Cost of living crisis: are you feeling it yet?

[whatthejuice]

Posting here for traffic...
Have you felt the cost of living crisis yet? Has your disposable income taken a nose dive?
I've noticed a massive increase in our food bills so that's the main difference at the moment and we probably have £150-£200 less disposable income per month as a result. I'm trying to save a separate money pot for help towards the heating bills this winter - but worried it won't be anywhere near enough to eat up the increase.
It all feels a bit terrifying at the moment, especially after I read the German government in local towns are bringing in energy saving measures already like switching lights off etc....

Yeah- we went from just about muddling through with the odd dip into savings (two professional careers but high mortgage and childcare) to having virtually no disposable income. We didn’t have extravagances anyway (few holidays, no car on finance and one car house, no takeaway coffees or subscriptions etc) so cutting back has been challenging as there’s little fat to trim. Every month I’m anxiously watching our money deplete and dipping into savings. The increase in gas and electric and our new mortgage rate next month (£260 more a month) is going to be a killer.

I do think they need to rejig taxes as it's wrong for young people to paying high taxes, high housing costs, high bills etc. There is huge intergenerational inequality & no I'm not saying all older people are rich.

We’re okay but I completely understand being on the bones of your arse as I was there for a long, long time. This shall also pass 💐

Accepting what? The wholesale cost of energy has gone through the roof, a decade of loose monetary policy has driven up prices, and Covid has left a massive hole in state finances.

What do you actually want done to help you here?

Have food costs gone up 10% or have they gone up by more than 10%? Inflation is variable across different costs and different items.

Agree with all of this. Older people also much more likely to vote Tory too so it's a never ending cycle (again, I know not all vote Tory!)

We're okay at the moment, relatively low mortgage fixed for over 4 more years, gas & electricity have gone up but we're using £50 less a month than they're charging so building up a nice buffer, I don't drive anyway and my partner works at sea 4 months at a time so no car costs/petrol increases, food has gone up maybe £5 a week but I still buy everything I want & could easily cut costs there if I need to. We're very lucky as we're not the wealthiest (£62,000 a year family income). We re-mortgaged when interest rates were at their lowest at 0.99% and fixed it for 5 years, which was amazing timing as literally the next week the rates started climbing.

You want income tax to be age dependent, not income dependent?

What do you actually want done to help you here?

higher IHT & CGT, higher levies on multiple home ownership/foreign ownership & I wouldn't lower corporation tax.

They could do what France has done and limit price rises on energy bills.
They could try to do something about Brexit and stop strangling our economy.
They could stop starving the economy of labour and get the economy growing.
They could stop prioritising shareholders over workers.

The average UK family is £8,800 worse off per year than the average French or German family. They could fucking well do somethng about that

@MsFrenchie how did you come to that conclusion?

They’ve gone up by around 10%. I’m quite skeptical of the claim above of a £200 increase too.

www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/czbj/mm23

Not yet. I mean yes I am aware of it because everyone is talking about it and you can see prices are higher, but we are fortunate to be comfortable so haven't actually felt it yet.

tbh change is going to have to come with the ageing population & state of the NHS & social care re taxes.

Ah, so you want me to pay more tax to heat your home and buy your family food?

No thanks, I’d rather not, if it’s all the same to you.

You probably work fewer hours than me; would you consider doing some gardening in exchange, or do you just want the money for doing nothing?

Yes - my point was that is ALL food and catering, it varies within the category.

@MsFrenchie what are you on about?

Yes I’ve noticed a huge difference. And to add to my woes I’ve been made redundant and can’t find a new role anywhere. I don’t live near a big city, just a small one with shit jobs.

my Sainsburys shop went shooting up but it is coming down now. And I’m noticing I’m able to buy a few tiny treats (cheap biscuits, small pack of sweets and blueberries sometimes). Our food budget is £70 pw for 3 of us (2 adults and a 10 YO). Last week I spent £55 for the week!

But our electricity standing charge is now 54p per day. Which is a huge increase than what we’re used to!

You probably work fewer hours than me; would you consider doing some gardening in exchange, or do you just want the money for doing nothing?

the lack of critical thinking is astounding. So because I think young people are getting shafted & there is too much tax burden on income as opposed to wealth you have assumed I hardly work & want your money? 😆

Thank fuck my dc have European passports.

I think their point is they want to keep every last penny, because money is the only way they were taught to measure their self-worth. They are not like myself, who is happy to pay more tax to support the country I love.

Our monthly DD has doubled from July so I'm finding every way possible to save on unnecessary energy usage even switching off the hot water being on automatic and putting it on for 1 hour a day but only if we need it. This weather the water stays hot longer so we can sometimes skip a day if only one of us showers at home (eg if I go to the gym).

Any Special Offers are an absolute con in the supermarkets at the moment, I'm totally cynical to Club Card reduction, they're a bunch of absolute cowboys. The only way to save is not to buy something. Shrinkflation plus con artistry plus measly money off coupons = don't believe a word!

Even a top up shop of staples comes out at £70 - 80 wh**en it used to be £40-45.

Best value at the moment for me is my lovely hairdresser did a wash and style for £28 today so she got a nice tip from me!

Definitely will see it this winter, our fixed E&G rate due to end so that looks like it will triple to around £500 a month. Then food has increased even with meal planning and now nursery has increased. We are officially screwed and going to be probably be homeless or living on bear bones when the mortgage is up for renewal in 1 years time. We could absorb the interest increase if everything else wasn’t sky high. Bring on 30 free hours! Tbh I think most people are going to be on the same boat. We are heading for the worst recession the UK has ever seen.

The measures you suggest would directly hit me, and cost me more money. You are calling for money to be taken from me to reduce your cost of living.

I’m saying that I don’t support that, what’s hard to understand about it?

I particularly liked your suggestion that I should pay more because I have the temerity to be foreign but to own a house here.

So no, rather than that, let’s not. I’ll look after my family, and you need to sort out how to look after yours.

Yes definitely feeling it, we haven’t eaten out or had a take away in months (bar McDonalds once) food shopping I’d let the children Chuck in what they wanted but not anymore. I’m price checking and buying own brands rather than premium.

I hear this! Switched to online shopping as don't want to risk the kids chucking stuff into the trolley/having a meltdown when I say no to the umpteenth item!