Money Matters

with Roger Downes of Andorran Change of heart?

The coronavirus pandemic has a lot to answer for, but one of the more positive outcomes was a re-appraisal of the work-life balance for many people. Hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, of workers left full-time employment for part-time hours, retirement or to start their own business. Couples started to spend more time with their children and, for better or worse, each other. All of a sudden, life was good and the pandemic had a positive effect on many of us.

But the current cost of living crisis is threatening to derail the enjoyment of those opting for a better way of life. Spiralling inflation is pushing up costs, notably the weekly shopping bill.The cost of filling up the car appears to have peaked (hopefully!) but isn’t exactly falling very quickly, and you get the feeling that a price of nearly £2 a litre is becoming normalised. Domestic fuel bills will be twice as much or more next year than this, despite the new Prime Minister introducing new cost caps.

It’s unlikely that salary increases will match inflationary cost hikes, but at least those in fulltime employment are likely to get something meaningful from their employer towards meeting those higher costs. But for those working for themselves or on a fixed income in retirement, the outlook is bleaker. The same arguably applies to those who have opted to reduce their hours to part-time.

There are signs that the pandemic-driven search for an improved work-life balance is beginning to reverse, as people begin to accept that they are going to need a higher regular income to pay the domestic bills. It would be a shame if that happens big time, but the cost of living crisis is likely to get worse before it improves. Inflation is expected to go higher still and we will see interest rates rise much further in an attempt to curb spending. One way of combatting that challenge is for the newly selfemployed, retired or part-timer to ‘bite the bullet’ and go back into full-time employment.

Some business owners may welcome an improvement in the labour market which has been under severe pressure since the outbreak of covid. Or was it Brexit? Or a combination of both? Whatever the reason, we need the outcome to be that inflation and costs are brought under control at the earliest opportunity.

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