Do you feel sad at being priced out of little luxuries?

[corkface]

Everything keeps getting more expensive and this month it is hitting home that little luxuries I used to be able to enjoy occasionally and never took for granted are just getting too expensive at a time when more and more of our income is going on bare minimum necessities.

This morning I met a friend for a walk, we used to go for tea and a slice of cake after to chat in the warm but its just too expensive now. I thought I'd bake a cake and take it with me next week with a flask of tea for after our walk but when I priced all the ingredients that was too expensive as well.

I am grateful I have a place to live and can still cover my bills but it just feels like every little bit of extra money we might have to do the odd nice thing is being squeezed out of us. Its quite depressing.

Yes. It's shocking how expensive everything is now. I've become really crazy about being frugal and I still struggle. I don't know how people afford to waste money. They are either loaded or in debt because my income isn't tiny.

I get a £1 cafe nero once a week from 3+ rewards.
That’s my treat.

I used to get a tesco meal deal once a week too but that’s £3.60 with a clubcard now- half of a week’s worth of lunches. Can’t justify it anymore

I'm quite sad but I'm also much better off than I was at a child so I feel kinda grateful and sad. I think if I hadn't been able to sit here and say I'm still better off it would be very tough.I hope this is just a blip but I fear this might be the new normal for a while.

Whilst it certainly is tight at the moment many of these comments highlight how much the UK has come to expect casual and unnecessary excess spending over the past 20/30 years ago.
I don’t buy coffees out and about, but never have done, it wasn’t a thing when i was growing up and has always seemed like a ridiculous waste of money to me, ditto, meal deal £3.50 plus for a sandwich, bag of crisps/bit of pre cut fruit and a drink. Has always been much cheaper to go and buy the raw ingredients and so can make several lunches, reusable water bottle anyone?
I am not convinced that our so called improvements are all that.

Just have a plain coffee - can't be more than £3 even in central London or whatever, surely??

Prices are ridiculous. I paid nearly£60 for bus fare and meal with two mixed drinks at a very standard restaurant in a busy city. I was shocked. The food was fine, ordered a main,and olives for the table, one drink was good, the other was very subpar. I can't see doing that ever again as it just wasn't worth it.

I just popped in to our local John Lewis cafe this afternoon and a coffee was £4.10! Rarely go shopping in town these days, but I was a bit 😮

It’s very hard to improve your situation too if you’re on a lower income and have children. By the time you take into account losing 55% of any extra off universal credit plus extra travel/parking/childcare there is little to no gain from an extra job or more hours. In fact it would probably cost you to do the extra. This the real reason why people don’t “just try harder”. I’m managing but I have lived extremely frugally before so not having things is not as much of a shock to me as it might be to better off people. But a few more treats would be nice.

I feel a bit sad that my economising is going to hit smaller businesses first.

No more new books at the independent bookshop, stopping an exercise class a local woman takes, avoiding coffee and cake at non-chain cafe etc.

Yep, just working to pay bills at the moment.
It is very depressing that 2 people on full time hours are struggling for treat money, I feel worse as it has affected the kids.
We used to do days out a lot in previous years (Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Chester Zoo, Alton Towers etc) and buy lunch and dinner out. I couldn't fathom doing that now.
My youngest has a hobby that costs a minimum of £100 per month that she has been doing diligently for the last 10 years....I am fighting tooth and nail to scrape enough money for her to continue to go.
Sometimes I feel guilty because I know my* *kids have had it a lot better than plenty of others but it still grinds my gears that we have spent so much time away from them at work but don't have the lifestyle to show for it.

I felt like this when I worked part time - luckily (or unluckily for my stress and energy levels!) I went full time (and then some!) around 2 years ago so I am buggered if I have to give up little luxuries. Yes I should just be saving as much of the extra salary as I can but I find it’s the little luxuries that get me through the stress of a brutal working week. So every Saturday I take my daughters to a coffee shop and sod the cost.

i’m frugal in lots of other areas ( oldish car, crap phone, cheap clothes, shop at Aldi) in order to justify a cafe treat or a new book etc.

It struck me how we would go out to eat at least twice a month not so very long ago, but that now costs, same meal, £40 a head. It’s a special treat. Similarly, meeting friends at the pub. A £8 glass of wine?? Nope.

I’m in the fortunate category that can afford luxuries still, but have stopped as they just aren’t worth the cost. I’d rather save money, or give to struggling local charities than feel ripped off. I will support local businesses, but have really cut back on any treats from National chains.

That’s the cheapest option for sure. Buy two little fancy cup cakes from the supermarket and take them. Cooking a whole cake from scratch if you buy everything in new is probably over a tenner.

Ah yes, can't afford the hairdressers anymore. The full works of a cut, colour and highlights used to cost 3.5% of my monthly take home pay, now it's 18%. Hairdressers' prices have gone up as their costs have rocketed, meanwhile my salary has limped up in low single digit increments and more of it is goes on utilities, co tax, food etc. It sucks.

Yes I've drawn up my budget to just include essentials. Thinking of cancelling TV License as don't watch BBC much anyway.

What's left is split between infrequent essentials like a haircut, makeup, dentist etc. or paying off debts.

Unfortunately it feels like it's only going to get worse.

While the overall cost of making a cake will be more than what you pay for one slice, you still get more slices out of a full cake.

Basic cake can be frozen too. So there will be more for next time.

Re books, the second hand shops are heaving with them, that's where I go to browse for new reads. Usually 3 for a £ or something...
I'm a bit over cafe cake now too. Few weeks ago spent £15 on 2 drinks, 2 cakes. I'm going with a flask and something home made next time. Baking at home is still- relatively cheap - compared to shop bought and much nicer.

Going out drinking.. £10 for a cocktail or double spirit and mixer and that’s up north.

You can make microwave cakes which are cheaper,-flapjacks from oats butter and sugar that you might already have in. Air fryers can make cakes more cheaply but one big enough to fit a cake tin in is about £100so too much outlay if people are really struggling.

It's a massive problem people being priced out of healthy food as then those brilliant businesses go bust, we end up relying on chemicals to grow environmentally damaging often imported food and the people eating the food are less healthy and burden the NHS.

Yes it’s depressing
I like cafe life
So save it now for after an exhibition, take the teens, talk about the ideas, go off at tangents, it just wouldn’t be the same with a flask on a bench outside we communicate better round a table

I am reading all the books I already own, which isn’t a bad thing, and have to buy books for teens, I ask for books as token presents, because I don’t need much.

The one big change is take away, it was nice not to cook once every fortnight or so, fish and chips went first, can make it from frozen, healthier as well, eating out, we do go out, but we choose more considerably now, popping into the pub, much less often (but not a bad thing).

We don’t want to stay in or sit on a bench all the time, mixing in life, chatting ideas, being part of society, chance encounters, these shouldn’t be the playground of the wealthy as it’s boring then a mono philosophy world! But there are few options for people to hang out like there are in other countries, plus more people sit in, online, I know our weather doesn’t help.

So when it’s warm and dry we go out, save in winter, spread our wings in summer and see who’s out, not in, doing stuff. I think about it as feeding your mind, to us, and for our teens it an investment, go to a busy big park, they are playing football (we let the youngster go first he’s quite good the eldest likes being in goal) if I am there so will have a book on me (one of the to read pile) as and at some point we will need an ice lolly when it’s hot, difficult to pack those and bring with.

People are resourceful as more watch the pennies options to still be out and about will spring up, humans are social animals, they can’t be squashed or you end up home, alone, depressed, being fed nonsense online.

Was due out with a friend yesterday. Bet would have spent 50.00 with travel, drinks and lunch. She had to cancel. Was relieved in some way as that 50.00 got me a lot of food for 50.00 at lidl. Things just too much.

I agree and would add it's even more frustrating that you can no longer save as much..if you're working full time in a role that is a really very useful to society, which is many jobs, you should be ablento both support yourself comfortably and save a little. Now it's no longer possible to do either of those things, I would say for the majority of workers.

Sad thing is, I don't see the situation changing any time soon. Only getting worse really. The good times are gone!

I'm in a reasonable financial situation, mainly as my DC are adults. But I very much make decisions based on whether an experience is worth the cost. For some things it is, but things like pubs, coffee shops etc, it usually isn't. Eating out is mostly limited to special occasions only.

I'm just lucky that I like spending a lot of time at home so it doesn't feel like a great loss.

Why do people always say this? Most of us are buying the coffees and the tickets because we can afford to, and not on a credit card.
It's not like everyone is living hand to mouth.