Gas and electricity rip off bills rising!

[Gray]

Just been de-bagged to the tune of 205p/litre for Shell V-Power (car alas wants 98RON or higher) - stood gormlessly looking for the price whilst filling and discounted it at first because it began with a two...

The rises have long since got out of hand.
Forecourt fuel theft has apparently increased by 39% since January. Who's surprised?

My own personal ripoff is road tax on a 2 litre Focus - which covers many fewer road miles than most cars, plenty of which pay zero tax.
I've always wished the tax was added to the price of fuel.....but that's got enough total tax on it 🙁.

 

[Freddy]

The rises have long since got out of hand.
Forecourt fuel theft has apparently increased by 39% since January. Who's surprised?

My own personal ripoff is road tax on a 2 litre Focus - which covers many fewer road miles than most cars, plenty of which pay zero tax.
I've always wished the tax was added to the price of fuel.....but that's got enough total tax on it 🙁.

No wonder I can’t afford a car, not that I want one anyway. I got my bus pass and free taxis service.

 

[Al ears]

Just been de-bagged to the tune of 205p/litre for Shell V-Power (car alas wants 98RON or higher) - stood gormlessly looking for the price whilst filling and discounted it at first because it began with a two...

Heck, diesel is cheaper....

 

[jjbomber]

(Incentives for electric cars have dropped significantly as manufactures have ramped up new models (I would imagine they will totally disappear in a year or so) which is as it should be)

Bill

Your crystal ball is on fire. Incentives for electric cars shelved today.

 

[Gray]

No wonder I can’t afford a car, not that I want one anyway. I got my bus pass and free taxis service.

Sell a few TVs and you can buy a Rolls Royce 😁

 

[Freddy]

Sell a few TVs and you can buy a Rolls Royce 😁

 

[Al ears]

It'll be headphones next.....

 

[Freddy]

It'll be headphones next.....

 

[jjbomber]

Sell a few TVs and you can buy a Rolls Royce 😁

How do you double the value of a Rolls Royce? Fill it with fuel.

... and to think it used to be a Skoda!

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Just been de-bagged to the tune of 205p/litre for Shell V-Power (car alas wants 98RON or higher) - stood gormlessly looking for the price whilst filling and discounted it at first because it began with a two...

211.9 for v-power today. As a moderator I won't swear, but I am inside my head...

 

[Freddy]

Has anyone saved any money this year? Me zero.

 

[bigboss]

Has anyone saved any money this year? Me zero.

Important to save up and cut down on unnecessary spending. We're heading towards a recession.

 

[WayneKerr]

Has anyone saved any money this year? Me zero.

Yep, I have... stopped buying hi-fi, I have my end-game system now.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

My savings/pension are all on direct debit, so have continued. But these are stressful times, not helped by the media's present raison de etre, which seems to be to keep people stoked. It's typical of this that when Omicron first appeared, the Beeb's website headline/clickbait wasn't 'should we be worried about Omicron?', but 'How worried should we be?' Cheap and irresponsible, to my mind.

 

[Gray]

when Omicron first appeared, the Beeb's website headline/clickbait wasn't 'should we be worried about Omicron?', but 'How worried should we be?' Cheap and irresponsible, to my mind.

It's true that many people just scim the headlines on the BBC website.
But I must be honest and say that, to me, both your examples would amount to roughly the same thing.
But that's because I would read the full story.
Under the headline 'How worried should we be' I would absolutely expect them to say words to the effect of...really not very worried (if that was the true case).
The news has never been worse, but I do trust the BBC, despite their all too obvious and annoying efforts at being PC and inclusive...such as employing continuity announcers that can't speak properly...'because it represents the audience'.
😖.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

I know what you are saying - but for me there's a significant difference between asking if we should be worried, and taking it for granted that we should and just querying the degree. I think I noticed that example because I also trust the Beeb (by and large), and to see it lean in the direction of the sort of tactics used far more cynically in most other areas of the media disappoints me.

 

[jjbomber]

'How worried should we be'
😖.

We should be more worried about America's push to get Finland into NATO. They clearly think they can put all their missiles and spyware 50 miles from the Russian Baltic Naval fleet headquarters at St Petersburg, but it really is forcing Russian's hand. They now have to invade Finland. It is a modern version of the Bay Of Pigs. The West are pushing for WW3. Heating bills will be irrelevant soon.

 

[Gray]

We should be more worried about America's push to get Finland into NATO.

Heating bills will be irrelevant soon.

Them and Sweden are as good as in now that Turkey are OK with it.
And yes, price rises may end up being the least of our worries. I'm close enough to London (we probably all are) to feel the first blast.

 

[Tinman1952]

We should be more worried about America's push to get Finland into NATO. They clearly think they can put all their missiles and spyware 50 miles from the Russian Baltic Naval fleet headquarters at St Petersburg, but it really is forcing Russian's hand. They now have to invade Finland. It is a modern version of the Bay Of Pigs. The West are pushing for WW3. Heating bills will be irrelevant soon.

We should have learned the lesson from Munich in 1938 that appeasement and acquiescing doesn't work. A strong NATO deterrent is the only thing keeping us safe from Putin's imperialist madness...
The Bay of Pigs was another Russian mistake and brought down Khrushchev in the end.

 

[abacus]

We should be more worried about America's push to get Finland into NATO. They clearly think they can put all their missiles and spyware 50 miles from the Russian Baltic Naval fleet headquarters at St Petersburg, but it really is forcing Russian's hand. They now have to invade Finland. It is a modern version of the Bay Of Pigs. The West are pushing for WW3. Heating bills will be irrelevant soon.

Finland & Sweden asked to join NATO, as they now believe it is safer bet against Russian invasion than remaining Neutral; they are not being forced in anyway by the US or other NATO countries.

Bill

 

[DCarmi]

My savings/pension are all on direct debit, so have continued. But these are stressful times, not helped by the media's present raison de etre, which seems to be to keep people stoked.

Those of us in the Baby Boomer generation have had a pretty good run:

• In 1977 21% of pensioners has a disposable income of more than todays equivalent of £10kpa. Now is is close to 100% and a nice pay rise of about 10% next year due to triple lock

It is the youngsters starting out I feel sorry for:

• 1977 median salary was £13.5k and average house price was £15k
• Now median salary is £26K and average house price is £278k
• In the 1980s you had council houses being flogged off at bargain prices

So a current pensioner, who inherited their parents property, probably did very well out of it.
And if you believe the (dubious) Sunday Times then 1 in 5 pensioners are effective millionaires. Handy if you are a child inheriting, otherwise it's tough.

(Figures from ONS)

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

• 1977 median salary was £13.5k and average house price was £15k
• Now median salary is £26K and average house price is £278k

Doesn't tell the whole story though, as interest rates are not comparable.



But yes, watching our (pretty well-paid) eldest trying to get onto the property ladder at present is not fun.

 

[DCarmi]

Doesn't tell the whole story though, as interest rates are not comparable.

True! But until now inflation rates have been kept low for the past 30 years. B of E expects it to reach 11% by the end of the year, which is about where it was at the end of '77, so I'd expect mortgage rates to track upwards.

Anyway, enough of this depressing stuff!

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Quite agree! Though inflation is more of an energy-stoked blip than the systemic inflation of the '70s.

 

[Tinman1952]

and a nice pay rise of about 10% next year due to triple lock

Percentages are misleading....could you live well on £179 per week?