How is everybody else coping with the new increases?

[cavewoman2026]

Hiya,

single mum here, working full time but barely surviving. Got two young children. I shop for food via Lidl, clothes are from Vinted, make the most of parks and libraries but I’ve been getting the feeling lately if not being able to carry on. Everything is so expensive and I don’t even have a car or go on holiday. I’m so tired. I get help towards housing but that’s about it. I look around me and everyone seems to be going on skiing holidays, have massive houses etc (Happy for them of course)

How is everybody else coping? How do you feel with the increases in energy and food prices? Council tax is going up too. It’s all so depressing.

taking walks in nature and releasing everything is man made and temporary makes me feel better for a short while.

Council tax increases for 2027 are not set until next year..
I don’t know anyone going on a skiing holiday - I used to live in Austria and it’s too early for skiing..
i don’t know anyone in a massive house…

I feel the same though I’m married and have two teens.
Between my DH and myself we work 70 hours a week and it isn’t enough.
I don’t know what the answer is but wages aren’t going up nearly enough to cover food costs ,petrol, mortgages and bills. We get no government help whatsoever as aren’t eligible but we have literally nothing at the end of the month. Can’t afford to go on holiday or eat out.
Like you, try and walk a lot- it helps my mood . It’s so sad, I try and stay positive but it’s very hard.

You will get substantially more than help towards housing

Heading towards Winter, always feels quite bleak to me anyway. Having to consider the price of gas, and electricity is not fun, that is for sure. I do not know anyone who is going skiing, though.

Not if working full time? Maybe help towards childcare costs I suppose

85% help towards childcare

and to receive 0 as a single mother of two dependents - the Op will be on more than £45k

Our Gas and Electric monthly payment went up by £35 per month 😮when I got a reminder that our tariff was coming to an end.
We seem to be managing reasonably okay but I have noticed that the surplus that we used to have at the end of the month has dwindled. We used to move it across to savings the day before pay day - it's almost non-existent some months now - that's a big indicator to me that prices are shooting up. As pensioners our income is limited although in a year's time I will have the state pension to help out with our work pensions. It can't come soon enough!!

I don’t know anyone with young children going on ski-ing holidays. And the massive houses around here are mainly occupied by people in their late forties and onwards who tend to have older or adult children. Are you in an expensive / ‘posh’ area? Maybe that’s swayed your expectations.

Have you checked that you’re getting all the benefits you’re entitled to? And child maintenance payments? How old are the children?

Okay

For your own sanity, stop comparing yourself with people in very different circumstances to your own.

It's hard but you need to make the best of your own circumstances. Have you done a benefit check recently and also to see if there's extra help available, eg grants if you're struggling with utility bills?

If you've never switched your bank account, that's an easy win for the introductory offer and you can do it multiple times.

Are there any attractions locally that give cheap entry for UC recipients?

Most people I know are either comfortable or micro budgeting . My friends have a variety of situations. One friend is forgoing heating so she can get her hair done as that’s the only thing she has to make her feel good . Personally I couldn’t stand being cold . Nothing says poverty more than being cold but each to their own . Don’t compare to others OP some will be better off others won’t be . I think single people are the most overlooked by the government, making these spiriling costs work on one wage is impossible.

People are focusing on the skiing. Missing the point. Plenty of people go skiing, but i know lots of people that go on regular holidays etc that cost a similar amount. Op is wondering how they manage it

Council tax has risen every year where i am and it did for the year 26/27 5%. Energy is continuously up. As is food, water, petrol and what feels like everything. Pay rises (if we are lucky) barely touch the surface of those yearly increases,

We are financially ok but we have a small house and no kids. One car. Small mortgage. We would be on the struggling side with a larger family i’m sure.

@Forton26 there doesn’t seem to be a point to the OP’s post. Some people will be minimally affected by increases as they have more income or lower expenses. This type of - everyone I know is going on holiday and has a massive house appears weekly on mumsnet.

Be very careful offering bank switch for someone who is on UC. It can take weeks to update it on UC and she might miss the next payment. They take these kind of changes very seriously.

Growing my own food - a greenhouse and a large veggie patch. Plenty of onions, leeks, rocket etc. Salads, chillies, cucumbers, courgettes during the summer. A glut of home grown tomatoes from June to October, so I've frozen masses of basic tomato sauce for the winter. Frozen apples, cored & sliced. All virtually free.

I order flour in bulk & make my own bread which halves the price. I made enough bramble jelly & wild plum jam to last us a year, which cost 4p a jar.

Adapting food - buying chicken legs rather than breasts, watching for special offers - eg, ducks were on offer so I've two, frozen ready for xmas, at 1/3 price of a turkey or beef. Cook from scratch, it's less expensive, healthier & tastes better. I've got quite good at meals that take less than 15 minutes effort. Eat veggie once a week. Shop in indian supermarkets for spices which are silly price in Tesco. I've cut my weekly food bill by about £20, or £1,000 a year

Wearing a sweater & socks at home in the evening. I haven't turned the heating on yet, but that will change the moment there is a frost forecast. 😁

No mortgage so no big increase there. I parkrun rather than gym. Weights & resistance bands at home.

Like a PP, I refuse to give up my regular cut & colour, but the salon has moved to cash only to avoid bank charges and keep prices down. I do my own nails & brows.

No skiing holiday but I'm planning a really good Christmas to cheer everyone up.

At least benefits are going up by 5 billion.

Yes. And they never answer any questions about their outgoings or income or give any detail, just whinge about the cost of living. It’s almost like someone with a political axe to grind…

Single mum here OP. Are you claiming everything you can? CT benefit?

Do you get CMS at all?

You’ve missed the point completely but do you.

What I meant is how everybody finds coping strategies when rents, mortgages, energy prices have surpassed wage increases. Everybody around me makes it look so easy.

There are only two strategies: you increase your income or decrease your outgoings. There is no great mystery.

OP has posted asking for support or advice, come on people! If you’re gonna be d*cks just don’t bother replying!

Not well and we’ve got very well paid jobs but higher outgoings too I expect. We usually go away on another holiday before xmas and do lots of xmas light walks and things. Not this year. We will also be cutting back on gifts for people. First world problems but only going to get worse I’m sure

I work 19 miles away, so 38 mile round trip. I’m starting to think with fuel prices I can’t afford to even get to work. Everything costs so much. I’m fed up too