Cost of Living Crisis

[TwinklingFairyLights]

Is this not having much of an impact yet? I was in central Manchester on Friday and restaurants, pubs and bars were all full. I phoned to book a haircut and my hairdresser is fully booked for 2 weeks. I thought discretionary spending would be reducing by now but I can't see it.

I think I've had about 20 nn changes since then! 🤔

We are much better off but I think that’s because we are both carers I know if dh had stayed part time we would be worse off

It's the £81 payback for the advance that would kill me off. And I'd definitely need the advance as I'm self employed so my income is all over the place anyway!

Yes it’s not ideal but the advance is so needed I think they need to decrease the time it takes to award as 5 weeks is so long

Being self employed is hard as well on UC I’ve heard 😞

The people who are hardest hit are currently 'invisible' because they are already struggling to survive each day.
I had to have a little word with my mum. She's very well off yet was talking about cutting back on her going out and about, purely because of what she's reading about the crisis. I think she was sort of trying to show solidarity, but I pointed out that people on low incomes are relying on the likes of her to keep on spending. She's 81, and has a weekly hairdo, has lunch out with her mates at least twice a week, uses taxis and has a cleaner and a gardener. She feels a lot of survivor's guilt, I think. She supports charities too.
We're reasonably comfortable with mortgage paid, and currently able to save. We're also still going out, and DH in particular is a generous tipper, as we know exactly how it feels for money to be very tight.
We're concerned for our adult children as they are currently paying crazy sums for rent, and only one so far has been able to buy.
Unforeseen circumstances that reduce their incomes could tip them over the edge and DH I feel on standby as when they express their concerns we promise we will not let them go homeless or starve.

As others have said, I don't think the crisis is affecting people equally. Its widening the inequality and hitting the poorest the hardest. Yes everyone's prices are going up, but just from what I know with friends etc those in higher paid professional middle class jobs (lawyers, accountants etc) are getting big pay rises to keep up, whereas Public sector and those in lower pay jobs are not.

I think it's concerning if all of it is going on credit. As we may end up with another credit crunch if interest rates go up. In fact I think it would be carnage if interest rates go up a lot. Then it would hit those on middle incomes.

Sadly, many households have huge unsecured credit debt as its been SO cheap to borrow for so long...

Think those days are over.

It could be credit but some people may be making big purchases now out of savings to avoid the extra cost of inflation if they left it until next year, say.

So far it's the poorest in society who have been impacted the most. If inflation, taxation, and interest rates continue to rise, then more and more people will feel the pinch.

“The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.” -Vladimir Lenin

I'm quoting Lenin because history has a habit of repeating itself, and without a significant change in economic direction, huge numbers of people are going to be impoverished by the economic policies of the current government.

Yes 1% payrise is the norm

The poor have been done over by the government for the last 10 years while the media churned out programmes like - can't pay we'll take it away and benefits street, but now inflation is eating into the food budgets of those who were doing fine then The Times is writing articles on how to stretch your purple broccoli and source your bee wax cloth covers to keep food fresh longer - not a real article but that kind of vibe.

I'm getting cynical but I think lots of news outlets are - probably unintentionally - distracting from the actual crisis which will be felt predominantly by the poor by suggesting that this is a crisis for everyone. It's bullshit, but they have lost the hook of covid dread and need something to keep the circulation high and advertising revenue rolling in. The solution is to suggest that we are all in peril of the cost of living crisis but the effect is to minimise those who will be hurt the most.

It's an unequal crisis, we are still waiting on the details of our pay away for this year (NHS) so will get it backdated. Politically I don't think they can give us a pay freeze.

We are a middleish income household (80kish between us last year), we have cut back on something's as we have bought a bigger house but we don't need to cut back we could just save less. People will also have downgraded so instead of going to the cocktail lounge for £10 cocktails they might go to the bar doing 2 for £10.

It's not news to anyone studying cost of living that increases hit those on lowest incomes hardest, even though Jack Monroe seems to feel she's discovered this fact - but it will hit everyone. Interest rate rises will affect everyone who has a mortgage after all.

Is 80k middle income?!! Surely that’s high!

Yes but an increase isn't a crisis unless it affects your living standards significantly, is it? That's how I understand a crisis.

£80k combined is a high household income!

If you are on £50k you are in the top 5% of earners in the UK.

And there's the issue imo...

People on £50k (which I'm sure we can all agree is a really decent wage?) are struggling to make ends meet atm (very high housing costs, fuel, food and energy price rises) and getting unhappy is dangerous - historically speaking...

It usually leads to a move to the far right, othering of minorities, lack of choice/cultural stimulation/aspiration...(you can tell I'm a historian...)

I've not really seen it because the weather has improved, so my gas and electric bill has remained the same - come winter it'll shoot up and then I'll be cutting costs!

I've started better meal planning to bring my supermarket bill down to it's normal (pre-recent rise) cost.

So currently, though things have gone up, my outgoings have remained the same, and not reduced as I would normally find in spring. So I can still do things like go for meals. In winter this may change.

People facing the biggest drop in living standards since 1956(!) is a crisis across the board.

www.bbc.com/news/business-60846951

Dh and I were at a local m&s simply food store yesterday...

Security guards chased a young lad on a bike with a bag full of shopping :(

They'll be more of that I guess.

(They got the shopping back but the lad rode off)

I imagine there will be a huge increase in muggings/home break ins too.

But yes, that article says crunch will be on q4 of 2022 on.

Certainly if you look worldwide, wheat and fertiliser prices are already a starvation crisis.

There are a lot of people who prioritise hairdressers, meals out, alcohol, buying clothes, smoking or whatever, over and above saving/being careful with their money, and as they have become used to having these things they will not yet be thinking these might have to be cut back. It may take until autumn/winter for the real impact to hit home for some.

some people may be making big purchases now out of savings to avoid the extra cost of inflation if they left it until next year, say.

So bringing purchases forward now will hit those retailers in the future I guess.

The comments here seem to be pointing to problems later this year / 2023.

I've posted this before but the forecast is that this parliament will be the first in at least 5 years where everyone across the income spectrum will see a drop in disposable income. The poor clearly have it worst but all are expected to suffer.

I guess the difference is 3% less disposable income for people in the top income brackets (£50k+) isn't such a big deal and probably can be hardly noticed.