ll be putting me on the standard monthly variable to see out the last 20 months. I suggested I’d be shopping around elsewhere if that was the best they could offer. Surely you decide how long you have left? You could just structure the remaining balance over as many years as you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted March 23, 2023 Moderator Share Posted March 23, 2023 2 minutes ago, chrisp65 said: Hmmm my fixed rate is due to finish soon. Helpfully, my mortgage provider has informed me that as I have less than 2 years remaining, I can’t have a fixed deal as the minimum term is 2 years. So they suggested they’ll be putting me on the standard monthly variable to see out the last 20 months. I suggested I’d be shopping around elsewhere if that was the best they could offer. Towards the end of mine, perhaps a slightly longer time frame than yours (probably I had 5 years left-ish), but otherwise similar situation, I started overpaying - every spare penny basically. And then every overpayment lowered the amount due on the next one and so on and so forth, which was the most cost effective way of reducing the amount paid to the mortgage company. It ended up with payments each month of just a few quid. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted March 23, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted March 23, 2023 4 minutes ago, blandy said: Towards the end of mine, perhaps a slightly longer time frame than yours (probably I had 5 years left-ish), but otherwise similar situation, I started overpaying - every spare penny basically. And then every overpayment lowered the amount due on the next one and so on and so forth, which was the most cost effective way of reducing the amount paid to the mortgage company. It ended up with payments each month of just a few quid. Compound interest is a beautiful thing if you can overpay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted March 23, 2023 Moderator Share Posted March 23, 2023 2 minutes ago, sidcow said: Compound interest is a beautiful thing if you can overpay. Not half. As a motivator, I made a spreadsheet with a comparison calc of "how much will I pay if I run to the end of the mortgage at the current payment level and interest rate" v each time I overpaid, how much that total reduced by, and it was massive - like (I can't remember the numbers, but...) £275 quid for another 60 months at 5% = x amount total, but £500/mth = a couple of grand less total, plus a couple of years early finish (and therefore another 275 x24 = £6K + in monthly payments no longer needed (or whatever the numbers were) - total saving of 8 grand or so, I think, just for paying 225 extra for a few years. There's probably online things you can work it out on, these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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