To wonder how people can afford to live

[Member869894]

I've just been to lidl and am amazed at how expensive food has become. How do people on low incomes with children manage? When I was a single mum 15 years ago with little money i could still buy salmon and treats for my DCs. I'd not be able to buy thise now and I earn more

LL have put prices up because they have higher costs like licences, EPC improvements to make to get a house up from a D to a C is very high as all the cheaper jobs have already been done and mortgage interest payments are higher ATM. Most LL have to pay higher interest rates on a btl mortgage than on a residential one. The more legislation the government adds the higher rents have to go to cover it all.

Food is very expensive now.

it was only 500 a months because we bought in a cheap area.

can you still buy it for £500 a month?

If we were hungry after meals you’d fill up on bread , a bowl of cereal or an apple/orange/banana.

What do you think people do now?

Housing is the problem.

everything comes back to this

The house next to mine, the rent is more than twice my mortgage.

I have a hob. No chest freezer or oven 🙄

We've gone back to earlier days food wise.

Breakfast - porridge or weetabix (unbranded)

Lunch a sandwich. Bread, spread, leftover meat from the night before (or cheese) with cucumber/tomato/salad leaves. Apple/banana/orange.

Dinner a carb (potato/rice/pasta), meat (chicken/beef/pork), 2 or 3 veg (carrot/cabbage/green beans/broccoli/cauliflower) and wet (gravy/tomato/curry/cheese sauce)

Tea/coffee/tap water/squash to drink
Shopping bill has dropped from £170 (snacks, ready meals, fizzy etc) to £60 for 3 adults.

But we tend to do that every other week ... so 2 weeks shopping for £190 as we cut snacking even on a cheat week.

I buy cheaper versions of what I used to buy.
I always look at price per weight, avoid anything with lots of packaging like individually wrapped items.
Look for what’s on sale/ shop around. Luckily for me, my grandmother and mother grew up poor in large families and even after it was no longer necessary, they were both pathological about economising and passed down lots of ways of saving money especially stretching meals out.
I have also had to cut spending out of other areas and spend it on groceries instead. COL going up coincided with having dc and tbh now that I think back on how I used to spend my money, I’m a bit shocked at what I’ve cut out/ cut down on out of necessity eg. I cut my own hair, haven’t gone back to hairdressers since before Covid (dp same), this year will be our first holiday since pre COVID, I go to the dentist and doctor far less often 😬. I used to spend quite a bit on makeup/ cosmetics. Now I only have a few items of cheap makeup and use a basic cleanser and face cream. No more special shampoo, it’s the same big bottle for everyone from the supermarket. No fancy hair products/ salt spray etc. I can’t afford decent shoes at all anymore. Don’t buy books for the kindle, go to the library instead. Plus there is loads that needs to be fixed or replaced in the house and it just stays that way from one month to the next until it’s unavoidable.

I live very cheep but then its just me i live alone no kids pets or a man.

Yeah, I know, I wasn't suggesting everyone can be in my position, more just explaining how it's possible for people on ordinary incomes to not be too worried about food prices. I agree rents have gone mad. We rented all our lives till 2019, luckily were able to buy just before rents went through the roof.

If proper cooked meals though it's actually much healthier than constant snacking and take aways

Eat pasta , not Salmon.

You must have noticed before now food has gone up loads? Over the past year or so our quality of living has decreased so much! With the rise in rent, gas & electric, water etc. then food, we can no longer have a break from cooking by having a takeaway, there will be no holiday this year & by the end of the month we are having to dip into savings! I know we are lucky to have savings but they will eventually dwindle away and prices are still going up weekly.

Rents are crazy right now. My rent is £1170pcm and its very cheap for our area. I live in constant fear the landlord will bang it up one day and I will have no choice but to just pay it. And why wouldn't he, when he can get so much more of our hard earned cash to tuck away in his nice little retirement pot?
If I wanted to move I couldn't because rents for similar or even not as nice houses in my area are all a minimum of £1500, most are £1600 or even £1700. And no, I don't live in London.
All this, with food prices going up, energy prices ridiculous and council tax is £200 a month too.
We are decent earners and we manage but saving for a mortgage on our own place is near on impossible.
Something has to give.

Further to my above post, I've just had a peek on rightmove and I stand corrected. Rents in my area for similar properties are easily reaching £1850.

Reallyneedthosepositivevibes I dont know if F and C are so cheap now! £12.00 a portion for large cod and chips here(South Coast) .We usually have a large portion between us 2 to keep costs down as you say.Usually if adult DC are with us ,they will have a medium one each (not much cheaper either about £10.50 still)TBH We dont have many takeouts ,Frozen fish and chips now .Usually have a Roast Sunday with cold or sandwiches Monday. sausages mince still good old staples .Eggs for breakfast .Sarnies lunch.

Ok if you drive and do late times

Yes, especially instant coffee. I now buy coffee beans. I dusted off the old grinder and make some every morning in a cafetière. I rebrew using the grounds a second time.

The cost of food has gone up across the board but is affecting people who cook a lot of veggie meals from scratch less than meat eaters who eat a lot of pre-prepared food.

Stop buying stuff at Lidl. Most basic items are now the same price as other major supermarkets and the quality/ shelf life is soo much better.
I second going veggie for 2-4 days/ week.
Plan your meals and stick to it in order to reduce food waste.

If you have time, ability and storage do batch cooking (tomato sauce, curry stews & casserole can all be frozen!).

I bulk buy dried pulses (lentils, chickpeas, butter beans, ....). It's really cheap, but I appreciate that cooking and storing these isn't for everyone.

I did teach myself many years ago and found it easier than expected, all it needs is some very good planning and organisation!

People have become accustomed to large portions of things and therefore overeat and overspend now. It was pretty normal in the past to economise compared to now, where people now are more likely to reach for big bags of unhealthy snacks.

not true of people I know... filing up on cereal & bread is pretty normal.

You can buy these things in tins, which is easier because they don't require the same level of cooking. I bulk out mince with a tin of lentils.
Tinned chickpeas also have the added benefit of being in water that can be used for other things, like as an egg replacement in pancakes