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?

I have one of those incredibly rare NHS dentist spots but she is dreadful. She absolutely butchered me last month by doing a filling on an infected and cracked tooth, which resulted in the root going up into my sinus, a week of pain and an emergency extraction. I can't afford to switch to private.

Also, tumble dryer. Trying to night toilet train DS and that's resulting in a lot of wet washing hanging about.

This is unbelievably depressing. We left for abroad some years ago but the plan was to return before the kids grew up but looking at threads like this makes it seem a non starter. When did it get this bad?

It’s not “fine” though. I don’t want to dominate the thread by picking on this but honestly if you have -9.50 both eyes, astigmatism, lattice degeneration, retinal issues, sjorgens etc then the difference is actually really important as it means you might suffer with migraines and eye strain trying to see through lenses which aren’t quite right. It isn’t the difference between a £20 coat or a £200 one both of which will do the job.

Of course if it’s a case of not seeing at all then Asda etc is preferable but for me it would be like someone with normal vision walking around with a thin layer of cling film over their eyes (this is literally what my vision was like in the cheaper glasses). The point I’m making is that no one should have to spend ££££ to be able to see properly, and seeing properly isn’t possible in the cheaper ones if you have a complex prescription. The NHS vouchers should be more generous. Much more generous.

Sorry but cheap cup soups are a really poor choice if you have hardly any money. The calories /nutrition you get for the cost is rubbish. Advise your friend to buy a bag of potatoes instead and microwave jackets for herself.
I agree with you that your friend shouldn't be in such dire straits, but nutritionally potatoes would be far far superior to cup soups which a full of rubbish and very processed.

I have a friend in UK who I really worry about. She has to drive to work and back every day, but her car desperately needs 4 new tyres she just cannot afford. She's terrified that she will get stopped by the police and fined - which she also would not be able to pay - but she cannot stop driving as her workplace is rural and no buses or public transport would get her there on the schedule she needs. With UK winter coming (slushy wet roads and ice etc) I'm so fearful she is going to have an accident because of those tyres. I've told her I can help her by paying half (I can't afford to buy all 4 sadly) but she just cannot get the money for the other 2. So horrible, and I don't know what else I can suggest to her as we were already looking at the cheapest tyres we could find. Does any MNetter have any ideas please?

I can't afford to reduce my working hours so that I have some space in the week for me/housework/taking a breath. Lone parent of a toddler, no family support, working full time and looking after her when I'm not at work. She's not an amazing sleeper either so I don't get a consistent break in the evenings even. I'd love to be able to take half a day a week or a fortnight for myself, I feel completely driven into the ground. Having said that, I can afford food and heating. Some of the stories here are devastating.

In fact if you can afford to help your friend buy her a bag of potatoes. It could literally stop her starving if she's living off tea and cup soups.

@OhTheLeetleHandsAndFeetle I agree with you. It’s not a race to the bottom!

They definitely would, but the cost of cooking potatoes is prohibitive. That’s why food banks want items that only need hot water adding. Being able to cook is a luxury.

But noodles would be better than cuppa soup.

Nothing wrong with Shoezone. Bought 2 pairs of boots last year, cheap as chips... worn almost every day...still look great. Far better than an expensive pair purchased from a different retailer.

I can understand that. I had to get a bank loan to cover the last work I had done.

Is your friend talking about a medication prescription? If so, you can pay monthly it's about £10 for a pre payment card. This is what my DP does and saves hundreds a year . It's £10 a month and it doesn't matter how many prescriptions you pick up or how many items are on it as it's covered by your pre payment card. If you're on regular medication this is definitely worth having.

I have a few pairs of unused shoes in a size 6 if that'd be any help to you.

Also glasses. I had an eye test months ago and my prescription has changed enough that I’m struggling to see clearly, however my lenses need thinning so much that it costs upwards of £300 to get new glasses (-12, astigmatism, cataracts, have had a detachment, I’m very limited with the frames I can have).

I haven’t been to the hairdressers for around a year and my hair needs doing, again, it costs just under £100 and I can’t justify it.

Specsavers have glasses from £25 .quality there excellent. Maybe more for the higher pres but they are best value around

I know people are trying to be helpful but really there are so many posts here about glasses which show that people have no idea at all about what the implications and costs are when someone has a complicated prescription.
You might be able to get a pair of glasses for 25 quid if you have mild short sightedness or long-sightedness.
But once you need a stronger presciption the lenses cost much more and you often end up having to pay extra for ultra thin lenses to avoid the lenses being extremely thick - and they can also distort what you see when they are too thick. Add in astigmatism on top of that and you've got a problem....
We are talking about hundreds of pounds - even from the cheaper companies.

Mine always work out at around 400 Eur... .usually need changing every 3 to 4 years. So I have to save all the time for new glasses to make sure the money is there and that isn't always easy.

Food
haven’t had a haircut in 5 years

Potatoes can be boiled in the kettle if cut small.

I haven't updated my glasses in 8 years but I wear contacts. My prescription has changed and worsened again and contacts may no longer be suitable. I went to glasses direct and I've got 2 pairs with upgraded lenses (thinned, coatings etc) for £70 something. I have a pretty high prescription (-8 in the better eye) so they do cater for higher, more complex prescriptions and ac someone who worked as an optical dispenser the lenses are the same everywhere just with different mark ups. There are only a few manufacturers but the more expensive the lenses the better quality. Still the mark ups are extortionate!

Sad times ahead. I am so super careful these days what I spend money on and I am struggling to get it to stretch to anything. I have made changes like frozen veg instead of fresh and only switching electricity on as needed. I wear shoes until they fall off my feet. I can't afford to go travelling these days as much. Even youth hostels are charging a lot!

The thing is..... almost nowhere else in the world has free universal health, or dental, or optical services. The UK NHS was always an outlier, and eventually had to accept that our system cannot sustain free everything. Regardless of government, it is not financially viable to give everyone free everything, sad, but true.

Select specs do prescription glasses for £6. I've bought from them many times and they're really good. Bifocals and varifocals cost more obviously, but my last pair of these were £75 which is still really good value.

We can eat and are clothed but general house maintenance is building up with no way to finance it. We’ve got a fence panel down, a cracked window and blown panes in others, poor insulation, peeling and rotting facias, a very dilapidated lean to, poorly done render repairs, a leak in the chimney flashing. We are able and willing to have a go at addressing most things but often lack the right tools.

we’re going to see if we can borrow a ladder for the facias but we’re both terrified of heights 😬

we’ve stopped all this kids activities. They never did many but swimming, football and scouts have stopped. Scouts is cheap but a bit of a drive away. That’s really sad. Trying to gloss over it so the kids don’t realise and get worried, but it’s a hard sell and I hate lying to them. They’re worriers and I don’t want them to :(

Health care isn’t free. We pay a considerable about in national insurance.

We haven't had to cut back anywhere near as much as some people so I consider myself lucky. However we are saying no to night out invites. Reduced our food waste massively, didn't book any trips away for October holidays (normally we would do a couple of days), free days out rather than paid ones, spending more time doing games, stories with the kids than soft play etc, making use of our monthly swimming membership and using the showers etc there, walking far more, cut back on expensive cleaning products and now use bicarbonate of soda and lemon juice which actually cleans much better, put of booking a holiday abroad next year (our first in 4 years), stopped buying the kids new clothes they don't need. All these changes have made a massive difference and I think it's good for the kids to understand why we are doing it.

I can't afford my prescription. I suffer with IBS-C, have done for over 20 years and need regular doses or movicol.
It's got the point where I'm due a disciplinary at work ( I do PT ) because I've had 3 days off in less than a year because of it. Once was corona and the other two were ibs related. We do get some UC but are over the earnings threshold for prescription help.
Nevermind.
Also both of us need new glasses. And dentist treatment has gone out the window. Then throw in a couple of weeks after payday we have to use our £36 child benefit to get a weeks shop. It's tough but very very grateful the kids are fed and we have a roof over our heads.

A cooker, mines on ots way out . I'm hoping it will last until the new year when hopefully things will be a bit better financially for me