To think so much has changed so quickly

[Mylowerbackiskillingme]

not a moan about my personal circumstances as im blessed in many ways.

but jeez, just got our asda order in, family of 4 (one 4 year old with a very small appetite and one baby), £100 and our fridge is hardly over flowing. Wind back a few years ago and £60 quid at lidl and we’d be scratching our heads for space

people laying on the floors for an ambulance, a woman fell up the road from us, and 13 hrs she waited, well into the night and then someone on the estate was a nurse and and said she looked like she didn’t have any broken bones so they moved her as she was going into shock.

top it off just seen the shelter x ikea display on temporary housing, beyond the pale.

it’s all so sad

It's 13 years of austerity and underfunding catching up with us. It's not going to get any better any time soon sadly.

I know, I suppose I’m lucky to have relative youth on my side health wise but the state of healthcare in this country is terrifying. I find myself worrying about it often especially with aging parents

Part of it is an ageing demographic and we haven't admitted what that means really. The working population can't sustain the current level of support for the retired population.

We need to tax affluent retired people more on unearned wealth like property gains but no politicians want to put that forward.

Brexit, austerity play a role too.

13 years of being run by a party who don't care about their citizens who pay their wages, what did anyone honestly expect?

It was never going to be a Picnic. Aging population doesn't help either, lots of people are choosing not to have children etc.

I do agree with you re conservatives, what baffles me is that they still won the previous election.

brexit another gift that keeps giving (sarcasm)

I imagine a good number of those remaining child free might be to do with the cost, simply not being able to afford it and the subsequent childcare

That's why they sneaked in the new childcare rules to try and encourage people to have more children.
However the 2 child cap has put a lot of people who have children off having more. Those who don't want kids won't magically change their minds with cheaper childcare.

Isn’t that just for child tax credit? I read you can get child benefit for all your children?

yeah the childcare thing, not really as good as it sounds at first is it, won’t really help too many people now either

Totally agree! I had obviously been aware the price of everything was going up but was heading to Tesco last week and we usually take it turn about to do the food shop or one of us will pick up a bag here and there instead of doing a massive shop. I didn’t have any expensive things to get like washing tablets or anything, it was just a regular shop, 4 bags worth. I had some cash in the house so had taken £160 out with me as I had a small thing to pick up first, which ended up being just under £20. I got to the till to pay for my shopping, relying on the cash being more than enough. I didn’t have enough in my bank to be able to pay for it out of that but it hadn’t really even crossed my mind as I knew £140 was plenty. It came to £143 something 🤦🏼‍♀️ I found myself suddenly rifling through my purse praying I could find £3. Turns out I had no change, then had to transfer myself money while at the til from (what’s left of my) savings to be able to pay for it. We’re by no means poor, I have a professional job and DH runs his own business yet I literally couldn’t pay for even 4 bags of shopping. Thankfully I did have a tiny bit of money to be able to transfer myself but that’s money we already have basically spent on essential work in the house next month. 5 days later and we had completely run out of food again, there only is 3 of us in the house. We went to aldi this week and spent a bit less but everything I’ve ate so far has just not been the same at all. Even things like bread and bagels that you’d expect would be similar, they’re so hard and dry!

It’s dire. Bought a house a couple of years ago and had approx £1K month after all bills paid, so we could save or have holidays or whatever. Really quite boring, both in decent jobs, not spendy people. Inflation plus minimal (2%) pay rises mean we now have zero left at the end of the month. This week being a five week month means we’re down to the credit cards. I have never been in debt (aside from mortgage), have a second hand car bought outright, use charity shops etc. But now I’m quite scared. We have small savings for emergencies, for which I’m grateful. Gas and electric were £70/month 3-4 years ago, now £300 minimum. Shopping for food is ridiculous. Cucumbers were 43p and are now 79p. 6 eggs were £2.99 at the weekend. 50p an egg!!! And butter etc. Pasta was 40p a bag and now 95p in Tesco. Have cut out so much, started leaving it longer between haircuts and paying for a dry cut, but am so embarrassed that this is how we are living. Feeling like I’ve failed the DC when most of it is out of my control.

Yup - perfect storm.

A lot has been caused by this government fixating on totally the wrong problems: Immigration, people on benefits, low productivity. When the real issues are: Not enough immigration, which we need because of an aging population, and people are 'working hard' it's just that our productivity metrics still focus on manufacturing, when we are no longer a manufacturing economy, we're a digital/knowledge based one.

These caused Brexit and austerity which caused more problems and there things will really only get worse if the Tories get elected again.

I was having this conversation with my husband the other day, families that were once saving £1k per month, so families that were living well within their means and actually doing quite well for themselves are now being pushed to the brink. It’s absolutely criminal and terrifying how fast savings can go

I remember how much money was lost in the 2007/8 financial crisis. So much money that could have laid the foundations for our lives now.

It's bloody depressing

That shelter display or temporary accommodation is so awful. We’re in a really sorry state as a nation

It changed quickly when the people of this country collectively decided that they would loved to be locked and drove the economy off a cliff. No use complaining now. You couldn’t move for idiots on here wanting stricter restrictions. Now inflation, high interest rates, a decimated labour market and weak economy is hurting, they’re all going, ooohh how did we get here.

Part of it is an ageing demographic and we haven't admitted what that means really. The working population can't sustain the current level of support for the retired population.

yep plus austerity & QE after 08, Brexit & Covid. No one wants to address the switch in demographics though

That's why they sneaked in the new childcare rules to try and encourage people to have more children.

It's too late though & without housing help I'm not sure it's much incentive. Not too mention is there enough staff to even implement it.

Also wage stagnation. If you think 53k today is equivalent to about 32k in the mid 00s but you lose some child benefit & are near the higher rate tax band. It's crazy!

A lot of people didn't notice or care about wage growth though because their house went up in X value & debt was cheap

It really is awful but I admire Ikea for doing it. They could just ignore the situation. They are a big company and that gives them a lot of power. It’s amazing to see them doing something so visible.

My husband said to me earlier in the week "at least we can afford to put the heating on and don't have to worry where our next meal is coming from". When did that become that bench mark that you are doing alright in life?!

Completely agree! Esp with the juxtaposition of the swanky living rooms, seeing that. Truly humbling