It's just so depressing.

[Karenanderson2057]

Who else is depressed at not being able to afford to do anything since cost of living crisis? I find life really boring.

Also sick of some people on mumsnet who earn over £50k and are pleading poverty. Absolute c*s

Thats it thats the thread.

They also pay more tax.
To help pay for the benefits of others.

What makes me upset - especially in London, people are surprised if you earn less than that. Bloody hell, this country still needs supermarket staff, deliveries, cleaners, etc. Every person should be able to survive, pay for mortgages and childcare if working full time.
Yes, it's depressing, I barely have time to sleep (2 jobs, usually with overtime) + health issues and still can't afford any "luxuries" like new perfumes or some games for kids.

Why would them being better off mean they need to use more energy? Are they cold blooded or something?

I assume you mean because they've decided to buy a larger house but that's a benefit of more money that they've enjoyed and entirely their own decision so I'm not sure our hearts should really bleed for them.

Yes but not by choice or out of the kindness of their hearts. Also we'd all be worse off without the welfare state even those who take nothing from it, imagine the increased crime, the infectious disease, the filth, the rich might have to step over the destitute in the streets adding precious minutes to their commute so it's not only for the benefit of the poor.

As others have said its all relative to outgoings. We semi retired slightly early live comfortably on the equivalent of x2 state pensions . When started posted a thread about this pre "retirement" the concensus was it was too little to live on . We have no dependents, no debts , no mortgage and pay no tax or NI , and if you added these costs in we would be worse off on 50k per year. We also lived through the 15% interest rates and struggling to pay bills but times have changed and we shouldn't be comparing these standards with today .

*and live comfortably

Missmarplesknittingbuddy your situation sounds very like us - we are early 60 s - work part time . We have adjusted our life style and live frugally. We work pt . When dh earned 55k - and became a 40 % tax payer - (we got no child benefit- and the mortgage meant his promotion made little difference to the family income - a few people said well your dh earns - but the reality was different to what people imagined . He used to work from 7 am in his own time amd come home grey and stressed at 7 pm - often doing e mails at night.
It wasnt a walk in the park .

We too lived thro the 1980 s when people we knew had negative equity- it was awful

Frugalfruit....bloody hell you've had a hard life!
I dont think it's a race to the bottom though.

Growing up in the 90s, I don't remember lots of new clothes, meals out, new toys, being entertained all the time, foreign trips.

I feel expectations have changed and people worry about not keeping up (as well as paying for basics)

@OnHerSolidFoundations Yes people on more than 50k are well off, that's double my salary!!

But I find I work full time, then cant afford to do anything and its like what's the point it makes life really boring its shit

The reality is that 0.0000001% of the world's population have never had more money, never owned more of the world's resources etc...yet ordinary folk take out the hardships of their lives on people who earn a bit less or a bit more than them.
Our anger should be directed at the people who own and control this crazy system, and the governments who are in their pay. It suits the uber elite for us to be squabbling amongst ourselves.

I'm getting better at doing things cheaply.

Rather than meet friends out for coffee, I can turn out a lemon drizzle cake in under an hour and host everyone with home made cake for about £3.

Always carry snacks & take an interesting packed lunch if going out with ds. We cycle now for free rather than go canoeing.

Buy plants at tabletop sales rather than garden centres. Home make foods which taste better than takeaways. Buy cheap supermarket pizza bases and add extra toppings.

Am setting up my garden for the summer with sun loungers and garden games for moochy teens.

It all takes a bit of planning but it isn't difficult and saves quite a lot. 🙂

I think the col crisis is so bad because we've got so used to having disposable income. We could go on holidays buy new clothes and go out to eat now and again. So when we only have and just enough to cover bills and have to be mindful when doing food shops, can't get a takeaway etc it's seen as being 'on our arses'

I remember when interest rates were at 15% and my dad had to get a second job. My Mum was unemployable because she had young kids and when my dad did buy us an ice cream he had to cycle to work for the rest of the week because he couldn't afford petrol. Food shopping used to be 1/3 of people's wages. I know we can all hear the Hovis music when I say this, but every generation has financial difficulties, it's nothing new.

Doesn't mean it's not tough, but to say a sweeping statement about people being on 50k are cunts for complaining is awful. I was on 45k and had less disposable income than a friend who didn't work and had the same age dc as me. The reason was I had to pay for childminders, travel expenses etc and didn't get any benefits, where as she didn't work and did get benefits. I couldn't afford to buy myself new clothes or go on holiday either. What internet I spent on bills. I'm better off now my dc are older and I don't have the childminder bills, but I can still complain about being skint, doesn't make me a cunt though

Meadowfinch

Good suggestions for people who have bikes, a car to get to places and a garden.

Lived in the US for the last 10 years, coming back to the UK is insane how expensive it is.

I always ask my echo dot for the news headlines and straight away today it was everything is going up in cost , but energy bills may start to come down
It was depressing

Just back from the seaside. Jesus wept the greedflation was shameless. There was a mini golf place on the seafront. Guess how much for a family to have a round?

£32. Thirty two pounds.

Needless to say the place was empty. Do the owners of these places ever think to themselves, "Jeez why do we not have any customers today? How about we charge a tenner and see what that does"

Nope. The post-covid business model seems to be to rinse the fewer and fewer loyal customers for more and more £££.

Eventually something will have to give, because at the moment it's utterly fucking depressing.

The shrinkflation thing is the worst. This week, when I did my online supermarket order, I was unable to buy my usual 125g finely sliced Wiltshire ham priced at £3.10 as it was 'out of stock until xyz date'.

I've just checked online and I can now buy 120g fine sliced Wiltshire ham but the price remains £3.10.

Needless to say, I won't be buying it anymore as, to me, it is inflation by stealth...

In the mid 90s, I spent a couple of years on benefits as a single mum of 2. I think I got somewhere in the region of £120 a week (rent & CT were covered). We obviously didn't live a luxury life on that. But it was enough to buy a decent food shop, no one was ever hungry or had to skip meals (food banks didn't exist back then anyway!). I could pay all our utilities. The kids got a bit of pocket money and I was able to set aside a few quid for Christmas/birthdays and the odd day out. It was tight but doable. I don't think the same would be true today for someone in that position.

Everything has become so expensive and my wage is reasonable, not 50k but not MW either. Obviously DC are grown up now. I live in London and I sometimes see events or places I might want to visit, then see it's £30+ a ticket and think no. Can't really afford that. I'm not talking big events either. I've done everything that's free. Things like eating out just aren't worth it for the cost etc. So yes, I am managing but I don't really get out and do anything.

It sounds like she needs a bit of a reality check. I agree with much of what you say. It sounds like I live much like you do.

Yes, I hate this.

Nor me. I don’t aspire to one upmanship. Live within your means.

Im a child of the 60's so yep Ive seen a fair few ups and downs over the years

I rented my first studio in 86 whilst working as an administrator for the NHS, I had to take on three other jobs to afford to live.Prepping food for a pub Sunday to Thursday, serving on the hot food on Saturdays, pot girl on Fridays and saturday evenings in another pub and cleaning of the communal areas in the block that I lived on Sundays - bins and stairwells

At least I got subsidised meals in work :)

And then I met my now DH and we rented a flat together, everything was second/3rd or 4th hand for years. We had to save to buy anything new, there was no freely available credit. During the recession of the early 90's DH had to travel 2 hours each way to work, to keep in work

And yes we had high mortgage costs, I think rates were down to about 10% when we finally got a mortgage and I was petrified because I had seen my parents loose their home. We got the smallest mortgage we could and bought a two up two down that needed completely renovating - only thing that was left of the original house when we sold up was the front wall :)

But back then 70k would have got you on the ladder, now youngsters need 200k

I can say we didn't have phones, game consoles, ipads, ipods, sky tv etc - because they weren't available , hadn't been invented. My first computer cost £2000 back in the early 90's and why I even wanted one I dont know, there was no "internet" as there is today and you paid per minute to link to what there was :)

I can say we didn't have/need all that when I was young, because it wasnt there to be had

However I have always been frugal so I have always known how to make a pound stretch and now this COL crisis is here, even though we are both on tiny wages with no subsides other then my small private pension and nothing in the way of savings, we are weathering the storm because we have always managed to live with in our means and owe nowt to anyone

Now Im never of the internet, we've a big tv, we have ipads and phones, ( not the latest) both drive cars, have a subscription to Netflix and prime but in order to keep those things, we both quit smoking, gave up the pub, rarely eat out ( 3/4 times a year? ) havent had a foreign holiday in god knows how many years other then our sons wedding for which we were away for 3 days and nights out are rarer then hens teeth. I shop second hand, buy yellow sticker and wait for sales to replace any item thats died a death and we pay for it rather then sticking it on credit, we save every penny we can. Not to say we dont enjoy life. We do, we just now do different things

I do have the pity of the younger generation tbh. They have never been through tough times before and its a huge shock. They have grown up with all the tech and are expected to have it - you cant even sign on without internet access ffs. And why give off about a flat screen tv? Our first one which was to us then huge - 35inch back in 2006 cost £1500, this one I have now, bought last year, 52 inch or something and cost less then £600

We can not compare my generation to this generation, its not an equal playing field.

Is 50k a big income? Not if we are looking mortgage and childcare. I could say to me its a vast amount as between us we take in l around half that and we get by, but we dont have those associated costs, kids grown and away, mortgage paid

It is only the upper classes that are flourishing these days. Even the middle classes have experienced huge changes in their lifestyles.

I know of a free social group that meets monthly on a Saturday afternoon in the local park. Going to join that from May. It is a walk round the park and post pandemic reflection. Then they meet in the coffee area after the walk for a natter. Hope this cheers me up.

Definitely cutting back here but I’m not bored at all. I love my home, I love being at home. I thrift a lot ( both ways) I move things around in my home when I’m bored with it. I don’t need to buy new stuff. I’m making more meals from scratch. Back to baking bread products too.