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'I might have to take a second job' - the impact of rising inflation 25 minutes ago Ross McKee BBC News NI Emma Ashfield Nursery worker Emma Ashfield said the cost of living has become "extremely expensive" A mum has told how she may need to take a second job just to combat the rising cost of living. Emma Ashfield works full-time, but said growing financial pressures were a constant worry and can make raising a child "extremely expensive". The latest figure from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday indicated that inflation rose to 3.1%. 'Everything is just extremely expensive' Ashfield said after-school facilities at the nursery help her and her partner with childcare for their eight year-old daughter, but she said they are constantly feeling financial pressure.
"It is very hard with the cost of living, of food, gas and electric, and especially with my wee girl getting up [in years], the price of clothes as well, everything is just extremely expensive." She pointed to school uniforms, rent and rising rates as "another money problem" people have to manage. "You are trying to keep food on the table, [buy] clothes, trying to provide for them, alongside [that] your child wants the after-school clubs or any activities, you are trying to afford that as well as everything else, you would basically need a second job," she said. Ashfield added that she is also learning to drive, which means finding extra money for lessons which can cost to £400 a month.
Getty Images Ashfield said the rising cost of energy was a worry, with winter around the corner Millions of UK households are set to see energy bills rise to the highest level for three years heading into the winter and gas prices have risen above 200p per therm for the first time since the end of 2022. Ashfield said the rising cost of energy was a worry, with winter around the corner. "I am constantly putting heating on, and the electric is a main one for me, I find electric very pricey... and it is costly trying to heat my apartment too.
"My wee girl is always wanting the heating on, so that's another thing." Selina Horshi Selina Horshi is the managing director of the White Horse Hotel in Londonderry Businesses in Northern Ireland have also been feeling the pinch as a result of increased prices. Selina Horshi, who is managing director at the White Horse Hotel in Londonderry, said she would be concerned about a further rise in inflation. Energy accounts for the hotels largest outgoings, she said, followed by food.
Horshi added that "even if inflation was to slow down, the problem is it is still adding small incremental amounts to the costs of what has been an incredible time of high inflation". "I have to heat the whole hotel, whether I have one customer who can afford to come in and use it, or whether it is 500 customers, so I have quite a high fixed cost base. "I need to keep it warm, I need to keep the pool hot, I need to keep the lights on, and I need to keep buying a huge variety of food where there has been particularly high inflation," she continued.
"All those costs are piling up and what it has done, is squeeze margins further and further." 'The costs are continuing to go up' Horshi is also a member of the city's chamber of commerce and said that various types of business are affected, but she believes hospitality "is exponentially impacted". "The costs are continuing to go up, but because the costs are going up for every household as well, people have less money in their pockets and hospitality is one of the last places you spend. "It is where you spend if you have money left over... and people have less money left over after they have spent what money they have on their increased costs for households."
Source: BBC
