To wonder how people are coping?

[CobbleWobble]

We are very lucky, I know this.

We are "Mumsnet rich" both have professional jobs with good salaries (£170k household income) and yet this last 12 months:

• removed children from private school
• changed how we do the weekly shop to reduce costs
• cut subscriptions (like Disney+ etc)
• reduced what I bought in the back to school shop
• decided against a holiday in October half term
• concerned about our usual Christmas food order

What is going on? I just don't understand why or how prices are rising as they are or how people on less than us are coping!

I'm extremely grateful we have the things to cut that we have but we've also had to remortgage this year which has doubled our mortgage payments and then our utilities have increased and the food shop has just got insane.

We have other things we can cut - a holiday in the UK, Netflix, the monthly takeaway but its just miserable to think we may need to do that just not to be living.

Happy to post spending particulars if people are finding it hard to see where I'm coming from.

So AIBU to think that as a country we cannot go on with prices rising like this? How are others coping?

"... we've also had to remortgage this year which has doubled our mortgage payments ..."

A good point - it is all relative (housing/ CT/ bills etc)

However, forgoing private school and a holiday at HT are first world problems though .

I have received Cost of living payments previously and help with winter fuel.(poorly insulated house) I will get neither this year as no longer UC (youngest has gone to uni)
The food bill will go down slightly (as just me ) but the other bills remain the same .
I will manage JUST.

Well I would say it depends on where you are living and commuting to for work/school etc…
our household income is a third of yours but we live in the northeast and are just scraping by (without having to ditch the holidays and subscriptions just yet) but if you’re down south YANBU

It’s very hard not to tell you to fuck off. I live on a state pension. This winter, if it gets cold, I’ll move into the sitting room; use the gas fire and the heated throw. My state pension is 11,970 ish per annum. Okay I haven’t got children feed etc but it’s still tight. Despite that, I can still afford a fiver a month for Disney.

Bamboozled by this sort of thing. I know families in expensive parts of the country doing perfectly well on (generously) a fifth of this income.

It really doesn't inspire a sense of fairness in our economic system that people are receiving salaries in the 80k-100k range despite apparently being unable to manage basic household budgeting. How much money are they losing their employers?

I don’t think this is real but if it is…you have messed up. You must have hugely overstretched yourself somewhere and made bad decisions.

Rishi said similar didnt he. Or was that Sky that he didnt have growing up?

170k is around 105 after tax, so 8500 per month. Our mortgage in London zone 2 in a little over 5k a month for a basic 3 bed terrace (nice but not fancy area). You can argue the 3500 a month should be enough. But then add the 170£ a month TFL pass + council tax + bills + childcare (no 30h free childcare) + food shop. What remains in what OP describes: modest holidays and watching what is spent on extras.
Not the life of luxury people imagine when quoting a « 170k income ».
Private school is 20-30k a year per child (fees only, add to that 1k uniform, 1k trips, etc, etc) so I’m not surprised OP had to take her kids out - I’m not arguing it should be cheaper, just that it is often imagined that people one this type of salaries can afford it easily.

I can only assume your mortgage is eye wateringly high. Our income is well below yours, and whilst we have never been able to afford private education and generally take 'only' one holiday a year, we are aware we are, compared to others, comfortably off. We pay the highest rate of council tax and our heating bills are higher than average but we own our home outright so have no mortgage to pay. I notice the rising food prices, but I have to admit, I can still afford whatever I want to buy. I can only assume you can't because of your mortgage?

Surely can’t be real. Our household income is around £65k (before tax) with two kids to support - we’re reasonably okay. Not rich, not poor, but can manage a takeaway a month and the dizzy heights of Disney plus!!

Finally, a sensible post that understands that this isn't just about income, but about expenditure too. Thank you. 😊
And for those that missed it, OP's told us "... we've also had to remortgage this year which has doubled our mortgage payments ..." - I'm guessing this will be a large part of the problem.

Nothing to do with the economy all to do with your total lack of any skill perhaps you should hire someone to do all that for you while you get a job that you can actually do

You're on a different planet, OP. A tone-deaf post at best, if not actually entirely unbelievable.

Yes. But taking two children out of private school should more than make up for that increase, unless their mortgage is now in the realms of £7k per month! Disney subscription
should still be manageable 🤷🏻‍♀️

I assume it’s your mortgage because I could afford everything on your list on less money (although depending on how many kids for PE I suppose)

@ComfortFoodCafe completely this 100%

Things are very expensive now but I don't understand how you can't afford Disney plus or a holiday on 170k? School fees will save you tens of thousands.

I’m amazed anyone feels confident enough in their income to sign up for private school for two kids TBH.

£4-5k a month for 15 years on top of your other expenses… just… I’m not sure I’ll ever feel financially secure enough to make that investment alongside my not dis-similarly massive mortgage!

I think whatever your income, it doesn’t go as far as it used to. That kind of ‘upper middle class’ private schools, two nice cars, luxury holidays kind of lifestyle seems to demand rather a lot higher income than you’d expect now.

We are on about 80k a year combined,up north,we aren’t coping,mortgage has gone up,utilities are very high,food shop is ridiculous,2 years ago we would be able to save roughly £800 a month,now we run out before payday,it’s fucking shit!

But that's the point, we have no idea what OP's mortgage is, or indeed any of her outgoings (and I wouldn't be so rude as to ask).

I'm coping with a 25% of your income.
How, exactly how you are doing cutting off extras. No holidays is one of them. Aldi is my beloved supermarket. Etc, etc.

Not sure but at our state school we’re fighting to secure dc spaces on the ski trip. The year 10s go and there’s 200 of them but only 40 spaces. Far more than 40 want to go, including my twins, at £1300 per child. Dh and I earn significantly less than you - more like £110k but I’m not going to suggest we’re suffering or cutting back, but we’re fairly careful to start with.

Removed kids from private school

at anything from £6/8k a term so £20k + x 2 kids so £40k now spare

and still struggling 🙄

many live off what you did spend on school

Also the higher you’re income,the higher the outgoings.

You need to join the frugal threads on MN @CobbleWobble they will help you .