‘I dread looking at my statement’
THE latest interest rate rise is yet another hammer blow for cash-strapped dad Phil Norris.
He is sweating over sky-high mortgage repayments, rocketing interest rates and soaring food and utility bills.
Manager Phil, 48, who has two daughters under 10, said: “If there is one thing I have come to dread, it is logging on to my bank balance and seeing the daily impact of rising prices on my family’s financial bottom line.
“Money comes in sure enough, but it is disappearing at an ever-increasing and alarming rate.
Decline
“With the rising costs of filling up our car, spiking gas and electricity direct debits and the soaring shopping bills, we are watching a slow-motion decline in our family’s finances.”
Phil from Gloucestershire, is now rethinking plans to either buy a new house or extend his existing home.
He said: “This isn’t just bad news for us, it’s bad news for the tradespeople who would help build our extension, people who are trying to sell the house we could be interested in, or the
family looking to buy our house.” He added: “We are well aware many families are facing far worse than we are.
“But the fact that we have less ready cash at our disposal and are less likely to find borrowing affordable means our spending power is considerably reduced.
“For us, it means rethinking holiday plans, meals out, cinema and theatre trips and cutting back on basic treats and luxuries.
“As we batten down the financial hatches, our family is about to go into our own economic lockdown to weather the financial storm.
“Now is a time to hunker down, keep hold of as much money as we can and hope we, and the UK, emerge as unscathed as possible.”