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.

Prices have gone up world wide even Australia, is that Brexit too

@EmbarrassingHadrosaurus
My bathroom doesn't have awindow as it's in the middle of two rooms so it doesn't really get too cold but you could heat it with a small oil heater prior to bathing I suppose

BobISMyUncle
My dh is your age and hos age has not gone against him
In addition like you he had a very senior role.. again this has not gone against him
He got a job in a local.supermarket.

The wage is above minum wage . ( he has to.drive.there too)
I know you live rurally but if you can access a supermarket it seems they are both.desperate for staff as well as non discrimanatory re age.

I am very very concerned about how people on low and even middle incomes are going to cope with these financial increases. The government will not help the poor. I honestly think they'd like us to drop dead. But we are getting into a sick mental state. We are still in the throes of Covid and now we have a horrific war - the psychological repercussions of this are going to be monumental- people can only take so much. I have never felt so grim in my life. I fear there will be civil unrest when people go hungry. It's just too much to bear.

I worry about the lack of affordability of healthy food. I have never forgotten a colleague who boasted about his lunches which cost pennies - they comprised 2 pieces of value bread, a smear of marge and a smear of marmite.
Cheapest and filling foods like pasta, rice, potatoes and bread are just starchy carbs. Fruit and veg are quite expensive - beyond onions and cheap starchy root veg.
Protein also expensive.
I suppose there are free school meals for some but one meal a day and based on my Dc's school, that's not healthy either.

@AlphaJura hi a landlord here - in 2025 your landlord will have to get a C for heating etc they may well be able to do this by getting a new boiler & if memory serves me - I think! - if YOU (the tenant) are on benefits or a low earner they may be able to claim a subsidy for getting a new boiler & getting up to a c (I read something about this somewhere) Anybody else who can remember more or send a link please do
please do an internet search on this

I need a new boiler quoted £4000 so that wont be happening. I have my funeral money and that's it

@LizzieMacQueen

Re saving on heating water costs. What do you think would be an acceptable drop in showering habits? Once every second day? Or maybe better to shower daily but in tepid rather than hot water?

Maybe alternate daily between a shower and a strip wash.

@Ddot

I need a new boiler quoted £4000 so that wont be happening. I have my funeral money and that's it

Why do you need funeral money, upull be dead upu wont care. The council will bury uou if nobody else can. Buy yourself a boiler

Major problem is that the price of wheat is increasing enormously. So even 'cheap' food like pasta and bread is going to be collosal. I tell you all, people are going to starve. The lady shouldn't worry about her funeral expenses - no point. I'll be chucked in a pauper's grave - so what? Just a thought but it would be great PR for the royal family if they opened up one or two of their many properties for refugees. Or maybe helped their country's poor??

@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.

Our food bill for the week was £48, a family of 4. all meals from scratch.

What people are going to have to do is reconnect with food and stop buying convenience shite. And also stop overeating, 75% of the population need to lose weight, lots of it.

Yes. We've had to switch the heating off and only have one hour of hot water per day, as I quite simply do not have £700 for 500 litres of oil.

@whatkatydid2013 that was really useful costings there, thank you. Did you make a shopping list to go with it?

I'm going to have to give up low carb if things get much tighter as the cheap meals are all carb heavy.

I’m not in the UK, but as a comparison of food prices I went to the supermarket today and bought 3 normal sized tomatoes. They were £2.50.

@Scandisaurus22

I’m not in the UK, but as a comparison of food prices I went to the supermarket today and bought 3 normal sized tomatoes. They were £2.50.

Are tomatoes in season where you are?

Same as in Britain basically, a Scandinavian country. We have many other benefits compared to the UK if I read here and listen to the news, there’s no way anyone would need to turn the heating down really etc, but basic food prices have gone up so much lately. Not good.

Had to take a photo and send to my parents, it was that bad. 😂

@earsup

It's not just the UK....my friend in Barelona is struggling....lorry driver strike so all shelves empty today....i send her shots of my receipts, she says everything is dearer over there....no poundland or wilko shops...their electric is second most expensive in the world...goes up constantly....solar panel tax is very high also....not usually worth fitting them...

Solar panel tax????? Blooming heck what is that???? Do we want to avert climate change or not? If we think it's going to be bad financially, add in extreme weather, sea level changes. Land upon with we can grow crops for only 100more years etc etc.

Current issue is over reliance on Russian gas so we need off that! Low quotas and high proces have happened a few times previously yet no action by government...

Food etc proce increases are covid and brexit caused. But who thought the government wouldn't have sorted easy important etc? Fgs they had 3 years....! And yet they've issued themselves a pay rise.

It will def be hard for families this year, but I fear not many years from now it will get so much worse :(

@Dibbydoos In what way?

There was a solar panel tax in catalunya....my english friend closed down the business as no income....only 3 electric companies over there with confusing tariffs etc....tax has now reduced a bit so might be worth fitting them....a lot of things in spain are very expensive and dearer than the uk.

@AlphaJura

I totally agree.
The cold weather payment is only paid if the temperature in your part of the country is below 0⁰C for 7 consecutive days, so 6 days and you get nothing.
I'm disabled and my kids are grown adults now so I don't get anything for kids anymore.
I was fortunate enough to buy my house back when I was able to work but have still had to pay the mortgage over the past 11yrs out of my ESA. If I lived in a rented place the dwp would be paying most, if not all, of the rent but if I want help with my mortgage interest I have to take it as a loan that eventually has to be paid back, so in effect, you get no help if you are in your own property.
Because I'm on ESA and not UC, I didn't get the £20/week uplift, so have already missed out on over £1,500 and the courts, DWP and government say they were right not to give it to the disabled who don't get UC despite us having the same needs as them, in what world is it right to discriminate against the disabled in this day and age?
We can't even take advantage of the special deals on things like broadband because they're only available to UC recipients.
The government say they're working on new initiatives to get the disabled back into work but as @BobISMyUncle said, even if we could possibly find a job we're maybe capable of doing, the DWP would take the majority of our pay off us, making it a totally ludicrous proposition.
Everyone talks about 'tightening belts' but when you're already past that tightest hole on your metaphorical belt, what else can you cut out or back on? There's nothing left and no money to pay for the 'absolute essentials',
I can see there being a lot more people dying from malnutrition, starvation and even suicide because they just can't take it any more!

@RagzRebooted

I saved a list from Tesco

Qty Product
1 Tesco White Cabbage
1 Creamfields Mature White Cheddar 400G
1 Tesco Buttery Spread 500G
1 Tesco Leaf Spinach 900G
1 Grower's Harvest Sweetcorn 907G
1 Grower's Harvest Porridge Oats 1Kg
1 Grower's Harvest Sultanas 500G
1 Tesco Courgettes
1 Tesco Perfectly Imperfect Carrots 1.5Kg
1 Tesco Sweet Potatoes 1Kg
1 Stockwell & Co Mayonnaise 450Ml
1 Nishaan Garlic Paste 283G
1 Tesco Korma Curry Paste 200G
1 Tesco Red Split Lentils 1Kg
1 Tesco Pure Vegetable Oil 1L
1 Grower Harvest Long Grain Rice 1Kg
1 Tesco 80 Teabags 250G
1 Redmere Farms Brown Onion 1Kg
1 Stockwell & Co. Self Raising Flour 1.5Kg
1 Tesco Oregano 30G ..
1 Tesco Baking Potatoes 2.5Kg Pack
1 Tesco Coconut Drink 1 Litre
1 Nightingale Peppers 600G
1 Growers Harvest Tomato Puree 200G
2 Stockwell & Co Tuna Chunks In Brine 145G
2 Tesco Small Bananas 6 Pack
2 Hearty Food Co. Penne Pasta 500G
2 Growers Harvest Red Kidney Beans In Water 400G
2 Tesco 15 British Mixed Weight Eggs
2 H W Nevill's Wholemeal Bread 800G
2 Tesco Sieved Tomatoes Passata 500G Ce
4 Rosedene Farms Small Apple 6 Pack
4 Tesco Baked Beans In Tomato Sauce 420G
6 Grower's Harvest Chopped Tomatoes 400G
2 Tesco Whole Milk 3.408L/6 Pints
1 Suntrail Farms Kiwi X6
1 Rosedene Farms Small Pear Pack 550G
1 Tesco 6 Wholemeal Pitta Bread

That comes to £41.68.

You could make

6 x porridge with banana or sultanas, 1 x banana pancakes for breakfast

3 x egg sandwich, 2 x Beans on toast, 1 x cheese & coleslaw pitta with an apple or pear and 1 x egg fried rice with veg with a banana for lunch. You could add some carrot sticks to the sandwiches

2 x lentil bolognese pasta with cheese
1 x roasted veg pasta with some cheese
2 x Daal with sweet potato & rice
1 x Jacket Potato with Tuna & sweetcorn and coleslaw side
1 x Curried Bean burger and fried egg in a half pitta with chips & coleslaw

I'm sure there are lots of other options and maybe cheaper ones but I went with things I know my kids will eat. It is all high carb and almost all veggie. I've noticed our food shop is cheaper since partner and one child turned veggie over past couple of years in spite of rising food prices.

I bought myself a butter dish and have the real stuff, cheaper and better for you. Full fat milk keeps you fuller for longer. I make beer bread from self raising flour
beer salt and a little sugar. I eat lots of veg but grow most of it and freeze. Veg on sale if it looks good it's good buy and freeze.

[quote whatkatydid2013]@RagzRebooted

I saved a list from Tesco

Qty Product
1 Tesco White Cabbage
1 Creamfields Mature White Cheddar 400G
1 Tesco Buttery Spread 500G
1 Tesco Leaf Spinach 900G
1 Grower's Harvest Sweetcorn 907G
1 Grower's Harvest Porridge Oats 1Kg
1 Grower's Harvest Sultanas 500G
1 Tesco Courgettes
1 Tesco Perfectly Imperfect Carrots 1.5Kg
1 Tesco Sweet Potatoes 1Kg
1 Stockwell & Co Mayonnaise 450Ml
1 Nishaan Garlic Paste 283G
1 Tesco Korma Curry Paste 200G
1 Tesco Red Split Lentils 1Kg
1 Tesco Pure Vegetable Oil 1L
1 Grower Harvest Long Grain Rice 1Kg
1 Tesco 80 Teabags 250G
1 Redmere Farms Brown Onion 1Kg
1 Stockwell & Co. Self Raising Flour 1.5Kg
1 Tesco Oregano 30G ..
1 Tesco Baking Potatoes 2.5Kg Pack
1 Tesco Coconut Drink 1 Litre
1 Nightingale Peppers 600G
1 Growers Harvest Tomato Puree 200G
2 Stockwell & Co Tuna Chunks In Brine 145G
2 Tesco Small Bananas 6 Pack
2 Hearty Food Co. Penne Pasta 500G
2 Growers Harvest Red Kidney Beans In Water 400G
2 Tesco 15 British Mixed Weight Eggs
2 H W Nevill's Wholemeal Bread 800G
2 Tesco Sieved Tomatoes Passata 500G Ce
4 Rosedene Farms Small Apple 6 Pack
4 Tesco Baked Beans In Tomato Sauce 420G
6 Grower's Harvest Chopped Tomatoes 400G
2 Tesco Whole Milk 3.408L/6 Pints
1 Suntrail Farms Kiwi X6
1 Rosedene Farms Small Pear Pack 550G
1 Tesco 6 Wholemeal Pitta Bread

That comes to £41.68.

You could make

6 x porridge with banana or sultanas, 1 x banana pancakes for breakfast

3 x egg sandwich, 2 x Beans on toast, 1 x cheese & coleslaw pitta with an apple or pear and 1 x egg fried rice with veg with a banana for lunch. You could add some carrot sticks to the sandwiches

2 x lentil bolognese pasta with cheese
1 x roasted veg pasta with some cheese
2 x Daal with sweet potato & rice
1 x Jacket Potato with Tuna & sweetcorn and coleslaw side
1 x Curried Bean burger and fried egg in a half pitta with chips & coleslaw

I'm sure there are lots of other options and maybe cheaper ones but I went with things I know my kids will eat. It is all high carb and almost all veggie. I've noticed our food shop is cheaper since partner and one child turned veggie over past couple of years in spite of rising food prices.[/quote]
First thing that jumps out is that you’re going to split 12 small bananas over 7 meals… for 4 people? I know it’s with porridge but still..

I’m just wondering if the C category will apply to period properties and listed ones. Lots of Victorian and Georgian rental properties are rented.