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.

That’s very true.

Holidays abroad, salon nails & hair, paid for children's activities, modern technology have become more affordable to all, so much so that we feel relative poverty when we can no longer afford them. Even the DWP expects anyone claiming benefits to have access to a phone.

There are still a lot of people out there who are not ‘struggling’ from the COL crisis, despite what they might claim on here. I find it disingenuous when those with a considerable household income around 100k claim not to be able to afford a holiday. Tell that to households trying to survive on an income of 30k. It just seems a bit tone deaf. If it is the case, it is because of other choices they have prioritised. One poster and her partner were both Band 7 NHS - starting at around 49k each! I am not sure if it’s people trying to live a lifestyle they cannot afford or if they are just daft. I’m amazed they are competent enough to earn such a decent salary.

Been pondering the whole subject, and I wonder if it's due to the fact that cutting one's cloth as it were means maximising what you get out of it, plus the "expectations" that people feel they have to meet. So if you earn 100000, you move in circles where it is expected that your children are privately educated, your house is at the top end of affordability, your clothes are "designer", you pay to be polished, fit and healthy. These things are linked to your social life and networking. Going against that grain may affect peer perceptions.

A bit like having a huge handbag - you tend to end up lugging around a whole bunch of non essential crap.

I honestly have never had enough money to meaningfully improve my circumstances, for many complex reasons. People with little have to be more inventive, rather than just buying the solutions to their problems. If I magically found myself with 100000 a year, in my current situation, I honestly think it would take a long time to feel confident in spending it. I'm so used to, and comfortable with "making do" a major upgrade would feel really alien.

So someone having to go the other direction, because they can no linger afford the lifestyle that was apparently secure and guaranteed would also struggle, especially if the reason for it was down to external forces changing the value of something they assumed would be stable.

I think the psychology of people's relationships and attitudes to money, wealth, poverty etc is quite fascinating, and very complex.

There was virtually no chance of raising a family on a single low wage income in the 1990s either. (80s I have no direct experience of) Poverty existed then too, but I agree that the lack of affordable social housing has made it even worse now.

Do you have any direct experience of being able to buy a house and raise a family on a single low wage income during these times, as I’m interested what your reference point is?

Nobody earning £100,000 is putting more than one child through private school. It’s not enough.
And nobody should be paying it out of income. It should be saved in advance with the interest compounding.

Handy tip!

I mentioned it as part of my opinion. Predictably, it got jumped on when I mentioned it as one of Starmer's priorities.

my partner and I are on 45000 each and are struggling to pay for a holiday. The only reason we are affording one is due to my partner doing overtime. I have student adult children who we help. A teenager and a dog. We can enjoy going to a cafe or a meal once a month and I have a good gym membership but can’t afford much else once all bills are paid and food is bought. I see couples who were previously able to afford lots really struggling now. We can affford all our bills but I’m not lying that there’s not much left over

Yep same at ours, I grew up in 80's. My mum didn't work but we could still afford 2 weeks abroad in summer holidays, plus a couple short seaside breaks on my Dads fairly average salary. I did ballet, tap, Brownies, swim lessons. My parents had 2 cars, we grew up in a lovely new 5 bedroom house

Now DH and I both works in decent paid jobs and we can't afford all that. DD2 is 7 this year and hasn't ever had a foreign holiday as we cant afford during school holidays. We live in a 3 bed which needs quite a bit of work but we are struggling to afford. Which of course isn't the end of the world, but I we can't afford that on 2 salaries but in 80's my parents couod afford that on 1, it's a sign of change

In 2001 (almost the 90's) I was able to buy a house, go on lots of holidays, theatre, meals out etc on a starting income of 16k.

I try not to listen tbh. I think they seem to tap into a " chip on the shoulder" mentality. It's almost childish. " We got here first" " I'm not sharing" " The play area is full, no more kids allowed"
It is like a Nursery.

Do people really think a reform government is inevitable?

If reform get in I’m off!

I work in the creative industries and I can work remotely. I am already planning to start up my freelance work too.

I spent 2 months of last year living in a quiet spot of southern Spain quite cheaply and would happily do it again on a long term basis.

I realise it’s not so easy for everyone else who would like to just up and leave but yeah that’s my plan.

Yes this is true. 25 years ago both parents had to work unless one was a high earner just like today.
We had our first child and bought our first house in 2000 and we had to have 2 incomes to be able to have a half decent lifestyle. Did we know it was ‘easy’ then? No because the money we had coming in was relative to what had to go out.

Even my mum’s generation the women worked while raising children and she is 80. Some didn’t but it depended on the husband’s income just like today.

Now I work about 10-15 hours a week for minimum wage because my husband is a high earner and I don’t need to work. But ‘back in the day’ I definitely did as did everyone else.

Many years ago, I ran away from Thatcher's Britain. Too old to run from Farage.

The trouble with UK citizens “running away to a cheap country in Europe” is that since Brexit you can only do it for 90 out of 180 consecutive days.
Unless you sell up in the UK and/or jump through a lot of bureaucratic hoops.
€500,000 house? Welcome to Spain!
Postal bride? Welcome to Germany!
Vandalism? Welcome to Italy while they process your case!

I know it’s not easy now after Brexit but it’s doable.

I have friends who do what I do for work that moved to Spain.

They are on a digital nomad visa. ( Well some of them are)

Understandable!

I was just a baby under thatcher so no chance of escaping her lol

From my experience of being a child in that era, it was unusual for both parents to work. Barely anyone in my school had two working parents. And by no means were we in an affluent area. I remember my mum doing wizardry with corned beef or mince, and beans on toast was a staple dinner.

Maybe in some regions it was different, but in many areas it was still a one income norm.

We are in Germany in 3 weeks ( dusseldorf) and rental house hunting - visas going through for their version of nomad visa - luckily we do fit their quite strict criteria - we too work in creative industry and can take our business ( and tax) with us - not prepared to hang around and we are early60s! Jenrick has it all wrong that people are leaving to avoid labour - plenty if able leave to avoid reform - and if they get in I think it’s going to be harder to leave, I think we will come off some of the ‘preferred’ lists due to so many wanting out - France is having to currently look at this with Americans. I’m fed up of Reforms attitude of being some kind of second rate Britain if you aren’t a man with a van who votes for them. It’s completely cynical and will no doubt end in tears when people realise state health insurance is around 380 euros ( that’s the German rate) and will either be compulsory or you will get some kind of a 2 tier system -

Absolute nonsense to suggest most people with little children worked in the mid nineties to 2000’s
My daughter had to go to Nursery briefly during that period so that we could play the game to buy a house for two times my income as a single mother.
She was literally the only baby in the baby room. Part of the reason I stopped working and took her out was because she had to be in with the big one and two-year-olds also a combined room because there wasn’t enough children to justify the staff being employed.

Lucky you! Are you moving there from England?

Yeah I can appreciate why the other countries are going to have to crack down on British people coming across.

When’s the next general election? 2029? Hoping to move to Spain by end of this year. Or spring 2027.

I am currently single so if worst comes to worst I have many Spanish male friends who say they will marry me if needs be - joking! (kind of 🤣)

I’m fed up of Reforms attitude of being some kind of second rate Britain if you aren’t a man with a van who votes for them

I know what you mean, reform have the same attitude of Trump which is a big F to you to those who oppose him, they don’t even try to be civil or inclusive. They will just pander to the extreme right and to heck with those who don’t vote for them.

Good luck with the tax you will pay on your business under Labour. I hope you're not planning to employ anyone.

Do you live in a big house as well as supporting the adult offspring though? I earn under 20k and holiday minimum of 6 weeks a year

Yeah if you say so, my eldest was in nursery from 13 weeks old in the early 90s and 2nd in childcare from 4months

Pretty much everyone I knew was in same situation

And my mortgage was 3 times my income on a flat

I worked!

No not in a big house at all. I pay council tax, virgin media, kids gym, my gym, dog insurance, mine and kids phones, put a few hundred into savings for Xmas, I’m left with a £1000 per month and most of that goes on food shop and petrol. My partner pays the mortgage and cars and paying up our kitchen that was needing done as falling apart