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Original poster

Is everyone going to be affected by the cost of living?

257 replies

Southerngal5 · 09/02/2022 10:39

Ie all sectors of society not just the ones who are barely getting by currently & will now pushed into poverty...
The squeezed middle will be affected & will likely have to do without luxuries they once took for granted... I'm finding it quite scary to be honest.. I know I shouldn't as we're quite comfortable & can afford our mortgage & bills but we won't have many of the "nice" things we had planned for the dc... Please don't flame me as I know there are millions worse off but I can't see prices coming down in the foreseeable future...

OP posts:
2bazookas · 09/02/2022 13:33

@PurpleThursdays

And the infinite security of knowing it won't matter at all.

Who has the infinite security of knowing it won't matter at all? All of us? Or just you?

Just me, as was perfectly clear in the rest of my message that you edited out.
FourTeaFallOut · 09/02/2022 13:33

Jesus, infinite security? How much do you have to accumulate to have infinite security? Is that you Rishi? We all can't marry up.

Original poster
Southerngal5 · 09/02/2022 13:38

I guess some people who lived through the last recession took stock & planned ahead for an inevitable one in the future... We didn't unfortunately, I'm trying to start now though as best I can so the dc can go through this as unscathed as possible... I know many won't be as lucky so I count myself fortunate.. But in saying that I'll be skipping my balyage hair colouring to pay for dc's swimming lessons..

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Cost of living
christinarossetti19 · 09/02/2022 13:42

I think that's a good point about people who have lived through hard, collective not just individual times see things differently.

I remember when interest rates were 10% or more - the idea of taking out a nearly 100% mortgage paying back interest only horrifies me, but if you've only ever known (artificially) low interest rates, you may not feel the same, esp if that is the only way you can get on the property ladder.

A horrifying number of people have no savings (not through carelessness, just that housing and other costs are such a high proportion of wages). It's really scary.

PurpleThursdays · 09/02/2022 13:50

@2bazookas - your post didn't read right.

Original poster
Southerngal5 · 09/02/2022 14:16

It's the uncertainty of how long this will last, the cost of everything is rising sharply, food especially, we've started doing some of our shopping in Lidl & it's definitely helped.

OP posts:
LovingLivingLife · 09/02/2022 14:18

Our bills have increased greatly, around 30% up all told (our fixed mortgage and energy tariffs ended 2 months ago). We are now financially uncomfortable and I am concerned about how this will impact us in the medium term. What I find really scary is the situation some of our wider family are in.

We are lucky to be able to pay our bills but it will come at the cost of the gym memberships, cancelling fitness classes/ finding cheaper alternatives, clothes budget slashed to essentials only, cancelling cleaner, nails at home, cheaper haircuts/ no highlights, halving days & meals out, packed lunches, and no abroad holidays. The second car is also on the chopping block in a few months if things don't improve (not that that is necessarily a bad thing).

Yes we are impacted but the impact on the people & businesses around us if everyone else does the same is quite worrying.

CrimbleCrumble1 · 09/02/2022 14:21

I’m very, very fortunate for the rising costs not to make any difference to me. My gas and electricity has gone up but we’ve recently switched to an electric car so that makes a saving. Our food and eating out bill is always high so I haven’t noticed a difference.
We were caught out in the past with the ridiculously high interests rates at the same time our DC were very young.

Xtraincome · 09/02/2022 14:32

We will struggle but as we are soon downsizing it may balance out as mortgage, council tax, utilities (of course) will decrease. We won't have any extras really but we are frugal when we need to be. Thankfully DH is in a job with an abundance of OT available and I can earn ok on a supply day rate. However, my DH is a postie so not on a massive salary.
We did the numbers and have said gas and electric will the first ever bill we will not pay if it got so difficult for us.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 09/02/2022 14:56

I won't struggle as long as I keep my job. I work in the private sector and my industry relies on people buying brand new homeware. So we'll see. More people might not be able to afford it.

RedToothBrush · 09/02/2022 15:01

Well yes of course it will effect eveyone.

However if you have oodles of money just sitting there ready to invest, you might also find ways to profit from others misfortune.

For anyone else - yes even those who may earn over £100,000 a year - it will impact on them to a greater or lesser degree.

Of course if you have less disposable cash than others, you are going to be more fucked.

MrsTrumpton · 09/02/2022 15:01

@Waxonwaxoff0

I won't struggle as long as I keep my job. I work in the private sector and my industry relies on people buying brand new homeware. So we'll see. More people might not be able to afford it.
This is going to be a huge worry for lots of people in the private sector, that the knock-on effect of people tightening their belts will impact their industries and ultimately their jobs.
Waxonwaxoff0 · 09/02/2022 15:05

@MrsTrumpton absolutely. It's very up and down. We had a mammoth year last year, busiest ever as many people were saving money with WFH, no foreign holidays. It could flip completely next year.

EvilPea · 09/02/2022 15:10

It’s not a race to the bottom. You can morn the loss of your ‘fun’ money but still appreciate there are worse off.

It is shit

SartresSoul · 09/02/2022 15:19

The mega rich won’t be obviously but they never are. Everyone else will be. Tbh, I’d argue the middle (like us) will be affected more. I’ve noticed the disparity lots recently. We don’t have free dental care, free prescriptions, free eye tests and glasses, free school meals, money towards uniform and school trips, free school transport.. I could go on and the tories seem to always support those on UC as well. We have to pay for everything ourselves and we genuinely struggle to get through each month as it is. No idea how we’ll cope with the energy increase in particular.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 09/02/2022 15:20

It’s not “fun money” though- it’s money going into the hands of businesses: restaurants, hairdressers, theatres, bowling alleys- wtf is going to happen to those non essential industries?

Lightning020 · 09/02/2022 15:33

Surely a haircut is essential as a service. I cannot cut my own hair well and believe me I have tried.

SpaghettiArmsMurderer · 09/02/2022 15:35

@Lightning020 I haven’t been to the hairdresser for years - my mum cuts it for me or DP did it in lockdown. DP does his with clippers and I blend the sides and top for him.

Lightning020 · 09/02/2022 15:39

Mine is curly with a tricky fringe. I would love to cut my own hair and save the expense. Still at least am helping the salon stay open.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 09/02/2022 15:39

@Lightning020

Surely a haircut is essential as a service. I cannot cut my own hair well and believe me I have tried.
Of course it isn’t an essential service
SpaghettiArmsMurderer · 09/02/2022 15:42

@Lightning020 Mine is curly too, that’s actually one of the reasons I stopped going as a lot of hairdressers are rubbish with curly hair anyway. Could you grow your fringe out?

Elllicam · 09/02/2022 15:45

I think we will be affected but probably less than others. If our gas/electric doubles we’ll be almost £450 a month though so I’m trying to figure out how to be more energy efficient.

HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime · 09/02/2022 15:52

I think (my) life will return to being more like the 90's but with more technology.

We could never afford to eat out when I was younger, other than the occasional McDs or fish and chips on a Fridays whereas DD and I will grab food out fairly regularly and our takeout cost £30+ compared to less than £8 for fish and chips.

My parents couldn't afford a tumble dryer and clothes would be on an airer in front of the gas fire. I already have a tumble dryer and no gas fire but I'll be using an airer more often and only finishing off in the tumble dryer.

My parents couldn't afford Sky TV, I'm going to have to cut back on the streaming services.

Cinema, zoo trips, bowling etc were events for birthdays whereas we do similar activities regularly so will cut down on these.

My parents struggled to pay for my activities and traveling/accomadation when competing in regional and nationals. DDs cut down on several sports following covid but it'll be something we need to keep an eye on.

MyNameIsAngelicaSchuyler · 09/02/2022 16:34

It will affect everyone to a greater or lesser extent. My industry will be a place where people make cuts but it depends how much they are affected as to whether they cut me (and how much they value what I offer).

DH is in a safe job and we have set up our lives so we can live on one salary indefinitely, but we bought our first property in 2001 and the rest as they say is history.

Really recommend The Decade the Rich Won on iplayer. If you owned a property, shares or investments before 2010 you've 'won' in the most base sense UNLESS you are only just into that bracket, in which case you might feel like a winner but in fact you are worse off as your children are likely priced out of ever owning a home.

Politics4me · 09/02/2022 16:38

Yes OP It is quite understandable to feel overwhelmed by this situation. As others say it will affect everyone (except for about 1000 families the mega-rich). Some will find it difficult to buy food, but we shall all have fewer choices.
It is many years since we saw wages rise enough to improve the life of people doing the same job year after year.
Do you have any ideas for changing laws or policy that would help people like you?