What can't you afford?

[Marleymerm]

Last week at work my colleague told me her recent eye test showed she needed glasses, but she couldn't afford them, she's known she's needed them for a couple of years but said she doesn't have the money. We both work full time in office jobs and neither of us have expensive hobbies or social lives, we're both pretty boring.
I realised this morning I haven't bought new shoes for months despite the ones I have coming apart, because I can't afford them. I've picked up pairs but put them back down when I've thought of what else I need instead.
When I asked this question to my friend about what she couldn't afford she told me her monthly prescription! She hasn't got it for 3 months.
It's a weird time we're living in so everyone's doing without something. But do you have any necessary things you need but can't afford?

So many sad and worrying tales on this thread.

Like PPs, I can’t afford to take time off work if I’m ill as there’s no sick pay for me. I mean obviously, if I’ve got an illness that’s contagious or I’m so ill I can’t get out of bed then I won’t go to work, but then I’ll have to make some big cutbacks elsewhere and I can’t really see where I would make those cuts so I just keep my fingers crossed that I don’t get ill.

I have a root filling which has failed and needs some work; either refilling or extraction and an implant/bridge. I’m really lucky to have an NHS dentist but this work is complex so has to be done by a specialist so I’ll have to pay privately for it. To be fair, I could just have it extracted on the NHS for about £150 and then leave it at that, but my dentist friend says this can often cause further problems with the surrounding teeth. So I will have the specialist work and use a payment plan to pay it off over a year or so. Being in debt for painful dental treatment is a bit shit.

I have one of these and really recommend- I take a lot of medication for my asthma so it is necessary

Dentist.
New glasses — tho I’m so grateful I get seen at an eye clinic every six months. They tell me if my sight has changed and do a thorough eye exam so I can breathe that I don’t need new glasses for 6 months at least.
I am dreading huge vet bill or something needing doing in the house as even diy person round here is an arm and a leg.
Like a pp said, I felt ok mentally through Covid, was full of hope for the vaccines, better days we’re coming etc… but this, where parents are going without food to feed their children is just bloody criminal. I’ll continue to put as much as I can in food banks so please if you’re struggling, use them.

Imagine the uproar if wheelchair uses were questioned on their choice of disability aids....but partially sighted people are having to justify why their vision means some glasses won't cut it
Because sadly, and this thread is evidence of it, many people don't know how to shop cheaper. You don't get glasses from Asda supermarket, you get it from their optician which is a service no different to the one expensive on the street opticians offer.

They cater for almost everyone. Only very extreme prescriptions can't be met. The difference in cost is huge. You can get two pairs for £120 and that with everything included, unlike others who start adding lenses thining, anti scratching so it ends being £300 minimum for one pair.

Sadly, too many people think they get a much better product by paying 3 times more for something not much different and then moan they can't afford it.

I went for the first time in a long time TKMaxx last week and it was heaving. Everything they do there can be found cheaper elsewhere but people still go for 'if it's an upmarket brand, it will be better' rubbish.

Some people really don't know how to shop well but cheaper.

I agree. I can't understand how some people don't get it. If employers paid a living wage (and adjusted it in line with cost of living) then a full time wage in any job should allow you to live and cover all health needs. If that means companies taking a hit on there profit margin then that's what has to happen.

Glasses for both DH and me. We both have complex lenses. Best part of £400 each.

I really need a dental hygienist clean but it's £65.

We used to go out at least once a week now it's more like once a month. Only for a pub lunch, nothing fancy.

We've got a load of old debts that are now biting us on the bum so we need all the money we can get to pay them off.

I agree.

Look at how many people don't know about the prescription prepayment card.

Look at how many people didn't have a clue about energy bills until they were told their direct debit would be hundreds of pounds a month.

Look at how many people are paying £30/40/50 pm for their mobile phone.

I'm not saying that everyone is like this, but there are an awful lot of people who could get a lot more for their money if they made small changes to how they did things.

Do you not understand that for many many people they are already buying the very basics of everything and STILL can't just not shop I'm tk maxx in order to afford glasses/dental treatment/time off work?

Just because there are people who can still afford to buy clothes doesn't mean that there are also people who can't even afford the bus fare to get themselves to work.

@HellothereSH the Child Poverty Act, passed in 1999 by the Blair Government with cross-party support had a target to end child poverty by 2020. The target was officially dropped in 2015 by the Tory government and the act was was repealed in 2016 with little fanfare. The Children's Society estimates that this year there will be 5 million (5 million! That's three in ten) children living in poverty - this is defined as parents unable afford the basics of food, clothing and shelter. If those are statistics you are comfortable with and happy to see continue to rise while you try and score party political points on MN, then so be it. I am not.

Reading this is absolutely heartbreaking.

I'm going to be honest. At the minute (very aware things could change at the drop of a hat!) we seem to be managing okay. Other than watching how often we put the heating on, we haven't had to cut back too much. DH and I are lucky that we have had token payrises/promotions to see us through.

HOWEVER. I am very aware that if we had children right now, it would possibly be a very different story. We are not trying right now but would like to in the next year or so. If I'm honest, the economic situation (amongst other factors) really puts me off having children right now. It's really scary.

Do you not understand that for many many people they are already buying the very basics of everything and STILL can't just not shop I'm tk maxx in order to afford glasses/dental treatment/time off work?
I do believe there are people in this position, without a doubt, it not as many forums like here, social media and the press like us to believe.

My neighbour posted on FB that she was skint and couldn't afford to buy new coats gaining sympathy. What she didn't say was that they have just paid for an extension on the house and new play equipment in the garden.

There is a lot behind people's narrative. But yes, not denying some people are really counting pennies.

@vivainsomnia how do you expect people already struggling to get the money together for a prescription be able to afford the upfront costs (or even the spread payments) for prescription prepayment card? Riddle me that!

They cater for almost everyone. Only very extreme prescriptions can't be met. The difference in cost is huge. You can get two pairs for £120 and that with everything included, unlike others who start adding lenses thining, anti scratching so it ends being £300 minimum for one pair

Sadly, too many people think they get a much better product by paying 3 times more for something not much different and then moan they can't afford it

For heaven's sake. Why won't people listen to what others are saying about glasses?
If you have a very strong prescription you often have NO choice but to have thin or ultra thin lenses because the lenses can end up being so thick that they are very heavy, uncomfortable to wear and most importantly, end up distorting your vision.
You are talking as if people are wanting these things for vanity reasons.

I take your point about the glasses coming from the Asda opticians and not the supermarket - but even so, the complex prescriptions are still going to cost no matter where you go.

I feel this one. DS needs root canal work. Nowhere around here or where he's at uni will take on NHS patients. I have been warned it will come to about £3000!!! That's from a dentist in a university town. I have a small amount of savings but it will go quickly if anyone else gets toothache. I told him to really look after his teeth from now on.

The Children's Society estimates that this year there will be 5 million (5 million! That's three in ten) children living in poverty
Those statistics are made to push political games and the media to gain additional funding.

Not saying they are not getting a good job but using their criteria, my kids would have been deemed raised in poverty. They certainly didn't miss out on anything and didn't suffer any effects.

You can't use one or two examples of people stretching the truth on social to make the claim that the problem lies with people's budgeting.

We’re okay, actually we’ll off compared to most in that we get to the end of the month and mostly have a few quid to spare as we both work now but I got a root canal done 3 years ago and can’t afford the crown so now it’s discoloured and rotting. Can’t really afford the dentist but go once a year for him to do one thing and tell me I need to get more done so I stay away. If I ever won the lottery it’s on the list!!!

If you have a very strong prescription you often have NO choice but to have thin or ultra thin lenses because the lenses can end up being so thick that they are very heavy, uncomfortable to wear and most importantly, end up distorting your vision
And this is included in the basic price of glasses at Asda. I know, I need thin lenses!

My beloved cats. So expensive: good quality food; the vet, being able to put them in a cattery when I go to visit my parents; even the cat-litter is pricey. Also they've ruined some stuff (eg. curtains) that i cant afford to replace. I adore them but if I had the chance again I wouldn't have got them just for financial reasons.

@vivainsomnia are you saying child poverty isn't a problem in the UK? Really? Why not do a google yourself and see what the sites that suit your political outlook have to say about it. My guess will be very little because it makes very uncomfortable reading.

You can't use one or two examples of people stretching the truth on social to make the claim that the problem lies with people's budgeting
And it's not what I'm saying. You also can't assume someone saying they can't afford to buy a bag of potatoes have budgeted to the best they could.

We don't know.

I am desperate for a haircut but the amount of month left at the end of the money grows longer all the time. I haven't been to the dentist for two years (the last round of private treatment was almost £1000). My pet broke his leg just after my new glasses went on the credit card, so luxury spends are on hold until that's paid off. Replacement specs were already five years overdue and the old ones were scratched as hell (-10 prescription so definitely essential). We are lucky that we can still eat, and our mortgage and utilities are on a fixed rate until next year, but it's not about to get any easier.

I think it's just awful that in the UK you are completely fucked if you can't get an NHS dentist place and can't afford to go private.

Many people could afford to go private, they just don't know how reasonable the cost is. I was one.

I always had NHS dentists ("OK, good enough") until we moved house and couldn't find one accepting new NHS patients. This forced me to "go private"; or rather take out a private dentists dental plan. I pay £35 a month. I wish I'd known decades ago that I could have far superior dental care and treatment for just over a pound a day.

Plenty of people pay more than that for their phone, subscription entertainment services etc.

This is really sad. Irony of all of it is this country is viewed as one of the richest country in the world. People could have had a much decent lives if the politicians wouldn't have messed up so badly.