To be worried about all the economic doom & gloom

[wobblemob]

Everyday I'm reading about redundancies, future tax rises, the greatest recession ever & it scares me. Even though DH & I are still working as normal & we actually have more in our pockets I've reigned in our spending & cancelled some direct debits. I feel like I need more savings.

However I then see threads about booking holidays, have friends who have moved house even though furloughed or having home improvements and I worry I'm being over cautious & when I feel comfortable to rebook a holiday the prices will be sky high!

[Hmmmm88]

Hi OP,

I think a lot of it is scaremongering. People i know are better off due to not being able to spend money.

When i first read about the upcoming recession i was so worried because my DH is self employed. My DH has a small window fitting company. Since lockdown was eased and he returned to work his phone has not stopped and it's cosmetic work people want like they've saved so much not going out so are treating themselves to new windows or a composite door. He's busier than ever.

That is only our situation though i know someone who has unfortunately been made redundant and she applied for a job the same day which she got and is now working again.

We had also like you cancelled some direct debits sky, amazon prime we both went sim only contracts ect as we were really expecting the worse.

Hopefully things will be ok and our economy will thrive 🤞🏻 more people will be holidaying in the UK when we're allowed more people will be using small independent high street shops that have helped them through lockdown so hopefully there will be more positives than negatives to come
I think either way it goes we'll battle through it and come through the other side.

[wobblemob]

It's so hard as in some ways I want to carry on as normal as possible & live life but then if the shit does hit the fan I only have myself to blame.

[Hmmmm88]

Hopefully things will be fine. If people are to scared to spend though that is when there will be a big impact on the economy. We've got to put money in to keep it going

[Nanny0gg]

This is why lockdown has to be lifted (slowly and carefully) because otherwise there will be no economy left.

[Honeybee85]

YANBU

I worry about it too, for friends & family.
I am a SAHM and DH is a civil servant with a job that is secured until he retires (by law in this country, we're outside the UK).

I was thinking if I had stayed in my own country where I was struggling financially and being responsible on my own to pay the mortgage whilst being on a flexible contract...this would have been possibly a receipe for disaster and I am happy I sold my home and live with DH now in another country, in a financially secure position.
I pity those who are in my previous situation. I know it'd keep me awake during the night & I would feel really anxious about my financial future.

[dunnybum]

It's a tough one, we've definitely reigned it in even though I know the economy will suffer further if everyone does that.

I think our jobs are secure but it's not 100% & bonuses, promotions are off the table. I do think life will get more expensive in general eg food is definitely more expensive now, will it reduce? higher taxes eg VAT, holidays more expensive.

[dunnybum]

I do think there will be a mini bounce back when things return to "normal". I can't wait for a Mcds or to meet my friends for a coffee but I like having the extra savings & will be much more mindful of spending in future.

[GreytExpectations]

I don't think it's scaremongering. My DH has just been made redundant, along with a large portion of his company. Businesses will be closing down and the economy will suffer whilst a lot of people are out of work. There's such a "I'm alright, Jack" attitude on Mumsnet where posters are either moaning that they aren't being given the "luxury" 🙄 of furlough or that they are and their jobs are secure.

[wobblemob]

@GreytExpectations I'm sorry to hear that. I agree, it's reality & unemployment, less disposable income has an affect on the wider economy. 08 I was young & not impacted directly but I definitely suffered wage stagnation in my industry.

I think the furlough bashing is outrageous personally. Maybe there is just a big divide & the people who are looking at Summer holidays etc just have no money worries.

[rattusrattus20]

YANBU, it's going to be super grim.

There's so little economic activity going on, it's mind boggling.

Unfortunately I think we maybe live in such an era of hyperbole, exaggeration, and outright lies, especially on economic/political matters [see Brexit], that people are numbed to a lot of it.

[Pepperwand]

This is why lockdown has to be lifted (slowly and carefully) because otherwise there will be no economy left.

Exactly this. This is the reality of the situation and why the current lockdown is unsustainable. People are already losing their jobs....9000 at Rolls Royce in Derby are being made redundant and recessions kill people too.

[GreytExpectations]

I think the furlough bashing is outrageous personally. Maybe there is just a big divide & the people who are looking at Summer holidays etc just have no money worries.

I agree, it's disgusting the attitude towards anyone furloughed on here. Often being called lazy and just sitting in their ass being paid. It's ridiculous, as if those furloughed had a choice in the matter and most would rather be working instead of worrying about their jobs.

[Freddiefox]

I think we need to be very careful we don’t talk ourselves into a bigger recession than needed, we need people spending money.

I’m a spender, and I’ve stopped myself so many times from buying things recently. We were going to get the garden landscaped, if we won’t now just In case. But that’s money that would have been in the system which is now not.
If I’ve stopped spending I dread to think what the savers of this world are doing

[wobblemob]

Yeah the furlough jealously is weird. Don't get me wrong I'm struggling with working & childcare & home education & Im getting fatter not fitter. But & it's a big but I have my full income & relative job security. I don't need furloughed people to stay in doors, eating dust & crying to make me full better. I also am not sure how some posters know that those at the park or wherever are the furloughed "lazy" lot. I go to the park with dc.

[wobblemob]

@Freddiefox you sound similar to me & I'm mindful what I say because others aren't so lucky & I think that's why I'm so anxious because i'm usually a spender.

We were supposed to have the garden done now too but I'm worried if we do we will regret spending because it's not a necessity but then if everything does bounce back I've lost the nice summer in the garden.

[millymollymoomoo]

It’s not scaremongering
At the moment people are not facing the reality - there is going to be a severe recession with millions of Job losses

People seem to think this is just an extended holiday ! The longer lockdown and business closure remains the worse it will be.

Come sept/Oct when furlough ends we will start to see the impact. A lot of large corporations are planning redundancies which have not yet been enacted, many small businesses won’t reopen and those that do of subject to 2m social distancing will need to cut back on staff

I think people in general need to wise up tbh

[PhilCornwall1]

What's coming next will be worse than the virus (I'll be flamed for that), but the reality is that this recession will not be anything like 2008, it's going to be far worse.

The people calling for the lockdown to continue need to think long and hard on how screwed they are going to be and not just focus on covid sodding 19.

[rattusrattus20]

A GDP fall of 5% [so very crudely a loss of one twentieth of economic activity] is, by normal standards, a fair sized recession.

How many months or years does anyone think it'll be before our loss of economic activity will be as small as one twentieth [vs peak]? It's a ghastly thought.

[CeibaTree]

I think a lot of it is scaremongering. People i know are better off due to not being able to spend money
Are you saying that all these people not spending any money is going to have zero effect on the economy? This is a extremely naive view.

[Polowithoutahole]

I think it's a very real concern and more people should be worries. My (public sector) organisation announced last week they are doing a full scale review, there will be redundancies and we will know in a month who those people will be. I havnt been furloughed but the rumour mill expects those on furlough wont be coming back to the office and I dont know if my job is at risk aswell. It's shit and has wrecked my motivation, not to mention there's very little out there job wise to apply for. I can't see that improving either.

[Polowithoutahole]

Worried not worries obviously!

[user1487194234]

Hoping it won't be as bad as some people are saying but I am very concerned
Lots of redundancies for sure ,starting with the changes to furlough in July

[daisypond]

I don’t think it’s scaremongering at all. I’m very worried. I’ve worked in my industry for nearly 30 years - TV related. There’s no work. I desperately need TV programmes to be made again and sports events to happen and to be televised. There will be huge job losses. Many in the industry are freelance, like my DH. He has no work at all. One of my DC works in theatre as an employee. Theatres are shut and mine has been made redundant. My student child has lost her pub job too, and what future will she graduate into? Of four working adults in my family, three have lost their jobs.

[IcedPurple]

Sadly, I don't think it is scaremongering.

The economy is going to take a massive hit. Sectors such as tourism, the arts and hospitality are going to be heavily hit. Many restaurants, hotels, theatres, pubs etc will never open their doors again. So their staff will be out of a job, and others such as cleaners, suppliers, maintanance workers etc will be indirectly affected. Many shops will also go out of business, as will some hairdressers, beauticians etc. Universities will also suffer. The govt is spending billions on furlough schemes and that will have to be paid back. Tax revenues are way down.

So there's no way there's not going to be a major economic downturn. Even after the initial crisis is over, tourism will take a long time to pick up again. If cafes etc have to work with social distancing, it may not be worthwhile opening their doors again. There's a lot of talk about how WFH may become the norm for office workers, which may be nice for some, but will have a large knock-on effect in terms of unpaid rents and lack of business for cleaners, drivers, maintainence workers, cafes etc.

Really hard to see how the economic impact can be anything other than grim. And I'm by no means a doom and gloom merchant.

[OnItCarBonnet]

As others have said, the impact from the lockdown will be far more horrific than the virus itself. I think the government have realised this, but aren’t going to say it so they’ll just dig us into a deeper and deeper hole. I think it will start to dawn on more people over the next few weeks