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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think many people are barely surviving Life in uk is unsustainable!

261 replies

Cupcakeicecream · 28/03/2023 18:54

To think a normal standard of living is out of reach to the majority of the population. People are barely surviving as is.They have cut back as far as they possibly can and it's still not enough.Next month prices are rising even more. I know most people would say cut your cloth accordingly dont live beyond your means. If you stopped netflix and takeout coffee everything will magically be solved. That's not realistic there is people out there stressed wondering how they will afford the Bill's barely eating sitting in a cold house as they cant afford to heat the house. Yes there will be people on their high horse saying things are not that bad. But the uk has gone to pot. Wages arent high enough. Food prices are too high. This is just a general rant as its constantly on the news. And some people are just oblivious to the fact people in uk can actual be in poverty and really suffering right now even though we arent a third world country. And it seems will only get worse.

OP posts:
Delectable · 30/03/2023 03:52

Something has to give. We need a government that will drive production; especially of food and energy. These are national security issues. Sadly our country is infiltrated with what can be deemed hostile/enemy agenda. We are prepared to be poor and die on the cross of 100% green energy.

Govt was busy giving shady contracts and bribing the pubic to stay home and still get paid. Of course after the lock down people had so much money and spent on holidays, eating out etc. Then Russia stepped in so we now have the perfect mix.

The take out business has never done better than it's doing now.
We're not growing more food or exploring better energy sources closer to home.
Illegal migrants are housed in hotels yet we wish to discourage them arriving.

Evacuees are camped in expensive hotels for years and not allowed to work even for their own upkeep; some doctors, some nurses etc.

We have an expensive coronation round the corner and that will make it better.

magicthree · 30/03/2023 06:33

Callmenat · 29/03/2023 20:05

If people are struggling why don't they retrain and get better jobs. Absolutely no shortage of jobs out there, quite the opposite.

Why do people continually come out with this rubbish???? If everyone in a low paid job decided to "retrain" (and what would you like them to live on while they do this?) then there wouldn't be anyone left to do all the menial jobs. Who would be first in line moaning about basic work not being done - why, people like you of course.

Beezknees · 30/03/2023 06:45

Avarua2 · 29/03/2023 21:44

We don't know how the bottom 20 percent live. MN users are not representative of the population as a whole. MN users are highly literate (e.g. they're able to write in, on a public board, on the internet).
The general public, particularly the working poor, are not that literate. They'll be on certain corners of FB and shit social media like tiktok, that's it.
Their voices won't be on here, at all.

Bit stereotypical. I'm one of "the working poor".

TheGuv1982 · 30/03/2023 07:07

While it’s fantasy land stuff to claim life is unsustainable for the majority in a financial sense, my god, people setting the bar at “it’s worse being poor in x third world country” really are missing the point of what life should be like in a rich, western nation.

MissyB1 · 30/03/2023 07:14

TheGuv1982 · 30/03/2023 07:07

While it’s fantasy land stuff to claim life is unsustainable for the majority in a financial sense, my god, people setting the bar at “it’s worse being poor in x third world country” really are missing the point of what life should be like in a rich, western nation.

I know! It’s like they think we should accept anything as long as we aren’t living in a tin hut and walking 5 miles to get water 🤦‍♀️
Do these people really think we should be grateful for having all of our public services destroyed, sky high energy bills, highest inflation for years, and highest food prices for years, oh and all happening at once!

LadyAstor · 30/03/2023 07:27

Interesting that OP never came back.

SleepDreamThinkHuge · 30/03/2023 07:49

It is scary. The amount of people using food banks. Made worse now by rocketing utility bills. The three major costs now are: rents, gas/electric and childcare. Even if you are earning a decent wage a lot of people still cannot afford to buy a 2 bedroom in some areas. A lot of houses you can bid above the asking price and still not get it. This is what is going on in the rental market also. 100s of viewings for a 2 bedroom house and you need to out bid others. It is scary I cannot see things improving in the next 5 years (childcare will soar, utility bills will probably keep rising and the government aren't really building new houses and if they are they go to developers or rich foreign investors who leave it empty and just use it with the hope that it sky rockets in the future.

1offnamechange · 30/03/2023 10:34

to be fair, the people who are accused of being 'I'm alright Jacks' 'insensitive' 'dismissive' etc are probably replying to OPs opening sentence "To think a normal standard of living is out of reach to the majority of the population. People are barely surviving as is." Which is clearly an exaggeration. Doesn't mean people don't understand that there are some people who might be barely surviving and a lot more who are struggling, just that they are refuting that it's the majority of the population. Which is fair enough.

I actually think it's really valuable to get threads like these with examples from a wide variety of the population. Otherwise people only get their information from their own close circle (which is almost always a bit of an echo chamber, just look at the millions of posts on here that include "I don't know anyone who...." "Everyone I know...." "where I live...." etc.). or the media, which vastly misinforms and overexaggerates.

Just look at some of the crises of the last few years - everyone mass piling loo roll etc at the start of the pandemic - entirely led by media photos of empty shelves, there was actually sufficient products for everyone (or would have been if people hadn't panicked). Same with the ridiculous queues and fights for petrol - there were minor, short, disruptions to the supply chain, in a very few parts of the country, if the media hadn't published it and escalated it to mass panic, the rest of the country wouldn't even have known about it and wouldn't have bought any more than normal.

It's actually really useful to have realistic first hand accounts of other people's experiences - from a wider overview, information that actually the majority of the country might be cutting back a little but is generally managing ok could influence where help should be targeted - e.g. the energy payment of £400 per household was probably the 'fairest' way to do it but should it instead have been aimed at giving more help to the lowest income brackets?

But also from an individual perspective - people have been mocked on this thread for the 'you just need to retrain' suggestions (and same for 'just move to a cheaper area' neither of which are a magic fix all solution without any drawbacks) - but generally people have very little idea of the variance in wages between different sectors/house prices in other parts of the country etc. So it is useful to see someone else who might be in otherwise similar circumstances to you (similar age, DC, qualifications etc.) who is doing okay and think 'okay, how do I get there, are there options I haven't considered,' etc. Even if when you do consider them they might not work for you!

E.g. I used to work in a job with several London and various regional offices. Because a lot of them came from London/the south east their 'norm' was that owning a house was completely out of reach for anyone their age. Everyone they knew except for the odd person in a really good job was still living with parents or in houseshares. They obviously weren't stupid, they knew that property was probably slightly cheaper outside of London, but thought that the London weighting allowance basically counteracted that, so even if housing was more affordable elsewhere it would still be out of reach unless you bought somewhere completely rough or in the middle of nowhere. It was a bit of a shock when they did placements in the regional offices (themselves in nice, big, cities with lots to do) to realise that not just a few, but the vast majority of staff the same age as them doing the same role COULD easily afford to buy houses and generally live a much nicer lifestyle on the same wage.

Does that mean they all should move straight out of London, obviously not. For some the benefits of living there, whether it be for the London lifestyle/experience, or staying close to their families, or the better career options, was worth it. Which is fine! But at least they were aware that the were other options out there that they could bear in mind. Otherwise it's too easy to just read the headlines stating that house ownership is impossible for millennials and just accept it.

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 30/03/2023 20:36

LadyAstor · 30/03/2023 07:27

Interesting that OP never came back.

Yep. Light that match.

Insiderknowledgepls · 01/07/2023 09:08

Genuine question: how come you’re living in social housing when you can afford as a couple to save £2000 a month? I don’t understand how social housing allocation is prioritised or how eligibility changes over time

Anotherparkingthread · 01/07/2023 17:25

Insiderknowledgepls · 01/07/2023 09:08

Genuine question: how come you’re living in social housing when you can afford as a couple to save £2000 a month? I don’t understand how social housing allocation is prioritised or how eligibility changes over time

Not the person you're asking, but I think social houses is given out when people need it but they have a policy of not removing people from their homes. Like any other tenancy as long as the rent is paid and the property treated well.
I think if it was changed so that a change of circumstances meant you could lose your very stable and safe home (a lot of rentals are at the whim of landlords who may wish to move back in or sell up) it would incentivise staying on low income, on benefits, out of work, etc.

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