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?

My dentist did root canal on my back tooth and at the last appointment he stated he couldn’t be sure it would last!

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

They're probably the same people who voted for this government and for Brexit.

The metropolitan elite didn't, and said at the time that was it was those who could least afford Brexit, who'd voted for it.

It’s so ridiculous though isn’t it!?! It makes me so angry that some MPs think we can just work harder. Well no actually, in the short term I would be better off not going back to work at all! I even though about ending Mat leave early but I’ll earn more on SMP than I would working and paying for childcare.
Well done for finding a solution that works for you but I find the prospect of working opposite shifts to DH utterly depressing as we love spending time together. It would certainly be a solution to childcare though although seems an utter waste of all my training 😟

To be honest, with this whole thread is so
sad. Such a large proportion of society are struggling now, it almost feels like the start of a dystopian novel. I never thought I would see this in the UK in my lifetime!

The cheapest quote for lens only (varifocals with a tint due to light sensitivity), was £320, just for lenses
There must more to it then. I got varifocals, with tint, thin lenses for £120 (£80 + £40for the tint) at Asda.

Nice food
Meat/fish
Meals out
Holidays
New clothing
Can't drink alcohol anyway

We have enough food, it's just cheap stuff from Lidl and it gets really boring. We don't have any debt.

Actually it wasn't tint, that comes in the price, but transition lenses that cost the extra £40.

We cant afford any more large bill rises e.g rent, nursery fees. salary will absolutely not rise with inflation but the bills certainly will.

we have accepted that debt is inevitable until DD leaves full time childcare.

I agree. I have a similar prescription and could never afford glasses. You can’t buy them online as they have to be exact. You are looking at about £500. Without my glasses I couldn’t leave the house.
If I had an organ or limb that worked as poorly as my eyes then I would get help.

The thing is that ‘thin lenses’ is a meaningless term really. Lenses are measured by their index. The thinner they are the higher the number. Thinner lenses could mean 1.5 but when you have a high prescription you really need 1.6 or 1.64. Once you get into those realms it gets expensive.

NHS? Your GP can refer you. rnid.org.uk/information-and-support/get-support-online/hearing-aids-how-to-get/

NRTFT however are you sure she is as broke as what she is claiming? A lot of people in my experience plead poverty when actually they are doing ok.

Just a thought....

I don’t pay for my hearing aids, on the nhs, but any loss or breakage is billed for you. You also might not get the latest hearing aids, mine are about 1 year behind the private sector. I do have to pay for roger pens/microphone, and I was very lucky to get 2 free ones from someone on a Facebook group who didn’t need them as she had had a cochlear implant done. Normally roger pens cost upward of £1500 including the clips for the hearing aids. The roger pens meant I could join in some conversations. My hearing is so bad that I am now eligible for a cochlear implant.

Cheese for the pasta for tea

10 days till payday

Agree. Mine cost about £600 a go (just for the lenses; I've had the same frames for years to keep the cost down as, unfortunately and worryingly, my eyes are still changing beyond the age my optician would expect or hope them to, so I'm having to get new lenses fairly often).
My prescription is so high and complex that, like the others who've been trying to tell people on here how it works, I have basically no margin for error in how the glasses are made and how they sit. A fraction off, and I feel sick/dizzy or get headaches. And I need the thinnest, most expensive lenses for the same reason as well as for reasons of comfort.
Yes, I get my voucher, which is about £60 as someone else said. I'm self-employed, so no option to ask work.

Please listen to what people who know what they're on about are trying to tell you!

I have terrible eyesight too, I wear contacts due to vanity reasons and because I was terrible bullied at school for my bottle top specs. Being partially sighted is no fun and the glasses to have them look normal are very expensive. Never help for us who weren't luckily enough to be born perfect as it's not classed as a disability.

If your friends work full time and they can’t afford glasses or their monthly prescription (both under £10) then I think that has more to do with budgeting than not being paid enough

@Kennykenkencat it's very ignorant to assume all glasses can cost under £10. Mine cost well over £400. Very complex vision, nystagmus, astigmatism and a squint.

Clothes for the kids.

Really worried about Christmas this year, we haven't bought a thing and the kids still expect Santa 😔

@AnotherCrazyBirdLady thank you so much and please thank your DP too for that information and those suggestions 😀 I am going to be speaking with my friend about all this as soon as I can. I'm hoping if we can find a cheap deal I can afford to buy all 4 secondhand tyres for her. I could afford 2 new ones (cheapest we could find locally were £38.40 each plus fitting) so I am keeping fingers crossed we can maybe find 4 for under £80 which I can just about afford to pay in one go.

A fridge freezer and mine has just packed up 😭 I swear my car and appliances wait until the end of the year to die on me. I've got both the dc's birthdays, car service + mot and then Christmas to get through as a single parent. What a time to be alive!

Thank you @TightDiamondShoes I didn't know that about matching makes of tyre so that is very useful to know. I don't think we can afford Kwikfit even if they do 0% as i am under the impression they will only sell brand new tyres, or am I wrong about that? I googled them and I couldn't see any secondhand tyre options.

Loads of stuff, probably the most pressing is a dentist. DH went to the dental hospital and had loads of work done which was fab, but a crown came off his front tooth 15 months later and the dental hospital have said they won't fix it. He is really self conscious about it.

I was going to say this is inaccurate as you would get a complex lens voucher and then googled and it looks like they have changed the system.

The last time I got one around 4 years ago it was because my eyes were below -6 and had enough money to get two pairs of designer glasses at Specsavers (on their buy one get one free range with one pair thinned down with anti glare coating).

It looks like they have changed the eligibility to make it harder to qualify and it's now worth less money.

Glasses are essential for those of us with more complex eye problems and they often need to be updated more often than average as our eyesight can change quickly.

(I also agree with Asda opticians being crap!)

But not if you need them regardless. I am mega shortsighted (-11) so need to wear glasses all the time. Employers will only reimburse if you solely need them for close, eg computer work. Believe me, I have tried!

I have complex lenses so glasses cost me a couple of hundred pounds and I get the grand total of £15 from the NHS towards them...