Everything is so expensive!

[Fuckadoodledoo2]

Seen today:

£27.50 for a bobble hat 🙄
£300 for a two hour kids party at softplay, limit 20 kids 😱

Am I just right, or are prices rocketing?

It really is all getting expensive, even the bobble hats.

We spend about the same amount every month and I am not in the habit of price watching - it is just about always the same. This month our bank balance is a lot lower than normal, and there aren't any big explanations. Just everything we buy costs more.

I will have to start paying more attention.

Maybe coke's gone up coz there's no gas?

I’ve just done a realistic spreadsheet of expenditure, adding in things like cats flea treatment, car tax and added up my supermarket expenditure over the past 3 mths.

I was horrified. Every mth my food shop has gone up by £10. Just small increases here and there which aren’t noticeable at the time.

No wonder I haven’t been able to save any money for a couple of mths (and the fact some arse broke into our garage which necessitated 2 new locks at £200).

Maybe I should stop drinking alcohol. That would save £20 a mth.

Just feel as though I just work to survive though if I give up every small pleasure. You know, not always buying the cheapest coffee etc.

Luxury! I would just go with the hat and do without the bobble. The bobble is unnecessary frivolity.

@Fuckadoodledoo2

£300 for a party is quite expensive here. Just softplay entrance and party room use, no food included. Maybe that's the norm elsewhere. Or maybe Facebook suddenly thinks I'm loaded

Where I am (not the UK) 300 for 2 hours for 20 kids at a soft play party is not bad at all, it's only 7 pr kid an hour, although here it would include the cake, invitations and a party tea (pizza, chips, drinks) for the kids too.

You are right op. I am sure you can still get a pack of six for a tenner on ebay though.

@OrangeBlossomsinthesun it's £15 per kid just for soft play

When Ds was on 10.00 am starts I used to drop him and nip into the big Tesco for a small seeded loaf for 80 pence, I always made sure I had £1 in my shorts pocket, I went in the other day, £1.10.

I won't be buying it, it was just a treat.

I have to say I hadn't noticed the inflation until I realised the household account was in the red every month. It wasn't anything particular just a little bit more on everything we spend. we are good on suppliers but I'm feeling nervous about switching now given recent issues in the energy sector (and octopus are fab). I'm public sector so no 1% payrise for me this year, and more NI I understand, which makes it all the more painful.

Where are people living that £15 per child is reasonable for soft play without food & drink? Crikey!

YANBU OP - prices have definitely gone up recently on pretty much everything.

Haha I needed this thread today. I was originally quoted £300 for a party venue complete with food etc but it’s gone up to £350 as they couldn’t give me the normal venue. £300 was bad enough but £350 is making me despair and start afresh

Do you also think it's more noticeable because a lot of people were spending less in lockdown (not going out at all, no activities etc)?

@Fuckadoodledoo2

Well prices are rising, but where the F are the charging £27.50 for a bloody bobble hat?

You have a point, but that is taking it to the ludicrous extreme.

With the impending increases, I tried to fix my fuel prices yesterday and the lowest tariff I could get is £187. I am currently paying £130.

Haven't fixed yet..........can't decide if I should.

It is starting to feel a bit worrying with fuel prices and day to day living costs increasing. Anyone on the breadline, or who have over committed themselves to mortgages or finance will find the next few months very tough.

I don't think you've picked very good examples OP. I paid about £300 for the last soft play party my dcs had and that was about 6 years ago!

Also I'm pretty sure you can buy a bobble hat for £2 from primark. Obvs if you are shopping in somewhere high end you are going to pay inflated prices.

I think prices of some things are rising (I started a thread about the ridiculous hike in train ticket prices a few weeks ago) but other things are cheaper comparatively to years back - clothes etc. When I was a teenager there was no such thing as fast, cheap fashion like there is nowadays.

I think being an adult in general just seems to be that everything costs more than expected. The price of cheese always baffled me when I moved out. Why's it so bloody dear.

I just went to ALDI, 2 bags of shopping was £30. No treats or anything from the middle aisle in there, that was a top up shop 😳 going to start getting tesco order every week and give myself a budget. Scary how quickly the price of things is going up!

Our old cat died in late 2019. Got a new rescue one recently and was surprised that when first cat died, basic Felix sachets were £3.00 per box, and now they're £3.50. There used to be offers on most of the time too, but not now.

Also noticed the price of birthday cakes in Tesco. A basic chocolate one used to be £6. This year it's £8.

Well I think your hat is cheap because I've just bought a more expensive one and your party was expensive because we paid much less for DSs party (football party at the local school, no food included). But the hat was made of ethically sourced wool and was knitted in the UK with the higher wages that entails (rather than the sweat shop conditions used to make a £1.50 new hat) and will last a lot longer than DSs party.

I’ve recently resigned up with a tesco delivery pass so did my first shop on there for ages the other day. Went to “favourites” and lots of stuff no longer available but was interesting to see the “you could replace with this” under every thing. Pretty much identical product but smaller/less weight and normally a bit more expensive.

I noticed similar with Sainsbury's but found there were better alternatives if I did a search. I think they deliberately offer the expensive option.

I went to Aldi today and got a chicken Korma. Me and DH have it between us with a few fries and a bit of naan bread. It's been £1.69 for that last 4-5 years we have been buying it. Today it was £1.99. So yep, the price hikes are starting to affect even cheap-as-chips Aldi now!!!

Bring back Ed Milliban with his cost of living crisis slogan

A man before his time

No she's using the example of a hat she bought 2-3 years ago going from £10 to £27.50 in that time.

No, she’s using an example of a company which will sell a range of hats at a range of prices.

It could be worse, I promised mine a party at London zoo after he saw one, now that was painful as while the price looked reasonable for a zoo, £19 each with food, drinks, games, goody bag (and actually worth having) and an animal experience. So pricey, but also fairly good value.

I only realised after booking that it didn’t include entry into the actual zoo!!

@FinallyFluid

When Ds was on 10.00 am starts I used to drop him and nip into the big Tesco for a small seeded loaf for 80 pence, I always made sure I had £1 in my shorts pocket, I went in the other day, £1.10.

I won't be buying it, it was just a treat.

Just for clarification, we do have treats other than a small seeded loaf from Tesco.

I agree, but still think a lot of foods are pretty cheap compared to years ago, when you take into account wages. And cheap clothes didn’t used to be a thing.