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?

The dentist. I had a trip filling done 2 years ago with the advice that it would either be fine and need a permanent one, or start to hurt and need root canal and crown. It started to hurt. About 18 months ago comes and goes.

But far worse than that, I had a mortgage offer which would have enabled me to give stbx a sum of money to buy him out (not as much as he wants but I think it would have worked out) that's now expired and I'll be lucky to cover the existing mortgage at all now. Even though its only a snall mortgage and about 50% of the house value.

How did we fall so far? People say how awful the 70s we're but a family could live on one wage, education was free and the NHS was fit for purpose.
It's obscene how the wealth gap has widened.

To fix my car. It desperately needs one new tyre to replace a practically bald one, and it'll need another 2 for the mot apparently. Plus it rattles, squeaks and creaks its way down the road (Peugeot so almost definitely suspension related) and has an oil leak too. Oh and the front disks will need replacing soon too

It still goes, turns and stops for now though. MOT next month, just got to hope I can afford any major failures that throws up!

Please forgive me if this is ignorant- but at the very least we are people with phones and or computers and access to the internet/ Wi-Fi. ( otherwise how would be be on MN) We're all struggling absolutely, but there are people who are sat lonely, cold and hungry without even a social lifeline.
Glasses and prescriptions should absolutely be a priority and we assume the government should subsidise it but at what cost- who else will they take funds from -the NHS and social care are already on its knees,the education sector also and our transport links are non reliable.

It's not that simple. My eyes are -13 but I also have an astigmatism that means I need the focus point corrected. These conditions are common and take specialist lenses to correct that are expensive. A lot of people have complex conditions like this and if you don't get suitable lenses your sight won't be corrected properly.
And no you don't get any help financially as it's not classed as solely work related or a disability as it's correctable.

My mum can't afford dental treatment or glasses. She's 65 and working full time.

@Soubriquet

Just in case you haven't seen this......

www.billhelp.uk/save-the-children-grant-scheme/

I’ve volunteered now with the homeless for over 20 years

i can assure you were going to have more people on the streets this coming year. I’m so so saddened by this

it makes me sick that in such a rich country we have people who can’t afford to eat.

For some it’s going to be a roof. Food or heating.

The varifocals from Asda at a more complex prescription (ie like mine, -9.50, astigmatism, etc) have significantly less viewing area than more expensive lenses. It’s impossible to explain unless you have very bad eyes as you wouldn’t see it or understand it (and I wouldn’t wish eyes as bad as mine on anyone)! But trust me asda may do “varifocal, thin” lenses but they don’t have the same high focus area that the more expensive lenses do - and when you have very bad eyes that’s what you need.

So many posts about this and yet people are STILL saying asda etc are the same: they are not.

Its like telling someone in a wheelchair it’s okay for them to get blisters on their hands from self
propelling themselves in a crap wheelchair when they need one that actually enables them to have some sort of quality of life.

Exactly.

So many posts about this and yet people are STILL saying asda etc are the same: they are not

Well to be honest, most people have stopped saying that now and stopped saying you can get glasses for 25 pounds. It's just this one poster now.
Would be interesting if she shared her prescription - how many dioptres she needs and whether she has astigmatism.

Because it's my astigmatism which causes the problems and leads to the extra expense.

@SafeMove thank you for the link to that report and the reminder of the important work that Human Rights Watch do.

I mentioned upthread about going to the dentist in Hungary - I live in another central European country.
She says most of her work involves treating people from the UK. People fly out, have an examination and x-rays, a treatment plan is drawn up and then everything is treated within a week to two weeks depending on what is needed. This ends up being much cheaper, including the flights and hotels, than having the same treatment done in the UK at a private dentist.
But what struck me was that she said the majority of these people's dental health is terrible and that it's because they haven't been able to afford to have things treated. Problems have just escalated and they end up in a dreadful state.

Sorry. I’m just annoyed.

🙈

My eyes are so irritating. I have so many issues with them and I’d love to have a whole funky collection of different specs to wear, but at ££££ per pair I live in fear of the one pair I do have needing replacing.

I think having really bad eyesight- not just normal “need glasses” type eyesight is something people really don’t understand.

I will shut up now. 🤣

I need an eye test, or some sort of attention. The tear gland over one of my eyes is sticking out, and I keep getting recurring issues with that eye.
My teeth are fucked. Last time I saw a dentist (pre-Covid), I was told I had a scary shadow in my jaw. But after finding out I was on UC.. was just told to come back in 6 months.
As we go on now, I am affording less and less. I will hang on to my internet, as that is how I keep in touch with people etc, and stay sane.
I have not been able to buy new clothing or footwear for ages. My hair was last cut in 2019.
My income is just over £600 a month. That is all I get, and it has to cover everything apart from rent. I am on UC group LCWRA before some knob pipes up with "get a job".
I am due for re-assessment any day soon. I could be put in LCW or job seekers groups which is half of what I am on now, with double the stress. It will push me to a very dark place, to the point I will not be on it for long.

Have her look at part worn, you can often pick them up on FB marketplace, especially if it's a smaller size she needs

A disciplinary due to sickness? That's horrifying and I am so sorry. If you are unwell, you are unwell. I hope the meeting goes OK

New clothes. I’ve just had my birthday and my husband bought me some boots as mine were 7 years old and finally fallen apart.
I got gift vouchers from my parents and brother and used them to buy a coat and some gloves .

these were things that previously I would’ve just bought because they were needed and presents were frivolous luxuries. Nice to have things like make up , lovely clothes etc.

I appreciate that even being able to buy new coat, and replacing boots that had fallen apart is still a real privilege - but I simply can’t afford to replace now - so used birthday gifts to do it

as for bras, I’m still wearing nursing bras and my daughter is 5 - can’t afford to replace - - but I’m still aware I’m very fortunate

Petrol
Dentists
Clothes/shoes
Use Lidl, mostly for shopping.
..
the last week before payday I ask friends for 20£ to get us through.
Use Olio free food app.

Im in fulltime work, single parent.

At least the air is free to breathe.

When I was a child my mother could only afford one school shirt and jumper for me, so used to wash and dry it overnight. We ate an awful lot of eggs and chips because it was cheap (and lots of bread!). (And the Conservatives weren't in power then). But society has supposed to have moved on and no one should be allowed to go hungry in 2022. I'm just so sorry that so many people are struggling. It's absolutely appalling.😪

I can't afford to work but I can't afford to not work.

Monthly bus tickets are £100-150 a month depending on how many journeys I need to make. Not much cheaper paying per journey now (works out at £4-5 for a single ticket on the train), plus childcare on top which is £15 a day for wraparound or £45 a day in the holidays.

But if I don't work my UC gets cut to minimum. Single working parent and I have no idea when I'll see the end. I earn too much for FSM for DC (KS2 age) so I go without to feed them. Where before I could proudly make a shephards pie last 2 days, it now needs to stretch 4 or 5.

I drive but can't run my own car as I just can't afford to buy a car let alone the ever increasing costs of petrol, insurance, MOT etc.

Isn't -9.50 considered legally blind? Might be worth checking if you can get any help because of it. I'm in Wales and a -7.50 but I think we get subsidised lenses. Have always got the cheapest frames because I didn't agree that fashion should make us have to pay more for something that just is there to hold the lenses in the right place. Specsavers are horrendous. Worked in London in the 90's and had to get emergency glasses from them. Ended up having them reimburse me for the glasses which they'd made for a weaker prescription.
I'm hoping that the tories will all be inflicted with some form of empathy and make policies for the country and/or hold a GE. I'm not betting on this as they will cling to power with their fingernails and sell out their families to stay in power.

I really really hope that everyone who posted here will have a better days soon. I received some private messages offering free skincare (as I mentioned that I'm with severe acne many years and can't afford any skincare products at the moment) and I'm so happy that even these days people are so kind.
Please, always think about a person who might be super happy with your coat (which you don't like anymore) or shoes, or cream which you got/bought but never used.
I really really hope that somehow we'll survive this bloody winter and things will get better. Honestly, if they will, the first thing I'll do - help for someone struggling.
This world is much better place to live when you realise - there are lots of kind people around you.....

Nope, not legally blind. In fact - with the right glasses- optician says I can see better than most. And I need to be able to drive, and I can drive very safely with my glasses. I’m just very, very myopic with astigmatism and whatever else.

Oh the Tories have no empathy. They’ve been fucking over the poor and the disabled forever. It’s just people are noticing their lack of empathy more now as it’s affecting everyone, not just those sections of society.

I'm in a very similar position with travelling. I spend around £120-£140 for traveling to work. Sometimes I refuse to do overtime because it means I'll have to use metro on peak hours and will loose everything extra I earned. Childcare is disaster, we don't have any family in UK and every single nursery in our area is overbooked. Every single email from our nursery with theme "nursery closure" makes me feel sick, it means I'll be on unpaid leave again and not paid for that day. If I would be single - it would be a nightmare, I would be kicked out from my workplace.... My boss already hates me.