According to financial comparison website money.co.uk, Brits will collectively be hit with £4.2bn in extra costs over the next 12 months.

Salman Haqqi, personal finance expert at money.co.uk, said: “The start of a new financial year is always a good excuse for many companies to raise the cost of their product or service.

“Some of these price hikes might seem small and insignificant on their own, but when you add them all together they could cost you an extra £158 a year and it couldn’t come at a worse time for consumers, who are already coping with the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.

“Some increases will be impossible to avoid, but you can do something about dealing with the cost of your energy, phone and broadband. Always check you’re on the best possible tariffs and don’t think twice about switching providers for a better deal if your contract is up.”

Here’s what is going up in price from 1 April:

Stamps

A single first-class stamp now costs 79p rather than 70p. That’s a price rise of 9p or 13% more than 2019 and a 25% increase in price since 2015.

Prescriptions

The cost of a standard prescription has risen from £9.00 to £9.15, a 2% rise on 2019 but a 12% increase compared to prescription costs in 2015.

NHS dental check

The cost of getting your teeth checked on the NHS is expected to rise to £23.90 from 2019’s cost of £22.70 – an increase of 5% but a 26% rise since 2015.

TV licence

The price of watching the BBC through buying a TV licence is up from £154.50 to £157.50, a £3 increase, or 2%. TV licences have gone up by 8% since 2015.

Air passenger duty

The cost of duty for air travel (Band B – over 2,000 miles) is up from £172 to £176 – an increase of 2% on 2019 and a 24% rise since 2015.

Pint of milk

The cost of a pint of milk has risen from 44p to 50p, a 14% increase on 2019.

Mobile phone contract

The cheapest sim-only contract will now cost £3.95 per month, up from £3.00 in 2019 – a 32% increase. Since 2015, however mobile phone sim-only contract costs have actually declined in price by an average of 47%.

Broadband & home phone

The cost of the cheapest broadband and home package has risen from £9.49 per month in 2019 to £15.90 in 2020 – a price hike of 38%. Broadband prices have also been fairly steady since 2015, seeing just a 2% average rise in price since then.

Council tax

The cost of a band D average house has risen from £1,750 in 2019 to £1,817 in 2020 – an increase of 4%. Council tax bills have risen 22% since 2015.