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

[Cupcakeicecream]

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.

I think it's possibly area dependent. I live in the midlands and rent is below the average, it's higher than a couple of years ago but not insanely so. A private rent 2 bedroom property is around £750pm, perfectly affordable for a working couple even both on minimum wage.

Childcare is another sticking point, people with younger kids will be struggling more. I'm a single parent of one on a low income topped up by UC and manage fine because I no longer have childcare costs. Most people I know manage fine, the only person who struggles is my mum as she's single with a mortgage so she gets no help.

I didn't know that!

There's no Morrisons within about 12 miles from me (and that's a really shitty small one), so I almost never go in one. A few weeks ago, I had an appointment not far from a huge Morrisons, so I thought I'd get my shopping in there and save myself a few quid.

I was astonished by the prices, given their reputation for being cheap. Many things were more expensive than in my local Tesco, a couple of things were more expensive than in Waitrose. But I see why now.

I feel sorry for people whose only real choice is Morrisons and are having to suck up those price rises.

The supermarkets and especially Morrisons are profiteering. Don’t assume the supermarket is the cheapest place to buy things.

Imagine if consumer protection laws applied to politicians?

They'd be getting prosecuted every week.

Yep 😁

The poor tend to be invisible, until they end up homeless and sleeping in shop doorways. At that point the affluent, who didn't give a shit about how vulnerable poor people are, suddenly start hollering about what a disgrace it is.

Homeless applications to my local council have shot up since the start of the year. A significant proportion of these are due to rent arrears, because people can no longer afford to pay the difference between the LHA rate which is used for calculating UC/HB and the actual rent. The rates haven't increased for 3 years, but rents have shot up and the gap between the amount people on low incomes get towards rent and the actual rent has increased massively.

In my part of the SE, the maximum people can get for a 2-bed property is £1,000 a month, but it's really hard to find a property of that size for less than £1,300. The £300 extra they need to find can only come from the money for food and bills.

@HistoryFanatic probably because the op describes life in the uk as 'unsustainable' in her title.
It's not 'unsustainable' for MOST people.

@MissLucyLiu OK, but you google "staff shortages" or read any of the myriad of newspaper articles about how employers are struggling to recruit.

It is not harmful to prepare for the worst. Hope for the best.

When are people "hoping for the best" on this or any other related thread? No, it's an endless litany of doom and gloom which, if that's your current experience, I get. But on a general level such views - which frequently tip over into hyperbole - are entirely devoid of current or historical context.

I think it is the case for some people. Maybe many. But many many others are not seeing or feeling the same. You only have to go to a shopping centre or entertainment type area to see that - shops bars and restuarants are packed. Airports are heaving. People are spending money.

We would of course be bettter off if things weren't like they are, but we aren't really even adjusting our behaviour much. Still planning improvements to our house and an expensive holiday at the end of the year for a special occassion. We are obviously privileged to be in that position- an dof course I am aware that many many people are struggling - but I very much get the feeling we are not alone in it.

The LHA rate down here is abysmal too.
£495 for a 2 bed, when most are listed for £800-£1100 and that’s in Manchester. No wonder people are suffering

I'm assuming that was for me.

27k sounds good. In reality it's nothing, as soon I'm ready to buy a house that savings will be next to nothing, and we will have to start again .

Yet people will still vote for them🙄

google "staff shortages" or read any of the myriad of newspaper articles about how employers are struggling to recruit

This really irks me. It isn't a UK wide thing. Perhaps in cities yes but definitely not everywhere. I've been made redundant and finding another job is absolute hell. 300 applicants for a role here that ONLY pays £21k is quite common!!

I work for a charity too, and I'm now seeing not just clients really struggling, but people like my XDIL.

My shit of a DSS halved the amount of maintenance he gives her. She did the right thing, she got another job, working more hours and better paid. But because she gets UC for her rent, after tax and the UC clawback, she didn't end up much better off, despite earning £250 more.

She was bricking it about the renewal of her tenancy when she found out the identical flat next door had had the rent increased to £1275 a month. Thankfully, her landlord only increased hers by £50, not the £275 she'd been fearing. And her parents and I help her out as much as we can.

Staff shortage is in the service industry. So if everyone going to change their job from getting paid 2-3-4 x to getting paid x. Sure everyone got a job. Well done

I'm not suggesting it's evenly spread across the country or every industry, but the PP's comment about job cuts isn't accurate either, not least because they've specifically referenced the tech industry which has always been notorious for hire/fire cycles.

It would be the same if I quoted statistics on the number of company insolvencies which are currently at their highest since the financial crash, but that doesn't mean that every industry is struggling. Some are on their knees, others are booming - it's the average situation that's used.

I hope you find a job soon. Job hunting is the pits

Also I am afraid you are like 6month to 1 year behind. The shortages created during covid is slowly dissipating. There are structural reasons such as huge reduce immigration / brexit / long covid illness / early retirement to why participation rate in employment dropped but as of end of last year this has changed. The companies had retained staff just in case it’s a temporary shift but the pool of people is coming back into employment now and hence the participation rate is going up (prob due to the costs rising and coming out of covid, plus boarders opening back up again). Staff shortage is a story of the past. My previous point is still valid, if you want to work 2-3 different bar / restaurants jobs to make up the salary of office job then okay go ahead there’s still more vacancies.

Net pay on £25k is around £1600 a month, assuming a 10% pension contribution.

If that nurse was living in my area, they could easily be paying £1,000 a month in rent, they'd need to run a car so they could get to/from work during late/early shifts (average cost £200 a month), and they'd be paying at least £100 month in council tax.

After bills, that doesn't leave a lot to live on, and I can easily see how an unexpected expense, like a broken washing machine or car repair, can leave them needing to use a food bank.

If they're earning a little more and have to start paying back student loans, they could easily be struggling.

But it's the rent that's a killer, and that varies widely between regions. And it's why a nurse in Brighton will be worse off than a nurse in Blackpool, despite earning the same.

@BrightYellowDaffodil Thank you! It's the most stressed I've ever been (but mainly due to isolation / mental health rather than income!)

@MissLucyLiu Well, you carry on with your doom and gloom, dear.

I know I'm fortunate, I'm not 'just about surviving' . I think I have a similar quality of life to what my grandparents had in the 1950s- a house to live in, a car, a week away to an English seaside town in the summer, a house that is warm enough but not as warm as I would like, maybe even a takeaway every now and then (would have been fish and chips for them!).

The difference is, they did that on one factory workers wage whilst Nan stayed at home with the children. We do it on 2 post graduate educated professional salaries. Who could provide that life one one factory workers wage now?!

equalitytrust.org.uk/scale-economic-inequality-uk

@Clarabellawilliamson and I think that's a massive change. When people talk about growing up with not much - they often describe working class families living on one wage. In London - we are now talking about doctors living in council estates. So yes the working classes might still be living the same way but for the middle classes, the change has been huge. Its telling that whereas in the 70s and 80s it was the working classes on strike, this year it was all the middle classes.

So much "I'm all right Jack" sentiment on this post, no wonder venal, inhumane, divisive governments keep getting voted in.

It's relative. For what was once a top tier country, the overall AVERAGE standard of living has dropped so much in the last few years that if you can't see where we're headed you're really just not paying attention. The former Eastern bloc countries have a better standard of living now than we do. And that means people at the bottom who were once just about okay are now really struggling.

And people who are genuinely struggling aren't going to be frittering away their time on a predominantly middle class forum, they'll be out at their second or third job or working out what gruel they're able to feed their families today.

Those of you lucky enough to still be able to afford your £200 haircuts and the like, remember the wheel of fortune can swing both ways, and frankly, so many of you could do with a good reality check that not everyone has your lovely cozy little lives.

Just to add something factual rather than anecdotal to this - the UK is 21st in the world on the quality of life index. 2 former Eastern Bloc countries are at 18th and 19th but the rest are further down.