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Original poster

UK cost of living is beyond miserable

206 replies

bookworm8500 · 27/01/2025 14:18

I'm just so sick of it and to read that council tax may be increasing where I live by 20% has sent me over the edge. I don't know where the government think people like us will keep getting extra money from.

It's pay day today (NHS). My pay covers our mortgage without much left over, so on 1st Feb my salary is gone. Both my husband and I have good jobs, but salaries have never gone up like other things have. Food, energy, mortgage, council tax, bills.

It honestly feels like we just work in order to pay for a house we are hardly in because our mortgage went up so much.

I find it all utterly miserable without a way out.

I don't need advice on how to make our money stretch further. We have a modest 3 bed semi, we both work full time, not alot of debt but everything has gone up to the point that it's utterly miserable. I know we are in a better position than many too

I remember being excited for pay day about 15 years ago, when my salary actually covered everything nicely and I had money left.

Anyone else find it relentless?

OP posts:
Insidethelargeapple · 27/01/2025 16:13

caringcarer · 27/01/2025 15:41

I thought council tax could only go up 5 percent unless your council is bankrupt because of overspending and then it was 10 percent. I know Birmingham is going to be 9.9 percent this year and it was similar last year but they always overspend. When most other councils have been having 2 weekly rubbish collections for a few years Birmingham only did it this year after they were bankrupt and had another person in making them do it. Where on earth do you live for council tax to have gone up 20 percent in one year? Who is in charge of your council? I'd be trying to vote them out and get better councillors in.

Maybe Woking, where the incredibly incompetent Tory council spent billions on new development which bankrupted the town who now own billions. Thy are no longer in power but the debt remains.

Londonmummy66 · 27/01/2025 16:15

I've said this on threads before but anyone who thinks they had it as hard 30 years ago if in cloud cuckoo land. DH and I bought a 3 bed 1930s semidetached house in an good area of a SE city for £75K in 1991. Our joint salaries where about £30K (4 years post uni). So house price to salary multiple of about 2.5 Now an identical house in the same road is on the market for £455K and salaries for the same roles as we had would be about £80k combined. So house price to salary multiple of 5.5......

Bumpitybumper · 27/01/2025 16:17

bookworm8500 · 27/01/2025 16:13

There are SO many ways the government waste money on things that are of no benefit to our country, but instead they keep throwing billions at things and keep punishing tax payers with the burden.

Show quote history

There is waste but there also might be tough decisions too. That's the reality of where our economy is at. We have spiralling bills in important areas that are literally unaffordable. We take out more and more debt each year to fund all of this and then are crippled by the interest payments so need to take out more debt just to keep our head's above water.

We need adults in the room that can talk sensibly about this instead of making false promises and pretending that we can magically afford astronomical social care bills and SEN spending by cutting a bit of inefficiency and taxing a few farmers. Put bluntly, we need to get real!

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Cost of living General money
QforCucumber · 27/01/2025 16:18

caringcarer · 27/01/2025 15:43

You're right and the last government and current one only allow 2 DC to get child benefit.

Show quote history

this is not correct, Child benefit is paid for every child.

It is the additional benefits which were capped at 2 children.

Zhougzhoug · 27/01/2025 16:20

In 2004 when I graduated my starting salary was typical of most of my friends - in the 20-25k range. I rented an amazing double room in a cool bit of Zone 2 London for £407 a month. I didn't have tons of spare money and we used to drink in cheap pubs, but nevertheless I could feed and clothe myself in the Topshop sale rack's finest on just the one job.

Starting salaries are basically the same. The same room would cost well over a grand now. Everyone that age lives with their parents or works a second job. A jar of marmite's £6.

boxyboxs · 27/01/2025 16:22

This is one of the reasons why the birth rate has gone through the floor

And the knock on effect of an ageing population is higher CT bills.

SneakyLilNameChange · 27/01/2025 16:23

I agree so much OP. We both earn a decent amount that when I graduated I would have been thrilled to know I'd be on in my mid thirties but it goes nowhere. Paired with rumblings of tax rises, getting rid of state pension, thresholds for child benefit etc being so low it just feels like the weight of the world is on every workers back. Paying a load of tax for shit services and then everything costs a fortune!

boxyboxs · 27/01/2025 16:24

I really sympathise with everyone in the UK- you pay high tax, cost of living is high, inflation is high and nothing works (health care, transport, infrastructure, roads full of potholes, education is a mess)

Yep

Viviennemary · 27/01/2025 16:24

This country has gone completely downhill for a lot of working people. But some folk are doing quite nicely.

MidnightPatrol · 27/01/2025 16:24

ThatsNotMyTeen · 27/01/2025 15:18

Council tax is totally outdated. There are
million pound houses in the south east of England in a lower council tax band than I am in a modest 3 bed semi in a bog standard area in Scotland. This dawned on me when there were rebates during the energy price crisis which people in such houses got and I didn’t! I have no issues paying more tax btw which is just as well as we are hammered up here but the burden doesn’t seem to be falling on those with the broadest shoulders.

We are lucky to be doing OK but when you have young kids it is hard

I agree it needs changing.. but…

It’s not people in the South East’s fault that their housing is obscenely expensive, and they shouldn’t be penalised for that.

They may not be as well off as you assume - because their mortgage on an equivalent house to yours is 5x higher (or more!). A modest three bed semi round my way would be £1m+ - most people I know live in flats.

It just becomes a double penalty for living in an urban area, and particularly for living in the south east.

Username056 · 27/01/2025 16:26

The cost of SEN provision and the cost of Residential care for adults is hugely expensive. I didn’t realize until recently how expensive it actually is and it’s this part of the budget particularly which is crippling some local councils. Many children in my area have go out of area to school so then there is the cost of all the taxi provision etc.

Our council tax is about to go up 10% I believe. Already one of the most expensive in the country. The roads are a potholed, dangerous nightmare. There are now many people having damaged cars, wheels, blown tyres every single day.

Starlight1984 · 27/01/2025 16:27

Gowlett · 27/01/2025 15:44

I hear you… We’re both working, one child.
Two bedroom house. We don’t have much spare.

We haven’t had a holiday since COVID.
I’ll have to try hard to make it happen this year.

I don’t know how friends afford holidays…
Gigs, meals out, weddings. Must be credit cards!

That's a pretty broad assumption!

We're in the same boat as you and can afford gigs, meals out, holidays, weddings and we don't put anything on credit cards?

Yes money is tight and cost of living isn't helping but people can (and do) budget and not go into debt!

boxyboxs · 27/01/2025 16:28

I think the difficulty now is why things have never been easy there was hope things would improve. People got on the ladder younger & wages weren't so stagnant & earnings progressed, house prices increased so better LTVs etc. Now people get on the ladder later, they are often at peak earning potential, it's a very different landscape.

boxyboxs · 27/01/2025 16:29

And there is intergenerational inequality so plenty won't have to tighten their belts as much as they are mortgage free or have small ones.

SparklingSpa · 27/01/2025 16:30

I remember when our mortgage went up to 57% of our joint income, tough times indeed but at least we just about hung on to our house unlike many of our peers. Things do get a bit better as DC get older.

boxyboxs · 27/01/2025 16:37

was there MIRAS then?

Augustus40 · 27/01/2025 16:40

I checked the council tax increase for where I live. Going up 2.9 per cent here so cannot complain. East mids though.

EndlessTreadmill · 27/01/2025 16:44

BackoffSusan · 27/01/2025 15:47

@whirlyhead @TheYearOfSmallThings I have to disagree it's not like that everywhere. I lived in London for 12 years then moved to Switzerland 5 years ago. When I moved it felt very expensive here compared to the UK. Now it feels like it's the same. I really sympathise with everyone in the UK- you pay high tax, cost of living is high, inflation is high and nothing works (health care, transport, infrastructure, roads full of potholes, education is a mess). In Switzerland wages are higher, you pay less tax, everything works, quality of life is so much better, minimum wage is around £22 per hour. Yes cost of living is high but no different to London now, infact our rent here is cheaper. I advise anyone who can leave the UK to do so for a while, because there are better options out there. We have been able to save alot of money in a relatively short space of time which we never would have been able to do if we had stayed in the UK. I even looked at coming back and the same role salary was less than what it was 5 years ago. Salaries are stagnant. Brexit has made it harder to move for alot of people but my God if you can get out, then do it. If you don't like it you can always go back. I have no idea how anyone saves money in the UK. Even on a decent salary its hard.
I will add I have friends who moved to Switzerland, did the same job as in the UK and earn double. They got promoted in 1 year, with a 25k pay rise. They get paid overtime. It's a different work culture, much more balanced. And the mood is different, everyone is happy, positive, optimistic. Now when I come home to the UK people are disgruntled, fed up, desperate for change, struggling. It's really sad to see.

Really interesting. If I didn't have children in school, I would be doing this.
In the UK, everything is expensive, but NOTHING works, and public services are abysmal. On top of that, low access to nature if you live in a big city. Different in Switzerland. I had heard rents and CoL were super high in Switzerland, interesting this doesn't seem to be the case!

Cakeandcardio · 27/01/2025 16:49

It's hard to feel it's all truly attributable to climate change etc when we heard last year that Tesco has record profits...

Idratherbepaddleboarding · 27/01/2025 17:03

It’s just shit isn’t it? Just existing rather than living and working just to pay bills and for other people to live 😡.

Disturbia81 · 27/01/2025 17:06

JimHalpertsWife · 27/01/2025 14:19

It definetly feels, on the whole, that there isn't much opportunity for joy. But then people are always going abroad or buying a new car and I'm not really sure how. I wonder if it's credit?

Yeah it's weird. Feels like everyone suffering but then people buying expensive stuff more than ever, I know a lot is on credit so gives a false picture. But then how do they afford repayments

LeaveALittleNote · 27/01/2025 17:45

I feel like this. I just want to move abroad but my husband isn’t keen. I know there are problems everywhere, but there has to be a better life than this. Off to read the full thread now…

dottiehens · 27/01/2025 17:52

heyhopotato · 27/01/2025 14:49

I live in one of the most expensive areas for council tax, it's one of the poorest areas of the country.

I think it's extremely unfair that places in central London pay barely any, when they have multimillion £ houses.

It should be a much more equalised system.

And non-UK citizens should pay triple compared to everyone else, or have some other tax they're required to pay.

May be there are many people using benefits in your area. Council tax is tight to your local expenses. We are sick of paying for the rest of the country via taxes so drop it.

LadyKenya · 27/01/2025 18:06

Viviennemary · 27/01/2025 16:24

This country has gone completely downhill for a lot of working people. But some folk are doing quite nicely.

Yes, the elite are doing rather well. Not really surprising seeing as they make the laws to protect their money, and properties!

the80sweregreat · 27/01/2025 18:08

The young have been screwed over by everything. I really do feel so sorry for them and I wouldn't say I had it easy myself at times , but it felt more manageable