Why we're all £15 a week worse off

Sir Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, has not exactly painted a glowing fireside picture of winter this year by telling us yesterday that we are £15 a week worse off than this time last year.

That's around £780 of taxable income this year, according to the Asda monthly income tracker.

As gas and electricity bills go up and up, along with food prices, insurance and petrol it is costing more simply to stay warm and keep our bellies full. And though many of these rises come along in increments so we don't really notice on the day to day, it really hit me last night as I hungrily pored over the takeaway menu from my local curry house.