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?

This is precisely why I'm no longer working full time and have to work evenings opposite DH's shifts so we have no childcare costs.

To leave my marriage.

Dentist check ups .Cannot get an NHS Dentist so have not been to dentist for a while

More worrying is that my daughter Cannot find NHS dentist so her toddler has never been to dentist!
There is going to be a generation of people looking like a Dickens character with teeth missing!
Absolutely bloody shocking!

There's just the two of us at home now but we have had to give up days out at the weekend which we used to enjoy. We used to drive up to Morecombe or Lancaster or even the Lake District all are about an hour from where we live but we've stopped driving 'for the sake of it'
I've stopped going out for the last hour to our local pub if I have been on a late shift. I would only have a pint and Dh would have two once a week. Maybe saving us money but it's not doing our local pub any favours as other people have really cut down as well. It was nice to go in and chat with other folk there.

Tyre worries: you need matching sets on the front and the back. That doesn’t mean all 4 need to match, but you can’t have one Pirelli on the left rear and a Goodyear on the right rear.

from a safety pov if you can only afford to replace 2, replace the front. Those are the ones you need for traction and control for winter driving.

kwikfit let you pay for tyres with PayPal credit at 0% interest if that’s an option.

And this threads shows the very real, material reasons why some women don't leave unhappy marriages.

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.

I questioned that one too after the initial outlay for a bag of lentils a nutritions soup could be made for the whole family for the same price as a box of a couple of cup soups. A loaf of bread and jar of jam from range would be less than the box of soups and at least fill her up. You can't survive on a cup soup and milk you'd be too unwell to work or look after your dc

Our Shoezone has got very fancy lately, selling Sketchers and the like. Hopefully they are still doing low cost footwear.

Haircut for myself, dentist, sodding Xmas, any form of "treat" eg occasional meal out.

You're pleasant, aren't you.

This is really sad seeing that working people can't afford to live. The government and in my opinion the people that voted for them and for Brexit have a lot to answer for.

We are only on one wage of £40,000 a year as I'm a SAHP but we are getting by OK, we haven't been massively affected neither have my friends or family. It's only really on here that I see how bad things have got for some people.

Specsavers usually have free eye tests if you look online for a voucher. My DH recently had his tested for free and their glasses work out fairly cheap too.

Which particular former Trinity Mirror site (now known as Somerset Live etc) is this piece going to appear on?

You clearly have no idea about food insecurity. Lucky you.

The spectacles, dentist comments have made me think of the ‘Saturday’ funds my working grandparents paid into. Pay a little each week out of wages so you could reclaim most of cost of glasses or dentures. Do those type of schemes still exist? It’s horrible that schemes that were necessary in Victorian times might still be needed today.

Soubriquet I dont know if it is all over UK but Manchester area have a bed charity that gives out free mattresses and beds.Maybe also London? Might be worth a look.Also BHf (British heart foundation) have some in their shops that have all been thoroughly cleaned if any good?

France has nuclear energy.
Also logs are €65 a cubic metre as opposed to 4 x that in parts of the uk.

What is wrong with you?
How nasty can you be!

£35 a month is a LOT of money.

And why can't some PPs understand that some people can barely afford to live and not keep mentioning smart phone contracts and Netflix subscriptions. They don't have them because they cannot afford them!

So many situations described here that are abolutely heartbreaking.

Any potential solutions I'd thought of whilst reading the thread have already been mentioned by pp's.

Except: Haircare/Haircuts

If you're fortunate to live in an urban area there may be a training college nearby looking for models for the trainees to test their skills! Obviously, the trainees are supervised. So far as I'm aware, you don't need to have perfect, glossy hair to be a model, nor do you need to look like Claudia Scheiffer.

I worked with a woman who did this, saved herself a fortune in hairdos, and was always able to update her look.

PinkPalaceInTheSky Im sorry to hear you had a bad experience there.I have always found our branch impeccable.They found a hole in the back of my eye with the new OCT machine and were incredibly helpful .Referral to GP and follow up check free

I don't have time to read the thread - for employees who use computers (i.e. most of us), their employer is bound by law to provide a basic eye test and glasses for computer use.

www.hse.gov.uk/msd/dse/eye-tests.htm

There is a plenty of advice on self-care to maintain good health care - i.e. not spending hours on end staring at a screen with no breaks, too much screen time after work. Eyesight is an asset, look after your eyes!

question to my friend about what she couldn't afford she told me her monthly prescription!

you can get a deal on perscriptions if you pay a small amount monthly instead

100% agree with you. I've relied solely on benefits for the last two years since becoming chronically ill, and I've never been so well off financially. I've even been saving up so that I can afford the drop in income once I'm well enough to go back to work!

Yep. And if you have extensive existing issues, you can’t get dental insurance, so that’s not an option for me. Nor can I afford to “pay it in chunks” directly to the dentist as I only have £50 a month spare and it’s not even close to enough.