If you have a family to feed, you won’t need reminding about the effects of inflation. It is currently running at more than 5% - but what this actually means is that you pay more to feed the family.

We all like to think that we are sensible, organised people. When we go shopping, we go out knowing what we want to buy, how much we plan to pay and we are certainly far too sensible to be swayed by a must have in a window…

Spring is very nearly here and warmer weather and longer days are coming with it. After the long months of winter – not to mention covid worries – it’s good to start thinking about getting out and about again.

As any estate agent will tell you, the most important room in any home is the kitchen. You need enough bedrooms, you need space in the living room - but the kitchen is where everything – cooking, laundry and often eating – gets done.

The price of petrol is notoriously and constantly changing, with a litre fluctuating by as much as 5p in a month.

It may have started as a religious practice in the far east – or it could have been a reaction to seeing just how mucky a house had become when longer days and stronger sunlight revealed the dirt built up over winter.

Spring is a time for shedding layers, but if you are planning to look good in the latest season’s fashions you may want to try shedding a few pounds too.

There are many factors to blame. The rapid economic bounce back, a bitter winter and uncertainty about supplies from Russia – but whatever the causes, the wholesale price of gas has gone up by a staggering 250%.

Inflation is hitting all of us hard, with costs of essentials like petrol rising by as much as 85%. Drivers are paying £16 more for a tank of fuel than they did this time last year, while rail fares will rise by 3.

This winter could be long and cold for many of us, with electricity and gas prices going through the roof.

Self-assessment season is upon us again, and if you are required to do so, your personal tax return needs to be completed, submitted and paid up by the 31st of January, 2022.

Global warming can paradoxically mean winters are much colder. But we can’t just click the central heating up another few degrees.