Beat rising prices on energy, mortgages, food and more

What you need to do now to beat looming price rises on energy, mortgages, food and more.

Household costs are expected to soar over the next few weeks and months and it's not all down to Brexit.

Here’s what you need to watch out for and what you can do now to guard yourself against the hikes.

Electricity and gas prices

Electricity prices are expected to rise by up to 10% by January.

The Daily Mail reports sources at the Big Six energy companies saying that prices will have to go up to cover the green energy taxes imposed by the Government.

The hikes are expected to  add £51 to the average £510 annual electricity bill.

A source told the Daily Mail: “We’ll have to put between 6% and 10% on electricity bills in January — and that’s all down to Government taxes.”

The Government’s environmental and social policies include investment in renewable energy like solar panels and making homes more energy efficient.

Heating bills are also expected to soar following a rise in the price companies have to pay for gas.

In September Co-operative Energy hiked standard variable prices by 3% and GB Energy Supply hit customers with a 30% hike on its standard tariff in October.

You should consider locking into cheaper prices now with a fixed rate tariff. Compare deals using the loveMONEY energy comparison centre.

Fixed-rate mortgages

Mortgage rates have fallen to record lows thanks the Bank of England Base Rate being cut to 0.25% in August.

Moneyfacts reports that the average five-year fixed rate mortgage has fallen below 3% and rates on shorter fixes and variable mortgages have also dropped as providers compete in a race to the bottom.

However, experts are warning mortgage rates are set to rise thanks to the shock result of the US presidential election last week.

Donald Trump’s victory has led to a jump in the long-term interest rates banks use to decide the price of fixed rate mortgages.

Since the surprise result these ‘swap rates’ have spiked and are rising on a daily basis, with five-year rates at around 1% up from 0.9% at the beginning of November.

Mortgage broker John Charcol predicts that five-year and 10-year fixed rates will be the first products to see a hike, reversing the trend of cheap mortgages.

You should act now to take out a new mortgage or remortgage onto a better deal, before the best rates start to disappear. You can compare offers using the loveMONEY mortgage comparison centre.

Rail fares

Rail fares in England, Scotland and Wales are set to rise by up to 1.9% from January 2017.

The hike will apply to regulated tickets like season tickets, day single and return tickets around major cities and long distance off-peak return tickets.

Unregulated fares, such as off-peak leisure tickets and first class tickets, are set by the train companies, not the Government.

Read: Rail fare hikes 2016: prices to rise by 1.9% for more.

The hike means a £2,500 season ticket will cost £48 more from January 2017. So if you need to renew your season ticket it’s best to act this year if you can.

Food

More and more food suppliers are announcing price rises thanks to the UK's decision to Brexit.

The drop in the value of the pound against the euro and the dollar has hit suppliers with increased import costs. More than half of the UK's food is sourced from abroad, according to one study.

Last week US company PepsiCo asked retailers to hike the cost of Walkers crisps by 10%. A standard price 32g bag has gone up from 50p to 55p in most supermarkets, while a larger 'grab bag' has increased from 75p to 80p.

While Walkers uses British potatoes it imports a number of other ingredients like oil and seasonings as well as packaging materials to produce a finished packet.

Birds Eye, Unilever products like Marmite and Typhoo tea have also instructed supermarkets to hike prices in the last couple of weeks.

While there’s not much that can be done about food price rises, you may want to stockpile some of your favourite items at today’s prices to guard against increased costs later on.

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