Do you think Brits are really as broke as the media makes out

[SlothfullyYours]

I took some flexi leave this afternoon to run some errands and do some "life admin."

Started off in town. The shoppers' car park was packed, the shops were packed, coffee shops packed. People spending money.

Came home and tried to book car in for a service - garages booked up weeks in advance. Tried to get some trades round to quote for work on the house - all too busy (have been trying for months!).

Friend popped round. Recently started as a self employed cleaner. She says all her slots for house cleaning have been snapped up - and she's charging £20 per hour and we're in the Midlands!

My hairdresser & dentist (private) - have to book weeks/months in advance.

Are we really as skint as the media makes out?

Food bank

I pay for my dentist monthly on a plan, something like £18 a month for me and kids. So it’s not a big payout for a checkup. Others might be doing the same. I would do NHS but me and two kids have been on the waiting list for 8 years (not a typo).

We had a sudden reduction in income, partner lost his job, I still do the things you describe but not as often. Sometimes I pop to the shops, have a browse and have a coffee to relieve the agony of worrying about when he will get a new job and how much I need to shave of our outgoings. Maybe loads of people are in a similar situation, so they are out and about, but spending less.

You don't see the people who aren't shopping, who are stuck at home in a cold room, who don't have a car, aren't getting their nails done, aren't meeting friends for drinks and meals or going to the theatre and the cinema. Yes, there are people with money to spend (or who don't mind using credit or getting into debt) and the media like to tell an exciting story, but they have a better overview than a quick glance around town and what your friends say.

They buy less &/or less frequently

So why does that range continue to be sold? Because some people are still buying them.

You don't have to look very far to see that more and more people are struggling. Our local food bank is regularly giving food to people with jobs. We never used to do this. I don't live in a wealthy area but renting has become eye wateringly expensive.

I don't feel that I'm especially well off and I'm running to stand still.

And feeling aggrieved as I've had my tax return to find that HMRC are taxing me on, what I consider to be, my pitiful savings.

Lol, people not buying an 'extra house' or not sending the kids to private school is not an example of 'broke Britain'.

We are decent earners but the cost of eating out has gone up so much that we have all but stopped. I don’t think the food and service is as good as it used to be either. So whilst I’m not out at the restaurant, I might treat us to some party food from M&S instead of eating out on a Saturday night. So I will be one of the shoppers piling my basket high with party food in M&S. You won’t see what else I have given up to be there.

"Confirmation bias" is a thing, and it's often quoted in threads like this. I don't often see it mentioned in -everything is terrible, we are poor, our neighbours are poor. I've got mental health issues - Starmers starving Surrey.

Who are you thinking of? And people do need clothes...

@unlimiteddilutingjuice Thanks for that minimum income calculator. It was interesting! Mine came out to almost exactly what my income is (I'm a single pensioner) but the breakdown of outgoings was wildly out giving about three times as much as I spend on food and clothes, but not including any car expenses. I think my car is probably one of the biggest drains on my money even though my mileage is very low, but I'd hate to be without it

Well if you are talking about BBC they are left wing bias so will engineer the narrative to fit to labours dishonest plans.

Mumsnet at it's finest.

Or as in an example upthread, someone being taxed on their 'pitiful' savings.
Which means they have more in savings than what would take them above the personal savings allowance, so above £10/20k unless they're also a very high earner paying top rate tax.

And if they've any sense that's after they've used up their ISA allowance, and/or are using premium bonds, and/or are paying extra into their pension. The other 95% of the population would be delighted to be in such a 'pitiful' position.

The assumption you have is that all those people are living within their means. The ‘new cars’ mentioned will be financed through personal debt or government subsidy. The women sitting in the beauty and hair salons are probably not wealthy women but women who don’t want to let go of the thing that gives them confidence in their appearance. Most people will hang onto the last luxury they have until the bitter end.

You might find me in the M&S food hall but I’m only buying reduced ticketed items. Coffee shops are full of people trying to treat themselves with relatively low cost sweet treats and/ir being sociable.

I dont think any of those high street markers will tell you anything about whether people are skint or not. I would think personal debt stats would tell you far more.

Must admit that the scramble to secure ANY concert tickets (at £00’s per pop) has caused me to ask the same question!
I guess some are and some aren’t struggling, but it would be useful to know the facts on this.

they also lived through the rationing years and their parents were in the war. This is the problem with the government and media causing a divide between generations. I’m not a boomer but gen X (had to look it up, no one my age speaks like this) it is awful for today’s youngsters and I don’t know how you are all going to afford the necessity of housing because the speculation in housing made prices go wild about 2004. To say that all other people in all the boomer generation had it easy is totally false. My parents (boomer generation) could never afford their own home and I grew up on a council estate. My dad worked full time as an apprentice in a trade from the age of 15.no final salary pension. “Free” education was all well and good but unless you were privileged enough to not work for a few years to go to uni then it was still totally out of reach. We had one week holiday a year in Wales. My parents never went abroad and where I grew up these circumstances weren’t unusual. So please think before hating previous generations. It’s not us vs them, it’s us vs the government and culture and those in society who are inflaming divisions for their own gain and increasing the huge gap between the haves and have nots in Britain.

If they're taxing you on savings, doesn't that mean you're getting over £1000 a year in interest? In which case, with today's interest rates your savings are hardly pitiful.

The problem with brits is that we're all so entitled.

The premium ranges always seem to be the ones sold out where I live.

I agree OP and I have commented the same recently to my partner after trips to both my local market town in the north west and Manchester City centre. I also find it interesting that the first few replies you had were adamant that you couldn’t be right and that actually everyone really is struggling. There are of course differences in peoples experiences but quite a lot of people seem to be rather better off than the media would have you believe.

Housing is key, absolutely. But some people are fully exposed to the worst of it, others not at all. No doubt a good chunk of the people OP saw out today are mortgage free, or they're still paying off a house but they've owned since 1998 and have the benefit of decades of gains behind them.

We're feeling the pinch, still spending money but trying to keep it in check. Example we took the kids to see Wicked at the weekend, as they wanted to go, but took our own snacks. It's all a juggle but still spending some money.

I live my life in regards to eating out and holidays because I work hard all week and I want my children to have the best life but am I saving anything? Not a penny (other than automatic amounts going into Plum for Christmas each month) and before all this rise in the cost of living I had a good buffer of a few thousand saved. If I lost my job I’d be shafted and would have to ask my man to pay the bills 😬
I’m hoping to improve on the saving front next year 🤞