Emotional cost: with surging inflation there are lots of actions that can be taken to give yourself more breathing space
(Picture: Getty Images/Tetra images RF)The cost of living crisis continues to bite. The rate of inflation hit a fresh high of 9.1 per cent in May, it’s highest rate in 40 years, and statistics suggest it’s hitting Lononders hard. Nearly 80 per cent of people in the capital reported a hike in their living costs over the last six months, according to a YouGov poll. Transport for London fares are up almost five per cent and Rightmove reports average rents have risen 14 per cent since last year — from £1,919 last March to £2,193 — which would make it the biggest annual jump of any region in the UK since records began.
It’s all looking a bit grim. Staying out of your overdraft might feel impossible right now, but someone who knows the perils of feeling like your spending is out of control all too well is Clare Seal, the woman behind the hugely popular @myfrugalyear Instagram account. Seal began sharing her journey back into the black online (at first anonymously) in 2019, after she and her husband found themselves in £27,000 worth of debt (now fully paid off).
