"The past year has been rocky' How a Norwich family coped with the cost of living crisis

'I think we've got used to it," says Jess Daly with some resignation of the experience of juggling finances in a cost family of living crisis that is now into its third year.

- Zoe Wood

The latest UK inflation data for February is due out today, with analysts expecting the headline rate to fall to 3.5%. In January the figure remained unchanged at 4%, as rising gas and electricity bills were offset by the first fall in food prices in more than two years and winter sale bargains.

After a difficult period the Dalys, who first spoke to the Guardian about their soaring bills in 2021, can see some light at the end of what has been a very long tunnel. But their optimism has little to do with the recent budget or government claims to have taken "action" to bring down inflation.

There is joy at the prospect of a second child - a sister for Robin, due next month - as well as more financial security for the couple, who live in Norwich. Jess, a library administrator at the University of East Anglia, faced redundancy last year but held on to her position, while her husband, Jon, recently moved to a better job at a large financial services firm.

In the supermarket Jess notices some prices falling. She recently paid "just" £1.60 for butter, with the reduction remarkable enough to catch her eye (official data shows the cost of a 250g block peaked at £2.36 last year). "I am much more aware of how much things cost," she says.

But more than food prices or energy bills coming down - in April the energy price cap in Britain will fall by £238 to £1,690 - the thing that has made the biggest difference to their finances is their daughter Robin's third birthday, which they celebrated with a picnic in a local park, with friends and family, on a gorgeous spring day.