Is expensive living here to stay in the UK?

[BestThingAtThisParty]

Curious of people's thoughts, the MN wisdom and insight is often on the money, so to speak!

Obviously lots of us are either struggling or at the very least having to make a lot of changes to how we live, thanks to the combination of energy, food, mortgage rises. Plus, the knock on to everything else - whether that's businesses also paying out more for the above so charging more, and/or a spot of bandwagon jumping. I may be way off but I really feel there's a mentality in some places that 'everything's more expensive now, so let's just double our prices and see.'

We went out for cake as a birthday treat recently and the hot chocolate was £7! We all had tap water instead - and things like fizzy drinks now costing £4 just makes eating out so crazily expensive, even when it's budgeted for or for a special occasion. A few years ago there were a lot of offers flying around at places, and eating out, tickets to days out etc. were so much more manageable. Now, I feel like we need a minimum of £50 for a lot of stuff for me and the 3 DC. The average burger in a pub I'm sure was around £8/£9 - now it's more like £13-£15 - it's madness. We're in the midlands for reference.

Is this just how it's going to be now? Or do people forsee a change?

I'm definitely having to cut back, can't save much and would worry if a big bill came out of the blue, but can pay the mortgage, feed the kids and get by including still having holidays. But I know it must be so much worse for many people. I was on Universal Credits a few years ago for a year, alongside work, and I could still afford a UK holiday for me and the kids, but sadly can't imagine that's the reality now for people in that situation. And even if the holiday can be paid for, an ice cream or doughnut is probably minimum of a fiver now and fish & chips totally out of the question. It just seems ludicrous😕

Yeah definitely. We're doing OK financially but we had some work done on the house last year and it ended up being about 8k more than we budgeted so still paying it off!
I'm sitting eating homemade cake with a cuppa. Cost about £3 to make a whole cake and its delicious. I do like going to cafes for the social aspect so I do still go weekly to meet friends but it is a fortune now. Not their fault as the price of energy etc has increased.

Unfortunately it's not a mentality, its reality. business are having to raise costs due to higher overheads, increased NI contributions etc. Small businesses being hit harder, larger ones slightly hit less due to economy of scale.

It is really expensive. I used to have pay day fish and chips once a month or a catch up with friends over coffee and a scone for a fiver. All of that luxury stuff has been stripped out of my budget so I can pay increased bills/ higher groceries.

I think it's only going to get worse. I'm focussing on stocking up a bit with ingredients to start making more things at home. Lots of things will store for a very long time (things like sugar and butter (in the freezer), flour and cocoa powder for example). Cooking at home is time consuming but the prices of things are escalating rapidly. I think its partly that we've been so lucky with low food prices for many years so now that we are seeing prices rise its very noticeable.

It's difficult for cafe type places if they have to put their prices up to make a profit because the higher the price, the more people will decide that they won't pay it, like you did, and at some point, they don't have a viable business.

I can't believe a hot chocolate is £7 though - or was this a particularly luxurious hot chocolate in a very naice environment?

Until energy prices come down then yes as inflation in everything is tied to energy costs for production costs, etc, and of course household bills.

It's crackers isn't it. I was going to have a hot chocolate instead of a cake but felt obliged to have a brownie as it was 'only' £4!
It was a fancy one with cream, yes, in a pretty pudding house but they didn't do a bog standard jobby.

I feel really ignorant but I know there are a few influencing factors, beyond Russia, but are energy prices unlikely to fall in the interim or longer term?

I think cafés and restaurants can double the prices on many items and people just tap and pay without really questioning it. But the cost of doing business has genuinely gone up and if customers keep paying, it makes sense to charge what the market will stand. Young people who aren't carrying the full cost of housing, utilities, childcare etc often have a good disposable income and are used to paying ambitious prices.

Having said that sales in December were lower than expected nationally, and I think a significant number of people just can't keep paying more.

It was a fancy one with cream, yes, in a pretty pudding house but they didn't do a bog standard jobby.

I don't think I want a bog standard jobby served to me, however pretty the pudding house

This is scary that you think they're escalating. I'd hope at least for a plateau 😞I should probably do the same then. Can't help feeling mildy bummed out by the whole thing.

I know there are degrees, of course. I probably feel it more being on my own with the kids compared to 2x FT decent salaries. But also appreciate there are people far worse off and just day to day living costs must be truly frightening for some.

😂at least that's one thing that's still free!

It’s prohibitive and we don’t get paid any more to afford d it. A pint is £7 - 8 in my local🍺 Cheers!

True, nobody can take that from us 🤔

Energy is one part, climate change, the increasing unpredictability for farmers hence crop failures, look at the cost of olive oil now. Weather has reduced coffee, wheat, potatoes, rice crops.

Our recent import/export regulations all add to the cost and complicated of supply.

So yes, less choice, more expense and it will only get worse.

We go out, buy in less, it's just not worth the money in many cases. But we do treat ourselves, it's just more considered now.

Transport is more expensive, tickets are more expensive, flights, accommodation. Mortgages, insurance, everything.

So we prioritise experiences over things. We rarely go shopping for a browse, I am reading all the books I have already bought and using the library for ones I would buy, read and give away.

It's a shame, because authors, musicians, artists will suffer and we like to support creative industries, smaller independent shops are just so uncompetitive now that it's hard to justify the added cost.

It would help if there could be more of a balance of the cheap prices online, but when you can only buy cheap, mass produced, shipped from East Asia, I get it I really do. But that continues to add to the climate instability and the cycle continues.

We are all so interconnected now what happens the other side of the globe has direct affect on us all.

Can anyone really see it improving any time soon?

Is this just how it's going to be now? Or do people forsee a change?

Things are only going to get more expensive. The country is broke and we have an aging population so it's higher everything.

I think its partly that we've been so lucky with low food prices for many years so now that we are seeing prices rise its very noticeable.

Yes, our food costs have been very low vs other countries for a long time. However we have high costs in lots of areas.

Young people who aren't carrying the full cost of housing, utilities, childcare etc often have a good disposable income and are used to paying ambitious prices.

I'm sure young people have less disposable income vs previous generations at their age due largely to housing costs.

I don't prices ever go down, I think all we can really hope is they stop going up so fast and that wage growth starts.

This. This alone dictates prices for anyone with premises/overheads. Also this shitty Government stinging businesses left right and centre doesn't help, either. Some of us have barely recovered from the disruption of Covid.

Very little ever comes down in price. Prices are sticky downwards. Once they have gone up its unlikely that they will come down since people adjust to the new normal.

Yes it's the wages nowhere near matching these huge increases. That's what I missed in my OP - though had been thinking about it in terms of Universal Credits, when I was on them as a top up they were such a help, but food, bills and leisure stuff were all tonnes cheaper.

Drinks are crazy - like another poster said, I sometimes tap without thinking and then feel sick that I've just paid £15 for two drinks at a typical pub!

But they're generally still living with their parents or in house shares, so not paying full rent/mortgage plus bills etc.

So they have more money available for leisure costs. Plus a £7 hot chocolate is now something that's seen as an alternative to a £20-30 main course meal out that ends up being £50-60 with starters, drinks and service/tip. You still get the experience, but it doesn't cost as much.

It's cyclical and sight was lost of the fact that costs and prices were very low for a significant period, except for property. Interest rates have played a large part.

Back in the early 80s, my net pay was about £550 pcm. A washing machine cost about £400 for example. A well made dress from M&S in pure wool was about £35. You can't get a pure wool, well made dress in M&S any more but a similar one, I am sure, would be £120.

In the 80s and 90s and even more in previous decades there wasn't such a culture of discretionary spending. People just didn't have the spends and didn't expect to.

It's cyclical and sight was lost of the fact that costs and prices were very low for a significant period, except for property. Interest rates have played a large part.

Not sure about the cyclical part, we never recovered from the 08 crash.