How the Cost-of-Living Crisis is affecting us all

Times are tough right now and the cost-of-living crisis is affecting most people within the UK whilst the try and cut back on expenditure. With the rate of inflation consistently sitting above the 10% mark and predicted to sit there for some time, rising costs is a real challenge for most people at the moment. In the workplace this is compounded by insufficient wage increases that are not reflective of the rate of inflation which is resulting in a lot of industrial disputes. There is barely a day that is going by where we are not seeing strikes being announced across the UK. Whether this is railways, teacher, nurses, ambulance drivers and even the local postal worker; there is lots of striking going on whilst people are requesting better pay and conditions. Here are some of the ways the cost of rising crisis is specifically hitting people.

Food Prices

Unfortunately, one of the biggest rises we are seeing is through food prices. There have been some significant specific rises in food which is blamed not only on the local economic situation throughout the globe but the war in Ukraine (specifically around things like wheat importation). An example of the significant rise can be seen for example with a pack of butter now costing around £5 in average. These rises are hitting people hard and some of those on the lowest income are finding themselves going to food banks. In terms of how the companies are coping they are having to ensure that they are getting the cheapest imports as possible but also spend a lot on marketing, using companies like Greenseed to get their brand out there. They are using all sorts of techniques such as online, TV and social media.

Energy Prices

The government has tried to help with the cost of the energy prices by putting a cap on the cost of energy at £2,500 but this cap is soon to be increased which will see everyone have to pay more. In addition to this, local payments have been made to those most in need to help support them paying their energy bills. Unfortunately, this has not been enough for a lot of people and the amount of arrears due by people to pay their bills has hit record levels in the UK. The war in Ukraine is also seen as a significant reason the process are rising and this is only forecast to increase more throughout 2023.

Fuel Prices

The average cost to fill a family car with petrol now exceeds £100. Although there seems to be some stabilisation around this recently the cost of a litre of fuel exceeded £2 in some areas across the UK. This has then prevented a lot of people from driving and made them think more about their means of transport. This has then impacted car sales which have been a record lows, although a lot of people are now purchasing electric cars to help save in fuel costs.