To be absolutely sick of hearing about the cost of living crisis

[Katypp]

I surely can't be the only person sick to death of hearing about the cost of living crisis?
I am tired of reporters interviewing middle-class (usually) mothers inside paid activities such as soft play and hearing them moan about how they are struggling to make ends meet.
Have we completely lost the ability to cut our cloth according to our means or does 'struggling' now mean carrying on spending as usual then complaining when there's no money left?
There have never been as many massive new cars on the road, towns are full of hairdressers, nail bars, brow bars, tanning salons, soft play, play cafes, coffee shops, ice cream parlours, dog groomers, most of which didn't exist 25 years ago and are probably the recipients of the money of the families who say they can't keep up with spiralling costs.
Yes, some families will have been hard up before prices started to go up and will have nothing else to cut back on. They have my sympathy.
But i am utterly fed up of hearing how hard households ars being hit by the cost of living crisis when all that's needed is a few minor cutbacks which they don't want to make.

What about the Miners strike and the Poll tax riots? No adults involved in those?
You can't possibly be comparing poll tax riots with people just moaning that they struggle to save because they don't want to give up luxuries!

It’s not really a cost of living crisis, it’s a cost of tax crisis. It’s absurd to acknowledge inflationary pressures since covid causing huge issues on one hand whilst sticking to pre covid tax banding on the other. £100k in 2020 is £127k today, this is the root cause of a lot of issues.

then the others who say that of course basics should now include nice cars, new furniture, regular outings, holidays abroad.

Literally nobody has said this. Why make stuff up?

There is also a lot of consumerism in the UK - subscriptions, expensive experiences, Deliveroo etc that weren't around 25 years ago. People have become accustomed to these things and spend a lot on them
But that's normal expectation of life nowadays according to most posters. It comes way before any need to save!

Completely agree with this. I absolutely acknowledge houses are more expensive than they used to be, but I think societal changes are at play too.
I started work at 18 and bought my house with my then fiance at (I think) 20 (it might have been 19).
We both lived at home and saved at least half of our salary every month for the deposit. This was the mid-late 1980s, when getting on the property ladder was a big thing.
We bought out 2-bed terrace, got married, got promoted, moved to a 3-bed and started a family.
Now people can have a gap year, the university and not start their first job until they are towards their mid-20s. They meet someone, move in together, pay rent, decide to have children, then decide they want to buy a house. Because they have been paying rent and have children, they can't dedicate much to saving, and the house they need to buy is bigger than first homes used to be and has to be in a good area for schools. Plus - as is evidenced on this thread - there is a general sense of 'we deserve it' over treats and holidays.
So yes, houses are more expensive, but a lot of families don't help themselves.

That's unkind of him. Nothing funny about people going cold and hungry.

Literally nobody has said this. Why make stuff up?
The definition of poverty includes not being about to go away on holiday for one week!

And yes, posters have mentioned luxuries that they think they deserve because they work hard!

Gawd what a bloody miserable martyr you are….. yes I’m not starving/completely on the breadline but me and my husband work bloody hard - why shouldn’t I moan that I can’t afford to have my nails done? Why shouldn’t I want to go on holiday? Why shouldn’t I want to go out for a pub meal. It’s not a race to the bottom.

No wonder people think there's a col crisis then

Your argument is that people's high housing costs is their own fault because they don't meet as teenagers?

Novel!

People have become accustomed to these things and spend a lot on them

Its people over 50 who lead consumer spending…

That's ridiculous extrapolation. Apparently your argument doesn't stand up unless you misrepresent what's been said.

I started work at 18 and bought my house with my then fiance at (I think) 20 (it might have been 19).

And you think uni has stopped people being able to do this 😆😆

I knew the OP would be someone who bought a house nearly 50 years ago and is living in a deluded bubble with a lifetime of growing real incomes, cheap fuel and proper public services conveniently erased from their memory. Probably tells young people to cancel Netflix if they want to buy a house

It's not people going cold and hungry though is it? It's people eating out less, getting nails done less,

Yeah, but the crisis is very real, it's just that it's called low growth . As usual people keep saying the gap between rich and poor is widening. It isn't. What they mean is we've had so many years of low growth that an average wage feels poor, which is hugely exacerbated by the downward spiral of inflation. It would be helpful if the government could focus on growing the economy and not just union sound bites on who "deserves" more money.

Yes, cancel Netflix and you can buy a flat at 19 🙄

This. So ridiculous as are others on this thread saying young ones are spoilt now when they were able to buy cheap flats and houses in the 90s on fairly low incomes.

But even if they did it your way, on the starting salary for an unqualified 18 year old, saving half of it is going to take them forever to save the deposit for the cost of the starter house, and then they likely won't get the mortgage because they don't earn enough to cover it.

Where I live, a small 2 bed in a not rubbish (not decent either) area is £300-350k minimum. So they need to find £30k minimum AND be earning enough to get a £270k mortgage, with today's rates meaning monthly repayments will be over £1,200 a month.

Add into that childcare costs, and over one minimum wage (for a 21+ year old, not the 18/19 year old you were talking about being) is more than used. Without even thinking about council tax, energy bills, food, commute costs, etc, etc, etc.

Your way doesn't work anymore. I really, really wish it did. But it's not them not helping themselves. It's that it seems impossible so they don't do it.

And I have a child. And am a homeowner. And a millennial...so I've done it in this climate. But it took us a long time to get the funds together.

No I don't. Don't be so silly.
I have no idea where this conviction that today's young families have a uniquely difficult time comes from.
the years of raising children has always been the most expensive years of your life and there's no reason why today's parenting years should be any different - a concept some find difficult to grasp evidently.

That and the weather, yes.

So yes, houses are more expensive, but a lot of families don't help themselves
Damn, my tiktok is now throwing at me how to budget to buy a property! Thanks AI!

It says that to buy a £300k property, you need to save £30k (or less) and earn £60k, or £30k each if a couple. How is that not doable? £15k each saved in two years is not that hard if you don't have kids yet and don't spend on luxuries.

It is exactly what my young colleague did with his girlfriend. 28 years old. Both earning just over £30k. They spent just about nothing for two years. Rented a studio, no cars, no holidays, no fancy clothing or anything none essential. Not the best two years of their lives, but they now owe a 2 bed property. They plan on marrying and starting for kids in a couple of years time.

Very different to my friend's son who decided to move to Australia for two years and travel all around Asia. They had a fab time. They are now back, struggling to get decent jobs, and the girlfriend is now pregnant. They moan how life is hard for them because they excepted, as graduates, to come back straight into decently paid jobs in the same town, and it's not happening.

Agree. Also why do poor people in India amongst other places (who are really poor) eat better than 'poor' people in this country? Because they are not lazy or entitled and cook from scratch, and actually take pride in providing for their family.

I have no idea where this conviction that today's young families have a uniquely difficult time comes from

It is harder due to wage stagnation and housing costs. But honestly I am wasting my time, it’s like arguing with flat earthers 🤷🏻‍♀️

If I’d saved half of my salary every month from my first full time job after university I’d have had £9,000. The average flat price in my area in 2018 was £400,000. Houses were £550,000. Tell me… what percentage deposit would I have had with 9,000? 2.25%.

Nobody would give me a house for that. How about my first decently paid job after university 3 years later? I’d have had £14,000. So 3.5%. Nope they wouldn’t sell me a house for that either.

What about if I saved half of my salary as a deputy editor? So £20,000… that would have been. Oh, 5%. Still couldn’t buy a flat with half a year’s salary even a decade into working on a deputy editors salary, even without any other expenses.