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?

Dentists are businesses. They have to find and equip premises and recruit and pay staff. They are reluctant to take on NHS patients as an hour of their time will bring in more money from a private patient than the NHS can afford to pay. Why doesn't the NHS provide dental surgeries in their hospital buildings and pay dentists, dental nurses, hygienists etc as part of NHS staff, as they do with nurses? Not all dentists want the responsibility of running a business and would prefer the security of being an employee. It seems so obvious but I have never heard it suggested

This is awful. I'm sorry so many of you are struggling.

Can I ask - was it bad before, or has it only just become unmanageable?

I'm lucky that we still have money in the bank but have noticed my disposable income doesn't go nearly as far. I estimate things are about 25-30% more expensive based on what I'm spending.

At the beginning of the year I committed to some trips away and paid the deposit, the balance is now due on them both and I'm really feeling the pinch.

Visiting family - we used to stay in a Premier Inn for about £60 near family as it's a long drive. It's now £140.

Bus fares have almost doubled so I'll walk.

I know someone with two young children who survives on tea and those cheap cup a soups.

This makes NO sense. Both teabags and cup a soups are an expensive way to get very few calories, that require spending on electricity to boil a kettle etc.

I would have thought that this would be worth talking to the GP about for a referral to the food bank. It is vital that the mother stays healthy as possible, for the children. She will not achieve that by living on low quality cup of soups.

@Marleymerm Does your employer not offer any kind of assistance for glasses, if she's doing VDU work both of my previous employers have offered help towards the cost of glasses in those instances.

I really need a new bra. I’m done to one atm.

Me too. A check up costs over £60 now. I know I should try and register with an NHS dentist now the kids are all over 18 and all have to pay for themselves but I don't get round to changing so I just skip making appointments. They're going to throw me out soon I expect.

I need a root canal performing that will cost £600 and MIGHT work. I could probably scrape the money together if I prioritised it, but the uncertainty really puts me off because that is such a massive amount to me.

I'm registered partially sighted. I was devastated when this happened. While all my friends were passing their driving tests, I had to rely on public transport. Sure, the bus is free and I get discounted rail, but I'd rather be able to see properly.

It doesn’t always go off the prescription strength,mine is only -1.25 but I am partially sighted due to loss of visual fields,also the only help I get is free eye tests it doesn’t give you free glasses automatically,even with pip it doesn’t mean free glasses,
I still have to buy them.
also with being registered as visually impaired it’s a loss of drivers licence.

I used to run out of cash the week before payday. Now I run out ten days after I get paid. I’m working more too.

so fed up of life under the tories.

My discretionary spending has gone down a lot I won't just get a takeaway or a coffee just because I feel like it.

Also putting off getting a new tyre which I had an advisory for it's getting close to the legal limit I will do it when I get paid. I'd normally get it replaced straightaway I'm definitely a bit more frugal.

It's £25 a month here for the private dentist which gets you 2 checkup/hygienist appointments per year and... a whole 10% off dental work. Hence I am still with Butcher Dentist because DH's work pays our NHS costs.

I'm the same need new glasses...costs about £300 this is with very cheap frames. We are going backwards in this country...People will have no teeth and very damaged eyesight.

Might want to read the room before you post.

You can access emergency dental care ours is based at local nhs minor injuries unit. Obviously it’s not routine care but if you are in agony they will extract and/or give antibiotics.

I'm sorry you are in that position. If your current shoes are black then a £3 tube of black silicone mastic will fix a whole nicely of its that the sole has come away from the upper. Wipe away the excess and you will not be able to see the repair. X

It depends a lot on her prescription though, you can buy glasses for £40 if you have sight like mine but Dp's cost £260 despite reusing his frames, and he's had 3 different prescriptions this year!

I saw a nice dress in a charity shop the other day, it was originally from Matalan. They wanted £12! Ridiculous. I refuse to pay more than £5 for a dress which is second hand and in the sale would probably not have been more than a tenner anyway. It wasn’t even in perfect condition, there was a bit of bobble and some wash fade.

Its scary times and costs seem to just keep going up and up. But on the other hand all the pubs and restaurants near me are always packed, kids activities like swimming or classes all fully booked with waiting lists. Town is always heaving, people spending in shops. Sometimes seems like a parallel universe?

www.rlbuht.nhs.uk/our-hospitals/liverpool-university-dental-hospital/outpatient-dental-treatment/

Dental hospitals also provide free treatment carried out by students. Might help someone.

My dc has a disability and I noticed an advert in hospital waiting room paying £100 a day plus travel expenses and food to be a practice patient for students at university - need to be 18 to volunteer but I thought that was a good deal.

Once I go back to work after Mat leave ( on a good wage in my opinion, as a top of the scale teacher and extra payment for head of department), I will struggle to afford childcare. I’ll have two under two. I return in September and due to DC1 turning 3 in Nov, we don’t qualify for any free hours until Jan. It was all worked out that it would be manageable…until the prices of everything rocketed! The crippling thing is the student loan payments of over £200 a month.
Some months, I will earn nothing and at others my husband will be paying around £50 of his wage (on current prices and predictions) for the privilege of me working 60 odd hours a week.
I really don’t want to be forced into quitting as the teacher recruitment and retention crisis is so terrible and I don’t want to abandon my pupils but I may well have to! I even wrote to my MP asking for a pause on student loans to be considered for people with one child or more in full time childcare or to consider the free hours starting the month of a child’s birthday and not the next term. To their credit, my letter was sent to Downing Street and I did get a reply from someone in the Chancellor’s office (whichever one it was!!!) but it was just the usual stuff about all the things they currently do for “people like me”…none of which actually apply to me and 1000s of other mums in similar situations!

We've always had to be 'clever' with money. Always managed.

Now definitely struggling.

The government need to start helping those not on benefits - as I think it's the worse affected group.

Got £45 to last til Friday for food/fuel everything else - just been out for cat food/cat litter and some fuel - spent £20. It's only been since Covid we've had issues (DH lost his job during cover and we had zero income for 7 months which wiped out our savings)

Im in Scotland so prescriptions are free and you can get nhs glasses too.

I can’t afford a new boiler so I’m still using my 40 odd year old one. I can’t afford to extend my house like I need. I can’t afford a new kitchen even though the old ones fucked. I can’t afford a new bathroom and just keep replacing the bits that fail.

On the whole though I can afford everything else I need. I live near a landfill so I consciously choose to buy clothes, shoes, furniture etc secondhand so it’s cheaper and keeps it from killing my kids. I use cloth nappies so I don’t need to buy them either. There are a few less legal ways I can save money too like using farm diesel instead of garage diesel. Working for my livery, snaffling overfill produce, unpasteurised milk, annoying the beaters wives etc I grew up like this so I don’t think id ever change

Because it’s not true. Cup soups are around 50 calories. To “survive” on those would mean drinking dozens of them a day. And anyone who can afford that can afford bread or potatoes or something more substantial instead. Even a glass of full-fat milk would be better.

Maybe she has one day a week with nothing but tea and cup soups but not every day.