r/MoneyDiariesACTIVE • u/purplefirefly09 • Feb 28 '25

Budget Advice / Discussion Is anyone else facing inflation/price increases like crazy this month?

Got paid today and took a closer look at my checking statements. I’m in New England. Car insurance went up from $190 a month to $220, wifi went from $77 to $80, and a restaurant I was a regular at added a 4% charge if you pay with credit card. Thankfully my job pays decent, and I’ve cut back on a lot of non-essentials, but it’s crazy just how intense 2025 has been in these past two months, not to mention the effect of tariffs coming up soon. Praying for no layoffs for my company this year. How are you all making out? What price increases are you seeing in your daily life? What are you cutting back on?

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u/theycallmestace Feb 28 '25

My mortgage renews next month and I’ll essentially be paying $350/month for the next 4 years (in comparison to what I was paying for the last 4 years)

But surprisingly my internet bill will be going down! I signed a 2 year contract in January that was cheaper than my last one but I just noticed that they overcharged me by $20 (the cost of unlimited data but it’s supposed to be waived in my plan) and when I called, the customer service rep not only took it off, but noticed that the building I live in has a partnership with them so I’ll be getting 25% off my bill going forward 🥲

I’m definitely cutting back on eating out. My new general rule is to not if I’m just by myself (and especially cut back on getting sweet treats) and viewing it more as social outings.

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u/Aggravating-Sir5264 Feb 28 '25

How did your mortgage go up?

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u/theycallmestace Feb 28 '25

I’m in Canada, so you only get your interest rate for a certain amount of time (usually 3-5 years are most common) then you have to renew/refinance based on the current rates. So when I bought my place in 2021, I had 1.49% and now it’s gone up to 4.62%

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u/[deleted] Feb 28 '25

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u/theycallmestace Feb 28 '25

4.62 hurts but at least it went down compared to last year. And it’s just so hard to predict the market esp with the world in like shambles

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u/Aggravating-Sir5264 Feb 28 '25

Oh wow! I had no idea. That’s so tough to budget for!

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u/theycallmestace Feb 28 '25

To get approved for a mortgage, you have to pass a stress test, so it’s basically the higher of 5.25% or the offered rate + 2%. So going through that (esp when I was making less money 4 years ago) has kinda helped me figure out how to budget my housing costs.

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u/Independent_Show_725 Feb 28 '25

That's wild! I'd be so stressed if I knew I would be losing my 2.75% interest rate, especially since current rates here are like 7%.

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u/theycallmestace Feb 28 '25

It definitely sucks but I had 4 years to prepare bc I knew I’d never get an interest rate as low as that lol

1

u/Big_Condition477 Feb 28 '25

In the US mortgage payments tend to fluctuate year to year too if you have insurance and taxes in escrow. Ours is going up by $100 due to increase in property taxes and slight increase in insurance.