"I don't know how we're going to find this extra money" - Ben Sullivan
Dad Ben says he's gone from feeling "anxious" about the situation to "shrugging his shoulders" as their energy bills are going from £240 to £490 a month.
He said: "Our increase is £250 a month and I can’t find any better deals anywhere other than defaulting to their base rate.
“Originally I was quite scared.
"I don’t know where we’re going to find this extra money, we will have to try and find it somehow.
"I’ve gone from feeling really anxious about it to shrugging my shoulders, because what are you supposed to do?
"It’s not like they’ve given you plenty of time like a couple of years to get used to the idea.
"Doubling, possibly more, your energy bills.
"I just think what is the point in worrying about it?
"We’ll try and pay as much as we can towards our energy and if it doesn’t cover it then I don’t know to be honest."
It's reported there could be a further energy price cap increase of 29% in October.
But Ben says he's focused on trying to get through the initial price change just now.
He added: "I can’t really worry about October at the moment, my first worry is April and where we go from there.
"Maybe we’ll be able to get a contract in place so there will be no further increase."
Energy prices
The cost of energy is skyrocketing because of increased demand since economies opened up after months or years of coronavirus restrictions. Most of our homes are gas-powered through central heating, and a large part of our electricity comes from gas too. The price cap, which was designed to stop companies charging too much, is now setting the minimum amount you can pay, after looking at national and global supply factors. Earlier this year, Ofgem decided 54% was a fair increase for energy companies to charge, pushing bills up to around £2000 per household. It's thought it could go up to closer to £2500 a year if prices on the wholesale market continue to rise.
#TheBigSqueeze: How one of Scotland's largest families feel about soaring energy bill prices
2 of 5
Pay rises that don't match inflation
At any other time, we'd be celebrating the highest pay rises in a decade, with some staff seeing a 3% rise in their salaries this year. But given inflation is currently higher than 5%, it actually means you're actually worse off, as your new pay amount won't match the increase in the things we want or need to buy.
Energy prices
The cost of energy is skyrocketing because of increased demand since economies opened up after months or years of coronavirus restrictions. Most of our homes are gas-powered through central heating, and a large part of our electricity comes from gas too. The price cap, which was designed to stop companies charging too much, is now setting the minimum amount you can pay, after looking at national and global supply factors. Earlier this year, Ofgem decided 54% was a fair increase for energy companies to charge, pushing bills up to around £2000 per household. It's thought it could go up to closer to £2500 a year if prices on the wholesale market continue to rise.
Petrol and diesel
Demand for petrol and diesel has done the same to prices at the pumps, which saw record amounts charged at filling stations throughout March. Unleaded now regularly costs more than £1.60 a litre, and its more than £1.70 for diesel. Wholesale prices are rising, as people return to workplaces after months or years of working from home, and demand for items in shops and online means fuel is in massive demand. That means higher prices too.
Grocery shopping
The route items take to get to our supermarket shelves has also been disrupted by coronavirus, and new rules and red tape introduced because of Brexit. That's pushed up prices too. At the moment, prices are increasing by more than 5% on last year, which could hit as high as 8% later this month.
National insurance
The government announced last year they were pushing up the National Insurance rate to pay for social care. For most people it comes directly out of your wages, just like tax. A 1.25 percentage-point rise introduced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak will mean someone earning £20,000 per year will take home £89 less compared to last year, but a change to thresholds announced in the Spring Statement now means a typical employee will take home an extra £330.
Pay rises that don't match inflation
At any other time, we'd be celebrating the highest pay rises in a decade, with some staff seeing a 3% rise in their salaries this year. But given inflation is currently higher than 5%, it actually means you're actually worse off, as your new pay amount won't match the increase in the things we want or need to buy.
Energy prices
The cost of energy is skyrocketing because of increased demand since economies opened up after months or years of coronavirus restrictions. Most of our homes are gas-powered through central heating, and a large part of our electricity comes from gas too. The price cap, which was designed to stop companies charging too much, is now setting the minimum amount you can pay, after looking at national and global supply factors. Earlier this year, Ofgem decided 54% was a fair increase for energy companies to charge, pushing bills up to around £2000 per household. It's thought it could go up to closer to £2500 a year if prices on the wholesale market continue to rise.
Petrol and diesel
Demand for petrol and diesel has done the same to prices at the pumps, which saw record amounts charged at filling stations throughout March. Unleaded now regularly costs more than £1.60 a litre, and its more than £1.70 for diesel. Wholesale prices are rising, as people return to workplaces after months or years of working from home, and demand for items in shops and online means fuel is in massive demand. That means higher prices too.
Grocery shopping
The route items take to get to our supermarket shelves has also been disrupted by coronavirus, and new rules and red tape introduced because of Brexit. That's pushed up prices too. At the moment, prices are increasing by more than 5% on last year, which could hit as high as 8% later this month.
National insurance
The government announced last year they were pushing up the National Insurance rate to pay for social care. For most people it comes directly out of your wages, just like tax. A 1.25 percentage-point rise introduced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak will mean someone earning £20,000 per year will take home £89 less compared to last year, but a change to thresholds announced in the Spring Statement now means a typical employee will take home an extra £330.
Pay rises that don't match inflation
At any other time, we'd be celebrating the highest pay rises in a decade, with some staff seeing a 3% rise in their salaries this year. But given inflation is currently higher than 5%, it actually means you're actually worse off, as your new pay amount won't match the increase in the things we want or need to buy.
