To ask when is the cost of living going to go down?

[scotpancakes]

When will working hard start to pay off? I scrape by every month. I can't afford to save, so I can't afford a house! I live in the South East and rent prices are crazy. Will this country ever become more affordable? For the past 16 years it's been doom and gloom and it just goes on and on!

I understand career progression within your profession or role, with the aim of promotion-I think it’s fair to assume OP understands this too? Or did you think it was a wild suggestion she wouldn’t already know about?

posters are suggesting retraining. I’ve interpreted that as doing something new to earn more money.

also I wonder if from some of the examples people are using (including childcare and shift work) they are assuming OP is a very low paid worker.
She’s working FT and presumably paying for childcare- she privately rents and isn’t entitled to benefits. She can’t afford to buy a house.

🤣 I know what inflation is. I didn’t know what the OP was asking, and wondered if she meant that she expected the COL increase to reverse and fall at some point. She’s clarified what she meant a few pages ago though.

@oakleaffy maybe I can get a date with Prince Andrew 😂😅 (not if he's having all his assets taken away though)!
My child starts school next year! Hopefully it gets easier!

@FreedomDogs thank you for flagging that not all circumstances are equal! Though I might try and get some cleaning work on weekends I don't have my child!

My apologies

We (taxpayer) also paid millions for the security costs of Harry and Megan’s wedding. Vile.

Sadly, prices will rise and wages, except those who are NMW will stagnate.

It's never going to get easier. You are right though, it has been a hard 16 years too.

At the end of the day if the child’s father wants you live close by then he would have to provide more financial support.

Sadly, the courts won't see it that way

I don't think anyone is assuming that the OP has never before heard of training/retraining.

Retraining will again depend on what your current circumstances are. You can retrain to be a dog groomer or a driving instructor. You can join the police. You can become a teacher. Or a hairdresser. Or an accountant. It's not really a difficult concept to understand!

It's not only people on a very low wages that can train/retrain to give themselves a better lifestyle. That's a very condescending view! Anyone, but those at the very top have space to climb

What have Megan and Harry done for the British people? Nothing?

If this government (and the ones that follow it) commit to a programme of building affordable housing and stop selling off council housing then I think there may be a long term reduction in the cost of living. We spend so much on housing ourselves that it doesn't leave much money for anything else.

@feelinglikeiwishitwas exactly! I actually don't want to move! But if I did, my ex can take me to court and more than likely I'd be forced to stay in the area!

@LadyGabriella they gave us an awful Netflix series?

Ask your employer if there are some internal courses that they provide for free.
Or if they provide day release to an external course provider.

Are there any management courses, technical courses ?

Another option is that I was paid extra to be a qualified first aider & health & safety rep at work.

Not vile at all. If we, the British public, want a royal family (and apparently we do) then we need to pick up the tab for keeping them safe.

This is no good as a single parent.

But Megan and Harry are no longer part of the working royal family? They contribute nothing.

Also the monarchy can pay for their own security. We need not pay for their keep because we “want” them, how outdated. I suspect the monarchy won’t go on much beyond William +/- George to be honest.

Another work side hustle that I have received is " refer a friend"

I recommended people for interview for vacancies. If they joined the company, I was given 3 large bonus payments over a year.

I also joined the work pension (contributions matched by employer)

I also joined the work share save scheme & sold my shares at a large profit (only what was paid in was guaranteed, profit was not guaranteed)

Interested to know where you think the latitude for growing food would be?

I've watched Spain get soaked this week and the tragedy unfold. It's too hot for much of the summer, in drought and then very suddenly too wet there. France looks OK but it's hard it's fair share of drought and then sudden flooding too.

If the AMOC switches off we're all screwed aren't we?

There seems to be no clear hedge anywhere against what's coming. It's all very unpredictable.

Too much rain in northern Europe, too little rain in Southern Europe and then floods in all areas, large swings in temperature as well. Is there a goldilocks zone? and how long would it last anyway?

It’s not condescending at all- im just asking you to put some meat on the bones to make it a practical suggestion that OP could use!

she could become a teacher- but it takes years and crap pay (good pension though) probs won’t help her buy a house, probs won’t pay more than the media.

she could become a hairdresser- seems unlikely that this would be better paid than her media role

she could be an accountant-and yes she probably WILL EARN MORE! But £10k+ to qualify and takes years.

so basically what we’re saying is OP- there are other jobs out there pick one and work towards it?!?

This.

If people who are working are very very lucky, eventually wages will rise to bridge the gap a little.

Everyone else, let's tighten our belts.

It's really sad OP. The COL is only going up. It's just how quickly it happens that's the question. it sounds like you're trying really hard.

Is there a sideways move you could make in your industry that would allow you to progress in another side-industry that would allow you faster promotions? Media is very badly paid in some areas - not all though.

Would more qualifications help? It's horrible feeling trapped. I hope you can find something to bring in extra money.

Very random OP but are you half decent at taking pictures?

A friend of my seemed good using iPhone Portrait mode, and got herself a professional camera. She is no pro but does take lovely photos and is good with kids - She charged £180 for a 30 minute family shoot! £250 for a newborn shoot. £550 for a 3 hour 'Outdoors' shoot

She's been going a year. And it's helped her massively. The initial cost was her £300 camera. Happy to link you to the one I'm talking about via Amazon etc

It's really hard. Especially without a partner. You're paying childcare costs, providing a home for them and paying for all bills and outgoings on one salary, without financial assistance

This means you either need to be able to work to something higher up quickly (hardly going to get the rewards for it if it's taking years and years), or change professions. But again, this isn't always practical.

In addition to that, I wish posters would understand you can't just take a DC and run off somewhere further away The courts can order the child to be close by, within x amount of miles. And that's without considering them implementing other measures such as more legally enforced time with the dad. It's all very complex

Of course, as a single parent you also need your family and friends. You cannot just be expected to uproot like that. How ridiculous.

I think labour budget has screwed the economy on all counts - inflation will continue to rise unfortunately