Seriously? This is The Times idea of an average family being squeezed for cash?

[ItchySnoof]

How fucking out of touch are these people? Given that some families literally can't feed themselves?

Genuinely thought this was a joke

It blows the mind why anyone would go into great detail about their finances in a national newspaper. Won’t be get a ribbing at work?

^^Won’t he…

Those who are poor tend not to read The Times

Quite an assumption.
Do you have a source for that?

@OneTimeThrowAway

Financial times has a regular weekend insert called how to spend it

That always strikes me as a bit much but again, it's who buys it

I hear you. I need a column on "How to not spend it".

Another middle class bashing thread. Yawn

'We ask families for their tips to combat rising energy and food bills'.

Well, I'm going to stop paying our nanny 30k a year and get a Tesla 🤣.

Of course this is fucking ridiculous. We are doing fine, and are fortunate enough that I don't need to think about my heating bills or eating bills.

This is fucking sick though! YANBU OP!

Anyone who suggests otherwise is a first class [insert].

@TheMarzipanDildo

I watched that Louise Woodward documentary recently, if I had children I don’t think I’d want some unqualified teenager (that’s what au pairs usually are, right?) looking after them for a fraction of the cost of a nanny!

I think you have a point. Much as I'd love cheap childcare, I'd want someone who was experienced & could deal with the serious challenges/health risks that kids do have. My current babysitter is expensive but if there is a problem she is going to notice and escalate things.

@Nichebitch

Another middle class bashing thread. Yawn

And your thoughts are?

Health coaches aren't some flaky job that only rich wives of Hedge Fund Managers have.

A naturopathic health coach, which is what this woman says she’s retraining to be, is a flaky job though…

I’ve seen a lot of journos taking the piss on twitter. It’s the equivalent of click bait and obviously the wife has form if she’s done a few articles before. This one is likely to blow up though and be quite prominent so they might live to regret it.

As badly written as it is, there is a genuine thing in there about childcare that if high earners feel it, many others will be too. The electric car switch may actually be cheaper for some as well. We’re looking quite seriously at selling our car and swapping to an electric company car as tax incentives quite lucrative to do it as well as reducing petrol costs.

What is the problem? Prices are rising for everyone. It is not black or white families. We are not starving and I was planning to give more hours to our cleaner but decided against this to prepare our finances for the squeeze.

I mean black or white situations or rich or extremely poor.

The Times always has some articles like this. It doesn't even reflect their demographic because the comments below the line are always hilarious in response.

As PPs pointed out, there is an issue of trickle down economics and also the fact that politicians read The Times. If the Tories think that what they see as their natural demographic, are having to cut corners and feel their standard of living is being squeezed, then that can filter through to policy.

Ionlydomassiveones don’t forget they will have worked very hard too so deserving of their wealth

I am poor and read The Times and work hard.

But according to some on here I should be reading The Sun and spend my days being a lazy arse.

I have to get my chauffeur to run around the rear entrance, change into his butlers outfit and then open the door. We call it job sharing.

@BurntToastAgain

It sounds like they’re going to exploit an au pair to save money by expecting her to be a nanny.

Exactly my thought, too.

This is just clickbait. It infuriates people that they are so out of touch. But in the same breath it is just as infuriating as the 700 clickbait stories about people on benefits with 7 children in inadequate council housing. It is a story created just for the comments.

She is 100% a mumsnetter.

Hi! [wave]

@Disneydatknee88

This is just clickbait. It infuriates people that they are so out of touch. But in the same breath it is just as infuriating as the 700 clickbait stories about people on benefits with 7 children in inadequate council housing. It is a story created just for the comments.

Yes totally agreed. It sells papers.

'This is just clickbait. It infuriates people that they are so out of touch. But in the same breath it is just as infuriating as the 700 clickbait stories about people on benefits with 7 children in inadequate council housing. It is a story created just for the comments.'

And @Disneydatknee88 are you really that out of touch that you've just actually said this?

Do you honestly think that the very real situation where thousands of children are going hungry is akin to this story? 'Clickbait' for likes/comments?

Let me tell you now that your letter point is absolutely more real, and probably 1000 more times to appear in a newspaper (as opposed to the 700 you state). There are children out there, in the UK, who are NOT being given the adequate upbringing that they need/deserve.

This article is disgusting, and a comparison of the 2 extremes equally so.

*latter point

@LethargicActress

Why shouldn't they talk about how people are being affected in the media? Despite the fact that there are many people way worse off than this family, they are still a normal family.

Or is it that newspapers should only be allowed to talk about people at the bottom of the income spectrum because no one else is worthy of consideration?

I'm afraid this is exactly the view taken on all of these threads. There have been several awful and bullying examples in the last few days. This particular thread appears to have been designed for exactly this purpose: to have a go at anybody who dares to say they are having financial worries if they are not earning a really low income.

No other lived experience is valid and you're evil for saying how you feel or that you are struggling financially if you aren't destitute. That's the bitter message from many of these posters.

It's very depressing, in a forum that was set up to be supportive.

@TheGreatATuin

They might not have claimed they're the average family and they might well be The Times demographic, but it's increasingly common for families to struggle to afford basic groceries or have heating on in freezing weather because they can't afford the bills. It's insensitive and in poor taste.

Why? Talking about one person's worries isn't invalidating another's. Or should only the person suffering the most ever be allowed to speak? Do we need to have misery olympics? We can pit someone in the UK who can't afford to turn the heating on and is using foodbanks against people from developing nations where their children start work aged 4 and they have no clean water. Or maybe that's just an absolutely stupid attitude to things and we should have empathy for everybody, whatever their situation.