Six months on and the economic impacts of Russia's invasion of Ukraine are still rippling out across the globe with a cost-of-living crisis that’s pushing millions of us into poverty.
While supply-chain disruptions from the Covid pandemic had already pushed up prices, inflation is rising due to further disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine.
UK inflation rates currently sit at a 40-year high, with the immediate impact being sharply felt by both households and businesses.
Read more: Australian woman returns home to Bangor for first time in 75 years
In Australia, inflation is at its highest rate in more than 20 years while in neighbouring New Zealand, it's at a three decade high, with households facing hefty hikes in food, petrol and housing costs.
Many Northern Ireland folk who have made the move abroad are feeling the effects of rising prices, not least those who are now living "Down Under".
They include Co Down's Caroline McKenna, 30, a teacher and part-time blogger, who has been living in Australia for the past seven years and is now an Australian citizen.
The 30-year-old from Newcastle is the creator of A County Down Under, a podcast which discusses the "highs, lows and complete craziness" of life as an expat in Sydney.
Having recently returned from two trips back home to NI, Caroline has already noticed a hefty hike in air fares due to the fuel increases.
"I went home last Christmas and it was the first flight to go for a very long time due to Covid so I knew it would be expensive as it always is at that time of year," Caroline told Belfast Live
"You'd typically be looking at flights at around AUD $1,400 (£800) but last Christmas it had gone up to AUD $3,500 (£2,000) which was horrendous.
"At that time the airlines all got us because you couldn't put a price on seeing your family after being prevented from going home for so long because of the pandemic."
Caroline added: "When it came to flying home again in June this year, the prices were just going up and up and I was still paying the same prices as Christmas.
"For my friends with kids who want to get home and see their loved ones and maybe introduce them to grandparents they've never met, you're talking about air fares of between AUD $10,000 (£5,800) and AUD $20,000 (£11,500).
"The price of flights are just extortionate and many families can't justify paying that at the moment, which is really sad. Everyone is just hoping that flight prices will go down but they're not changing at the moment."
And just like in NI, Caroline says prices are rising both at the pumps and the tills.
"We used to spend AUD $50 (£30) a week filling up our car, it's now AUD $90 (£50). Our weekly shop in Sydney was typically AUD $120 (£70) but it's now crept up to AUD $170 (£1000) for the same items," she said.
"When I was back home recently I really noticed a difference in the prices in the supermarkets too."
Another issue Caroline faces is the ramping up of rental prices in Sydney.
"Sydney has always been the go-to place so rent has always been pricey but since the borders reopened after Covid, property prices have skyrocketed.
"For the expats who are just renting which is 95% of people, all tenants are being told that their rents are going by between AUD $50 (£30) and AUD $100 (£60) extra a week to roughly AUD $1200 weekly (£700) for a shoebox apartment compared to $750 a week (£430) before the pandemic," she said.
It's a similar picture for Derry woman Una Lagan. She has been living in the New Zealand city of Auckland since 2014 with her partner George, 36, who are parents to Lucy, 4, and nine month old Anna.
While everyone else was learning to make banana bread and sourdough, Una, 35, used New Zealand's strict lockdown to set up her own traditional Irish soda bread company, Irish Born and Bread, selling largely to expats like her.
Like many New Zealanders, Una is now feeling the effects of a big jump in the prices of her weekly food shop and monthly utility bills.
She said: "In New Zealand, we have a great work/life balance and that’s what we love about life over here. But over the past couple of years, we have noticed a big difference in our monthly utility bills and the cost of daily living.
"Grocery shopping has gone up an average of NZD $100 (£50) a week for us as a family of four. You wouldn’t get much change from NZD $20 (£10) for the necessitates such as milk, bread and butter.
"Fuel prices have come down due to the government cutting tax on it making it more affordable. They have reduced the cost of all public transport by 50% to help people out."
Like Caroline, Una also recently travelled back home to Northern Ireland for a family trip and says the rising cost of living was clear to see here too.
"We were back in Northern Ireland for two months and things were just as expensive there than over here in New Zealand. We really noticed an increase in eating out back home and in the prices for takeaways," she said.
"When we were back home, our family there spoke a lot about the price of oil and fuel, which seems to have really gone up in price."
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