r/UKCostofLiving

I would first caveat that no heat pump user should use a default electricity tariff. However, the energy price cap is illustrative about the general trends.

Compare July 2025 to July 2026:

1. Electricity: 1.16% increase from 25.73p/kWh to 26.03p/kWh
2. Gas: 13% increase from 6.33p/kWh to 7.16p/kWh

Now, some of this are due to policy changes made by the government. However, given there's only 5% VAT on gas it is inherently the case that electricity has more room for manoeuvre. Electricity has tons of added policy costs which could be shifted without too much unintended consequences.

Combined together this means that the heat-pump user will be experiencing far more consistent heating costs over this period of crisis than the gas boiler user. For those who want sustainable bills which fluctuate less during crises the choice should be obvious.

How to educate the public about the need to innovate to reduce price volatility is a hard problem but these data certainly helps.

Another cost-of-living measure announced this week. All disabled people now to get 24/7 free bus travel, no matter where you live.

Fresh ONS data shows the UK economy grew by 0.4% between April and June. That puts us ahead of most other G7 countries this year despite the Iran war and all the political drama around Starmer’s resignation.

Do people here think this growth will push Burnham even higher in the polls? What are everyone's thoughts on this news?

The lower inflation figure for June was caused by cheaper fuel prices at the pump, particularly diesel, summer discounts on clothing and falling food prices.

Overall prices at the supermarket are rising at their slowest rate in nearly two years.

This BBC article helps explain how interest rates impact prices if you always get a little bit confused like me.

Hi all, just looking for a bit of advice from anyone who’s bought their first house, especially in the South East.
Me and my partner are both 22 and we’ve found a house we really like and it’s within our budget based on our AIP. We’re not planning on using the full amount of the AIP as I know things can change once you actually apply for the mortgage.
The sellers have now received a higher offer and have asked if we want to counter. The amount we’re thinking of offering would leave us with around £650 each a month (£1,300 combined) completely disposable after everything is paid.
We’ve tried to account for pretty much everything when working this out — mortgage, bills, cars, insurance, fuel, phones, food, shopping, etc. Basically all the normal costs of living.
The £650 each would then be for things like going out, buying stuff for ourselves and saving whatever we don’t spend.
We’d also have a 6-month emergency fund put aside, so we’d have some money there if anything unexpected came up.
For context, my partner spends £500+ a month at the moment and I spend around £700, so our current spending isn’t massively different to what we’d have left over.
I’ve spoken to our mortgage advisor about it, but I’d really like to hear from people who have actually been in this situation.
Would £650 each a month feel comfortable to you, or would you consider that quite tight?
Obviously everyone spends differently, but I’m just trying to get a bit of real-world perspective before we decide whether to increase our offer.
Thanks!