What have you stopped buying due to a price increase?

[heartbroken22]

?? Don't buy as many eggs as we normally did or chicken...

We've never had pet insurance for our two dogs but are going to be hit by £1300 surgery bill this week. Fortunately I can just about afford it, but am seriously thinking about getting insurance at least for our younger dog.

But you see that's the point. SOME people are in dire straits, SOME are cutting back on their current frugality, SOME are living often quite worrying and miserable lives just existing.

But the Gov wants to focus on those who will NOT suffer from inflation much. Those who could save for this rainy day (I know not everyone could), those who in their eyes have good jobs and work hard etc. You get the drift.

Watch when the housing market cools rapidly how many cash purchases there will be. Can you see the airports being empty of people travelling abroad? Can you actually see higher end shops closing? As usual it is the ordinary working person whether on a reasonable or lower income that will suffer, but make no mistake about it, it will not affect a huge number of people either, at all.

The barber has just gone up to £16. Was £13 a year ago. Thinking of buying clippers and doing my own.

We have only had one family trip out using the car in last 2 months.

No coffees out.
cancelled gym membership ship after lockdown and not re-joined
Not supporting all the PTFA events
no cinema trips
only one meal out in 3 months, rather than a few times.

Reduced after school activities by one ( per child) which helps with fuel costs too.

Reduced buying meat, fresh herbs and bought cakes.

Reading about people cancelling pet insurance makes me wince. If you think the monthly cost is a lot, what would you do about a sudden huge vet bill? A friend's cat injured his leg and just the emergency vets and overnight care (it was at a weekend) came to over £6,000! Pets also live much longer these days and that also comes with many health issues associated with old age - but it will be too late to get insurance at that point.

That's true @HydraWater and it's something I actually wonder about a lot

I work in central London, so every day I read about the cost of living crisis and then I go into work and the expensive shops and restaurants and theatres and everything else are full to bursting.

It's like parallel worlds. A lot of people don't seem to be much affected at all. I don't really understand it.

I have thought of getting one, but fear that the cost of buying a decent size one would take a long time to recoup, plus there is the ongoing cost of the electricity to run it. I’d love to hear how it would compare price wise from someone who can work it out.

Jacob's Cream Crackers. £1.20 in Tesco the other day and £1.60 in the Coop. Tescos own brand were about 39p. My partner seems to think Jacob's are the best, but the price difference is ridiculous.

My hair products 😟 they haven't gone up but they're expensive and everything else has. I'm eeking out my last can!

Grow my own herbs and make my own bread now. Shop in lidl instead of waitrose.. its actually nicer tasting I think. Clothes from charity shop. Haircuts by a family member (free). Really making do with what's in the fridge/freezer. Not buying coffee out unless socially. Do free stuff like walks int forest or museums.

I've stopped buying fizzy drinks and now buy the most basic own brands for everything. Normally have a shower and wash my hair at the gym to save water and electricity. All washing done on economy 7.

I’ve thought the same.
its either people who are enjoying life before winter and the shit hits the fan more.
the disparity between the wealthy and not wealthy is huge. Certainly in my area there are some people who seemed to have accumulated huge amounts of wealth in the last 3 years or so. I don’t know how they’ve done it.

I'm keeping my petplan insurance. It's expensive but I can afford the premiums. Might not be able to afford a massive vet bill though

And please remember that changing pet insurance companies (or cancelling them restarting) will often exclude any conditions that your pet has ever suffered with before.

It’s a very difficult time for so many of us right now :(.

I’m about to start a new, slightly higher paid, job - but I do mean “slightly”. Hopefully, the longer term prospects will justify the change.

Is there a thread running somewhere where we can share bargains/deals etc? A bit like all the Christmas threads?

I pay £1.60 a dozen free range, they had gone up from £1.40 last December, after being that for 5 years at least! Farm gates are often the best place though I do realise that if you're in the middle of a city it's not always feasible.

We have a heated airer we bought years ago (renting and couldn't put in dryer so needed something). I think it's fantastic and I can imagine it's cheaper than a tumble dryer, aren't they supposed to be one of the most energy consuming appliances?

I was organising the weekly shopping list/menu and had to emit pine nuts from a recipe for this very reason!
Am considering pet insurance.

I was wondering if @MNHQ might consider starting a Cost of Living topic

MN is a great resource for sharing ideas and advice, it could be really helpful for a lot of people

Yes, I really agree with this. Unions offer limited help to non-members so you can't just rejoin if you need them.

I buy fewer brands, eat veggie more regularly, don't buy snacks ie crisps unless we have company, take packed lunches and use kettle and instant at work rather than takeaway coffee. Have a sofa blanket rather than put the heating on although that's a lot easier in June than December...

I mainly buy secondhand clothes, cut my own hair, bake batches of bread, use the slow cooker instead of the oven, shop at Aldi or Lidl. No takeaways or restaurants etc. We had a revised monthly bill from our energy supplier last week: our monthly bill doubled to £88 in April, now they want £110 per month to offset the winter period wtaf. We are in a small energy efficient property so it’s low energy usage. I am dreading the next energy price hike.

I have a heated clothes dryer from lakeland and it is brilliant. I hardly use the tumble dryer. Of course there is the cost of electricity but you should (if you load is efficiently) be able to dry two loads of washing overnight usually.

I've put £380 worth of diesel in the car in 6 days. That is most definitely going to be reduced!

Petrol (I now walk more or bike or stay at home). Puddings/cream, cakes, anything branded (apart from Ariel liquid). Chicken breasts (thighs all the way), expensive eggs, Walkers crisps. I’m also making things go further, three fish fingers in a sandwich, not 4, 2 rashers of bacon, not 3 in a bacon roll.

I would never cancel life insurance, ever.

Oh and no more hair colourings and hair cuts are reduced too.