To be concerned with the cost of living crisis?

[tontown]

Admittedly I live in a naice area of London so perhaps it's a bit of a bubble. I'm very anxious about the cost of living crisis & if you read the papers lots of comments along the lines of "worst drop in living standards on record" etc. I've been much more cautious with energy usage & am conscious about wasting money & saving what I can but then I look around & see restaurants are packed, house prices keep rising & wonder if I'm being over cautious.

Everyone will be affected, but once again, women will be affected more.

People won't be able to afford extortionate nursery fees, so guess who stays at home?

Wimmin.

We need a fucking revolution. This form of capitalising has stopped working.

^

This. It needs to get worse before it gets better

I'm quite concerned. I earn just enough to keep us afloat but am having to really cut down on luxuries - no takeaways or coffee shops, no fitness classes, no new clothes. Taking 4-minute showers (not easy when you have long hair like mine), turning everything off at the walls. It's pennies, but I'm hoping it adds up.

This month is worse because I have two weeks of school holidays where I can't earn money doing supply, so I'm trying to scrape even more (would usually make £400 in those two weeks).

My DH has an interview next week for a part-time job. If he gets it it'll be quite frankly life-changing. If he doesn't, we'll have to cut down even more.

I've never been so scared about just living.

I started a new job in Feb, full time for the first time in nearly 8 years.
Depressingly all the bill rises and general cost of living mean we are worse of than this time last year, but now I’m busy and stressed as well.

Could be worse.

We'll probably manage to afford to keep a roof over our heads and food in our bellies. Heating will be on but minimally.

There will be no luxuries though, which I expect will be an adjustment for the kids because whilst not rich, we have certainly been able to afford to splash out a bit on birthdays and Xmas but that will change. Meals out, takeaways, new video games a rarity.

But I feel for those who sell all the luxuries, those businesses will suffer badly. People will lose their jobs, benefits will be all but useless to those with a mortgage to pay, it'll be bleak.

This scares me so much. It was in the news last week that inflation that we are now seeing hasn't been seen since the 80s. I was only a baby in the early 80s.

I work hard but I'm still dealing with the effects of the last recession from 08 to 10 in that I'm not able to afford my own home. I dread to think what the future is going to hold now. I'm ok right now but still not very great. It scares me. I only hope that the Russians pull out from Ukraine so we can pick up the pieces and get on with things after the pandemic.

My partner works in a bar. It's not even a city centre bar but it's buzzing every night. I don't know how some people can afford it.

Where I live (south east but not a posh area) there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of people cutting back. Restaurants, cinemas and shops are all busy. My friends who earn an average ish salary (20-35k) haven’t noticed a difference yet. My friends and I are all early 50’s with grown up DC.

I agree about the house prices Op. They’re definitely still rising down in the town we live in (South East), at a phenomenal rate too.

Speaking to a friend yesterday who’d just put in her best and final offer on a house which needs a full gut plus external work. There were 8 other couples also competing for this house. People going 10% over asking price, which is a lot when said price is over £1m.

Seems like i'm not alone feeling concerned.

the house prices are confusing me particularly at the higher end.

I'm not worried for my household, as we have the privilege of no mortgage and we can handle increases but concerned for everyone who does have mortgage and rent, and especially those who have either plus childcare costs. We'd definitely had have trouble dealing with this when our kids were still in daycare.

I have a friend who said her bank account was already at £-15 as soon as her pay came in and went on bills; she has a small child and a small household income and I just don't know what the millions like her will do.

I do wonder if a lot of people may have to move back in with parents, even if they have children, if there's the slightest possibility of doing so. Many households will need 3 or 4 incomes just to keep their heads above water it seems and moving back in may be the best way for some households. But of course not an option for everyone, and not desirable for most people who could do it.

Like other posters have mentioned I think there will be a shock for some when their fixed mortgage deals come to an end later this year. The BoE have rate reviews coming up in May, June, August & September, I’d wager we see at least another couple of rate increases over the Summer period. Which will then in turn obviously be front run by the lenders.

@tontown

the house prices are confusing me particularly at the higher end.

Why?

Plenty of people still have a lot of money to burn!

@TangoWhiskyAlphaTango

Nice not naice!

Ditto. I've only ever heard that word here and it sounds bloody ridiculous.

Cost of living will be scary as this year progresses. I feel so sorry for people unable to absorb these costs and have to choose to eat it heat.

This awful government could and should do more but their cronies might make less profit and we can't have that.

Next election make a wise choice.

I can afford heating but I retire in 7 years and have to max out my savings in preparation so it's snowing outside and I'm sitting here in my hoodie and pjs with the heating off and a duvet on. If I don't save everything now I won't be able to retire.

@Iggly I guess. As I said I'm naturally cautious, I would be worried about paying over the odds for an already expensive house because who knows what things will look like in the future. I'm surprised that others don't think like this.

NHS parking in England about to no longer be free. £15/ week or about £60 month extra for me, on top of fuel rises.

@Calandor

Rent wise, I must admit I myself do not pay rent and instead live in my partners house. And I refuse to pay his mortgage.

But you didn't refuse to move in with him.

I'm scared for the future.

I'm on an average salary, and live well within my means. But I'm putting less and less away each month and within the next three months I'll be spending more than I ever thought I would, all to survive.

Rent is crazy. Utilities are crazy. Food is going up, we're being taxed more and council tax is up.

It's looking like I'm going to be an extra £300 out of pocket at the end of every month now. Perhaps more come the end of the year.

I don't think this is tenable, when so many have been living hand to mouth for years anyway.

@SenoraMiasma

I think it will be a relief to many that the pressure to keep up and do things will disappear. I don’t mean families who are struggling but the last twenty years in places like London has been horrendous for those on low wage ( a huge amount). It has been crazy to keep up and I just couldn’t. I can’t be alone.

Meals out, cocktails, taxis, nice clothes, magazines, etc are lovely and I enjoy them but it had become the norm and I just had to drop out. I saw lots of people on relatively modest salaries living that lifestyle and in my view, it can be done if you budget ferociously (nothing wrong with that) but it is unrealistic to keep at it all the time.

I think House prices and the feel good factor is a factor plus student loans may have made some students feel rich as opposed to the old grant system but the 9000 a year loans have kicked in, everyone recognises the housing issue now, wfh has made many connect with their community in ways they previously didn’t and job restructuring, where companies start looking at employers value and output will kick in and focus people a bit more. We have had twenty years of a lot of waste and expensive empty space where real structure was needed.

I hope that we cut a lot of the waste out, tbh and focus on what we can do rather than what can be done for us and instead focus on the really vulnerable in society who got left behind.

Quite true, it was like that added the 2008 crash and tbh on a low income it was when being frugal became in fashion for the first time in ages. Before then you wouldn’t be seen dead telling people you bought your children 2nd hand toys etc! Although I do think this will sadly have a big impact on the poorest as the things going up are not luxuries whereas before it was a case of incomes going down but for people on benefits we could still buy the same. I think the majority of people will absorb these current costs as most people I know, even those on universal credit seem to still be affording a lot of non essentials. We’re watching the pennies and trying to keep energy costs etc to a minimum as if we save £200 a year doing that then that’s e.g. the kids birthdays we don’t have to cut back so much on. Being super careful with the food budget means a modest day out with the kids etc. We’re taking into consideration too journey lengths etc even more if we’re going out, just general belt tightening really at this stage rather than a crisis. Have always been very careful when it’s come to any longer term spending commitments e.g. distance of schools, signing kids up to clubs etc

This situation has been a very long time coming and the only shocker for me is how many seem genuinely surprised and unprepared for it.

@tontown

Admittedly I live in a naice area of London so perhaps it's a bit of a bubble. I'm very anxious about the cost of living crisis & if you read the papers lots of comments along the lines of "worst drop in living standards on record" etc. I've been much more cautious with energy usage & am conscious about wasting money & saving what I can but then I look around & see restaurants are packed, house prices keep rising & wonder if I'm being over cautious.

YABU Rishi has taken all the necessary steps to avert the crisis. Just think how much better off we would be without him.

I have a hospitality business and we haven't seen any downturn yet. I'm remaining positive, because of our location and our clientele I don't think things will drop much. I think, especially after the last 2 years, meeting friends for a reasonably cheap bite to eat/coffee and cake will be hugely important and whilst people will need to cut back they will still need to live a little, fingers crossed anyway!

jgw1 😏
So what are we going to do about, since when did we become so apathetic & accepting that this is our lot, we have approximately 650 MP’s versus millions of people it’s about time we started to realise we do have some power, write/email/petition them demonstrate & protest just let’s stop being so fucking biddable.

@Bluetowelsandflannels

naice dreadful word I can't get past it

Same