To think it’s not going to be a case of heating or eating for many families

[LadyCatStark]

We can forget heating altogether! I know it’s a nice little rhyme but for many, many families it’s going to be a case of eating or putting just enough petrol in the car to get you to work to pay all these increased costs. Eating yourself, or feeding your kids (hopefully most people will choose their kids). Eating healthily or eating cheap rubbish.

I’ve just nipped to Aldi as I had a work appointment cancel in the area and spent £40 just on the few bits I needed, not even a proper shop. I could have cried that I’d driven even just the 15 minutes to my appointment and it was cancelled and every drop of fuel counts.

Did they? I don't remember that and I was a complete news junkie.

This might be of some assistance:

Eight things more likely to kill you in 1970s Britain than today
…

More people die in winter than in summer because of cold weather and higher rates of infectious illnesses such as flu.

But the difference between the number of people dying in winter compared with summer has fallen since the 1970s, when it averaged more than 40,000 extra deaths.

By 2015-16, there were fewer than 25,000 excess deaths a year in winter compared with in summer.

Much of this is because of general improvements in health, but our homes are also better heated and insulated now.

These days almost all homes have some form of double glazing but in the early 1970s fewer than 8% did, according to The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

www.bbc.com/news/uk-42324984

@Yorkshirelass04

This is an entirely foreseeable consequence of Brexit.

People got what they voted for and so have to accept what comes with that.

What tosh!

@Yorkshirelass04

This is an entirely foreseeable consequence of Brexit.

People got what they voted for and so have to accept what comes with that.

Same as England's poor showing against Ireland, all the windy weather we've had recently and the fact that I went out without my purse this morning. Any more nonsense anyone would like to add? Before anyone starts screeching, I voted Remain, sorry to disappoint you!

Totally agree, JudgeJ. Absolute nonsense.

@threatmatrix

We are all so spoilt. Just put a bloody jumper on.

Dressing for the weather is sooooo old fashioned though! I used to get fed up of pupils coming to school in winter with no coat on, short-sleeved Summer shirts and no sweatshirt. They all had these things but they didn't feel cool, they would rather feel cold and expect me to have my classroom radiators on the Hawaii setting.

BambinaJAS Food isn't much cheaper in Spain. I spend nearly the same here on the supermarket shop as I did when I was in London and earn much, much less. When you compare salaries with how much everything costs, it's not that much cheaper to live in Spain than the U.K. Energy prices have been high here for years and now they are getting higher. Food, fuel etc is also going up as well.

I was commenting a couple of months ago about the cost of 6 tins of supermarket dog food and a bag of dry dog food going up from £9.70 to £12.60 (30% increase) in the space of a week but I've been to Asda today and bought 12 basic items which a month ago cost me £17.65, today they cost £25.89, an increase of £8.24 or 46.5%.
I'm single, disabled and on benefits, DWP has said we'll be getting a 3.1% increase next month but I'd love to know how I'm meant to feed myself when a few basics have increased 15 times more than the benefit increase and we're not getting that for another month yet. This is without taking into account the increases in utility costs to cook the food and petrol/diesel to be able to fetch the groceries to start with.

[quote makingmiracles]@LizzieMacQueen not sure if it’s a helpful suggestion but I’ve seen the egg timer method being talked about-putting a 3-5 minute timer on shower usage to save costs, especially for teens who like to be in there 20min![/quote]
Yes. A few years ago our water company sent us a stick-on egg timer for showers. I can easily be in and out in less than four minutes. My Aussie cousin told me that was still too long!

I don't think it is going to be eating or heating. But I think it is going to make people stop and think a bit more.

Use summer to build up the extra credit on gas and electric rather thank taking advantage of the cheaper summer bills. People are going to have to be a bit more savvy about energy use around the home.... Do you really need two showers a day? Do you really need a shower each day? Do we really need those vanity lights on around the house?

As for vehicle fuel it's really going to motivate people to change their car use and amount of travel they do. The age of cheap travel is drawing to a close.

An example is my partner has just put our eldest in swimming lessons, with a really good club. But the pool they use at 9am on a Sunday is in the sticks about 12 miles from home with no easy public transport. Perfectly adequate swimming lessons are available less than a mile from home but partner wanted him to go to this. At the moment it's fine we can afford it. I think fuel would have to get to £2.30 a litre for us to even think about an ev and that was at last springs elec prices.

Families running two cars, especially on awful value PCPs will come under scrutiny. We've always had two cars, but recently dropped to one initially as a temp measure after one wasnt worth repairing. We didn't think we'd make it work, but we do, it just means if the one at home wants to go out when the other is out getting the bus. It's a faff, but younger used to it. It's a mindset change.

The local town shops Aldi, Morrisons etc are about a three quarter of a mile walk away. Our neighbours used to scoff at us walking (I maintain its quicker) but now I've noticed they've started to walk too.

My biggest tip... Do a monthly shop (12 a year), then a weekly top up shop at no more than £20. The week before the big shop you eat essentially what's left in the fridge. Meaning little or no waste. We as a family of 4 have spend around £80-100 on the big shop, then £20 on a top up.

The biggest monthly bill we have is council tax (mortgage excluded - but it's catching that up)

Don't get me started on that, but it's gone up from a total bill of about 80% of a months take home pay to about 110% in 9years. Currently £190. Essentially one of us works from 1st Jan to valentine's Day just to pay the council.

Energy is about £70.

I share bath water with my kids! (I go first)

It’s just so difficult for so many it’s incomprehensible to me this level of crisis in the uk. There is no choice for so many. I know there are many worse off than myself and know I’m not the only one who had to cut out things from a cut in wages through furlough/flexi furlough/reduced hours/redundancy but when you have made those cuts and genuinely can’t make more as everything goes up it’s just a nightmare and comes with an inevitable increase in debt which makes it’s all the more stressful. Genuinely don’t know what many, myself included, will/can do if things keep getting worse and/or continues for a substantial length of time.

@elbea

Food prices are going to rocket as a result of the war. The Ukraine is the primary supplier of wheat and barley in Europe plus corn and the leader in production of sunflower oil - this paired with rising fuel prices is going to have a huge impact. I know farmers that are planting spring barley and wheat now that they hasn’t planned to, it’s not going to offset the loss from the Ukraine though.

It’s a great opportunity to see why Britain should be prioritising food security over taking productive land out of production to plant trees.

The UK is pretty much self sufficient in wheat and we grow plenty of rape for oil.

This is quite interesting reading:

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2021/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2021-theme-2-uk-food-supply-sources#:~:text=The%20UK%20is%20largely%20self,and%20over%2090%25%20of%20wheat.

(If it makes any difference I voted remain)

@BoredZelda

Those who are very well off will notice higher bills but will be able to ride the storm but will probably see thier assets reduce eg stocks/investments etc

Those of us that are in the middle will have to cut back on luxuries in order to pay for the increase in fuel/food/utilities.

I think there’s a load of people in the gap between these two.

I won’t have to cut back, but neither do I have stocks or investments.

Same. We might have to stop overpaying the mortgage, otherwise I think we should be OK. But we are not "very well off", we earn about 45k between us and live in a 3 bed terrace, no stocks or investments. Most people in my friendship group are in the same position.

This is an entirely foreseeable consequence of Brexit.

People got what they voted for and so have to accept what comes with that

What about people who didn't vote for it? Do we get to complain about the consequences?

In YK, quite a lot of our energy comes from renewable and nuclear
There is no reason for electricity prices to go up as they do, other that they can because 'it's where the market goes'. Our government should step up and stop electricity companies charging customers more than their true increase in costs. This said, we and many others get our power from France, where Macron has stopped the electricity companies from profiteering from French customers, but it's OK to overcharge British customers. I assume that's revenge for Brexit.

@Yorkshirelass04

This is an entirely foreseeable consequence of Brexit.

People got what they voted for and so have to accept what comes with that.

agreed

@GrazingSheep

This is an entirely foreseeable consequence of Brexit.

I’m pretty sure it’s an entirely unforseeably consequence of war in Europe

I think it is a combination of both. Although, the government would like us to believe it is all down to Russia.

"2022 in the U.K. and I'm thinking about not running a tap for 30 seconds to save energy"
There's nothing wrong with that, is there. There have been too many people wasting so much stuff and energy for too long just because they can afford it and its time they realise they actually can not afford it.

Brexit hasn't helped, but prices are rising around the world and for the same things- fuel, food etc. Even without brexit we would be in a shitty financial situation still.

@LizzieMacQueen 2 old fashioned choices - strip wash with flannel(s one for face one for nether regions) or get a large bucket & jug fill with kettle of hot water & top with cold (same as if your boiler stops working we have had to do this a few times when our boiler died) to make decent temperature & use crouched in bath. Both will keep you clean but use less heat for water. Any water left over can be used to flush loo etc.
If your washing machine has express wash - do most of your washing on that in cold water (which needs less detergent) & hang on clothes line if you can.
My grandma talked to me about the old days (thirties) when you got assessed for help from the "parish" & how if you had 2 of anything you were expected to sell one (aka saucepans coats whatever) & how they used their boiler (aka the thing they washed clothes in not heaters like today) which was heated on a coal fire, for washing one day a week & for cooking food another. I don't want to see things get this bad please note!
Our Government doesn't understand or really care about working poverty or low erratic incomes that many have to deal with & how many people just about manage from one month to another. I do understand because my generation had those massive sudden increases in mortgage interest & have still some vivid memories of eating (wait for it!) stuffed heart or 8 million ways to use tinned tuna (dear mum decided to try it didn't like it & gave me about 10 tins of the stuff .My dh refuses to ever eat tinned tuna again .

I noticed during the Covid lockdowns things have gone up in price.
Brexit issues like lorry drivers also had an impact and now Russia.
We will have more immigrants to care for as well like Ukraines. But not long ago we had 1000s Afghan families housed and paid for.

Our entire weekly shop in Aldi came to just over £40 so OP must have had more than just a few bits.
But agree price rises horrific. I have an 80 mile round trip to work. Dont know how Im going to afford it.

@Porcupineintherough

For generations people in the UK have been enjoying a subsidised existence. Weve exploited the environment, weve exploited people in other countries, all to improve our standard of living without paying the real cost of what we consume. Well now the party's over and the bills are coming due. It's hard to argue that we dont deserve it.

Thats what I feel too.

My parents now tell me money was very tight when I was little but I never realised. The house was warm and we were also fed decent nutritious food with a few treats every week. They occasionally took us to the cinema, bowling, swimming etc and for days out to the seaside in the summer. However, we didn't have holidays abroad, we had one little old car for the family and our house was probably only just big enough for us. I think like you say people have such different expectations these days.

You've perfectly described our lives now! We have a tiny house, 20 year old car and never go abroad. We have only 1 DC. We live simply and have leaned to love the little things, sometimes my DM taught me very early on. We may well survive this storm by just continuing to live as we are and not expect anything more.

Something, not sometimes