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.

@Eve223 we are extremely fortunate that the mortgage is paid off. If it wasn't - we'd be much worse off. I'm 58 and have health problems, but will have to work well into my 60s unless some premium bonds come good.

We haven't had a foreign holiday since before Covid and won't be doing that this year. I've booked a cottage in Dorset with a £25 deposit for next July.

The weekly Aldi shop has increased by at least 20% - but yep - still need to eat!

I get where you're coming from OP. I need some work done at home and still can't get a builder or carpenter any time soon. Kids extra curricular activities- still on waiting lists. Cafes and coffee shops in our town are always busy and you have to book restaurants at weekend. I went to book a little Xmas experience for the kids and it sold out within 20 minutes.

Regardless of how much disposable income we have, I still have four kids to feed. So whether my budget is £60 pw or £150 pw I still have to buy the same amount of essentials. I had a full looking trolley yesterday that cost me £30. I'm going to the Theatre on Friday. The tickets was £15. I might buy a wine out. But that will be mine and dhs onlybnight out for many months.

We are feeling the pich badly and eating into savings alarmingly but it's not as stark as comfortable to into starving. Its more about standing looking at crisps for 5 minutes and wondering if I really do want to buy a multi pack when they have gone up by 33%

I know people who are unaffected - they earn a lot and have small mortgages. They will be fine and their lives will continue. I suspect they all earn over £100k.

I will be affected when my mortgage fix deal runs out next summer and when my energy price fix ends next Sept. I'm quite concerned about this! Currently I've noticed an increase in prices - food mostly. But have also noticed that going out in the evening costs much more - even if you just have some drinks and some snacks. I suspect a lot of middle income people are like me, waiting for their mortgage and energy deals to end and then facing a massive hike in costs.

A lot of people on lower incomes are struggling right now. I work with very low income people and they are facing desperate times. Not enough money to feed their families and pay their bills despite working.

My water DD has just gone down as I’ve made an effort to save by catching the first cold shower water and using it as a flush, and reducing my evening showers when I can.
We’ve also only had the heating on minimally, and I’m more in credit now than I was a month ago, so that’s good.
‘However I am noticing my windows steamed up, even with those disposable dehumidifiers.

Busy supermarket - I think more people have stopped doing so much online and going in to look for cheaper options. Online doesn't show all product lines.

We arent on high wages but have low outgoings: low energy users, lower mortgage, old car but well maintained, no car fees/payments, budget well for food, use sites like Vinted.

We don’t have kids so no expensive childcare fees etc. So we do have disposable money. It is absolutely not going as far as it did and I’m watching everything. We don’t really do loads of the latest material stuff. Life experience and enjoyment is more important.

So we can still afford to eat out a couple of times a month, go to a few concerts or shows a year, go for drinks/catch up with friends, have the odd take away, we also save religiously so that we can have home improvements. We work hard so holidays are important: just city breaks and U.K. trips.

Lots of my friends are In similar situations. Probably similar wages. Even those with children are managing. But if things continue to rise I think you’ll find that next year is when it really bites some people.

Our mortgage went down slightly when we fixed for five years months before prices went up quickly. So we haven’t been affected by that one ( still overpaying anyway!)

DH and I earn relatively good money and I am very worried.

Our mortgage deal just ended and has gone up £600 a month. Our energy bills have more than doubled. We can manage for now but if it gets much worse we’ll have to start cutting down on things like the kids’ swimming lessons etc which makes me feel horribly guilty.

I think there is a big divide between those effected & those not really affected by rising living costs as they have large DWP Isabel incomes

It has taken out our pay rise unfortunately so more stress for the same standard of living. We are on a 5 year fix and have invested in solar energy

We've been lucky so far and ours hasn't changed yet, but mortgage is fixed until 2026 and energy bills until next march. I'm also on maternity leave so nursery fees haven't started yet and petrol usage is low. I'm pregnant again but DH is going for a new job which will cover my salary if I don't return to work- I think we will be okay but we are lucky and have a fairly low mortgage compared to what we could borrow now!

We have not been affected (yet) but we have had pay increases and we have no debts whatsoever including no mortgage. Our only energy bill is electric which is fixed until next year.

I would say even though we’re paying for higher fuel and food prices it’s not hit us hard. We have £20k left on the mortgage so interest rate rises are having little impact. Our heating hasn’t been on yet, but is likely to in the next week or so. We’re hugely better off compared to when we had to pay 2 lots of full time childcare and have booked an expensive holiday for next year.

A lot of people in this country need help with basic budgeting and not living right up to the line of what they can afford. Plenty of people go for another child 'because you don't regret a child'. I'd have loved a third but we didn't because it would have eaten up all the savings we have every month. Everyone should have a buffer.

Most things cost more so it will affect practically everyone but for a good proportion of the population this will just mean less going into savings.

Not everyone can afford savings even if they don't have children. A 1 bedroom flat where I live is £600pm minimum. If you're a single person on minimum wage rent and bills can easily come to £1000pm.

DH and I are low income (£1500pm) but also low outgoings as mortgage paid off. Quite a large savings pot.

I'm the Queen of budgeting and have a spreadsheet to forecast for the year, so can see if there may be a shortfall ahead that needs addressing.

We'll be OK I think and my state pension starts in a couple of years, DH in 4 years, so more income then.

It hasn't really hit me yet, the energy cap is affordable to us and food and fuel prices are absorbable, it hasn't impacted lifestyle yet. Mortgage rates are what'll get us, that's 2025 and if they don't help with energy next year we'll have to adjust a bit. I should probably use this time to save but tbh the country feels so miserable atm and if the shit is about to hit the fan I want to enjoy ourselves while we can.

We would be one of those people who OP thinks isn’t affected. I think it’s hard to tell with people who are middle earners. I have tried to add more pasta dishes into our weekly menu and cut the weekly food bill by a bit. We don’t really eat out. I know someone who would eat out 2/3 times a week and is now only once.

Our mortgage is still fixed and our energy so we haven’t been massively hit yet other than food costs. We are preparing for it, maybe more than other people we know. Trying to put any savings we are making into over paying the mortgage.

@WouldUShouldI
I'm so sorry. It's criminal how little some people are paid. I was just coming on to say my support worker comes to work with holes in the soles of her shoes because she can't afford new ones. I'm fortunate because I've had extra money from the government due to disability but I've still been too afraid to put the heating on yet.
I'm also shocked by how much food has gone up.

no heating on
boil just the right amount of water in the kettle

I don’t think is the case with all fancy areas in London. Loads of shops have closed in the Westbourne Grove area eg Matches and its associated companies. Emma Hope, which has been there for decades has gone. There’s no buzz there anymore.

of course some people aren’t affected as much as others as we all have different incomes. The only affect we’ve had so far is that we now save less money than we used to. Our spending and activities haven’t changed.

The only way it has affected us is due to rising food costs we are not able to save quite as much as we normally do, however we have no mortgage or debts and are still on track to take our pensions early at 55.

2 years for me and 5 for DH.