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?

Having grown up in the 70's and 80's, I know how quickly it can get very bad for people who are supposedly middle class. There's a saying that most people are only 3 wage packets away from homelessness. Mortgage rates have already doubled. A percentage of the population already rely on benefits to pay the bills due to poor wages. Landlords will put up rents to pay their mortgages and bills. I expect the savings I've got to deplete quickly over the next year. I'm remortgaging to pin down my outgoings and try to do the house repairs before it's beyond affordable. My parents intrest rates went from 7% to 15% in 1981-1986. I watched as they desperately did what they could to hold on to their home, feed, clothe 3 kids and work themselves into ill health. I'm very worried for those already on the cusp because I've seen it and lived it before.

Three business I use have shut their shops this week. Non can afford to keep going because of reduced footfall. It’s coming

I think I agree - many people are struggling badly. But some people are fine. And although most people are affected to some extent, particularly with fuel, it is more of an ‘inconvenience’ rather than being in a crisis.

It hasn't even started...

Really?
It's proven that it's effecting millions.
There are families relying on food banks to feed their children, and you think it's an appropriate thread to discuss if its really that bad?
It's in incredibly poor taste.
Maybe donate to a food bank, rather than question other peoples hardships on mumsnet. That would be a far better use of your resources.

Many people were struggling already and this is going to having a devastating impact on them. All those families that footballers had to guilt the government into giving food vouchers during school holidays for example.
We’ve always been ok but have had an awful year so far financially(redundancy plus health issues with no sick pay in new job). I also always have the worry that our landlord will want to sell our home because there is no way we could finance a move.

On these type of threads I'm sick to death of reading of anyone who can work and wants to work can easily get a job. To those preaching this wait till you're mid 50s and been made redundant. A part time job packing plastic trays 200 applications I couldn't get an interview for a menial job.

I’ve also seen comments on other threads saying “well the shopping centres are still packed / restaurants are busy so people can’t be that affected” - completely missing the point that the people most affected won’t have had the money to even be in those places in the first place! Those on the lowest incomes were already struggling. This will just push them further into poverty.

I don't think it's really hit yet.
When things get even more expensive, people will start to cut back. They'll stop getting takeaways, eating out, buying tickets to events, even the cinema, buying things that aren't a necessity to save money.
The ripple effect of this will be people will start to lose their jobs, places will shut down and so on. Once that starts happening, I dread to think what happens then.
I hope it never gets there.

Good for you OP if you're not affected. But a lot in my circle are already struggling and are making cuts everywhere. It's only going to get worse when October comes

What does "middle class" have to do with it?

Social class is defined by things other than wealth/salary.

I think you are really underestimating how bad it both will and could get OP, and you haven’t actually done any reading or thinking. You appear to have no kids, a very modest lifestyle, and an ok job with no insecurity. This isn’t typical of the MC and yet this is what you are basing your thoughts on.

Of course some people are going to be hit far worse than others, but if you are average middle class but stretched with the cost of kids or a big mortgage (ie lots of MC people), you are going to have a rough time.

Even if you are a little bit or a bit above that your quality of life is going to be clobbered. Retirement delayed all these cases.

Plus the fact a lot of MC had jobs in industries that will fail in a recession, or people will have the usual health crises and divorces that means a decent income suddenly disappears, which will become even harder to manage.

So yes it will hit the professional MC as well as the poor and the WC.

And I think even basic research would have told you that, which is in part why people are finding your post irritating.

So class isn't to do with the money you have?

What is it then? According to you what makes someone middle or working class?

Lots of people won't admit to struggling, or the true extent of it.

I’m just about ok right now but am really worried about winter and heating

Exactly

This!

Most of us have no idea how very desperate life is for a lot of people. Benefits are NOT a cushy number for the honest claimants - and that is the vast majority of them. People who are on the breadline fall below it very quickly - and fuel prices especially are iniquitous.

Imagine not being able to afford to cook a meal; in winter not being able to afford to heat your home; having your electric cut off, and your kids not even being able to do homework or watch telly, or get a wash in warm water - not to mention clean clothes.

Just because a lot of people can absorb the increases, it doesn't mean that there aren't 000's who can't, and who are already going hungry and are terrified at the prospect of winter.

We're pretty well insulated, but I'm enormously concerned about how some families will manage. We're trying to find ways to help as much as possible, with a view to how hard things will get.

Viewing any of this through a MC/MN lens and thinking 'it's not that bad' is almost wilfully naive about how brutal this is/will be for millions of people. I mean wilfully naive verging on htf can you be so unaware, if I'm completely honest.

You're backpedaling already. Your thread title is "To think the cost of living crisis isn't really a "crisis" for most people?" and you've already dialled down to explain how badly you've been misunderstood. You even add a little self pitying sigh.

And I was simply curious about how this will play out across society and I was genuinely curious about the numbers, that's all and "crisis" repeated in inverted commas, all sounds quite close to being a little bit not giving too many authentic fucks, tbh.

Your thread is quite inflammatory really, yes. There were loads of ways to talk about this. You've chosen this one, and it will piss some people off.

You posted this thread and really had no idea how others might react to it?

@Pizzawheel

Its perfectly obvious what the OP means by MC is people who earn enough to cover the costs of a decent lifestyle plus savings and some to spare.

You are right these definitions don’t work the way they did, but as shorthand people understand them.

this thread is about how broadly the recession will bite, it doesn’t need to turn into a pointless debate about what class means

@buzzheath I hope you’re right! It could just all calm down soon and get back to normality, it might just be a bit of an aftershock from Covid. Hopefully the green economy will start powering up in earnest now that it’s crystal clear that it’s a need rather than just a nice sideline to make a government look good.

I think this is just the beginning.
We are very fortunate that my oh got a better paying job a couple of months ago and I went back to work after being off work for 2 years. I'm still unwell and struggle with multiple disabilities but I don't have a choice.
We've definitely had to rethink things when doing a food shop, cut back to cheap SIM contracts, reduced gas and electric usage, stopped using the car as much.
But these are tiny savings compared to what will be needed when our electric/gas goes up(fixed rate just ended) and next year when the mortgage rates will go up and no doubt the cost of everything.

To some extent it depends where you live and who you mix with. If you live in a leafy, affluent suburb with similar colleagues and friends I expect people are not too affected. You might think it's all being overblown. If you look about there probably are pockets of people already struggling, the elderly, disabled and carers. It's going to be more obvious if you live in a deprived area, or if you work in any kind of social care, benefits advice etc. As others have said, there will be a gradual knock on effect, however, over time, which will start to affect the middle classes. We shouldn't wait until then to pressure the government into easing the situation. People are suffering now, and there will be more of them in the future. Worse case scenario, England turns into a wasteland of boarded up, socially troubled, poverty stricken towns and cities, with the inevitable tiny pockets of wealth.

You're right of course that a very large number of people will flex their budgets to accommodate changes. We just fixed our mortgage for 5 years and have invested some savings in getting our house more energy efficient and are going to get solar panels too.

I'm aware how incredibly fortunate we are to be in a position to do this. As always, those with least will be hardest hit.

Food costs and fuel costs rising IS a crisis. If you think about a country as a nation and us all being in it together, those of us who can remain not panicked should be screaming just as loudly as those who will be choosing between heat, light, and food. Louder, because we have the privilege of time to do so. I don't want to live in a country where anyone has to live in such poverty those are the choices they're making. It genuinely scares me what will happen if vast swathes of people are plunged into that position.

I wouldn't blame them for rioting. People are, rightly so, becoming very very angry and frightened.

Exactly this! A lot of us haven’t felt it bite like some. Yet a year after heavy winter bills, increase in food bills. (I did a small weekend shop food we go away and it wasn’t much less than a normal one was a few months back) consistently high fuel/petrol prices and so on, with low wage rises if any.

A lot still have money saved from covid, lots are enjoying summer expecting winter to be crap and many are defo burying heads in the sand.