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.

The people struggling in the cost of living crisis are struggling to afford basics
I also get to meet some of these people with my job. They are usually much less likely to moan and much more grateful for what they receive.

It's those like a few posters here who think that working hard gives them the instant rights to rewards, who then moan when they get their gas bill and there isn't much left to pay it...and then say they can't afford to heat their home.

Because 99% of jobs in my industry are in central London. No point going somewhere cheaper to do a job I’m not qualified in to buy a flat somewhere I don’t want to live and that won’t make me any money. What would be the point?

Thankfully I had family who helped with the money to buy but what I’m showing is that the posters point that people should just not go to university and should buy at 19 having saved half their income for a year is nonsense.

That's the whole point....THEY AREN'T.

FFS.

Define luxuries?

Yep the very ones who jet off on holiday every year!

Oh blimey the racist "noble savage" trope. Romanticising people in that way is really not acceptable these days.

My parents were never broke raising me. Not sure who ever said it was normal to struggle to raise your children…

With what my DH and I bring in, we could buy a mini mansion on the North East of England. But our jobs don't exist there with the same salaries. Where we do live and work, there isn't a "cheaper area"
It doesn't have to be one extreme or the other, but many refuse to even contemplate relocation.

@ScotchBonnet74poor people in India do not eat better than people in the UK. The vast majority of deaths from malnutrition (kwashiorkor and marasmus) and micronutrient deficiency related illnesses come from South Asia. Over 70% of deaths from these causes in the whole world are in South Asia!

Relocation to where?

Please, tell me, where are the jobs with the salaries needed to buy these lovely cheap houses?

Take aways, eating out, coffees out, endless tech, expensive phones for kids, cars on finance, nails and endless beauty shit, shopping hauls, holidays, theme parks, expensive days out, skincare for kids, piles of throw away toys …it goes on and on

Because 99% of jobs in my industry are in central London. No point going somewhere cheaper to do a job I’m not qualified in to buy a flat somewhere I don’t want to live and that won’t make me any money. What would be the point?
You mean even first jobs?

My oh and I lived in London and could never have afforded to buy there. We did our research, I applied to every possible jobs closer to where we could afford to buy. He continued to travel daily to London, 2 hours each way, and I traveled 1:15 minutes mornings and evenings, 5 times a week, with a one year old baby....so that we can be house owners.

We never moaned. It was really tough but the price to pay. It was worth it as we gradually got jobs closer to home not poorly paid.

Sorry but if we did it, so could many.

We're talking about the cost of living crisis, not individuals you disapprove of.

Both our parents were and their parents before them. But then they had no help from anybody and scrimped to pay a mortgage. We were happy. We had food, the odd treat, a battered car and a basic holiday( camping of abroad) every few years.

They make this stuff up because it is easier than engaging with the issues.

I was the poster that talked about what is currently included in societies view of a basic standard of living. The view of what a basic standard of living is today (which is decided by established methods and comes from structured public consensus research rather than being decided by politicians or imposed by academics) is that a basic standard of living today should include:

1. A week’s holiday away from home - not a luxury break, but the time and finances to be able to spend a week away from home - even if it is a Sun holiday at Butlins in October.

1. Regular meals / social eating - this means being able to afford to eat proper meals at home, afford to have friends and family over for dinner and the occasional meal out.

1. Replacing worn‑out furniture - again, not big fancy upgrades and a new sofa every two years, simply being able to afford to replace basic necessities like beds, sofas, fridges with new basic models etc without having to rely on charity handouts or battered second hand stuff.

I'm not sure that any one with an iota of social conscience or empathy could argue that those things are not a basic part of a decent standard of modern day life.

@Passaggressfedup certainly can't which is why they have obfuscated and presented a straw man argument instead.

They've turned a basic week long break away from home into a holiday abroad, regular meals and occasional social eating into regular outings and replacing worn out basic furniture into nice cars and new furniture.

It’s easier to portray these as luxuries than to engage with the reality that many people cannot afford what society now considers basic.

And these new cars are mostly on credit. I see range rovers and other high end cars outside social housing blocks.

Very few people have the cash to buy outright and certainly not a RR.

If you are truly struggling to clothe and feed your children, that's why benefits are there. People who have fallen on hard times through illness, disability, or redundancy through no fault of their own. Otherwise people need to get a grip and make cutbacks. This is nothing new. There are only so many treats that a normal (non millionaire) person can afford. New kitchen or holiday abroad? Takeaway every week or holiday abroad? Where do you draw the line?

No we’re not we’re talking about people moaning about the cost of living whilst wasting money on shite.

Newsfalsh you aren’t the Kardashian's and life is tough. Nobody is entitled to anything.

Yes. Plus my husband had a job at a Big 4. Going elsewhere would have meant a huge drop in future income.

Exactly this!

I’m always shocked by how much people who own their homes have no idea how savage the rental market is.

And I mean savage. £600-£1k per room per month savage. Try that with a couple of kids.

I really hope you don't expect people to be grateful for what they get. That's a horrible attitude to bring to work. I don't think anyone needs to be grateful for the protection of the welfare state, especially now it's so piecemeal and inadequate. It's a social contract, not charity.

One could argue in that case that big corporations aren't entitled to apply every strategy in the book to part us from our money and avoid tax and offshore obscene profits while paying low wages for insecure job roles and expecting the government to make up any shortfall. But there we are.

I don't accept it balances out as being able to afford home and food trumps so much. I fully believe the change in the last 40 years between wages and house prices are the cause of so many of the problems the UK faces on a societal level. Sadly, nothing can be done about it - no one, myself included, would accept some kind of reset on house prices (although we could do better by building cheaper houses). No one likes admitting good fortune, I get it, but the generation who could buy houses 1950-2000 were much more fortunate than they realise (or admit).

Certainly, lots of aspects of life are easier these days, but not all related to CoL.

https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/5568/housing/uk-house-price-affordability/

Oh for goodness sake we’re adults. Many people manage to not be parted from cash they don’t have.