How are people surviving

[Truthseeker456]

I don't get it. One income and I am on a what was a good wage 53,000. My mortgage is likely to double next year I have nursery fees and 3000 take home and always in my overdraft. How are people surviving, we don't hear anything in the media. Rents are also though the roof

I think you're using the wrong media.

I don't have children, and I rented the spare room to a lodger.

No childcare costs, and lodger income effectively covers all the utilities.

Me and DH are in our 50s, both children nearly 30, (left home 8-9 years ago,) 2 modest incomes, low social housing rent, one 15 reg car, paid for. Very low outgoings. Coping fine...

But we were also struggling badly some 10-15 years ago, around the credit crunch. DH had his hours cut, we had 2 kids at college who wanted to both go to uni, and a high rent private let house. We are OK now, but feel very sorry for people struggling, as we have been through it. We feel so blessed to have our lovely social little housing bungalow, and to be comfortable and secure financially.

In answer to your question @Truthseeker456 How are people surviving? Lots of debt probably.

@Truthseeker456 I feel your pain, I earn around the same as you and my DH around £70k so 2 very good salaries coming in, no significant debt just a mortgage and a small car loan and we are really feeling the pinch. We used to be able to eat out/socialise several times a month and save at least £1k a month, now we hardly go out and can rarely save much at all.

I've worked out that our outgoings are now over £1300 more a month than this time last year, all on bills and mortgage. Our home is old and gas/electric went up by £270pm, mortgage up by £320, food up by £200 etc...

If we had stretched ourselves with the mortgage or had more expensive cars we would really be in dire straits, with a combined income of £125k!

Am so sorry, that sounds really hard, are you any where near getting some free nursery hours? It is so shit

I think you're using the wrong media.

Yup

I get 91 quid a fortnight esa, obviously a bit of tax credits and child benefit. We survive, yab ridiculous. (they take lots of things straight out of my esa)

I am sick to death of being part of the poorest people in this country and seeing people on MN cry about trying to survive on 50K + salaries.

Lone parent to a child with additional needs living off about £800 a month after rent but before bills. I honestly don't know how you're surviving with just 50k a year 🙄

I guess my choice when my kids have left home is possibly apply for pip, or jump off a cliff. Unless I can Iive on a fiver a week.

Decent household income (2 incomes), no dependent children, low mortgage - our mortgage will actually go down when we remortgage at the end of this year. We aren't particularly materialistic. This isn't a boast, just answering your question. If this had happened 10 years ago, we'd have been screwed. So there is also a lot of luck there too.

I really do feel for individuals and families out there who were just getting by before this CoL crisis and I realise how fortunate we are.

I could have almost written this same post (although on slightly less but in Scotland). It's shit. We're just winging it for now and hoping for the best

I don't think its fair to pile on OP because they make more money – surely that's the point of the post? OP makes a very good wage, well above the average and they are struggling with basics like mortgage payments and childcare. This isn't a result of their profligacy, these are increased expenses as a result of the cost of living crisis, interest rate rises and the terrible state of childcare in this country that affects everyone with small children.
I realise it's hard to be sympathetic to people who make more money, but the fact that someone on what should be a comfortable wage is worrying about making ends meet says a lot about the state we are all in.

Op isn’t crying over her wage she’s saying she doesn’t know how people get by on much less. Mn is a valid forum to raise it as there’s a huge mix of the population

Agree it’s not fair to pile on OP because she makes more money. It means she is not eligible for any help with childcare costs, universal credit or housing benefit etc so she is having to pay all of these costs herself which as she says have gone through the roof.

instead of moaning that the OP makes more money than you, look at it as a reflection of the state we are in - even people who make a larger than average wage are finding that it is all going on bills and childcare and have very little left for disposable spending. If lots of people are in this situation then there will be fewer people eating out, shopping etc which is not good for the economy and small businesses.

We are now spending £1000 a month on food. It’s crippling us 😢

How big is your family Hash ?

Surviving by cutting out or back all the nice stuff.

No eating out or takeaways
No shopping trips just for pleasure
DD had to choose between taking her mates out for her birthday or having that money on presents, can't afford both.
Switch off all 'vampire' electronics. Be v careful with gas/elec consumption
Sold a piece of jewellery from an ex, that raised a few hundred pounds.

Three adults, three teenagers, and we used to spend £500

Single parent, 2 kids, 1 car, preschool fees for 2 mornings and my parents help with childcare 2 days. £20k salary. Struggling, stretched and stressed.

If not for my parents helping with childcare I'd be totally screwed.

Cost of food is what is really concerning me. I’m really struggling with the costs.

Is the father contributing? If not I’d chase that up!

We’re just about ok at the moment. We have nothing left at the end of each month, but we’re able to cover all our current outgoings. Like many others, if this had happened last year we would have been in trouble, but I paid off all personal unsecured debt at the very beginning of this year, and our mortgage is fixed until next year. I’m getting a second job now so we can save to be able to cover the huge hike in interest rate that will be likely when we do renew our mortgage.
We can’t go on holiday, do any of the work we planned on the house, go out for meals or buy things we want on a whim, but we’re currently comfortably managing. I don’t know what we will do if bills rise further a lot more, but we can cross that bridge when it comes.

I totally understand how much you must be struggling. Dh and I are on almost twice your income joint and it's still a tight squeeze - mainly because of the bloody nursery fees. I met a friend in the pub this week, ordered two pints and it came to £15. My eyes came out on stalks!!

However as for the media bit... are you even looking because it's been covered everywhere and Hun: deal with lenders and also his meeting with Martin Lewis was literally front page/top of the bulletin news over the weekend

With difficulty and rough patches 😅 there were some months we had 0 after bills so had to temporarily use food banks, and source help and guidance from organisations (shelter, CAB,council) now my baby is born, my partner has been promoted and I'm back to work part time.

Luckily, I have family who share childcare, I've found a job that is extremely flexible and said I can drop and pick up work around my baby. Bills/rent/car meticulously organised and spreadsheet 😅 my partner also picks up extra shifts so often works 6 days a week from 6am to 7:30 pm at night. There is a larder where I live, it's run by the town where excess food/clothes/belongings that will be binned are offered to people first, so I can often pick up nappies, bread, veg ect for free. When I need items for our home I check local Facebook pages first and manage to replace broken furniture and items free or very cheap haha we never eat out, our days off are now driving to local spots for walks, bbqs in garden with family. So basically never spend unless we have to haha. It's stressful and we are lucky we have help to cut childcare costs. Just hoping things get easier 😅