To think the cost of living crisis isn't really a "crisis" for most people?

[buzzheath]

Not meant to be inflammatory at all. I'm well aware of the hardships that some people and families will face. But for the majority of people in the UK, will it really be a "crisis"? Isn't around half of the population middle class?

*I don’t like the tone of threads like these.

If even one family out there is having to resort to food banks or having to choose between heating or eating then it’s too many.

It doesn’t matter if there are a lot of people out there who aren’t struggling. Many, many are*

I agree

Irony doesn’t mean what you think it does.

@Blossomtoes It is ironic, though, that @Completelyovernonsense, as a top 5%, has said to at least two posters on here that she would "be okay with us suffering".

You've missed out the context. It was along the lines of "you care so little about others who are suffering, I don't care if you do".

I wish all top 5%-ers had her level of awareness and social conscience, tbh.

@ReneBumsWombats So, she claims to deeply care about those that will suffer...but that care is dependent on whether or not they have a different opinion to her, or a different way of expressing something? 😂😂😂

And many always will be. It’s the nature of things.

It's already started.Almost all prices are going up, much faster than our wages. The poor will be disproportionately worse off,as usual.

I'm not a poverty denier. I don't think that 50% of the population will be in poverty though, as per the current definition that @ReneBumsWombats shared. But I guess we'll see...

OP didn't disagree with what you are saying! She is asking if most people can, in fact, manage.
Personally, I agree with OP. For years I worked with people who claimed Tax Credit, yet still had holidays abroad. I found that baffling.

No, that's not what the context was. It wasn't about a difference of opinion. It was about what she, and many others, perceived as a lack of care for others.

You are going completely off the rails. Why not just accept that you've reconsidered your original statement, as thinking people do? Where's the shame in that?

It’s going to be considerably harder for millions of people so I’m not sure what other term would suffice. A crisis isn’t only a crisis is everyone is affected equally.

I would admit it, if was true! My original statement, which I've literally copy pasted, was:

I'm well aware of the hardships that some people and families will face. But for the majority of people in the UK, will it really be a "crisis"?

Admittedly, I should have used "severe financial hardship" in place of the word "crisis".

But I've not changed my mind. I didn't bother asserting that I know that many, many, many people will suffer immensely - because I thought it was pretty bloody obvious.

According to some definitions, they can't be, because they'd need to be a certain percentage below the median and clearly you can't have 50% of people on less than that. That doesn't mean it isn't a crisis or everyone above that excessively low line is fine. Poverty, to some extent, is relative. It's also different to destitution.

@ReneBumsWombats I've not reconsidered my thoughts but I absolutely have reconsidered my phrasing. Phrasing definitely matters, and so I thank you for drawing my attention to that.

Some prices are rising. However, the main push is from utilities mainly fuel.
As for goods some are on backorder. Other companies are now offering items bundled together to entice customers. I know in my business bundling is a great way to generate sales and a sense of VFM.

@ReneBumsWombats That is interesting. Yeah, tbf I wasn't initially using words like "poverty" as I know definitions can vary. That's why I started using "severe financial hardship". Not an "official" term, but one that most people can get the sense of.

I often read this about holidays abroad vs UK

Are people factoring in their cost of getting to and from airports, are they booking hotels in the UK rather than self catering?

Are they judging it on taking very little luggage so that they dont have to pay baggage on the flight whereas in the UK they could take what they wanted?

Are they basing it on £99 holidays?

Every now and then there will be a comparison that is cheaper abroad, particularly if you live very close to the airport.

I tend to get very cheap self catering cottages in the UK. I have found that hotels or lodges or caravans on sites are extortionate, we cant afford those.

Honestly, no concern to me whatsoever. But it still means we save less than we did before. Am not comfortable with the fact that some people won’t be able to afford their houses. Not sure why the government isn’t doing more to help.

Personally - the price rises are very worrying - I'm not on a great wage, I have spent years working several jobs and lockdown made me decide to not work myself into the ground and to try to manage on one job. I was fine until the price increases began in April.

Now I am having to look at doing extra work/hours. I live very frugally and cannot cut my expenditure anywhere.
I don't eat out very often - maybe once every few months. I don't get takeaways. I always shop for food bargains.
I rarely buy clothes and get my haircut twice a year. I do my own beauty treatments at home.
I don't go on holiday - but I do visit friends for weekends away if I can.
I sometimes go out for one drink a week.

I am 52 and have always worked and as the prices increase I can see that I will never be able to retire and probably never go abroad again. But more importantly I can't guarantee I will be able to pay my rent and bills if things keep rising.

In theory - I am middle class.

I cannot think of any of my friends who are not concerned about how they are going to cope!

What’s going to happen is people on low incomes or those who have to cut down on spending will effect other peoples jobs. People are cutting down on having deliveries, using a car, eating out, take aways, holidays, going out for coffees, beauty treatments, birthdays, parties etc so it will effect businesses. There will be mass unemployment and worse. Give it a year with further strikes, unemployment, crime, people not being able to heat their home and possible riots and see the real impact of the cost of living crises and watch how it spirals out of control and how it will effect everything and everyone. It’s going to effect so many people.

We’re having to watch what we spend but this is mainly because we’re saving for a big holiday as well next year, which is a luxury many don’t have. So we’re fine compared to most.

Mainly I’m just fucking sick to death of multi millionaire/ billionaire’s continuously lining their pockets and no one doing anything about it.

I still have absolutely no idea why the world needs to pay so much for gas / fuel. Market prices blah blah. It’s bullshit.
Also Uk water company bosses. Billions in profits meanwhile they just allow sewage to pile into our rivers and the government can do fuck all about it.

i’m just sick of it all!