To think this increase in cost is going to break me?

[Yummmyy]

I earn a decent salary. Whenever I go to Tesco for a basic food shop, sone items are going up literally 50p plus within a matter of two weeks. Orange juice was 2.20 for Tesco’s basic, the most expensive 4.30!!

Yes I know orange juice isn’t an essential but when you’re well above minimum wage and have to cut something like that out of your food shop it does make you question what’s the point… anyone else relate to this? I just don’t know where it’s going to end

Who the hell looks at a job spec with ‘huge’ levels of responsibility coupled with poor pay and thinks “ooh yes, that’s a bit of me that is, exactly what I’m looking for! Where do I sign please?”

This comment is gross! People that notice the cost of orange juice probably have more money, just like the ones who drive older cars. Spend wiser, not more

Nah, budgeting is mostly just a cope. You should be earning more money, not trying to save on Tesco own value orange juice.

And "rich people drive old cars" is mostly a mumsnet meme, it doesnt exist in real life (except for traditional old school country/rural upper-middle class).. In reality, rich people are more likely to drive nice new cars. Who do you think is buying all the brand new Range Rovers, minimum wagers?

Speaking of living a bit more like the older generation. It's a beautiful day outside. Around 5-7 degrees C, sunny, light breeze where I am. I went for a walk to the shop earlier (£15 for a week's worth of meals, none of which were in the savers or reduced section) and my path takes me past a number of back gardens I can look into. Only one, apart from my own, had some washing out - an elderly lady in her late 70s. I can guarantee some tumble driers were going while my second load of washing today was drying on the line. Meanwhile, people are talking about the cost of energy.

Will you share your "£15 for a weeks worth of meals" shopping list?

No washing outside here as I only have a small terrace but I don't own a tumble drier. Although I do run a dehumidifier if I have laundry on the airers.

Sure:

-bunch of 7 bananas (£0.80)
-2 bags of frozen fruit (£4)
-1kg Greek yoghurt (£2)

These make banana, fruit and yoghurt smoothies for my daily breakfast. I use a spoonful of yoghurt, one banana and a large handful of fruit, which I defrost overnight.

-1kg wonky carrots (£0.50)
-3 leeks (£1.50)
-1kg chicken drumsticks (£2)
-1 whole large swede (£0.60)

That's a week's worth of soup. Not all of it will be used for soup (e.g. I might make cock-a-leekie soup and not use all the swede, which will go into mash, some carrots will go into dinners, some will be frozen. Not all the chicken will be used; a pot of soup typically has 2 drumsticks in it and the pack had 8, so I will have 4 leftover for dinners. I make new stock from the bones and vegetable offcuts, with salt.

-4 large black puddings (£1)
-bag of frozen mixed veg (£1)
-soy sauce (£.80)
-bag of pasta (£0.70)

Bear in mind that, as I said upthread, I freeze and use up leftovers, too, so I still have some fresh eggs from last week's shop, still some slices of bread, two baking potatoes from a large bag last week and even some leftovers from another dinner. This week will give me leftover vegetables and next week I will use some of the money to stock up on herbs and chillies. With some forward planning and a decent rotation I can get a lot of food for not very much.

They are cheaper than say Tesco etc on a lot of things, but not always and often not by much either!

It's been a very long time since a cucumber was 49p in my neck of the woods, and even longer since it was 45p sadly

Teacher pay scales

By the time you get to the around 40k mark, that often coincides with babies, mat leave, part time working to balance childcare costs etc.

Postal workers average salary is around £27k.

NHS says average nursing wage is between £33 and £35k.

Pp at beginning of thread also mentioned that it's okay for costs to go up because wages do too (if I remember right)...but public sector pay was frozen multiple times in the UK, including in 2010–2013, 2021–2022, and during the 2013–2017 periods.

It's rubbish.

Housing costs are high.
Utilities are increasing.
Groceries are increasing. Size / quality is decreasing.
Public services are going down the pan.

I could go on and on.

Cost is going up all the time, and if a pay rise does happen then as pp said all other things increasing totally wipes it out.

if you haven't noticed then it can't be you doing the grocery shop.

I haven't noticed and I do the grocery shop. In fact, I did a comparison on the last monthly online shop I got v an almost identical shop in November last year. Only 1 item had gone up. Cravendale milk is 25p per pint more.

Everything else, all the staples, bread, cheese, potatoes etc, exactly the same price.

Ok… so don’t do it then. Pick a different career more as aligned to your earnings aspirations.

To do something that could change, but choose not to change because it’s difficult, is just playing the victim. None of us born with a stamp dictating what we have to do for a living. Choice and free will is the greatest gift we have in this country ffs! Fine if people don’t want to use it, but don’t also then have a whine and a moan.

Then quit your job and go on UC.

Line dried clothes smell and feel disgusting though

It doesn’t sound like enough to feed my household. As well as having a slightly fussy eater in our house, who would refuse half of that list, it sounds a little repetitive- but maybe I’m not being imaginative enough.
We tend to have pasta with home made tomato sauce, sometimes a lentil bolognaise, or a carbonara type dish; chilli (veggie); fish once a week because everyone will eat it and it’s good for us; frittata; we usually add cheese to our veggie meals unless it’s Dahl. OH likes meat so I buy 3 meat items a week usually, like shin of beef or mince, or sausages, or a joint of meat on offer; and will serve a casserole or a roast, and then something made with the leftovers (ideally we would get three separate main meals from one roasting joint and at least one lunch). I eat homemade soup or leftovers for my lunch almost every day. It’s a struggle to balance the nutrients everyone is having over a week, with the cost of things and available time to cook. I’m sure we could save a bit more- but more would be wasted as people would just leave the food if they don’t like it. Or I run out of time to cook and the food can be wasted that way. It doesn’t negate the fact that prices have risen so much in such a short time and wages simply haven’t kept up.

It's the same all over Europe. France, Germany, Ireland... are all in shit street too!

This is just not true. Yes there have been some economic issues in other European countries, but they are not experiencing the same level of economic problems as the U.K.

???
no they don't, they smell lovely and fresh
unless you live next to a sewage works or something

Well we'll all be completely screwed if everyone earning those wages did just up and quit. And some wage, even in those ranges, is better than no wage - unless you'd also like to see UC bills increase exponentially?

Also, you might have noticed one or two things in the press about recruitment and retention crises, especially for teachers?

Don't go blaming people who are in work (and I'm not having a go at those who aren't for whatever reason) for the poor wages they are receiving when they say things are tough. A pp said the middle class is being squeezed so much there won't be one left soon, just the in-work poor or worse off, and the rich. It's happening now - yet some people say it's our fault we're struggling? It's not actually that easy to just bugger off into a new career. When I started teaching, the trajectory for pay rises would have put me now at earning around 65k or more. It was a good career with good pay. Chuck in pay freezes and it's nowhere near that. But I can't magically just get a similar waged job without taking time out, retraining etc...which I can't do because pitiful pay means minimal savings to allow that, and mortgages need paying and kids need feeding.

Don't go blaming the people at the bottom of the heap. (And I'm well aware that I am NOT at the bottom. Many more have it much worse.)

I've noticed olive oil mentioned quite a lot on these threads, how much do people use? A small bottle lasts us absolutely ages because we only use it in something like a salad dressing where you actually notice the taste.

It used to be something they sold in small bottles in the chemist, not for cooking with.

I can also remember when orange juice was something you had for a starter, not an everyday drink, it was quite a treat!

@AlertCat You're comparing the cost of running a household for 4 people with the cost of running my household of 1 in the week I haven't got my kids. Of course my shop is not enough to feed more than 1 person, though it's not repetitive other than my soup for lunch, which I'll have 3x in a row for the same type. In a typical week I'll have stews, curries, stir fries, omelettes, egg fried rice, pasta with various sauces, some meat and mash type food, pies, pizzas, burgers - all reasonably easy and cheap, and they can be as healthy and nutritious as you like. Time is not an issue; I leave my food to cook while I do other things; it doesn't need constant supervision. But that's my point, many people on here cite time or money as a reason why eating healthily is not possible on a budget and I'm saying it is with a bit of planning and foresight. My kids don't get the option to be fussy; the rule is to have tried a few mouthfuls of everything and I will always serve things up in different ways until we find one we all like - spinach pizza and spinach-based lasagne are now firm favourites while the initial reaction to spinach from both of them was eww.

@torreli We'll have to agree to disagree here; I love the smell of fresh air, which clings to washing line dried outside, I don't have to iron as a result of line drying and it is better for the fabric integrity overall. Win-win here.

I don’t own my own house, am a pensioner, pay my full rent, and everything else. I don’t get any extra benefit handouts. 🤷‍♀️. We are all struggling nowadays, and it’ll get worse, sadly, and unexpectedly, under this government. 😡

I have a private back garden you could have walked past but it's an apartment
Not allowed washing outside
I use an airer or a heated one, no tumble dryer

I use Olive oil for everything. Not because of the taste, but because we were always taught that it's healthier than other oils. I've never bought any other type of oil so I don't know how they would affect the taste of food.

My grocery shop in Aldi each week is about €240 here in ireland . Family of 5 including 3 very hungry teens. 2 years ago it was about €180.

I still think food is relatively cheap though ie you can get a chicken for €3.99. To take a chic , raise it , feed it grain and process it and package it. I just think how can anyone in the chain make money at that.
I work in the industry and the coca crop has really failed this great. Chocolate is going to go up about 20% this spring ( not thr worst thing in the world I suppose)

If you live rurally they often smell of slurry in spring/summer and stinky coal fires/log burners in winter.