What's your plan when your personal cost increases become unaffordable?

[Cactuses3580]

We're all being affected by the cost of living crisis in some way or another and many people are struggling.

I'm finding it difficult and I'm worried about the future. When my mortgage fix ends it will go up a couple of hundred a month, energy is going up by 20% in April and who knows how much it will be in 2024 and everything else like food, fuel etc is also continuing to increase alongside this.

My questions are:
--- when you look at your own finances, if the rises keep going up and you find you're struggling or cannot afford your living costs anymore, what is your plan?
--- how is the cost of living crisis affecting you?
--- if you're struggling, what are you doing to cut back?
--- What are you doing to prevent it negatively affecting your mental health?

I'd be interested to hear others views.

You go first.

We've already started eating simpler meals and using more economical methods of cooking, our main oven hasn't been used for a long time.
The house is at a much lower temperature to normal but we have adjusted by layering up and spending most of our time in the warmest room.
We've also stopped using the tumble dryer and are using a dehumidifier instead, which has been a considerable saving.
The children have cut back on evening activities but it might not be long before they have to stop going to them all which really upset me.

We are very lucky to be mortgage free so our only household bills are
electricity (which me must pay obvs-but I could reduce usage)
phones (which I could reduce)
internet and tv (could be reduced)
we have 2 cars (could possibly get rid of one/use it less?)
we already meal plan and grow our own veg.

i don’t think we can do much more to be fair!

Almost sounds like you could be writing an article.

Our financial position will ease considerably when DD goes to school in Sept 24 and my elderly horse dies eventually. Which is awful but true. The two things will give us in the region of £1500 a month to spare. So wing it until then basically. The nursery bill going at least has some certainty!

I also have a BTL to sell one day which should give me about £100k after capital gains and mortgage paid. So that’s effectively plan B.

The hard times aren’t forever, we expect a difficult decade of which we are part way through already. There will be easier times again.

We are doing a mix of cutting back and earning more. We have both pushed hard for promotions over the last couple of years so our income has gone up. We shouldn’t have to cut back too much but I still want to be able to save and with nursery costs going up too we do need to be a bit careful.

My plan is to work more 🤷‍♀️ I already work full time and now have a weekend job housekeeping in a care home when dc are with their dad.

The Scottish child payment is going to be fantastic and make all the difference.

We always planned to upsize/move that is definitely on hold for the foreseeable.
I do hope to progress in my career and earn more but that not sure how likely that is at the moment.

I left a low paying job I love and moved to a newer, higher paying role instead to preempt the cost of living increase I expected to happen following Covid my previous role is one that is hit first with redundancies when budgets get tight so jumped ship before I was pushed.

Will cancel full sky package when it ends, stick with Netflix only

Won’t be upgrading any phones when contracts end, going on to low cost SIM only

Don’t have a cleaner, dog walker or window cleaner anymore

DH cancelled personal trainer and moved to a cheaper gym - can always cancel that if necessary and he will just have to go for a run instead !
Only going to the cinema with 2–1 deals

Takeaway once a month rather than once a week

No more Botox

We haven’t changed thermostat settings though, would rather give up other things than be cold, at the moment.

We have a list of things we would cut back on if it comes to it. Things like holidays, all non essential shopping, savings, gym membership, subscription services, clubs for the kids etc. If things get really bad then we would consider having our elderly in-laws move in with us to help with both of our bills. If it gets worse still then the next step is to stop paying into our pensions, stop heating our home entirely except from burning free wood, and cut food shopping right back, probably with the use of food banks at that point.

All seems a bit hyperbolic at the minute and I’m sure it won’t get as bad as that, but I can see my monthly outgoings going up by £600 per month next year compared to 2021, which is frankly terrifying. Honestly it just seems like the current plan is for everything to just get more and more shit until people can’t cope anymore and wheel out the guillotine.

Living within my means. What's the alternative? I already don't let the smart metre go over £10. If that means heating or washing then that's the choice I have to make unfortunately.

@Singleandproud I got a new job too.

I was kind of fucked off at having to do it because I'd been in the old one for ages but they had no intention of raising wages. I asked for wage revaluation. The entire two rungs of people below me (already pretty much a revolving door situation) also did, they refused, I jumped.

It was hard making the leap initially but three paychecks in, yeah, it feels better.

I know not everyone can do it but if you can, do. These are tough times.

We plan to:
Cancel Netflix.
No heating at all -it’s barely on now.

I expect to lose my job in the New Year, though - company I work for is struggling. That complicates things, as I’m probably not likely to be able to find work again. After that, who knows?

Panicking mostly..........you?

Lots of people are really spoilt with first world problems and it would do them good to forgo some self-indulgences.

News article?

The problem is that some people’s ‘self indulgences’ are how other people make a living. Haircuts, beauty treatments etc. When the middle classes cut down on those things, working classes lose their income.

I've been looking closely at our spending the last few months so plan to put new budget into as toon in January

We are currently really
Lucky that we are ok but things change and I'm self employed so no back up there.

Our biggest spend that can be cut is food shopping.

It's bloody shocking what we've been spending so that's being culled

I've been using the launderette once a week for household towels and bedding at a cost of £9 to wash and dry it all as opposed to a much bigger cost at home let alone the time it all takes

The last two weeks it's been below freezing or just above the hearings been on thermostat constantly on but just dropped it today as it's warmed up again

All have oodies and thick blankets etc.

Don't have sky as have now tv which I get at half price and got a deal on internet so that's low.

Our phones are costly at over £140 a month but two teens so it's part of Xmas and birthdays as recently upgraded theirs.

We only have take away once in a blue moon and we don't drink really so that saves.

Culled any clothes shopping for dc for a while from Jan as they have everything g they need now

No popping out to pootle in shops as the fuel and parking and unnecessary spend on crap adds up

Are you gathering information for something, OP?

I'm going to get a second job, as a journalist. It seems easy enough, go on forums and ask questions, then write an article based on the answers.

Which news outlet are you writing for?

These days they dont even have to go on the forum and ask, they just lurk and then steal a thread for their article.

Any kind of neighbour dispute thread always appears in the news.

Wondering the same thing! It's a shame people replied and this information will be used without their consent.

@xogossipgirlxo if you post on MN you have to accept that anything you write might be picked up whether the thread is started by a journalist or not as such nobody should write anything they wouldn't want being published.

They have consented, though, and in fact they’ve published it themselves across the entire globe.