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.

But you've got to have a garden to grown all that in that's big enough to accommodate a greenhouse. Lots of people don't have outside space. Also, gardening is very time intensive. I have three kids and a dog. I don't have time to spend hours in the greenhouse watering courgettes or whatever.

So many people on here posting just to pick holes in the OP.

OP I’m a single mum, working FT, haven’t had a holiday in years, never have nights out, all clothes are from Vinted etc…..it’s hard. Working FT in a stressful job, but nothing to look forward to at the weekend. And it’s going to get worse.

Maybe the smug dismissive people on here will be knocked down a peg or two when they start feeling the effects of the increases.

I don’t have any answers, just solidarity ❤️

This was us in 2006. I was working 3 part time jobs around school hours, DH was working 60 hour weeks and we were still struggling. I remember cancelling the Nickelodeon channel and my dd saying “are we poor now mum?”.

We did the same as the op, shopping in Aldi and feeding the ducks were our entertainment. Our situation improved drastically when DH was made redundant. He got a good settlement and another job right away so we were exceptionally lucky.

i feel for you op, it’s shite.

My partner and I earn a bit over the median household (he earns higher than the average salary and mine is slightly lowe than average) both full time, and we find things tight, we don't even have any DC yet. We only run one car and not very regularly as I use public transport for work and he WFH a few days per week. The mortgage is about average, but after bills etc there's just not much left. We are hoping to have DC (TTC but sadly onto fertility investigations now after a year) but worried about making it work a bit, especially with the childcare once I go back to work as I don't think we'll be entitled to much if any help.

Want to add as well that I feel so sorry for everyone, just the whole country..everything seems really bleak.. Yes some restaurants and shops etc are quite busy but remember we actually have fewer of those so it makes sense the few remaining would be busy.
I suppose it's the effects of the economic slump we're in and wider global issues but I just wish I could take away some of the drugery people face day to day.

But what exactly does the OP want?
one person posted about growing their own veg and this has been dismissed by another poster. If you want specific advice then more details are required regarding exact circumstances.
There are only two solutions and this has nothing to do with me being smug or dismissive. How you approach these two options depends on your circumstances. I have a freezer and buy a lot of yellow labelled items but clearly this is not an option for everyone.
showing solidarity with someone achieves nothing

WTF does this mean? Not helpful at all.

When companies are posting record profits, in the billions, yet customers are facing huge food costs, utility bills going up and mortgage rates rising then I think capitalism is bullshit. A handful of people shouldn’t be making billions whilst majority are struggling and having to use credit cards to pay bills. I’m sorry if that makes me sound naive but it’s outrageous that we protect billionaires at the expense of the majority. Govs could do more, they could cap profit margins, they could entice companies to lower prices, they could scrap standing charges.

I know you’re attempting to be helpful but for many people they cannot increase their wages. Do you think people don’t want to?

reality is mortgage and rent increases, energy prices, council tax increases have surpassed wages.

I feel the same as you. A lot of people online are showing highlights but I have a suspicion quite a few people are in debt. Seems more people around me want to become influencers, which is depressing.

Sometimes I buy biscuits for work and leave them in the staff room, just to cheer people up. They’re always gone by mid morning.

I'm the same, waiting for my state pension to come in. I'm single and I thought I'd saved enough to tide me over for the year before my pension (only got the tiniest private pensions - like £200 pm) but I hadn't accounted for everything going up SO fast. I also get a small WFH income but that's dwindled too.

Now my car is playing up. If I have to replace that, I have no idea what I will do (I live rurally where there's no public transport, so I HAVE to run a car).

I'm fine with things like electricity bills, food bills because I can keep those costs down as far as possible, but it's the cost of diesel and any household repairs that are hitting (and the fact that it's nearly IMPOSSIBLE to get anyone to come out to see to things that break).

showing solidarity with someone achieves nothing

I don’t agree. It helps to feel that you aren’t alone.

Everything suggested involves spending money, which many people don’t have.

A couple of months ago I was in my overdraft and considering going to a foodbank. Despite working FT. I can’t really pop to BnQ and buy pots and seeds in that situation.

It’s disgusting isn’t it. I hate capitalism, I hate consumer culture. The whole system needs an overhaul.

That's nice of you. It's been used similarly quickly whenever I've left chocolates in the staff room at work too. Not that I blame people, some of them may struggle more than we do.

What's depressing isn't only how down everything is looking but how much our happiness seems to depend on the economy. We all know there's much more to life than money and material things but when it comes down to it these things clearly do actually mean a lot to all of us. I think it's not just struggling to get by it's being unable to see if/how things will improve. It's a very human thing to want to work towards a better tomorrow.

Then it has to be to cut expenses. As I said I buy yellow labelled items to keep my food costs under control. I don’t have takeaways and I cook from scratch. I fix my energy prices.

But we have created that culture- primark shipping hauls, shopping as a hobby, cheap products from China, the ability to order from Amazon and for it to arrive within 24 hours, Xmas jumpers, decorating for Halloween and all the mountains of tat - we got what we all wanted.

Not coping 🥺

broke broke broke

Still i am fortunate and will keep going

Okay here goes,

I’m a single mum that works full time. I only buy essential food from Lidl, I only have one meal in the evenings. I don’t have a car. My phone is one I bought outright five years ago. I don’t go on holiday. I don’t go gym. I take walks instead. Every item of clothing sans underwear is bought from Vinted. I have cut every single subscription, even bbc license. Nights out for me are dinners at a friends house. My wages have not increased and I cannot get anything else. Yet my rent has increased yearly, energy prices, council tax and food prices. I’m thinking of offering my spare kidney on gumtree.

saying all this I try to stay optimistic and no one would even guess I’m struggling, I dress well, I try enjoy the little things in life. But I cannot move forward if things continue like this.

Everyone is different.

We earn well, and a year ago had enough spare cash to afford a holiday, meals out, clothes when I need them etc.

Its not like that now, costs have gone up and we are affected. I rarely have any of my wages left at month end BUT I know i am still able to pay every bill (at the moment), eat 3 meals a day and heat my home.

So many people are struggling, OP, check if you're entitled to any other benefits.

You state in your OP that you get help towards housing. Has that amount not increased in line with your rent increase?
Do you receive financial support for the children from their father? Could he offer more support. It’s unfair for you to shoulder the entire financial burden.

How much do you earn? Are you entitled to UC and claiming it if so? Do you receive maintenance from your DC's father? So you track your outgoings so you can assess where the money has gone?

It IS going to be tough with one income coming in to run a household, it is inevitable.

I get some help for housing but it has not increased with my yearly rent increase. Their father pays minimal child allowance. I earn minimal wages but it’s the only job I can do as it works around the same time as their school hours. I’ve done all the budgeting and it’s bleak. There is no more I can cut. I am not surprised at the collapsing fertility rates in this country, if I knew what I know now (and I love my children than life itself) I wouldn’t have had them or delayed having children.

I think the reality is, the UK (and probably most of the world) is made for families with 2 incomes. I don’t understand why anyone would be dismissive. I can only imagine living on a single income is tough. My friend’s a life coach after being inspired from turning her life around from single mum to owning her own business… reality? She married a millionaire. She fails to mention that but she was able to give up her 3 jobs to start building her business and has a space in her new home (from moving in with husband) to use for the business. I’m happy for her and she did work hard, but realistically she wouldn’t have been able to do it without his support.

Having kids is going to cost you more that's always been the case it's not forever though its temporary, and of course things going up means we are all having to tighten up on our spending. In your case its no holidays but it's not forever its temporary even if temporary means 5yrs or even 10.

I never went abroad for 12yrs of my life could not afford too because I spent that time on my own saving for my house. Took until my mid thirties before I could afford holidays abroad. I think there will always be periods od our lives where its tough financially.

It should of increased the help you get. You normally take a picture of your rent increase and upload it on UC.