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The cost of living.

13

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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    oh and while we need to increase the price of alcohol to cut binge drinking guess what happened sale have gone up by 50 % as people rush out to stock up so much for cutting binge drinking people will drink none the less and fill state pockets, I know a person that as it is already, lives on an overdraft and does drink a tad more than she should, and I know very well that even if it tripled in price she would still buy it in as much quantity as before. long live the goverment any more taxes they can land on us ? or are we alright for a few months
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    yea I'm still trying to figure that one out the cost of living has increased by about 40 % in the last 6 months (80 % per year) where did they get 3 % from ?

    its calculated as the consumer price index. where did you get 40% from?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I remember when I turned 14 (the age you start paying adult prices) it was 95p to get the bus into town now it's £1.80 :eek:. I also remember getting 2 bars of chocolate, a packet of crisps and a can of pop for about £1.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I remember when a bag of Walkers was 20p, and being cross that at secondary school they were 23p. Then 25p, 28p ... now they are 38/40p a bag.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I remember when petrol was 54p/litre :eek:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Pretty much I think. Our vending machine at work sells them for 20p though :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    minimi38 wrote: »
    its calculated as the consumer price index. where did you get 40% from?

    erm my food my gas and electric let me see the only things that have not increased by up to 60 % are council tax and petrol so it averages out at about 40 %.

    6 months ago a pack of biscuits was 29p not its 36p so go figure that was in six months so at the rate of one year ? 40 % may not be accurate but its certainly miles over the 3 % the gov rekons it is its at least 20 % let me see 7 times what the goverment rekons hm
  • JsTJsT Posts: 18,268 Skive's The Limit
    Seen diesel today going for 119p a litre! Utter violation!

    I remember a can of Coke etc being 45p - its not 65ish minimum :(
  • BunnieBunnie Posts: 6,099 Master Poster
    JsT wrote: »
    Seen diesel today going for 119p a litre! Utter violation!

    I remember a can of Coke etc being 45p - its not 65ish minimum :(

    I can remember 35p and the little ones from woolies at 15p each

    Houses are ridiculous, mum sold our huge house in Gloucester for 45k and bought one in Otley for 75k! - that was only 10 years ago
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    RIGHT!!! :mad: They've reduced the size of the big bars of Dairy Milk from 250g to 230g but kept the price the same. Bastards.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    erm my food my gas and electric let me see the only things that have not increased by up to 60 % are council tax and petrol so it averages out at about 40 %.

    6 months ago a pack of biscuits was 29p not its 36p so go figure that was in six months so at the rate of one year ? 40 % may not be accurate but its certainly miles over the 3 % the gov rekons it is its at least 20 % let me see 7 times what the goverment rekons hm

    Key concepts to understand when discussing the cost of living:

    mean
    real
    nominal
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    minimi38 wrote: »
    Key concepts to understand when discussing the cost of living:

    mean
    real
    nominal

    you can use all the terms you like you can calculate it any way you like at the end of the day, if those things I normally use/buy (food power or goods) increase in pice they increase, I don't care if fuel goes up by 60 % but a tv I will never buy has gone down in price. the things I personally buy and use to live have gone up in price substantially they may be different from what others use and buy but I think on the whole essentail things like food and power have gone up
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Not sure how the hell your energy prices have gone up by 40%, given that the top price rise has been 15% (British Gas) and that was based on a 5% cut from this time last year...

    My fuel bill last year was about £50/month. This year its about £55/month. It certainly hasn't gone up to £75/month.

    As for food, last year I paid about 65p for a loaf of bread. This year its about 70p. Last year I paid about 40p for a 500g bag of pasta. This year its about 45p.

    The RPI is more than what you eat. Essential items are more than food. The price of your clothes has dropped hugely in real terms.

    Regardless of what increases have occurred (that's life folks) it isn't 40%. But then I wouldn't expect you to be have the time to count that, what with the nasty DWP making you sign on every two weeks and actually look for work.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kermit wrote: »
    Not sure how the hell your energy prices have gone up by 40%, given that the top price rise has been 15% (British Gas) and that was based on a 5% cut from this time last year...

    My fuel bill last year was about £50/month. This year its about £55/month. It certainly hasn't gone up to £75/month.

    As for food, last year I paid about 65p for a loaf of bread. This year its about 70p. Last year I paid about 40p for a 500g bag of pasta. This year its about 45p.

    The RPI is more than what you eat. Essential items are more than food. The price of your clothes has dropped hugely in real terms.

    Regardless of what increases have occurred (that's life folks) it isn't 40%. But then I wouldn't expect you to be have the time to count that, what with the nasty DWP making you sign on every two weeks and actually look for work.

    british gas raised the price by about 50-60 % I got two bills from them the first was 4.2 p a KW the second bill had two rates on it the second rate being 6.somthing p per KW you can do maths can't you. I was i the process of switching to eon (nothing to do with prices) they wrote to me and the gas price went to the same as BG and electric went from 16 p/KW to 23 p/KW YOU CAN USE A CALCULATOR CAN YOU ? YOU DO KNOW HOW TO CALCULATE PERCENTAGES DON'T YOU ?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    oh and i don't buy clothes every day bread the bread I get was 29p now the same bread is 37p and thats in 6 month so at this rate in another six months it will be 45p at the same inflation rate
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    christ. its an average, an index, a measure for people as a whole not individually. you may not buy a lot of clothes but most people do hence clothes and a shit load of things not relevant to you are included in the main price indicies
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I need fuel and food daily cloths not so much but yea you can get cloths cheap I got a pair of jeans in tescos for 3 £ of course they look like they need replacing after only 3 months and 3 washs,

    yes I bought a camera at a lower price than 1 year ago but thats because electronics devalues as the newer models are released (and a newer model has been released)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Which clothes are cheaper?!?!?! Primark? Asda? Tesco? Clothes I buy from those places usually last a couple of wears and one, (two or three if im lucky) washes.
    Doesn't end up being much cheaper when you have to keep buying more (but thats how the shops like it and make so much money) and it doesn't do the environment much good either.

    The not such low end shops, topshop..... must be about 40% more expensive than afew years ago at least. H&M has certainly gone up. I used to love mango, then suddenly everything was at least £10 more. Same goes for most those types of shops.

    Non chain shops..... even more expensive again.

    I love charity and retro shops, but you're not always likely to find what you need, and with people buying so much cheap crap the quality of clothes in those shops has definately gone down.

    So, i do not believe clothes are cheaper in the slightest.

    Rant over.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I rest my case
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If you had honest masters (oxymoron ?), then money supply figures M4 and M0 would be good indicators for the cost of living and any increase thereof.

    However those figures are subject to manipulation, and I suspect that manipulation will continue to accelerate in the near future.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think the general cost of inflation is a fair bit higher than the RPI of 4% and I don't think many people would disagree. The RPI is subject to manipulation because of how it is worked out- the figures can be massaged by changing the "average items" that they use to calculate it.

    For the lowest earners their personal inflation rate will be higher as they spend more of their money on essential items such as food, rent and energy (although in most of the country rent has been steadily decreasing for the last two years- the flat I lived in two years ago cost me £450pcm, now it costs £350pcm, and its the same across the city).

    For the highest earners their personal inflation rate will be lower- they spend a smaller percentage of their money on energy and food.

    That's life, innit.

    As for clothes, you must be really unlucky if everything you buy from lower-end stores lasts two washes. The Primark jumper and Asda jeans I'm wearing today I've had for about two years...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The only thing I've noticed is a rise in the price of fuel. I've stopped driving as much as a result.

    I pay utility bills by direct debit and I've noticed the water bill for the next 12 months is £2 a month more expensive.

    The food we buy hasn't gone up. We get our veg from a woman who buys it at the farmer's market once a week and the rest we get in Asda and take advantage of all their offers (3 loaves for x amount etc) and we also take advantage of having two freezers!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kermit wrote: »

    As for clothes, you must be really unlucky if everything you buy from lower-end stores lasts two washes. The Primark jumper and Asda jeans I'm wearing today I've had for about two years...

    Sounds to me like you're really lucky. I have the odd item that's lasted, but nearly every top i've bought from primark has lost all it's shape after a couple of wears or a wash. At least 7 tops have had loose threads start pulling out within the first wear. I had a necklace that broke before i even managed to put it on, and one of the matching earrings broke later that day. My friend bought a bag, took it out the same night, strap broke really early on.
    Bought a top from asda once, shape lost after one wear.

    Why the heck do i still go there?! Because i'm too poor to afford anything more expensive and i keep hoping the next top will last.
    At least one positive thing for when i'm not a student anymore will be that i'll be able to buy some half decent clothes.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kermit wrote: »
    As for clothes, you must be really unlucky if everything you buy from lower-end stores lasts two washes. The Primark jumper and Asda jeans I'm wearing today I've had for about two years...

    I am realy hard on clothes cos of the environment i live in ...cliffs beaches forrests etc. My way of life is usualy a pretty scruffy one ...thats when i'm happiest ...like a pig in shit. I buy jeans and cargo pants from Asda ...they last and last.
    Last night i was clean shaven and all clean and tidy having friends over for the evening ...these kind of clothes my missus buys me else i'd just be a permanent bum. I don't ask what they cost but i'd bet my best pair of jeans were less than £25 ...my top a tenner. My wife is brill with money.
    The most important thing clothes wise to us ...is that neither of us give a hoot about the latest or the label ...we have friends and family struggling each month financialy ...cos they go to the shops in £200 quids worth of clothes. Fools.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I used to receive samples from china, samples of items described as being very high quality bla bla bnla would arrive already falling to peices and these were the samples.

    oh and do you know how much a t-shirt from china costs ? just 12p for the crap ones the good quality ones probanly about 1 £ so you go figure how much money SOMEBODY in the importation chain makes on these items
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    oh and do you know how much a t-shirt from china costs ? just 12p for the crap ones the good quality ones probanly about 1 £ so you go figure how much money SOMEBODY in the importation chain makes on these items

    Wheres the problem with people earning a crust or four million?
    You seem to be upset that people are making money.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Remember a couple of pages back about how potatoes have increased?
    Weeeeell in Tesco 2 weeks ago a 4 pack of baking potatoes was 55p (before xmas they were 50p), and I bought some on Saturday and they are now 73p!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Wheres the problem with people earning a crust or four million?
    You seem to be upset that people are making money.

    I'm not upset that they make money, but that they make it on rubbish, or that they choose cheaper origins but at the cost of leaving their own countrymen/women out of work, from what I see most people on here have a job well I can tell you how hard it is to get a job nowadays, and its purely a case of numbers nothing to do with qualifications I went for a position involving electronics for which I have a diploma but of course they were interveiwing about 150 people mostly perfectly qualified
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I went for a position involving electronics for which I have a diploma but of course they were interveiwing about 150 people mostly perfectly qualified
    This is a problem i see mushrooming. To many people in adult education all learning the same things.
    Having an uneducated mob unemployed is bad enough but ...when we get to the point ...and we will ...of having an educated mob ...things are going to burn.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    This is a problem i see mushrooming. To many people in adult education all learning the same things.
    Having an uneducated mob unemployed is bad enough but ...when we get to the point ...and we will ...of having an educated mob ...things are going to burn.

    well let me see, I am qualified / capable in:

    Electronics,
    house wiring,
    Computers,
    photography,
    offset printing,
    general mechanics,
    fully fluent in Italian,
    some mild plumbing,
    Tree prunning,
    learning anything new,
    I'm ideal as an aprentice

    does any of that get me a job ? nope

    its either a case of too many applicants for layman jobs or higher level jobs, or they want me to have hit on a full degree in just the right one of those things, or that the job is totaly mis represented as a manager is no longer capable of describing the requirements and what the job is really about hence alot of my time is wasted
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