To think media overhypes the cost of living.

[Krazykat80]

Everyday you see on the news people at rock bottom. Today I saw a father boiling the kettle to give is son a bath because he couldn't afford gas etc. I understand this is a reality for some but the media makes it seem like its wide spread and everyone is really struggling. When I go into town on the weekend I still see bars ,restaurants amusement , theatre's, shops like selfridges full etc. I'm starting to think the media keeps showing us these stories to keep us from going out and protesting against rises in cost of food etc. I say this because today I saw a lot of people in clothes not fit for the pouring rain soaking wet and felt guilty for being dry in my waterproof jacket with my shopping and felt grateful even those I don't have loads. I said I feel guilty and he said yes that's why the media keeps showing you it so you think I should be thankful I'm not in that position instead of going out like some countries on the streets and telling the government to do something about it and it Stops riots because of the rich getting richer out of this crisis Oil companies even Jeff amazon dude feels guilty and wants to give his money he stole off people by not paying them properly etc. I walk around tesco and people's baskets are still full. Am I just a conspiracy knob about the media really overhypering it to keep us quiet ansdobenident.

😆

The problem is that it’s a staggered fall into crisis.
many people are still on fixed rates, mortgages still got a few years left at current fix, people are still going on holidays that have been postponed due to covid, so only some people are seeing immediate rises in the above. Next summer once everyone’s utilities have increased, rent and mortgages are increased, and people can’t afford the luxuries they currently can we will see more and more businesses closing resulting in redundancies and it will be a slippery slope down for everyone even the currently well off.

I saw that man on the news with his sons.

He was very poor there were three of them in the bed and not much food in the fridge.

They had lots of offers of help alot of people phoned in to offer help.

Exactly this! I wanted to say similar but the OP rubbed me up the wrong way.

Easy to say if you’re not being affected by it.

Some people are more affected than others. But also the media want to find extremes that make a dramatic story - eg the mother of 7, children's dad(s) not mentioned struggling because she needs a large home for her family etc etc.

Are you drunk or are you always like this, op?

This. And can add teachers to the list too, certainly where I am.

There are always people who are more cushioned than others. But I also think the rises haven't really bitten yet for lots of people. People for example have some time to go on a good fixed rate mortgage, are insulated for the time being from large increases in their mortgages where others are having to get mortgages at a much higher rate of interest than they are used to.

No they are not over hyping the crisis. Nurses are having to rely on food banks in hospitals for example. Of course people are still buying food. You need food to survive.

I track my grocery spend every month, today I am £30 below what I spent last month, there are still 15 days left of this month. I have already cut back, cancelled things where I can, heating is only on low to take the chill off when needed. I earn a decent wage and am not in dire straits yet but I can see it will get worse and that worries me.
if you can’t see the fact that everything is costing more and realise that will eventually impact most people then that’s very short sighted.

It caused some scaremongering. A relative of mine was considering suicide after reading that household bills would be nearly £3k. He lives alone in a small flat. Why would his bills hit £3k? Media told him that it would.

No.

@XenoBitch Media told him that it would.

No it didn’t. If there is a news story on ‘average’ good spend, ‘average’ energy bill etc that obviously doesn’t apply to everyone and it isn’t the media telling them it does.

Gary Stevenson on YouTube (@GARYSECONOMICS) explains quite clearly what the hell is going on, not just in UK, but globally.

He's an Economist and former interest trader in London & Tokyo. His clear explanation of the difference between 'wealthy' and 'rich', and the way money is being moved UP to the wealthy NOT trickling down was eye opening.

We are all so busy trying to survive that we have neither time or energy left to see the bigger picture.

But it's happening...while we are fighting over the yellow stickers...and turning our heating down/off...and cancelling Netflix etc...or bunging all our shopping on credit cards in the hope that the problem will be temporary.

The bigger picture is disturbing but we need to face up to it.

The same media channels that do aspirational living “ Tarquinius and Lucretia ONLY have £500000 to but a house in Loamshire” oh the humanity!

Bought hash browns yesterday. They've gone up from a pound to 1.70 in couple of weeks. Supermarkets are taking the piss

The people struggling, the majority, are not and were never the people in Selfridges for f sake.

It's the new "suffering from mental health"!

Sometimes think these posts are planted by politicians to get us fighting amongst ourselves instead of uniting in a common goal to be supportive and kind.

FPNI

We get these posts daily now.

I have less money than I did this time last year. But I still have four kids. They still need to eat. You can't see the temperature inside my house when you look at my shopping basket. You can't see if my trolly is full of expensive or cheapest food.

My clothes don't disintegrate after 12 months so I'm still in my £100 coat.

I still go to out occasionally. I was out for four hours last Friday and I spent £5 in that pub.

OP has your fuel bills not gone up? Is your food the same price? Does your income raise in line with inflation?

The media does not report the millions of people in the Uk who are doing fine
It does not suit the BBC or the Guardian

My shop yesterday cost £110 a few months ago a weekly shop was £70 I did get about £10-15 of Xmas bits but that is still a £25 a week increase. Luckily my mortgage and utilities were fixed before rises so I am able to cope with the increase. I realise i am lucky. ONS have release figures which I believe puts about 1 in 3 children now living below poverty line. That's 10kids in every class perhaps not eating breakfast. This should not be happening in a first world country.