Mel Vivers says that her family have been struggling with t he rising cost of bills, despite the fact that her husband Rob is on a ‘reasonable’ income.
The 38-year-old who lives in Penygraig in the Rhondda Valley area of Wales with general manager Rob, 37, and their son Caden, 12, saw their monthly gas and electricity direct debit go up from £120 to £220 during the price hike last April.
And the prospect of some bills hitting £5,000 a year is obviously worrying.
“When you see all the predictions that the energy costs are going to go up in October and again in January, the news is so depressing,” says Mel.
“Everything is adding up, and when you break it down, the position we could find ourselves in is quite frightening.
“You always think that things will never happen to you, but who knows? There may be times when we will really have to think about what food we are buying and cut back.”
Mel is self-employed as a consultant for Slimming World, and says her income running three groups a week is variable.
“In the past I’ve made £250 per group, but I’ve had sessions where I’ve only taken £20. The ongoing situation with Covid, and the fact some members can no longer afford to come every single week has made things difficult.
“Things like petrol and food costs are also extortionate. Thankfully, my husband is in a fairly well-paid position and covers the bills that I can’t.
“However, my fears are that with everything going up we’ll literally be working to just cover items such as bills and we won’t be enjoying things.”
Things Mel has already cut back on include holidays abroad and luxury items for herself, and she’s also started planning her family’s meals based on what is on offer in the supermarket.
“In a couple of months’ time there may be more things that we will need to cut back on,” says Mel.
“If I’m in the house by myself over winter, I’m going to just use a blanket to keep warm. But I don’t want to let the house go cold when our son is there.
“I fear for those that are on lesser incomes, because if I’ve noticed the difference, I’m sure they have.”
Mel thinks the government needs to be doing more to help people with the rising cost of energy bills.
“They should be able to do something - it seems like the energy prices are going up and up and nobody is doing anything about it,” says Mel.
“I saw Boris Johnson saying they can’t do anything until there is a new Prime Minister but that’s going to be next month. We all have the right to know what their plans are and when they are going to implement them.
“Wages haven’t gone up for a lot of people either. People are earning less, but paying more - and this needs looking at as well.”
