To wonder how the COL crisis has impacted others?

[Helfs]

I see quite often on here people posting about how ‘not everyone’ is impacted and people need to just get on with it when it comes to dealing with the financial impact of the COL crisis.

Despite being high(ish) earners, DH and I have been severely impacted so I feel a bit odd when reading those comments as surely most, if not everyone is impacted to some degree. Food prices have shot up and everyone needs to eat, lots of people drive and insurance costs are going up etc.

At the start we weren’t majorly impacted, our food bill doubled and our car insurance went up a lot but other than that were fine, that was until December last year when our fixed rate mortgage ended and DD started nursery a month later. All of a sudden we had to find an extra £2500 a month and it’s heavily impacted our day to day lives. Obviously the nursery fees we knew were coming, but I don’t think we quite realised how bad it would be until the first months payment came out at the same time as the highly inflated mortgage payment (that we are now fixed into for another 2 years)

I wanted to ask how the COL crisis was impacting others, as I think sometimes people downplay on here how bad it might be for them atm.

So how has the COL crisis impacted you and your family? Any tips on how you’ve managed to cut back?

Mostly - no, we’re not particularly impacted. But we don’t have a mortgage that is about to go up (our rate is locked in to the end) and we don’t pay nursery fees. Our children are getting older and so don’t need all the wrap around care. We do have to pay for the car - but again it’s locked in at an affordable rate.

We are keeping more of an eye on the budget though. Food costs have doubled in 5 years and are still rising. I used to get coffee out occasionally- but it’s a luxury and I can’t justify it to myself now.

So COL is only having a minor impact on us. We’re very fortunate.

Our energy bill has gone up 100 a month, the mortgage by about 160 pm, food bill around 150pm, fuel for the car has increased and we are less likely to decide to go on long day trips or weekends away due to the cost of fuel.

Another big cost is the increase in building costs as I know materials etc have gone up so much. We could do with a new fence but I'm not paying thousands for one!

Things have certainly got noticeably more expensive but we haven't changed our spending behaviour. That's on a combined income of £150k with one child in secondary i.e. no childcare costs. Sorry if that upsets people on a low income, but the OP asked precisely this question, so I'm answering it.

I am sure some come on to brag.

We've been very lucky with the timing of some pay rises and our mortgage fix, so have no less disposable income than before this all kicked off. I do find however I'm thinking more about what's worth it, planning stuff carefully etc. Still want to do fun stuff, for our own enjoyment of course but also a little because I'm quite keenly aware that other people's livelihoods depend on those with disposable income spending it.

We haven't been impacted very much, but have noticed the increases, food, insurances, energy bills etc. But we've been saving for a house so have tightened our belts the last 4 years and haven't had any sort of holiday/expensive occasion in that time. Now our 6.1% rate mortgage is only slightly higher than our rent was, and we're managing to overpay the mortgage. If we had children we would be in a different position due to childcare I imagine. We are fortunate in that our jobs are well paid for where we live, but we have also gotten used to living on a strict budget and we haven't really come out of that mindset.

It's impacted everybody as pretty much everything is more expensive.

The mega-rich won't necessarily 'feel' an impact and it won't make a difference to how they live their lives but they're in a minority.

Pretty much everyone else will at least feel or notice a change.

Yes @Willyoujustbequiet without cutting back activities etc, so it has impacted us but appreciate we are in a privileged position.

Hugely impacted

Even with a high income £7-£9k (varies, both have elements of self employed - we can't increase that income to be guaranteed either) a month we are not making one penny in savings, have had to go back to writing everything down, have cancelled all charity donations , we can't afford our week away in Cornwall that we do every year (our only holiday)

Our fixed outgoings every month before we've bought a scrap of food is £7k! Literally everything has gone up and our mortgage has doubled to £3k, our car insurance doubled, actually I will stop there as EVERYTHING has doubled

We never go out to eat and last month we went to the cinema once - our only time we left the house

We do not have a mortgage or childcare costs which are some of the main strains on people. We are in our mid to late fifties, obviously regular bills have increased. But due to our savings with the rise in interest rates we have cancelled out extra costs.

Do you pay private school fees?

I think its good for us to be aware. So many people struggling is clearly evidence of a wider problem but the fact that some people don't struggle at all and for that number to be an actual minority (only 40% of people polled in the UK say they are comfortable) is something we should find out more about as much as possible.

This will drive societal change. For me personally it put things into perspective for me that many people in my area are paying £4000 per month for nannies (including pension contributions) and that my flat cost the same as rishi's swimming pool (£400k) excluding the money to upgrade the grid.

I was wondering where the 4k a month outgoings after mortgage went to too!

We're a low income household but relatively unaffected.

We live in social housing, and we pay roughly 50% market rate. We couldn't afford to rent or buy here, and will be staying put until my child finishes at her very good school.

No childcare fees.

New house, so utility bills are low.

Drive an ancient but reliable car (£170 per year to insure).

I work PT, so I can shop around, cook from scratch, etc.

We're managing to save £1k a month towards our upcoming wedding and still have a life.

A friend of mine has had to start doing her own photoshopping, it's destroying her family.

When you say low income what figure? Curious how you can save a grand a month.

Husband brings in £27k, 2 children one of whom I'm a carer for so get a whopping £69 per week.
Times are very tough.

No takeaways, days out and can only dream of a holiday!

Out of interest, are you on a fixed mortgage from before the interest rate rises?

For me this is the key - some people not so affected are still on 1 or 2 % mortgage deals as maybe they fixed for 3-5 years (lucky them)

Our main struggle is that our mortgage is now £500 more expensive as well as the energy bills, food etc. one would be manageable but altogether it’s hard to cope.

The French would be rioting down the Champs Elysees. We British just moan about the COL online. We deserve it all.

Our family income is around 90k each year, we are struggling. Constantly using credit cards as I'm bouncing between them. As everything gone up, we can no longer be in paydown as we rely on them to cover bills. It's a constant stress, I feel more for me as DH has the ability to switch off from it. Even today he messaged me to say ‘i know things are tight but do we have 160 for x thing’. The ‘x thing’ is for work. I've replied no. I've also highlighted for work to just expect this without fair warning is not on, given the current COL crisis. Even though they'll refund, there past pay back has been slow or even non existent. Both of us are trying to do what we can to increase our income so the balance tips in our favour. One of the most frustrating things is DH folks who remain somewhat unaware of the current situation as they enjoy the rewards from a boomer era. Only the other day was his dad surprised that we couldn't save as he did and was on less. Frankly it's a bit shit tbh.

The worst thing you can do with money matters is to put your head in the sand.

1. I knew rent would probably go up in July so we reorganised our debts. I was right but it’s okay because we’ve mitigated against it.
2. Mostly vegetarian/Vegan. Really inspired by my kid but think curries and things that are “incidentally vegan” rather than beyond burgers. 2(i) is I shop at Waitrose as their fruit and veg actually last so I’m not nipping into Tesco every few days and picking up things I fancy. Getting it delivered costs £4 but I save more than on not getting distracted from my meal plan/list. Asda for spices though!
3. The worst? I gave up work as I had a job rather than a career. Even with all govt. help and schemes with 3 kids, we are £700 better off plus being at home saves us money on other things like food. £400 for a family of 5 down from £700-ish including takeaway from days we were too tired after a 12 hour shift.
4. I write a monthly budget every month that I review weekly to keep us on track.
5. Low-cost/free passions and hobbies.

A) We have the largest place out of my friends so we host dinners and such to keep us social. Keep it small just keep seeing people’s faces!
B) We are going to see small artists in May at £16 a ticket not that I think many of you like grime lmao.
C) My kid’s grades have shot up since September because I have researched all these fun things and strategies to keep little ones engaged aka a game of leap frog is great for people learning how to count in 2s!
D) We are all leaning Mandrin (Duolingo for me) and things a £20 app (Dino Chinese) for the kids so they learn the characters plus Disney songs like “let it go Mandarin ” into the search bar on YouTube. Apparently DD(4) was going around saying “mummy smells” so they’re a bit ahead of me.

My final tip is practice at your new financial position, be inspired and keep on top of your mental health. We are used to barely having enough and no one noticing. If I said “we can only eat meat once a week, serve our friends gifted wine in our dining room that really needs a revamp after using my baby as a weight because we can’t have a two gym memberships” then you might feel sorry for me but we are doing okay I promise! Prioritise what actually brings you joy and if needed, utilise your community. There is no judgement at the food bank and I would know. Cry to your mum when you need to and KEEP GOING.

It's about £60k between us, although I freelance to top up my income sometimes. The low outgoings are what make it possible - we have no debts and can pay everything, including phone bills, food, etc. on around £1.1k per month. Everything else can be saved.

Income of just under £70k, no changes to mortgage as we had it fixed til 2025. Mostly impacted in energy bills that trippled 🙈 (cost increase plus moved to a bigger home) . Also our shop has gone up around 35% in the last 3 years to about £150 a week (including toiletries and cleaning products). Insurance went up but not that much, we keep only one car and do opposite days at work (we both are hybrid). We always have been frugal (rarely pay full price for clothes, always buy in the sale andd stash bigger sizes for kids, use vinted for myself as much as possible) but we are definitely saving less.

If it wasn't for my daughter still living at home and working, I would be up shit creek without a paddle.