Is the 'credit crunch' affecting your life?

[LyraSilvertongue]

There's been so much in the news about the credit crunch, rising food, petrol and utility costs etc over the last few months.
But is it really affecting your life?
Personally I haven't seen much of a difference. I don't use the car that much and I buy lots of special offers in Sainsbury's the keep costs down.
Who's really been affected by the current state of the economy?

ther's so much stuff/choice we just don't need in the shops - if people don't buy as much perhaps things will even out.

we don't have crediot cards (phew) after past bad experiences..... think I have debt of £120 and dh zero which is a relief.

Was discussing this over weekend with friends we were staying with. DH & I both work from home so don't really have much in the way of petrol and we have good local shops around which is keeping food prices to an OK level. We got rid our our credit cards just over a year ago and have been saving.

But the friends we were staying with are finding a big difference. A couple of years ago it cost £247 for a delivery of oil for their heating and Aga, the latest one was nearly £600.

They have to drive everywhere so petrol costs are high. We worked out that for their oil, electricity and petrol, they are currently paying £650 a month. Our equivalent cost is about £150, so a huge amount of difference out of our similar salaries.

You're right - I'm gradually coming to terms with the fact that we are going to just have to squeeze in.

My mum is one of 7 dcs brought up in a 3-bedroom house so she always made me think it was really important for everybody to have their own bedroom. But it really isn't, is it?

We have tightened our belts as regards outgoings but then I have always budgeted preety well anyway, oil is our main outgoing and have turned off our inherited AGA which is saving enormous amounts.Luckily we pay of the oil bill by installments monthly so have filled up tank now and can pay of bit by bit over summer. we don't have the heating on a lot during the winter unless we have guests in, we rely on wood burning stoves.

We run a B&B and did wonder whether our bookings would be down this year as the credit crunch hit but bizarrley they are up, people are taking shorter breaks in this country this year rather than going abroad.

No credit cards here either, thank god. Do have a loan but it is fixed payments, so not too bad (although should probably pay it off anyway).

Am trying to find that thread about not buying stuff, was thinking it about it this morning. It is the 'bits and pieces' that scupper me - the odd extra trip to the supermarket, a couple of books that I probably won't get around to reading etc. If I could get that under control then probably I wouldn't panic so much about gas bills. But then life would be a bit joyless, wouldn't it? I don't know what the answer is - sit tight and hope for the best?!

We have a credit card here, leftoever from when tax credits fucked us over. Has about £3000 balance on it.

It'll be a cold day in hell before we're able to pay that off, especially with how things are going now.

botbot- dad was one of 16 dc's lol, 12 n a 3 bed at one time1

we had 3 kids in a 2 bed for a while (before the credir card eff up forced us to sell and it was fine really

It really isn't, botbot (own bedrooms important, I mean). I think, as a nation, our expectations have got way out of control over the last couple of decades. We seem to expect so much more these days, when it's not necessary. Most of our parents managed with so much less - my dad grew up with a family of 6 in a two-up two-down, but now we just assume everyone must have their 'own space' or unhappiness will result...

I have friends who live in 6-bedroom houses when there's 4 of them. Dad gets a 'den' or tv room, the kids get a playroom plus bedrooms of their own. Then they complain about the size of the mortgage. It doesn't make much sense to me. Perhaps I'm just bitter!

Not having their own room won't kill a child.

My dad's never had his own room. After finishing high school, in which all 4 and later 5 siblings shared a room, he got drafted into the Army and stayed in barracks until he married my mother.

My mother never had her own room, either, never lived alone.

They're pretty happy, well-adjusted people.

yes, madness

I remember me and my sister drawing a line downn the middle of our bedroom so we had our 'own' space and fighting about anyone straying into the other ones section

now you would be 'deprived'

I was in a bunk bed until i left home at 24

didn't kill me either

we had just managed to get back on an even keel - i have increased my hours at work etc and was looking forward to not being horrifically stressed out about money for a while. i feel lucky that we have a roof over our heads and doing ok but pissed off to get back to penny pinching and worry again.

part of me is relieved this is happening cos the ridiculously cheap food and credit couldn't last forever and the longer it went ont eh bigger the fallout. tighten your seat belts its going to be a bumpy decade.

A bit like WWW we can afford to take on extra outgoings but we are still increasingly aware that things could get tough.

We renewed our mortgage back in Feb/March so it's £200 more a month than it was before. It will be a long time before we hit negative equity and since we don't need to move it probably wouldn't be an issue for us anyway.

I have noticed that our cc bills are getting bigger - we put everything on the card and it's cleared automatically each month but I'm noticing that food bills and petrol are huge at the moment and even if we don't buy extras (er, that will be my clothes, shoes etc!) the card doesn't seem to be any lower!

The things we are doing are not really to address anything happening to us now, but more to prepare for what might happen in the future.

The other main thing for us is that we'd love to do stuff on the house but have decided to hold back because we don't want to take on any debt in order to do so (even though the bank is practically throwing money at us which is strange!). It seems even more important to remain debt free in the coming months/years and so that's how we've decided to try and stay (don't have any loans or cc debts - just mortgage).

Like WWW, we are fortunate that we have lots of luxuries that we could forego if we really had to (e.g. 2 cars, sky plus, holidays, eating out etc).

It is looking terribly bleak though - it is there in the back of my mind and I'm mentally preparing for it.

Things have been tough for us since having ds nearly 4 years ago. When ds was born we were left with just under £400 per month after mortgage and bills were paid. It was hard enough managing on £400 per month as we had to pay for groceries out of that. Now because of the increase to our mortgage, petrol and council tax etc we are left with a big fat zero after our direct debits are paid.

We are using the credit card to buy our groceries which is not the best thing to do. We will be cancelling our broadband once the contract is up but other than that I am stuck for ideas of how to cut back any other.

I am finding that I really have to make a list and stick to it when I do the supermarket shopping. The cost is just spiralling week on week.

Fuel is a huge issue for us as my dh is an electrician and he may have to work 50+ miles from home. The diesel costs are just becoming ridiculous. He can easily get through £200 and more every month. I wish he had an alternative and cheaper means of getting to work, but he doesn't.

Our gas/elec has gone from £100 per month a year ago, up to £150 per month now. I am becoming increasingly careful with how much I use the heating/tumble dryer etc!

We are ok at the moment, but our fixed rate mortgage is up at the beginning of next year and it scares me that we could really start to struggle then.

reet, have you gone on entitledto website and checked you are getting all you are owed?

We should be OK as long as DH has a job. The company that he works for has laid off a lot of people already, so we hope that they have prepared well for the bumpy road ahead.
We are fairly close to the wire, but better than most, as we don't have debts and we do have savings (for a deposit for a house). We spend 53% of DH's take-home on housing though, and at least 20% on food, so not much room for slack.

No I will have a look at that Peachy, thanks.

Bloody hell I don't whether to laugh or cry! I just had a look at that website and the only thing it said we may be entitled to is a funeral grant!

What a strange thing to come up with.

Definately noticed food prices have shot up, am really watching what I buy now. Petrol also double but not using car as much as on maternity leave.
Only have 2 bedrooms also and it seems to be working okay. DD1 complaining that DD2 wakes her up but she is getting used to it.
Have an interview on Mon for job where pay rise would be 10K so fingers crossed for that. Would definately help in the coming months.

I found a few months ago that I was struggling (we have a weird '50s arrangement of a fixed amount being transferred into my a/c to cover food, my petrol, ds's expenses, my spending money, the rest of my sal goes into another a/c).

Told dh I needed more, he arranged to change the dd to an extra £250 per month but it hasn't made a blind bit of difference, there's still nothing left at the end of the month.

Food and petrol really noticed. Would love a bigger house need space with growing children but there is no hope now. Hate having to shop for food and so cut right back on other things due to increase. Not lookingforward to winter heating bills.

Those talking about winter heating bills - don't you pay by direct debit monthly? If you pay a set amount then it's the same every month and you won't feel a big hit in the winter.

you still do when your suppliers keep hiking your direct debit, GDG.

we're on LPG so no monthly direct debit available.

many are in pre-payment meters because they cannot afford to be on direct debits.