What will actually happen?

[usernamechanged1]

There are many threads on here about mortgage, rent, utility, food prices all going up. I don’t think there are many left who aren’t noticing the financial strain.

So, whilst we’ve all heard “this can’t go on…” and “when will this stop…”, it is continuing to go on and shows no signs of stopping. I’m wondering what we should actually expect.

I feel like we’re heading towards a place where people will be working but literally unable to survive. I appreciate there are people in that position already, so what happens when this is a mass problem affecting a majority of the country.

It’s akin to working an eight hour shift and having 13 tasks taking 1 hour each to do. It’s simply impossible; the maths don’t add up.

Is it out of the realms of possibility that we could see people take to the streets? For crime to shoot up (shoplifting, robberies etc).

I think many of us thought the CoL crisis would be temporary, but maybe it isn’t.

It feels like we've gone back to the 70's

Luxuries like holidays abroad, fancy homeware, brand new cars etc were not I thing I recall

It was all secondhand, caravan holidays

I don't think it will end or 'stop'...this is it now.

It's not going to end. This is reality now.

I think this is it now. Things will not get cheaper. We don’t riot like the French do so we will continue to accept rising fuel prices, retirement ages, no pay awards etc.

The huge concern I have is that it seems to be on a downward trajectory. We’re not in a shit-but-stable place, it just keeps getting worse.

How does a country function when its workforce can’t pay their bills? Surely that’s impossible.

I think that “keep calm and carry on” British thing is our biggest downfall here. We’re so apathetic as a nation that we seem to accept whatever shit we’re handed.

As @SunshineGeorgie said, it’s like we’ve stepped back into the past. I know a lot of people are of the “we went to bed with ice on the windows and survived” mentality but that doesn’t change that it shouldn’t be like this in 2023. Would we all be ok with swapping our cars for a horse and cart because “that’s how it used to be”? We’ve moved on from ice on the windows and shouldn’t ever have to go back there.

I think if the government expect people to work all year with no prospect of a holiday and constant financial worries, they’re kidding themselves. People won’t be able to sustain that, and nor should they have to.

We will see unemployment rise more and more

Businesses will fold

Look at the prices of theatre/concert tickets
Will people still eat out as much?
Small businesses must be struggling
Pubs closing, how much is a pint these days?

The low interest rates and easy spending was unusual, not the current interest rates. This is just returning to normal.

There's quite a margin between 'literally unable to survive' and 'no prospect of a holiday'.

I don't think we'll get to a point of most people being unable to survive at all.

We'll adapt. Find ways to earn extra money. Find ways to live more cheaply. Find ways to enjoy our lives within our means.

No? I didn’t think so either but I do wonder now.

I thought it’d get shit but plateau at some point. If there’s no plateau, how far is this able to go? There will come a point where a lot of people can’t eat or pay essential bills.

I read somewhere that soon it will be like Victorian times,poor will get poorer and the rich will get richer until we stand up for ourselves and our children.
Banks will be rewarded and frozen Russian assets will be frozen till used as a bargaining chips. Government should use these frozen assets to help our poor and disable.
I am so fed up of us just putting our money in for banks, fighting wars and not looking after our own.

With the passage of time we should, as a society, be more affluent. We should be progressing and enjoying things we didn’t use to have.

I think it’s appalling that we’re expected to be resourceful, to go to bed with umpteen layers of clothing on, to eat budget foods. The apathy in the UK is mental.

Neighbours lifestyles around us has been a topic of conversation for a while. We know the occupations of most people and have been intrigued by the two 50k personalised number plated cars on lots driveways. Huge extensions. Holidays to Disneyland .

Hasn’t anyone else been intrigued by how many brand new electric cars are being driven by friends and all the house renovations that were happening? Didn’t anyone else wonder where all the money was coming from and ponder if it was sustainable?

I agree with you & for me the scariest I’d the food shop, week on week prices going up.

Drove through my town tonight & lSt night at 7pm past all the bars & restaurants & all heaving, big restaurants all packed. Some people are still able to have luxuries but plenty aren’t.

it will be interesting to see what will happen & if things improve.

i went to Waitrose for my sat night treat tea & it was dead & I’ve never seen so many reduced items.

I think we are on this for the long run, we have had so much stuff we were warned it will damage the economy but have bought and continue to buy the Conservative’s dream of a land full of unicorns and money trees.

Now, don’t panic, we will survive, much in the way as any other third world country do, cutting our expenses, learning to live with the minimum and forgetting about holidays. That’s the sort of economy we have these days, very high interests, huge inflation, a minimum salary that does not cover the basics and the pound every month going lower than the previous month.

There you go, nobody in power gives an actual shit about our needs, they just care about what makes themselves, their friends and families more money, yet… most people will keep voting for them.

Yes this is closer to "normal" and how most of the world lives. And rioting won't help. We need to consume less, work harder, support each other, think about how we spend. We need to be careful about the resources we waste.

It's easy to joke about the past and sneer at the make-do and mend attitude but that's how people lived. The waste we create now. New clothes, new Christmas decorations every year, tonnes of food thrown away because we don't fancy it, houses heated so we can have the windows open and wear tee shirts in winter, it wasn't ever really going to be sustainable. But it doesn't have to be all bad- although no-one is saying it;ll be easy.

Honestly, I don’t know. As a family we’ve cut as much as we can but are facing the very real prospect of losing our home with the current trajectory.

The problem is there is huge wealth inequality in this country. Many people own their homes outright. These people tend to be older so won't be so impacted by wage stagnation or commuting costs.

Things will just get more unequal. I couldn't buy in London without help, same for everyone I know. Going forward your chances of owning a house will depend on whether your parents did & if they can help you as opposed to your income. People who inherit or have family wealth will be in a better position to retire early.

I do see some potential conflict/pushback though eg expecting some NHS & care workers to accept a lower standard of living in order to protect the inheritance for families of people they are helping care for.

Luxuries like holidays abroad, fancy homeware, brand new cars etc were not I thing I recall

But they wouldn't be as there wasn't cheap airline carriers. Technology & progression are good things, we are not meant to go backwards.

Crime will undoubtedly be rising especially due to underfunding the police (and allowing fuckboy culture to become rife within it).

We're not meant to go backwards? Remember the dark ages?

And it is a downward trajectory due to the huge population demographic switch. Apparently we already have more over 65s than under 15s. We need higher taxes but the burden should be equal eg not so heavily weighted on income. People won't vote for it though.

Bottom line is we have become an ungrateful, spoilt, entitled nation, addicted to complaining
Even before COL, same old threads on here.

We'll adapt.

We just buy cheaper food, won't get the new settee and have less clothes in our wardrobe.

The economy will shrink and the unemployment rate will go up the same as intrest rates.

It's called a recession with a twist. We've had good almost carefree years of low interest rates, easy access to cheap goods from China and cheap energy.
Now it's time to catch up! Time to adjust as the exsss production and spending is unsustainable.

Wow, just wow! Some people are on their knees financially and they’re just spoilt? My family are not ungrateful or entitled, we work really bloody hard to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. Times are so difficult to so many people !