Cost of living crisis - how are you affected? Is it just me?

[Eve223]

Name changed for this post.
How are people coping with the cost of living crisis? It is hard to believe there is one when the shops and supermarkets are packed, restaurants fully booked and people still taking expensive foreign holidays, buying new cars and houses etc. Are people just living on credit? Is it just me who has had to tighten my belt?

Genuine questions, not trying to be goady.

No definitely not just you. But there is a lot of money in this country and it's easy to think there can't be. A lot of people are richer than you think.

I have a colleague who has just decided not to book a holiday because it was quoted at £16,000 for her and her husband and they felt it was too expensive. They had the money though. They're a couple who've been together forever, bought a house about 25 years ago, mortgage paid off, never had children, inexpensive hobbies, both earn good, steady but not thrilling wages (I think their household income is around £60k), they live in a small Midlands town and they only spend big money on travel and gig tickets. They do worry about cost of living rises but their lifestyle hasn't changed a scrap, nor is it likely to. If you met them you would never think they have as much cash as they do.

You only have to look around at the number of huge brand new cars sitting in traffic jams on roads that are full of holes to see that there is a lot of money in the UK and that taxes aren't used for day to day infrastructure.

I think I’m just about ok but maybe with my head in the sand

dreading tax rises I cannot afford them at all!

Not feeling it just yet as still on fixed prices, but trying to change my habits by watching every penny, turning lights off, making sure oven isn't on a second longer than needed, only washing when needed, less hot water for washing... Not buying any new clothes, repairing them, only buying up to £100 in Sainsbury's a week, buying frozen veg as so much cheaper. Cutting back on all expensive trips out ... Food and activities.

We are fine, we paid our mortgage off very early a few years ago. Between us we have a decent income and quite a lot in savings and investments. Zero change for us, will just mean saving a couple of thousand less.

We're not massively affected. We've got self employed incomes that we can dial up when necessary (we generally only do as much as we need to, which is pretty much part time). We have a pot of money to use if necessary, and we have family money that trickles through every now and then.

We don't live extravagently though. Rarely eat out and have little interest in buying clothes etc. Investments are doing badly right now.

It's a mixed bag. I'm bloody lucky - I give whatever I can to food banks and local community projects.

The weekend just gone was payday weekend for a lot of people. I actually think that shops being packed around that time is a sign that things are getting tougher, because many, me included, will have put off the next food shop until then.

You also need to compare this to middle-of-the-range shops - those are now often much emptier than they used to be, while all the cheap-end shops now have a much higher footfall.

At least that's what I'm noticing around here.

We will just end up with less savings as we will dip into that more

We managed to fix our mortgage at 2.9% for 10 years which is great but God knows what things will look like in 10 years, we may find ourselves in a very scary situation then.

I was gutted to find my aldi weekly shop is now over £100, definitely tightening our belts. No holidays or meals out here

I'm not too bad. Don't earn much but mortgage is paid off and I fixed my energy prices until Oct 2024, just when Martin Lewis was telling people not to fix. I feel very lucky. The rising cost of food is worrying but I'm managing OK

I'm watching every penny but only in anticipation of what may come. Mortgage fixed to Sep 23 and energy fixed to Oct 23. So that double whammy will come as a shock next year. In theory not much else has changed for us. I'm finding food costs ok if I shop around and meal plan. Cut back on luxuries as well.

Our energy bill has doubled. Food is a lot more expensive, this time last year I could do a weekly food shop for 3 for £60, now I'm lucky to get it below £90/£100.

Luckily we can afford these increases which makes us more fortunate than many, but if prices go up by much more we'll definitely feel the pinch.

People also move to different things when affected by cost of living. I understand that during the last recession Waitrose and m&s food did quite well when you would at first thought think they would suffer, however people would swap what would have been a meal out for a nice Waitrose or m&s meal. Likewise people may not be having a foreign city break but may have more meals out locally. It’s difficult to judge but I agree places still seem packed

I can't understand these threads. People will have cut down OP is that really difficult to understand? People will be going to the restaurants a lot less than normal, other people may be earning a higher wage than the previous 18 months so can afford to live as usual. It doesn't mea we can't eat out or go to the cinema.

It's varies like anything but to assume People haven't cut back is wild.

Not everyone is hit the same way, obviously.

Do you expect to see desolate supermarkets and people walking around in rags begging for scraps all of a sudden.

My mortgage has gone up, energy has gone up but not massively as last year I was on mat leave so we are using the heating a lot less this year. Food has gone up, nursery is going up etc.

The increases mean we have less for savings.

We still go out to eat, get coffees, book holidays.

I don’t really understand your point, and there has been so many posts just like it claiming there is no cost of living crisis because X Y or Z place is busy. The cost of living crisis means everything has gone up very quickly. Living costs considerably more than it did a year or two ago.
Some people have enough of a buffer that they aren’t pushed into poverty, their costs have still risen, others had less money to begin with and as a result suffer much more.

Lloyds Bank issued a statement on Monday, widely reported, in which they forecast a fall in house prices and also said that they could see their customers' spending habits just beginning to change - consolidating loans, switching to cheaper supermarkets, lower discretionary spending and so on.

We are really only at the beginning of this. Many people can manage inflation at 10% for now but the pinch will come with energy costs and 100,000 people per month coming out of fixed rate mortgage deals. As discretionary spending falls, businesses will begin to struggle and jobs will be at risk.

I don't think anecdotes are particularly helpful because most of us, walking down a busy shopping street, wouldn't be able to tell if there were 10% fewer people than last year or if those present were spending 15% less than they would have done previously. We'll need to wait for the data.

But also you have no idea what people are spending when they are out. Maybe half the people in the supermarket are trying to spend what they did before and therefore there buying power is less. Maybe the people in cafes are only buying a coffee when they would have gone for lunch.
You just don’t know and places being busy doesn’t change the fact that inflation is high and therefore the cost of living has massively increased.

Mortgage goes up in January, energy is on a 2 year fix until next November. Food is going up but I'm insulated from the cost of meat rising as we don't eat it and although veg and pulses have gone up its not by pennies not pounds.

Honestly, I am saving less that I was but I both enjoy what I am spending it on and also feel like if even people like me (who can afford it) stop going out etc the outcome is going to be worse for everyone.

I don't have massively expensive tastes, so my expenditure was previously determined by wants really rather than my income.

We are cutting back on meals out, day trips and so on, to compensate for price rises and to ensure we are still able to save.
But living on credit? No. You're naive to think everyone is doing that.
Our total monthly outgoings are £1450 a month, which includes our food shops. I bring home £3000 after tax. DH is currently between jobs but used to bring in around £2000 after tax.
We've got lots of money left over each month and can weather the storm (although I don't like it).

Of course this is true in real terms but not in the context of the question.

At the minute, we are keeping our head about water, a decent pay rise in March covered the extra utilities and other bill rises we’ve noticed . We signed a three year rental lease which is due for renewal after Christmas, the rent hasn’t been increased since we moved in almost 7 years ago. We’ve been warned it’s going up next time, we are dreading to what!

The biggest thing we are noticing at the minute is food, every product that used to be £1.00 is now between £1.50-£2.00. That makes a huge difference to the bill. I am having to be really careful what I put in the trolley where as I used to chuck in anything I fancied. Fuel is going no where either.

So from the outside we’re still managing, have holidays booked etc but it’s definitely effecting us and will do even more after Christmas when the rent goes up.

All our bills, food shop etc have gone up. We’re being much more careful with both, but still able to buy the odd treat and use the heating. Buying any clothes needed for the kids on Vinted instead of new. mortgage fixed til July but I’m terrified about new rates - calculated it’ll be about £600 more, currently paying £900. Free nursery hours kicked in for DC2 recently but the saved £300 per month has been eaten immediately by increased bills instead of used to save towards house repairs that are needed - luckily not urgent as we can’t afford them. Can’t afford holidays. Used to eat out maybe once a week, a night out with friends maybe once a month - in the last 2 months, eaten out once and a cheap drink with friends. Should be saving for higher mortgage costs but seems a bit redundant as the £40 I spent on ‘fun’ the last two months wouldn’t make a dent! Looking for full time jobs for when my DC2 starts school to help pay our mortgage.

in short it’s definitely affecting us and I feel very sad that we’re having to work so much harder and longer hours etc to be in exactly the same place - just worse off! BUT on the other hand I am very aware of how lucky we are that we should be able to earn enough to pay our increased mortgage bills, if I up my hours. I have friends in similar positions to me, some slightly worse off, a few MUCH better off (own properties, very high paying jobs, fewer / no kids by choice etc). I feel a huge amount of sympathy for the people who are struggling to buy essentials and turn their heating on. How has this country fallen so far. (We all know the answer to that one…!! 😡)

We are fortunate in that our mortgage is paid off and we have no debt and have savings. We live very frugally, we don't eat out, socialise or buy clothes unless we need them so we are not badly affected by increases. However, we are worried about how people with no spare cash will manage. This includes our daughter and son in law who we fully expect to assist financially as they have a mortgage and a baby and no spare cash. Its a real shitstorm and yet again the ordinary public are penalised for government incompetence.

Wow - the OP is getting a very hard time from some extremely patronising posters. These posters remind me of my old history teacher (who was not a nice person - just saying). If you 'can't understand this thread' then maybe don't comment?

She asked a simple question of how people are coping with the cost of living crisis. Not whether we should bring back capital punishment.

I'm watching every penny now. I got paid last week, After my outgoings I'm left with £73 to last me a month!! My food shop has doubled. In our house we also have a gas meter and it's literally eating the credit. I'm community based working in social care so my fuel costs around £300 per month and my milage allowance nowhere near covers it. It's seriously depressing.

I'm not really affected and I'm not rich, I'm a single parent on £21k. My rent is only £470pm as it's housing association. I am not going on 5* foreign holidays but I never have been. I do have enough for bills and a few extras without struggling.