Author Topic: Financial matters  (Read 131713 times)

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Offline DaveR

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Re: Price Inflation
« Reply #45 on: November 03, 2010, 08:21:34 pm »
I bought a Twirl chocolate bar in the Co-op today and it was 63p.  Nice, though! ¢¢##

Offline DaveR

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Re: Price Inflation
« Reply #46 on: November 03, 2010, 08:24:25 pm »
We are getting well off the point Guys.

I know WHY the prices are rising .. I am facing that pressure too in my miniscule business ...(both rent and VAT increase to come)
What I'm banging on about is the extent of it..  and WHY official government figures are not giving the true picture.

The 55p crisps example came from a local newsagent ..
The 15p crisps you refer to were on sale in both Asda and Home Bargains for TEN PENCE earlier this year.
Thats a 50% increase no matter how you look at it.

I seem to recall unrest and blockades very recently due to Petrol increases which were threatening to go to £1.00 per litre.
Well, now its 20% higher than that,  and no one makes a peep!

Its getting quite scary...


It all comes down to what Economists call Price Elasticity, that is, the price range that consumers are prepared to pay for a particular item. Take the Twirl chocolate bar I just mentioned - how high or low does a price have to go before you refuse to buy it?


Offline Fester

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Re: Price Inflation
« Reply #47 on: November 03, 2010, 10:50:00 pm »
Fester----my friend and fellow forum reader/writer----I hate it contradicting you,of all people, again. However, I must point out that the fuel blockades you mention were ten years ago, almost to the day. And, actually, fuel is now at about the same price it was two years ago. Before you shout RUBBISH, just check me out.  Now, if you want to mention the price of beer sold over a pub counter-------now thats a different matter!!!

Mr Mike ... just to prove to myself that I am not going completely mad, I checked my facts .... because I even remember where I was and what car I was driving at each time these things occurred.
10 years ago, as you rightly say, there were protests, and blockades leading to serious disruption... but that is when the price was approaching 80p a litre.
Protests kicked off again in 2005.
But in 2007, blockades at refineries began again , as the price approached £1 per litre.
Panic buying ensued, and for a few days it was the forefront of the news.
The police were much more organised this time...unions were weaker,  and supply was restored to full capacity within days ...the whole thing fizzled out
The price is now £1.20, nothing is heard.   The apathy is deafening.

Dave, with all due respect, I have also given presentations in my time on the subject of price elasticity ... and I tell you what, we are pretty damn near the top of that curve right now!

No, I have to re-iterate my original point.  That being that prices are flying up, several times a year it seems ... (totally out of proportion to earnings or pensions) ... and it bears no relation to official government statistics.





Fester...
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Offline Trojan

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Re: Price Inflation
« Reply #48 on: November 03, 2010, 11:15:35 pm »
I bought a Twirl chocolate bar in the Co-op today and it was 63p.  Nice, though! ¢¢##

 *&(






 $lol$

Offline Ian

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Re: Price Inflation
« Reply #49 on: November 04, 2010, 08:03:29 am »
Quote
That being that prices are flying up, several times a year it seems ... (totally out of proportion to earnings or pensions) ... and it bears no relation to official government statistics.

I thought there was a commodity availability aspect to these rises? Bread, for instance, shot through the roof (metaphorically speaking) a couple of years ago, and that was linked to the grain harvests being down, owing to the heavily-promoted cost-effectiveness of planting a lot of rape seed for oil substitutes.

And electronics, for instance have never been more affordable.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Fester

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Re: Price Inflation
« Reply #50 on: November 04, 2010, 11:11:06 am »
Thats true Ian,  but you buy an electronic item every few months.... but you buy bread every other day.
So, the overwhelming experience is that of rising expenditure... especially for a family with kids I would imagine.

However, hardly anyone seems to agree with me, so it must be just me.

Fester...
- Semper in Excretum, Sole Profundum Variat -

Offline Merddin Emrys

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Re: Price Inflation
« Reply #51 on: November 04, 2010, 11:53:11 am »
Petrol is expensive just as a result of the excessive tax on it which is around 66% of the price, I have the local petrol prices emailed to me for the best price. As for bread I stock up (around 3 loaves in the freezer) when the price is right  D) In fact any special offer with a long sell by date, as long as it's something we use anyway we stock up on! Fresh food I ignore 'buy one get one free' offers as it'll go off before we could use it! They said on the telly the other day that corn, wheat etc is at high prices now anyway and supermarkets are doing what they can to cut costs!
A pigeon is for life not just Christmas

Offline Ian

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Re: Price Inflation
« Reply #52 on: November 04, 2010, 02:13:50 pm »
Quote
Thats true Ian,  but you buy an electronic item every few months.... but you buy bread every other day.

Yes, but a single electronic item is worth many loaves of bread, and the impact of having to replace, say - a dishwasher or washing machine - is significantly greater than buying bread on a daily basis, so I'm guessing the two more or less equal out.

But you're right, of course;  bread and other natural commodities have risen rapidly, 
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Nemesis

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Re: Price Inflation
« Reply #53 on: November 04, 2010, 02:32:24 pm »
Another point about the cost of food--- people today think nothing of buying ready prepared food or takeaways, not to mention eating out. Cakes for example, the price of one of these so called 'cup cakes' is beyond silly, same with 'muffins'. To me all they are are lierally 'buns' and can be made at home for very little. ( Also you know who's had their fingers in them ! :o))
A tradesman working for me last week nearly drooled his way through the front door to the smell of home made steak and dumplings.
Perhaps I am old fashioned, but we should never have survived on ready made food.
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to know.

Offline Ian

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Re: Price Inflation
« Reply #54 on: November 04, 2010, 02:47:47 pm »
And I suspect the health cost of ready made convenience foods is starting to hit home.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Trojan

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Re: Price Inflation
« Reply #55 on: November 05, 2010, 05:07:37 am »
And I suspect the health cost of ready made convenience foods is starting to hit home.

True. All that excessive sugar, salt, fat & refined carbohydrates = obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol etc.  ¢¢##

Offline Nemesis

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Re: Price Inflation
« Reply #56 on: November 05, 2010, 10:29:10 am »
Amazing how many people take Statins and then think they can eat a full fried meal with butter and full fat milk, then sit on their backsides watching TV and expect the tablets to lower their cholesterol !
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to know.

Yorkie

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Re: Price Inflation
« Reply #57 on: November 05, 2010, 10:52:45 am »
One just has to watch for the side effects of Statins. Particularly those associated with loss of muscle strength or numbness.  I have been on a number of Statins and have had to give them up for a non-statin.  My cholesterol level is still remaining reasonably low as I also have a sensible eating regime.

Offline Fester

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Re: Price Inflation
« Reply #58 on: November 05, 2010, 06:01:29 pm »
As I undersand it, Statins are prescribed as a short to medium term measure .... but its astonishing how many people come into my little shop and tell me they have been on the same medication for TEN YEARS OR MORE !!

Fester...
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Offline Scott

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Re: Price Inflation
« Reply #59 on: November 05, 2010, 11:37:43 pm »
Thats true Ian,  but you buy an electronic item every few months.... but you buy bread every other day.
So, the overwhelming experience is that of rising expenditure... especially for a family with kids I would imagine.

However, hardly anyone seems to agree with me, so it must be just me.


Fester If you want to eat it buy it, if you want to drive your car put petrol in it! Welcome to the real world. A year ago you weren't earning a living sitting in a box on a few planks of wood  :) :)