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?

No. Poor people are poor for a variety of reasons. People who want to live like people who work and do fuck all should have to fund it themselves. And ypu full know well there is a difference between your average 25 year old on benefits with their tech and a 45 year old teacher who has just lost their job. Mumsnet needs a crisis, remember the amageddon of Brexit on here 🤣

Those in charge, i.e. the current Government are never going to be affected. So who will care?

Every country is about to experience some level of energy cost increases and possibly recession. It is now all about how well Governments look after those in need. I am not hopeful for much empathy, and I don't Trust Truss.

We won't be in crisis next year. But we're certainly not profligate and already, we are cutting back and there is nothing left at the end of each month to save. I'm a teacher and by the far the higher earner. But we have childcare costs and other costs that come with having children. We also drive a fair way to work each day, so petrol is a big factor.

I never, ever thought when I became a teacher all those years ago, that I'd get to middle age and be worrying about money. It won't take much to tip us into crisis territory- few more price increases; redundancies when schools can't afford to pay enough teachers; interest rates go up. I can see a time when we're working purely to pay the mortgage and bills. Like my parents had to on my dad's one shitty salary.

But compared to a lot of the kids I teach, I'm incredibly lucky.

I do wonder if all these threads are started with an ulterior motive though:"Oh look, you're imagining the crisis."

For the majority of people, it means a reduced standard of living. It isn't a crisis in terms of starving or freezing, or having to turn to risky behaviours to survive.
It will mean a reduced spend on holidays, clothes, cosmetic stuff and activities/hobbies.
For the next level down, it will mean buying less food, cheaper food, but not necessarily less nutritious food.

For the bottom 10% though, it is a crisis, requiring very real & extreme measures. I hope the new PM acts to further support that group.

I think the impending 63% energy cost increases will hit lots of people very hard. The cost of gas and electricity is rising yet again, and it’s making the energy bills rival the cost of a second mortgage. Our combined bill will be in the region of £550 - which is absolutely mental.

I’ve seen lots of posts from people who were comfortable - albeit with not lots of spare cash - who think they will be in a “heat or eat” situation.

People who can afford to do so are planning ahead - buying air fryers and slow cookers as they use less energy, or installing wood burning stoves. But not everyone is in a position to be able to do this.

And of course rising energy means rising food costs too.

I think more people will be affected than we realise. Once we’re all paying enormous bills every single month, with another rise due in January, I think the pain will start to be felt by many.

Good question.

YANBU to think it will not be a crisis for the majority of people in the UK. Everyone except the very rich will experience a fall in their standard of living. Obviously it will affect the poorest most acutely. The poorest 20% will experience the greatest hardship, but they probably won't starve or freeze to death. At least not in very large numbers. The lower orders are I believe sufficiently trained in docility, and have been fed enough bread and circuses, that they will know their place. Yet, should it become necessary, I'm sure our police forces are sufficiently equipped with batons and shields to quell any food riots, or at least confine them to the insalubrious neighbourhoods and sink estates in the major cities.

In the poorer parts of the world, people will starve if they are unable afford the rising price of food. But surely everyone understands by now that this is just how nation states competing for resources in global capitalist system works.

A more pressing question is how we can raise UK interest rates sufficiently quickly to combat the inflation that is shrinking the value of wages, savings, pensions and investments, while preventing defaults on mortgages and a fall in house prices? If we don't pull that one off then we might have to face disastrous economic mismanagement by a government lead by that lunatic Marxist Sir Keir Starmer.

I had to change jobs to one within walking distance and spent ages working out which hours Vs child care costs would be most beneficial. It means we won't massively be effected financially, but it has effected my life considerably. I have mobility issues and while I need to save the petrol money the impact on my quality of life will be quite considerable.

My SEN child will struggle too going to breakfast club three times a week instead of two, he barely copes with two come the end of term and all that upheaval for no gain is frustrating. We've worked hard to get off benefits and support ourselves, but everytime we nearly get to a good place financially, something drags us back.

If you're living well within your means, in a tiny flat, expenses as minuscule as you can possibly get, don't run a car, don't have any debt, then that's right, you won't feel the pinch

But how many people are in that situation?. Most people have stretched themselves to beyond the max with cheap credit, expectations of 2 holidays a year, high mortgage or monthly rent, large families, all the trapping that successive governments over the decades, have deluded them into believing is theirs for the taking.

The reality check starts here, we ain't seen nothing yet, you wait until winter when fuel bills will be through the roof and interest rates continue to climb upwards. Your financial profile is not the norm, @buzzheath

If you're living well within your means, in a tiny flat, expenses as minuscule as you can possibly get, don't run a car, don't have any debt, then that's right, you won't feel the pinch

As numerous pp have pointed out, this is only the beginning of a crisis that could go on for years. Petrol prices affect everyone when food is delivered by road. As interest rates rise fixed rate mortgages will disappear until eventually everyone’s on the standard rate. The housing market will stagnate or go down. As discretionary spending slows down nail bars, beauty salons, coffee shops, etc - businesses that depend on supplying non essential goods and services will close and unemployment will rise.

Some of us have seen this all before. It’s like pushing the first domino and watching it knock the whole row down. Anyone who’s smug about this and thinks they won’t be affected is deluded.

If you won’t struggle and don’t know anyone who will then your a very lucky person indeed. I consider myself very lucky as we will be ok but part of my job involves me going into primary schools and here is where I see it. So many kids come in hungry every morning and it’s soul destroying.

Well imagine what it would be like if you had to do all that and lived in a bigger place?

We are fortunate and will be ok but the rising interest rates is a potential time bomb. People know that fuel prices will go up and the government is under pressure to do more.

We have a small mortgage and savings so rising interest rates are not significant for us. However many people are reliant on cheap debt and that is going to change
Money Charity Stats
HoC Household debt briefing

I think interest rates won’t have to go up much before people will really struggle.

It is a crisis for far too many people, either because of a low income, or an uncertain one, or the possible future large increases in energy costs. Also many people have very little savings.

£1.40 for a tin of Heinz beans? That indicates a crisis.

Totally agree.

There will be smug a*es who give no fs as to how others are affected. As long as they are OK... the empathy for others is severely lacking.

I think you are correct. It's not going to affect a lot of people yet as they have so much disposable income. We can see this by nail bars springing up here there and everywhere, hairdressers being packed with people having highlights/ colours being done at £80/ £90 a time, facebook being full of people jetting off on holidays here there and everywhere and the number of totally spoilt kids on endless days out, experiences and adventures. Honestly I have never known so many kids have so much, compared to when I was a kid many moons ago. However we also know that there are people who have none of this and we don't see them, they are not visible. They are the ones who get their hair done by a mate for next to nothing, they constantly scrimp to survive each day. These are the ones who will suffer because as others have said they have always been poor and that is going to get worse. And as many others have also said when people do start to change their spending habits as the costs of living crisis bites them harder, it could trigger a recession. There is just so much wrong with the way house prices have been allowed to spiral over the past twenty years fueled by second home owners ( many it seems on mumsnet although they will never admit any responsibility of course), it has almost gone past the point of being fixable now without huge repercussions. The potential implications could be huge. i hope it makes people think about others a little more though I doubt it.

We’re a family of four with a combined pre tax income of about 75k so I’d say ver comfortable middle class. I am already starting to plan changes to mitigate the pinch with one kid in full time childcare and the rises in that and food and petrol. Husband and I have agreed only to put heat on this winter if dc are in the house and awake for example. If we are twitchy thousands must be terrified.

Deffo struggling here OP….we’re in Scotland……massive rise in fuel has made a huge impact on our household, same with grocery shopping, it’s getting out of hand.
We turned off our central heating in April, only use gas to heat hot water.
We don’t switch on lights at night, no tumble drier. We both work, always have, grow some fruit and veg in our garden. No savings, can’t afford holidays……so yes. Feeling the pinch. Big time. I even cried today, as we only drive to go to work. We can’t afford a social life, go out to eat, or go for day trips because of the costs. Life is a bit bloody crap. Many, many people will be feeling it. Good on you that it’s not affecting your life.

It is clearly not affecting you yet as you are a single person and your outgoings appear low. Perhaps spare a thought for some low income families who are and whose struggle will continue to get worse.

It doesn't take much to go from financially comfortable to feeling the pinch. So for the people who were already feeling the pinch (and there were a lot of people in this cagegory) there's nowhere else to go but feeling like it's a financial crisis.

My DH and I have slightly higher than average salaries, we have a DD (age 2) and fortunately thanks to my work, we have minimal childcare costs while I still receive the equivalent of a full time salary. We were previously financially comfortable with great savings potential each month, our savings margin has all but vanished. Our savings are dwindling to pay for the holidays/events we'd already committed to over the past few years (rearranged from covid) and we've cut right back on food.

Our petrol costs have doubled, we spent more on petrol last month to get to work than we did on food. If I didn't work from home 4 days a week we would have to cut back even more.

Basically, we are a couple on higher than average salaries, living in a cheap part of the country (so our mortgage isn't too high), with minimal childcare costs, work from home as an option for me to reduce petrol costs and we're still feeling the pinch. There will be so many people throughout the country who are on worse salaries, high rent/mortgages, high childcare costs, etc. Just one rise can tip them over the edge, we are lucky that we have luxuries that we can cut out if need be, but what do you cut out if all those luxuries have already gone.

That's why it's a crisis, because if you can't cope on the average salary, what hope have you really got?

Not a crisis for me atm, but disposable income has reduced.

Bought a house a couple of years ago which depleted my savings, so I will definitely be cutting back and saving more

Energy is fixed until April 2023 and my mortgage is fixed until 2025 so have a bit of a buffer

I've felt the same through most of the conservative government. When austerity was in full flow I don't really feel it, the rise in tax thresholds made me better off. The new changes have left me slightly worse off but nothing we can't afford.

I grew up in heat or eat, it's miserable and changed me for life. I despair for those in the position. I've cried because it's not a temporary experience it's life long fear one that I still live with.

I wish that I had a government that would tax me appropriately and look after those that need it. Levelling up is a pipe dream without someone above being willing to give something back. Inequality is the cause of so much ill but so little is done to address it.

OP I got a quote for heating oil this week. Over £500 for 500 litres. A couple of years ago I was paying under £200. I can't afford that and the price will no doubt go up over the winter. If I don't have oil I don't have hot water. Luckily we also have an open fire but the price of coal is going up all the time, from approximately £12 for a 50 k bag to £17.50.

That's just coal and oil. God knows what petrol will be like. We live rurally so I need to drive. We're not in crisis at the moment but come winter I just don't know what's going to happen.

The only certainty is that prices are not likely to go down.

Well we are struggling to keep the bank balance above 0 and we don’t have any luxuries other a subscription that is split between us and my parents.