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.

100% this.

Frozen local housing allowance doesn’t cover rents in most of the country. It’s wholly inadequate.

A few questions op and really genuine questions , do you have children ? Have you received any financial support at all from family ever ? Have you had practical support with childcare? Have you ever had to not eat due to waiting for payday ?

This parallel thread is very indicative of the topic we're discussing

To ask if you could make this amount of money last 3 weeks and how? | Mumsnet

OP is questioning if £540 is enough for 1 adult and one 6yo to live for three weeks after bills paid, so basically food and fuel. If people believe that's not enough then of course they'd moan about COL crisis.

In the 80's and 90's it was perfectly possible to buy a house on a single, blue collar job salary and to be able to afford for one parent to stay at home with the children or to work part time in evenings and weekends which meant no childcare costs.

If both parents did need to work and they couldn't afford to buy, they could generally find social housing or cheap rentals in the areas where they grew up which means they had help with childcare.

Today we have a housing crisis, people have to move away from their family networks for jobs or to get affordable housing. There is virtually no chance of raising a family on a single, low wage income which means both parents have to work, but having moved away from their network they are reliant on expensive childcare.

Add to that comparatively more expensive travel, a lack of public transport and more expensive utilities.

What about that is so difficult to understand that makes it impossible for you to understand how hard today's low and middle income families have things compared to the 80s and 90s?

Oh I bet you do!

Also when I say financial support, I also mean living in a house free of charge (not booted out at 18) , getting a house /flat etc from family. Any financial help at all.

I havent voted because its not one particular group per say that springs to my mind per say. Its a little depressing to constantly hear about the COL but it is true! I can see it from both sides.

Yes, the agenda is becoming clearer by the minute..

Many industries are tied to London, even for a first job. Mine was. It's also not reasonable to expect people to move away from their friends, families and support networks
See I call that entitlement. We did. We didn't question it. It was that or continue renting and never being able to save for a deposit. We moved where I didn't know a soul. We both commutated daily. It was the price to pay.

So I don't really want to hear how much easier I had it because I could afford to buy from people who wouldn't consider for a second the sacrifices that we made to be able to do so.

Yes!

But many didn't have to make any sacrifice.

And how much did commuting cost you?

The gap between those working full time and those on benefits has shrunk. Before everyone shouts but those on UC work, evidently most work part time.

People aren’t stupid, if you get up day in day out and hardly see your children as they are in clubs and then your pay is eroded so much that it seems those on benefits are better off than you especially given all the extra stuff they get, of course they are pissed of and so they should be. People tend to be around people like them, when they see others have a lifestyle similar and not working they annoyed and blame col.

Nobody needs to be grateful for what they receive as part of the welfare state. Counting your individual blessings is another matter entirely. I'm thankful everyday that I have a job and a roof over my head and nobody monitoring what I spend my money on or where I live. I wish the same for the people I encounter and it's grossly unfair that they don't have the bare minimum.

People who say stuff like that offend me with their stupidity. They're so transparent. Vouchers would be way more costly and inefficient, plus open to abuse, but it's the thought of stigmatisation and punishment of those on benefits that gets these people salivating. Grim.

How much did childcare cost you? Having no support network around you to help with that? Because I know how much it costs us, as we don't have family who could help.

I note you said you commuted 2.5/4 hours each, every day. How did you feel being away from your child for that long every day? Who actually raised them while you did that?

You were very lucky not to have family who needed your support too. Or, the fact you valued buying a house over being there for them speaks to your character.

Sacrifices are different for different circumstances, you were able to do what you did but not everyone can. And commuting costs might make a move further away from work pointless these days.

Nail on the head. In the late 80's my sister who was in a menial low paid job bought herself a flat when she was 20. That's impossible to do today. As you rightly say, it's not just house prices that have gone insane compared with wages, it's other things like crap/expensive public transport meaning a car is more of a necessity these days (especially when lots of employers have moved from town centres to out of town retail/office parks with no bus service!).

That makes literally no sense. What are you trying to say?

Nail on the head again.

I’m fed up of it too op, yes it’s tough for all of us prices are rising and wages not keeping up, but what surprises me more is the idiots who think a change in leadership / party will suddenly mean they are loaded and it’s all fixed!
Everywhere is feeling it across the world , my family in US talk about it, my family in Oz same, we must realise it’s not something that can be instantly fixed and it’s global I think we all need to be more grateful , bombs aren’t raining down on us and another country trying to invade it could be a LOT worse.

Well the government does help the poorest humans not animals so why not use tokens for dogs.

This is a different debate altogether. I do agree though that you would hand wash even if it meant using liquid or shampoo. Not feeding and washing your children is neglect. In England we have a welfare state unlike many places with no help at all!

But many didn't have to make any sacrifice
So? Lucky them if they didn't. We didn't moan because others had it easier. We focused on what WE had to do.

Cost of commute? A lot proportionally. And childcare because even though it was cheaper, tax credits didn't yet exist to help towards it. We both earned £18k, full time with long commute.

We didn't spent anything on luxuries, we couldn't afford it. We didn't have the time either anyway. We did it because we saw it as an investment. Childcare was not going to be forever, we looked and applied for any job coming up closer, we looked at bettering ourselves. It took me three years to finally get a similarly paid job close to home. I thought I had won the lottery.

The mindset was so different then.

The problem is, you shouldn’t have to be ‘genuinely struggling’ to have any sympathy. This is one of the first generations with two working people in a household, most people are working 40 hours each a week with more responsibilities than ever as the number of jobs decrease and the minimum wage rises. To then be worried about the cost of a food shop, not being able to afford to go out, saving every last penny for one holiday a year… it feels grossly unfair. And I think people are more than within their rights to feel angry and frustrated!

@Wonderfrau I remember the 90s well. As do many people who’re struggling.

And lots of us have never had our nails done or paid for tutoring. Even if we cook from scratch and grow our own veg and don’t eat meat, we struggle. Some of us have no car. Or holidays.

Because rents are extortionate. So are mortgages (if you can borrow enough to buy a family home). Especially as a lone parent. Plus, in the 90s there was no need to pay for WiFi (which is also expensive) or smartphone contracts, which are now generally seen as essential