To ask when is the cost of living going to go down?

Ask your employer if there are some internal courses that they provide for free.
Or if they provide day release to an external course provider.

Are there any management courses, technical courses ?

Another option is that I was paid extra to be a qualified first aider & health & safety rep at work.

If this government (and the ones that follow it) commit to a programme of building affordable housing and stop selling off council housing then I think there may be a long term reduction in the cost of living. We spend so much on housing ourselves that it doesn't leave much money for anything else.

What have Megan and Harry done for the British people? Nothing?

I don't think anyone is assuming that the OP has never before heard of training/retraining.

Retraining will again depend on what your current circumstances are. You can retrain to be a dog groomer or a driving instructor. You can join the police. You can become a teacher. Or a hairdresser. Or an accountant. It's not really a difficult concept to understand!

It's not only people on a very low wages that can train/retrain to give themselves a better lifestyle. That's a very condescending view! Anyone, but those at the very top have space to climb

At the end of the day if the child’s father wants you live close by then he would have to provide more financial support.

Sadly, the courts won't see it that way

Sadly, prices will rise and wages, except those who are NMW will stagnate.

It's never going to get easier. You are right though, it has been a hard 16 years too.

We (taxpayer) also paid millions for the security costs of Harry and Megan’s wedding. Vile.

My apologies

🤣 I know what inflation is. I didn’t know what the OP was asking, and wondered if she meant that she expected the COL increase to reverse and fall at some point. She’s clarified what she meant a few pages ago though.

I understand career progression within your profession or role, with the aim of promotion-I think it’s fair to assume OP understands this too? Or did you think it was a wild suggestion she wouldn’t already know about?

posters are suggesting retraining. I’ve interpreted that as doing something new to earn more money.

also I wonder if from some of the examples people are using (including childcare and shift work) they are assuming OP is a very low paid worker.
She’s working FT and presumably paying for childcare- she privately rents and isn’t entitled to benefits. She can’t afford to buy a house.

This. Also, logistically the job market can't support everybody being in a 70k a year job so there will inevitably be some people who can retrain/chase promotions/change industry all they want but won't be successful.

Work more hours/get a second job is all very well if you don't have DC or have free childcare on tap, otherwise you're literally just working to pay childcare so you can work.

Lots of very smug replies to OP but the reality of the system is some people will be left struggling with little or no way to improve their lot.

Everyone I know who is /was serious about buying their own place has somehow managed it

@oakleaffy

Same. I don't recognise the whole 'everyone I know who bought in the South East got help from family / an inheritance' AT ALL. Virtually all my friends who bought a property in London did so without family help (we're millennial professionals).

Aquapeer
Ref sort of job

You do not know what industry I worked in.

I also worked in an office !

This.

Also the Spanish phenomena which did this isn’t a one off so it is likely to happen again. Effectively causing more increases.

Inflation measures the percentage rise in prices. So prices go up, it just depends at what percentage rate.
Now and again certain items might fall in price for a number of reasons, but inflation is based on measuring the prices of goods used by the modern consumer.
So we don’t measure the price movements of video recorders anymore or iPods for example.

Ref move & retrain comments

I was made redundant a few years ago
I moved 200+ miles away to secure another well paid job.
Better than living on very small amount of benefits !

This is absolutely immoral.
Those extremely wealthy people could easily pay for themselves.
Seedy Prints Andy is hopefully going to lose his free mansion at Windsor.

Everyone I know who is /was serious about buying their own place has somehow managed it- even if it means moving.
Shared ownership used to be a way in for some people ( Newbuilds)

🤞

OP already works in an office job, I don’t think she needs to investigate the sort of work you’re describing.

It's going to depend entirely on industry and circumstances isn't it?

To give you a specific example. I work in childcare. There are various qualifications that one could do to increase earning potential.

A nanny with sleep training qualifications will likely earn more than one without (and will have the opportunity to do extra freelance work).

A nanny who has experience working with children with SEN/specific medical conditions will demand a higher salary than one without.

A nanny earns significantly more than a nursery nurse, so making a move sideways would massively increase earning potential.

There are exams to move up within the police service. There are opportunities for classroom assistants to become higher level teaching assistants or teachers. If you work in a supermarket there are qualifications you can do to push your way up the ladder.

The OP works in the media. There are a range of jobs to be had, not all pay the same. There will be some training she can do or some experience to be gained or another job to consider that will allow her to earn more.

I'm really struggling to believe that you don't understand this tbh!

Hold up: the south east is massive. There are cheap parts. Let’s not get carried away here. If we want op to up and move to a cheap place she can do so and still stay in the Se of England.

But as a poster above said the idea that everyone just jumps up and moves to the cheapest areas to survive is madness.

cheap housing generally comes with poverty. It’s a pretty big decision to chose to bring your children up in a deprived area where you will often have relatively poor schools and lack of opportunity. What are you doing for their future?!