Not paying for childcare this autumn as bills go up

[Essenceandvibes]

I've just had an epiphany.....I absolutely won't be paying a penny for childcare this autumn as bills increase and I won't be made to feel guilty about it either. I can work from home and watch my baby and pick up my 10 year old from school without the assistance of anyone else and if my employer has an issue with it, he can pay an extra £2000 per month post tax to cover the cost of full time help.

Our bills are going to be about £800 a month just electricity and gas alone for our detached 4 bed house, this isn't even thinking about the increase of petrol or groceries.

The mortgage has also gone up a few hundred quid too....childcare and commuting is now a luxury not necessity and I really hope every parent joins me in asking for employers like it or lump it

Shameful the government have let everything get this far, the knock on effects will be huge

£800 a month for a 4 bed detached ?!! Our 3 bed semi costs a quarter of that. You need to get yourself a smart meter and start unplugging things when not in use/turning down your heating and hot water. If you have a combi boiler, try turning down the flow temperature for heating to 55 degrees and the hot water to between 55 and 60 degrees. My elderly mum lives with us and we have to put the heating on periodically for her, and this saves quite a bit. I would be looking at your gas/electricity usage before anything else because it does seem excessive even at todays’ prices.

THIS. 100%!

I did previously make this precise point earlier as an NHS employee myself, and there was no real answer provided other than "well it doesn't apply to you then". 🤷‍♀️

It's more that most people are finding it unconscionable that there might be two of you.

Amazing isn’t it? All these rich folk coming onto a ………cost of living thread 🤔 😂.

Not to that extent, but I have two school aged children, and I am thinking that 2 days a week I'll get them at 3.45pm, bring them home and put them in front of the TV, rather than sending them to after school club. It's £10 per child, per session, so I'd save around £360 a month. Which is a lot of money. Also now they are older I'm not sending them to holiday clubs as much from next year. Again, they'll have to totter around the house a couple of days a month.

With a baby at home full time? I couldn't do that tbh in my job

🤣

hey OP, a lot of people might not agree with you now but they will do in 3 months when they start feeling the pinch and their wallet feeling lighter.
It is hard to accept that shit is going to hit the fan this winter. Inflation is real and is going to be very painful for most of us.

No they won't, they'll just tell everyone to bulk up their meals with lentils and make their own stock cubes.

Mumsnetters have a hard on for Hardship Olympics, they compete over under-spending, under-using of the NHS and under-living of life.

What do you think would happen to people with four bed detached houses when the revolution come OP?

Spoiler Alert - you’re a Them not an Us in that scenario…

Tbf, my semi has three external walls - but I’m in one of those old-fashioned ones and not a prism from home designs. 😉

I actually agree with a lot of what's been said on this thread; cost of living is an absolute shambles and I'm not surprised that people are having to consider compromising the quality of both their work and home lives to make ends meet.

What I can't quite fathom is why someone who only needs to work a couple of hours a day thanks to a legacy income, thinks that not only do they have anything useful to contribute to the topic but also the right to patronise anyone who disagrees with them.

Third name change OP?

@NippyWoowoo “Mumsnetters have a hard on for Hardship Olympics, they compete over under-spending, under-using of the NHS and under-living of life.”
FACTS.

I’m sure when we win the fight to improve working conditions they’ll think it was theirs by divine intervention and not the hard work of those of us actually fighting for something. They’ll probably use this awful year as an example 10 years down the line of “you don’t know what hard is, stop moaning I lived through the cost of living crisis” and STILL be trying to keep good working people down.

Well bully for you op, if your job means that you can take that stance. Most people can’t.

I do have sympathy and feel that things need to change but tbh your tone on here hasn’t helped your cause.

I’d check the Equality Act before you get too gung ho, OP.
Parenting is not a PC.

@dickiedavisthunderthighs 'What I can't quite fathom is why someone who only needs to work a couple of hours a day thanks to a legacy income, thinks that not only do they have anything useful to contribute to the topic but also the right to patronise anyone who disagrees with them'
Exactly this above.
That poster has clearly demonstrated a total lack of insight (and that their role is a doddle as I suggested before). Why they think their particular experience is relevant to 99% of people is beyond me. Perhaps they just are a fantasist. Whatever the case, next year when we are in full blown recession, they may have to cut back on their self assured posts because many who have done very well and been fortunate so far will be in the firing line.