Everything is going up in price, we all know that - partly to do with the cost of oil/gas, partly Brexit, partly pandemic related I guess. To be honest, I don't know enough (well, nothing actually) about politics, finance or world affairs to make informed comments, it doesn't interest me and my view is that it matters not to the powers that be what I think anyway, they're not going to take any notice of the likes of little old me. But I think there comes a point where you have to stand up and say NO.
Husband's car fuel costs rise every time he puts fuel in, he's always exclaiming about the price whenever he fills up (at least the fuel crisis seems to have disappeared, well here at least) - the only thing we can do about that is not make so many journeys, save up journeys until we have several things to do at once. The fact of not going to the caravan for 4 months will save a bit of fuel.
The price of our food/household supermarket shop has, I estimate, risen by about a third on this time last year. And it always seems to be the cheaper version of products that are missing off the shelves, meaning we have to buy a more expensive product, or go without. Cutting back on meat is one way I'm trying to get our food bill down a bit, but the price of fish and even vegetables is also going up and up, so it's still difficult. We had thought of not growing any produce at all next year, as we'll be spending lots of time at the caravan and won't be home to do regular watering of the produce. We're now thinking, though, of investigating which veg crops can or will survive with little watering or looking after, as it seems sensible to grow food if we can. We might also grow a few things in pots at the caravan, things like cherry tomatoes and salad leaves. As an aside, I've noticed that because of the carbon dioxide shortage, bags of salad leaves, eg, don't last 5 minutes now once they're opened. So it would be better to grow our own.
Our electricity price has gone up about 3 times in the past year - not much we can do about that, as the finance guru Martin Lewis (I can't stand him personally but he does know what he's talking about) is telling everyone not to change suppliers. I did resist our supplier's latest attempt to get me to increase the direct debit or make a one-off payment though - we're in credit so why should I give them more money? So I said NO.
And the other day we received a letter from our oil supplier (we have no gas here in the village so oil it is for our central heating and water) saying they're planning on increasing our monthly direct debit by £40, more than double! Now, we had a new boiler and associated pipework installed a couple of years ago, and it's incredibly efficient and cheap to run - we only need a delivery of oil every 18 months to 2 years. We had the tank filled about a month ago and it's still showing as full up, the needle hasn't moved at all. This refill will last us probably until 2023. So, although we have a relatively small debit balance on the account right now, it'll be back in credit within 4 or 5 months - so by the time we need to order another refill, we'll be well and truly in credit. So we've rung them and told them we are not prepared to put the direct debit up by that amount, we feel it's utterly ridiculous even taking into account how much oil prices are rising. Once again we've said NO!
Everybody wants more money off us, be it supermarkets (and their suppliers/producers), garages, domestic utilities, insurance, everything. Well, our pensions (husband's state and my private) haven't gone up by £40 a month (the domestic oil increase, never mind all the others), they've only increased by a few pounds in husband's case, and just over £1 on my private pension. So where do all these companies think we're going to get the extra money from to pay all these increases?
I know everyone wants more money to survive, but sometimes you just have to put your foot down and say NO!
It is awful…people here blame the president right now for every thing…it is the way of life especially during a Pandemic…I chuckle because last year our Social Security raised nil and this year supposed to be more…he gets no credit for anything good…it is difficult to live on fixed income…I have worked since I was fifteen…love your blog…
ReplyDeleteYes sometimes you really do just have to say no. Good for you standing up to the oil suppliers, they just want more of your money in their bank account before you even have any of their product. We used to just pay on delivery and always made sure we ordered when the price was at it's lowest.
ReplyDeleteI’ve been noticing price hikes over the past year - a little here and a little there - unfortunately when many of us are on fixed incomes some things have to be left off the shopping list.
ReplyDeleteGrowing a few veg in pots at the van sounds like a good idea Sooze. Maybe get some slow drip type of watering aids for when you’re not there - maybe have a coin jar to collect a little now and again over winter (if there’s any to spare)towards petrol for trips there and back once the park reopens.
Good for you saying no. The money is better in your bank account than theirs. xx
ReplyDeleteI think things are going up everywhere. I live in America and the prices here are rising by quite a bit - no Brexit here so can't blame that lol. I think it's a result of the pandemic or perhaps them just finding an excuse to raise prices. Either way not good for us.
ReplyDeleteI've suddenly found that by doing nothing I'm doing the right thing!
ReplyDeleteI try not to let these things bother me too much. We have to have food and heat and will have to adjust as we go along. I remember Tom's Mum sitting in her chair and moaning that milk had gone up 1d so I guess increases have always been with us. Bet that lot in Westminster aren't going short of anything.
ReplyDeleteBriony
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I put a large empty plastic bottle with the bottom cut off well down into the soil when I plant my containers of tomatoes and other summer crops. I fill with water and find that because it's well below the surface it keeps my produce from drying too much and I can safely leave them for quite a while.
ReplyDeleteI rely on weekly deliveries and the minimum order has to be worth £40. I had to add stuff for the freezer or store cupboard to reach £40 but now I find myself going through the order deleting stuff I can manage without - prices have gone up a lot!
ReplyDeleteYou can make DIY Ollas for watering - this is a link but there are many on You Tube like this one
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRiLhrY2CMc
or you can use a self watering hose system. Or possibly a good neighbour - we look after each others gardens during our hoidays.
Prices are getting beyond a joke now especially as any savings are not keeping pace because of low interest rates compared with the high cost of living.
It seems like every time I go the the grocery things have risen in price. I would like to grow more next year, but getting older and not able to crawl around on the ground is where we sit. I might try growing carrots and beets in some of our larger boxes. Same with some salad greens.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.