To think this increase in cost is going to break me?

I don’t find Lidl any cheaper to be honest- maybe their own stuff but branded stuff cheaper elsewhere

if its for health benefits then switch to cold pressed rape seed - around ~£3 a bottle and has twice the health benefits

i would love to know how you feed a family of 4 from M&S for £60. Please tell me what you bought so that I can make these meals for my family. Is this just evening meals or does this include breakfast and lunches?

Everyone finds a reason to benefit bash. You all have the option to work extra hours if you need the extra cash - I’m disabled and can’t work and struggling to get by. It’s a flat rate all year long, when I have additional costs I cannot work additional hours to pay for those additional costs. That’s the difference.

I'm a pensioner and after the heating/cost of living has been stopped (don't claim any benefits just state pension) no free TV licence for over 75s, it's the price of gas, electric and water that's making people struggle more so than food price increases. Everything has gone up but you can find cheaper shops for most food or buy shops own brands. No chance of that with gas, electric, water, car tax, rent etc.

I have a mortgage . IF I rented I don’t know what , if any help I would get !

Not correct unfortunately. They get assistance towards rent, not all of it. I know what you mean though, it can feel like working (and its associated costs) is pointless. But being on UC adds another layer of stress.

ultimately costs have shot up significantly. It’s a matter of doing what you can to mitigate the impact - downgrade brands you buy. Get bigger quantities as they work out cheaper per kilo/litre. Home cook. Lower your thermostat. Compare utility costs etc etc. life does improve with time. I’ve struggled many times, single parent of 3 with 2 jobs. I should write a book on economising!

Warmer houses? My mother used to always be asking us to get her a sack of spuds and she kept them in a dark pantry on a cool stone floor. As there's just me I buy a 2.5kg bag and keep them in the fridge, they seem to last forever, though I have read where potatoes should not be in the fridge.

Net migration into Japan in 2023 was 64 thousand into a population of 124.5 million. Their population is shrinking.

UK net migration in 2023 was 900 thousand into a population of 68 million. Our population is increasing quickly.

There won't be spare houses to bring rents down any time soon. Quite the opposite.

I completely get the point you are making and I do sympathise OP. I do think the supermarkets have the ability to manipulate this and are not working in the interests of consumers.
But for years we’ve been told we have become hooked on cheap and often unhealthy food. Our obesity levels are rising and our farmers are not receiving a decent income, it’s bad for the planet, we generate too much food waste, we need to tax sugary food etc etc. Most of the electorate appeared to have some sympathy with these views but the inevitable outcome of increased taxation and increased cost of air miles was always going to be higher food prices.
This, coupled with higher commodity costs and energy costs (partly due to the green agenda and partly due to the war) is now playing out in the prices we pay at the till.
Policy has consequences. It will be interesting to see how the mass uptake of weight loss drugs impacts our relationship with food as a nation and whether that will play into the offering in supermarkets. Supermarkets in France, Italy and Spain, where obesity rates are lower than the UK, do not offer the huge choice of processed foods and snacks that our supermarkets do.
I’m sure we will see a whole industry develop around nutrition post-WLI. I know this is of no help in terms of the cost of orange juice etc. but the politics of food is changing and we will see much more of this.

Everything feels so hard at the mo OP. Me and DH in well paid jobs. After mortgage, bills and nursery fees we can barely afford a holiday. People will say ‘oh that’s a luxury’ but it makes you feel whats the f-ing point doesn’t it. Things have changed so much in such a short space of time. Fifteen years ago I earnt £30k, bought my own flat for £165k with a £10k deposit and lived like a queen. It’s all bizarre

Honestly, reading some of the food prices on here, you in the UK have no idea how cheap a lot of the food you buy is compared to other parts of the world.

Not remotely true. If you were ~stupid~ enough to get a mortgage instead of renting, and then have a catastrophic event occur leaving you only with access to benefits.. you get ZERO help with paying your mortgage. Only renting has help from UC.

G

Mind you there are high levels of immigration so I'm not sure much will change in terms of housing shortage.

Where I live the majority of people line dry their clothes, all year round - better weather than the UK.

Line dried clothes do not "smell and feel disgusting", what an absolutely ridiculous comment. However, if you would rather pay to use a drier then carry on, but don't moan about costs.

Same im on uc cannot remember last time i done a big shop or went to the shops for that matter my dad gets me basics when i need them , when rent , gas and elec and ct is took out i have very little left for food

Oh yeah in terms of money…nothing will be inherited.

But there will be for the first time more places to rent than people needing a place as there were less birth than the baby-boomers. Not in the very nice areas but the rest…yeah.

They have that in Japan. You can find houses stupid cheap because there is just not enough people to rent.

Totally feel you. My mortgage is going up by £200 a month next month and I honestly do not know how I am going to manage (one parent household) already at breaking point. I can’t work more hours as I wouldn’t be any better off due to breakfast club and after school club fees. It’s absolute madness. There’s lots of thing I just don’t buy now, like strawberries, £2.50 for a punnet. Erm no thanks we can do without them. My car insurance is up next month too so that’s another price hike, not to mention council tax going up in April. Seems impossible.

In Tesco it’s £5.10 for 3 litres. It’s called vegetable oil on the bottle, but if you look at the ingredients it’s rapeseed oil.

This isn’t right. Each area has a value for HB which they’ll pay- in my area when I claimed (my claim ended in 2022), HB for a 2-bed was around £600. Unfortunately, private rents in this area were approximately double that- even the grottiest places were well over £900. So HB doesn’t cover most people’s whole rent.

Also council tax discount (apart from the single occupant discount) is not given to everyone. I never qualified for it.

Lastly, you have to work or seek work on UC, unless you have a baby in arms. And they make you find and do work, never mind fitting around childcare, or they stop your money as a sanction. With a primary aged child you are supposed to work 25 hours a week.

Lots of rumours abound about the easy life on benefit, but for the vast majority it’s a complete myth. It’s in many ways easier not to claim, because claiming is so onerous and getting it even a little bit wrong is so damaging that it’s actually very stressful.

But then you have equity release and costs of residential care, so there won't be a lot of houses left behind.

Jan 2025 Germany: Europe's largest economy is facing a third consecutive year of recession

German companies in the Fortune 500, including big names such as Siemens, Bosch, Thyssenkrupp and Deutsche Bahn, are reckoned to have laid off more than 60,000 staff during the first 10 months of 2024. Bosch, one of the country's most admired manufacturing companies, announced in November alone plans to let go of some 7,000 workers.

More of the same is expected in 2025.

news.sky.com/story/germany-europes-largest-economy-is-facing-a-third-consecutive-year-of-recession-13289549

Do you mean you get no housing help because you have no rent or mortgage ? because if you have rent to pay you should be getting a rent element on UC?

That’s not accurate - I get a small amount of UC as I work full time and have a 17 year old . I get NO housing help and the only council tax help I get is a 25% sole adult discount !
IF I was in need of housing cost support , I could get a loan to cover only the interest for a limited amount of time ! This isn’t a gripe !
But , UC claimants bath hugely !!!!!!!!