Cost of Living

[Boss Hogg]

What changes ( if any) have posters made to their lifestyle due to this ?

I am making far less journeys and barely using one car.
I’ve been using a bicycle more than ever.
Barely go out for meals and to the pub.
Won’t be buying meals for the family from the chippy any time soon.
As it’s summer not using much heating but will be interesting in Winter.

[ClaretAndJew]

It's been a weird experience over the last few months because suddenly I found myself having less disposable money even though I didn't change anything.

I've stopped travelling back to Burnley to see friends/family as often, petrol is insane.

Not had a takeaway for a few weeks.

Spent about £40 on beer in the last 3 months.

Grocery shopping is now just something I do as a means to eat for the month rather than think of luxury items/snacks, it's more what meats/veg/carbs can I buy to make meals with.

My rent and council tax are a third of my net monthly pay. I really need a cheaper place.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

I've got myself a moped for work instead of using my BMW.

£3 for fuel for 4hrs of work instead of £15-20

I've also increased the number of hours I work because the number of orders have dropped.

Also waiting to find out what my rent increase will be

[Greenmile]

I’m trying harder than ever to persuade family and friends not to vote for the Tories ever again

[Lancasterclaret]

Really careful with car use

Less meat, very careful with shopping

We've got the family food bill down to about £70 for the week

Its not looking good for everyone is it?

[fatboy47]

I was quoted £4.90 for a bag of indifferent chips in some 3rd rate chip emporium in Penzance last week.

And there was a queue for them.

I, obviously, declined. But many clearly didn't..most of them, in all honesty, didn't look the most affluent of folk..

Maybe there's a lesson there somewhere.

I've got a pushbike now BTW...car only being used for journeys funded by other people.

[Greenmile]

I was quoted £4.90 for a bag of indifferent chips in some 3rd rate chip emporium in Penzance last week.

And there was a queue for them.

I, obviously, declined. But many clearly didn't..most of them, in all honesty, didn't look the most affluent of folk..

Maybe there's a lesson there somewhere.

Maybe the lesson for you is not to judge folk by their appearance.

[ClaretAndJew]

It's interesting because the job I do now pays relatively well (though nowhere nearly the UK average) and I thought I'd be very comfortable but crikey, it's been a weird couple of months.

[Lancasterclaret]

It's interesting because the job I do now pays relatively well (though nowhere nearly the UK average) and I thought I'd be very comfortable but crikey, it's been a weird couple of months.

Going to get worse I fear

We are self employed, and we are wondering whether we are going to have to put our prices up, and its safe to say that we really don't want to but the energy and fuel bills are really affecting us

[BigChaCha]

I’m trying harder than ever to persuade family and friends not to vote for the Tories ever again

I have thousands of clients all over the world and trust me, they are having it just as hard, if not harder in many of those countries...

They have also looked on in envy at the handouts the government has given us in the UK over the last 2 plus years and are always mentioning to me that they have had nowhere near as much support as we've had... I'd also say that my UK clients are holding out the best out of all my clients in other Western countries.

[DavePTClaret]

We've had to ask for even bigger donations to cover the amount of gold wallpaper we're buying. Tough times.

[Newcastleclaret93]

I’m trying harder than ever to persuade family and friends not to vote for the Tories ever again

Not a lot better out there tbh.

[Lancasterclaret]

I have thousands of clients all over the world and trust me, they are having it just as hard, if not harder in many of those countries...

They have also looked on in envy at the handouts the government has given us in the UK over the last 2 plus years and are always mentioning to me that they have had nowhere near as much support as we've had... I'd also say that my UK clients are holding out the best out of all my clients in other Western countries.

Huge "I'm not affected, so it can't be true" vibes there mate

[Burnley1989]

I'll be honest, none at all so far as I changed jobs last year meaning I haven't needed to yet. I'd imagine this time last year I'd have been struggling though. I'm yet to feel the price increase on my home bills but I'm sure I will over the next 12 months so I'd rather prepare myself for that and start putting money away.

I am considering another year without a family holiday abroad though 3 years now and used to go twice a year, I'd rather save my spare cash for a rainy day at the moment with the uncertainty and the chaos at airports.

[FCBurnley]

I have thousands of clients all over the world and trust me, they are having it just as hard, if not harder in many of those countries...

They have also looked on in envy at the handouts the government has given us in the UK over the last 2 plus years and are always mentioning to me that they have had nowhere near as much support as we've had... I'd also say that my UK clients are holding out the best out of all my clients in other Western countries.

America is almost unlivable under the Biden government. Food gas ( petrol) energy houses rent hotels travel etc etc all Sky rocketing

[Greenmile]

I have thousands of clients all over the world and trust me, they are having it just as hard, if not harder in many of those countries...

They have also looked on in envy at the handouts the government has given us in the UK over the last 2 plus years and are always mentioning to me that they have had nowhere near as much support as we've had... I'd also say that my UK clients are holding out the best out of all my clients in other Western countries.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61729892

[ClaretAndJew]

It would be interesting to hear who lives alone versus those with partners and/or working partners.

Renting alone is something I've not done before until last year as I've always either lived at home or lived with friends, partners etc.

[Barry_Chuckle]

It would be interesting to hear who lives alone versus those with partners and/or working

I live alone.
Seen my monthly utilities costs increase 95%. I feel fortunate that I drive a hybrid, it only does 35-40 miles on electricity, but it's enough for running around at home and always plug it in when I go to Tesco for the free electricity top up, I then walk slowly around to do my shopping .
So other than utilities increase, I've not been affected as yet. It will hit me in the pocket when the season kicks off again as I live in County Durham, so the fuel increase will cost me more to get to and from games.

[gawthorpe_view]

Small changes that add up, swapping branded items for supermarket's own.
Sold a couple of high value items that weren't being used.
Not using the car daily, more like twice a week to get the shopping in one go.
Moving savings to higher interest 1 year bonds.
Cancelled newspapers that were largely unread most days.
And so on.

[Murger]

I've massively cut down on my car use. I've also started to only turn the boiler on when we are having showers. Doing that along with turning all the switches off before bed has gotten my bill down from £244pm to £144pm. So atm, I'm building up a nice bit of credit, which will no doubt come in handy during the winter. I'm lucky im on a fixed price tariff until Dec 2023.

[BigChaCha]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61729892

Those that have said that before have been made to look like fools... We have a very unique service economy that also bounces back the fastest by far, as shown recently. Our economy is far more volatile than most other western economies because of its unique service-based economy but it always bounces back far faster than the others as well -

UK is the fastest growing G7 economy: https://fullfact.org/economy/january-20 ... growth-g7/

UK economy bounces back: https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... ne-out-gdp

Head of US property group Greystar shrugs off UK economy worries: https://www.businesstelegraph.co.uk/hea ... y-worries/

The British economy will be 16 percent bigger than that of France by 2036: https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics ... omy-france

I have an American friend that is currently on holiday in the UK and she cannot believe how busy everything is and how we are just getting on with our lives instead of hiding from the big C like other countries are... Her husband sent me a video of a pub in London at 11.30 pm that was packed... He was loving it and said it's the complete opposite of the US... I've been out a lot recently as well and have never seen it busier... The American friends also mentioned a few things like the Elizabeth Line and said we are light years ahead of them with transport and many other aspects of life, which made me proud but we just constantly moan and mope about!...

There is no doubt that we will most likely go into an official recession for a short while and then a big bounce back and the issues are very industry specific. From what I am seeing, and I see more than most people when it comes to UK business, is that there is still a very strong underpinning of the British economy.

[Nori1958]

Personally no different, but I see self employed family members struggling,and that will only get worse if people tighten belts even tighter, no point putting their prices up, as people won't pay.

[Greenmile]

Those that have said that before have been made to look like fools... We have a very unique service economy that also bounces back the fastest by far, as shown recently. Our economy is far more volatile than most other western economies because of its unique service-based economy but it always bounces back far faster than the others as well -

UK is the fastest growing G7 economy: https://fullfact.org/economy/january-20 ... growth-g7/

UK economy bounces back: https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... ne-out-gdp

Head of US property group Greystar shrugs off UK economy worries: https://www.businesstelegraph.co.uk/hea ... y-worries/

The British economy will be 16 percent bigger than that of France by 2036: https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics ... omy-france

I have an American friend that is currently on holiday in the UK and she cannot believe how busy everything is and how we are just getting on with our lives instead of hiding from the big C like other countries are... Her husband sent me a video of a pub in London at 11.30 pm that was packed... He was loving it and said it's the complete opposite of the US... I've been out a lot recently as well and have never seen it busier... The American friends also mentioned a few things like the Elizabeth Line and said we are light years ahead of them with transport and many other aspects of life, which made me proud but we just constantly moan and mope about!...

There is no doubt that we will most likely go into an official recession for a short while and then a big bounce back and the issues are very industry specific. From what I am seeing, and I see more than most people when it comes to UK business, is that there is still a very strong underpinning of the British economy.

It would have been quicker just to type “we’ve had enough of experts”

[Lancasterclaret]

I hope you are right BigChaCha

I don't think you are mind!

[bfcjg]

Driving less and slower, quicker in shower, more cooking less eating out also with cheaper ingredients, lights and lamps of in empty rooms etc.

[ŽižkovClaret]

Few things are more expensive here but im still managing to get away and have nights out etc.

[CrosspoolClarets]

I don’t use petrol or diesel so that helps a lot. Energy is a monthly DD and my account was in credit so that hasn’t impacted yet much. Food is going up but not across the board. So we’ll be OK without too much adjustment.

The key for us was not overstretching in the past, leaving us vulnerable to what is happening now. We don't have a big mortgage for example. Loads of people have overstretched and have my sympathy but may now be regretting it.

The “skip factor” is something I believe in a lot - judging the economic cycle by how many skips are on the average street. Currently record levels, as are unavailability of tradespeople. So there must be loads pf dosh out there still. A good thing because that will support tax revenues that can (should) be used to support those genuinely struggling.

(let's keep things away from politics and whether people ARE being supported enough, this thread is about personal experience which feels appropriate)

[Boss Hogg]

Some interesting posts. I think tradespeople have been in a golden period and feel this will be impacted as soon as we get to Autumn/ Winter. They have benefitted from money accumulated during Covid and people being at home more. As soon as people feel the pinch there won’t be the spare money about.

[Lancasterclaret]

Some interesting posts. I think tradespeople have been in a golden period and feel this will be impacted as soon as we get to Autumn/ Winter. They have benefitted from money accumulated during Covid and people being at home more. As soon as people feel the pinch there won’t be the spare money about.

Yeah, that is my impression as well

Course, the key will be can we get the economy back on track before more people feel the pinch?

[gandhisflipflop]

Personally I’m doing nothing different yet. Im bombarded mon to Friday with transport managers complaining about the price of fuel, to make cut backs would have too much impact on my mental health. When it starts affecting bill money, I’ll review it.

[Billy Balfour]

Not really cut back on grocery shopping because we cook most things from scratch, and I don't think it would be possible to eat both well, and more cheaply, unless we bought very poor quality produce. We don't buy ready meals and only have a takeaway once or maybe twice a month. We have cut back on restaurants/cafes and now think twice about driving to the coast.

I'm also about to ditch Sky. We only want the sport, and I'm sick of paying for the basic package and multi-screen. BBC, Netflix and Prime are enough for any family, so why force me to buy Sky Signature. It's like a clothes shop saying they won't sell you a t-shirt unless you buy a pair of jeans. Sorry Sky, but your business model is dated, and not fit for 2022.

[scrambledclaret]

So I live in Germany but have been back in the UK for a couple of weeks. The rise in the cost of living in the various UK cities I've been is noticeably higher than back there, which I've mostly noticed by looking at prices in pubs, restaurants and supermarkets. This all means the people I've come to visit are much more reluctant to go out for meals etc. That said, people who've kept their jobs and are now working from home are doing alright. It's the gap between the haves and have nots that is worrying.

[Newcastleclaret93]

So I live in Germany but have been back in the UK for a couple of weeks. The rise in the cost of living in the various UK cities I've been is noticeably higher than back there, which I've mostly noticed by looking at prices in pubs, restaurants and supermarkets. This all means the people I've come to visit are much more reluctant to go out for meals etc. That said, people who've kept their jobs and are now working from home are doing alright. It's the gap between the haves and have nots that is worrying.

I agree with this,

Working from home has significantly helped my household

[BurnleyFC]

Got rid of one new car, bought a banger as its replacement but our fuel bill to and from work each week is still massive - £170+ a week - mainly due to the 500+ miles my wife does.

We’re waiting on an electric car for her which is taking an age to arrive which should hopefully help as the wife can charge it FOC at work.

[aggi]

I don’t use petrol or diesel so that helps a lot. Energy is a monthly DD and my account was in credit so that hasn’t impacted yet much. Food is going up but not across the board. So we’ll be OK without too much adjustment.

The key for us was not overstretching in the past, leaving us vulnerable to what is happening now. We don't have a big mortgage for example. Loads of people have overstretched and have my sympathy but may now be regretting it.

The “skip factor” is something I believe in a lot - judging the economic cycle by how many skips are on the average street. Currently record levels, as are unavailability of tradespeople. So there must be loads pf dosh out there still. A good thing because that will support tax revenues that can (should) be used to support those genuinely struggling.

(let's keep things away from politics and whether people ARE being supported enough, this thread is about personal experience which feels appropriate)

The trouble there is obviously how property prices have gone up compared to wages. For many younger people it's take that risk or not get anything.

[Sheedyclaret]

Not really felt much difference yet as we have 2 decent incomes coming in only thing we are doing different this year is holidaying in the uk rather than abroad but that's for a variety of reasons

[IanMcL]

I’m trying harder than ever to persuade family and friends not to vote for the Tories ever again

That shouldn't be at all difficult.

[IanMcL]

It is summer, so no one has really felt the fuel costs, as they will be. I am protected by solar panels in the summer and have an ASHP for hot water and central heating. Nonetheless, heating a tank of water and then not using it, is a waste, so I use periodically and boil a kettle, if that is enough.

Heating, I will leave off until essential. Woollies etc before big heat. I am quite frugal in most things so I can then afford chosen luxuries.

My Tesla has free supercharging, so travel is free, fortunately. Big saving there.

I am in Spain at the moment for 2 weeks at my partners flat (now her sons really). Ryanair to Girona was dirt cheap. My Scotland hols are travel free and 1 bed house rented for £480 end July, in Aviemore. Supercharger a mile away! Slept in Tesla last year, on my visit to Outer Hebrides. Cost free.

We are renting a house for a month, in Cyprus, during world Cup! Hope that saves a few quid too.

Sounds all very exotic, however, costs are contained, where possible and hopefully, mentally beneficial, whilst not breaking the bank.

Being a pensioner helps with timing etc and other discounts. My season ticket, for example.

Food is rising, services are rising, inevitably and the electricity is the driver plus haulage costs.

Folk less well off than me will certainly struggle beyond that which is acceptable.

I see the gas/electric wholesale prices is less than half it was 6 months ago and yet Ofgem say our costs will rise again by almost half in October. What is going on?

[CombatClaret]

Those that have said that before have been made to look like fools... We have a very unique service economy that also bounces back the fastest by far, as shown recently. Our economy is far more volatile than most other western economies because of its unique service-based economy but it always bounces back far faster than the others as well -

UK is the fastest growing G7 economy: https://fullfact.org/economy/january-20 ... growth-g7/

UK economy bounces back: https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... ne-out-gdp

The American friends also mentioned a few things like the Elizabeth Line and said we are light years ahead of them with transport and many other aspects of life, which made me proud but we just constantly moan and mope about!...

We grew very quickly because we fell the furthest and were the first to unlock. Other countries have overtaken us now.
Very easy to find growth when people go from doing nothing to something, like eating out. But as people have mentioned with takeaways; premium food choices such as eating out, ready meals etc will be hit hard as they are an easy way of tightening your belt.

The Elizabeth line is great but that's not a bellwether for our current economic prospects. If anything it's a bit of a millstone as TFL has huge debts no after revenues collapsed over the last two years and now how to increase fares, thus contributing to price pressures.

[CombatClaret]

Cutting out non-essential items.
Canceled a premium credit card which gave me air miles /vouchers. No use paying the annual fee if I won't get the benefit.
Wonderful bakery in Great Harwood I would order treats from. Those will now become donuts from Lidl.
Come the winter will probably only heat one room as it's just me.

The thing I worry most for is people's mental health, having to cut back so far all social and recreational activity has to cease. Left alone to worry.
They may survive but at what cost?

[Greenmile]

That shouldn't be at all difficult.

You’re underestimating the difficulty of making folk see the folly of their ways, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.

[Smile]

As I deal with a lot of people over the pond they pay me in USD, which with current conversion rates means a lot more £ than it used to be. When you take into account the price increases here, it seems to even itself out. So can't say I'm noticing much of an impact.

[FCBurnley]

Anybody with the luxury of working from home and having increased salaries is probably better off. However if you are retired and living of a fixed income pension and savings then it’s bad times ahead

[JohnMcGreal]

It's been a hard year and it's going to get worse yet. We're making cut backs where we can like everyone else but quietly dreading what's to come. This just feels like the beginning, really.

We've got tonnes of sovereignty, though.

[pushpinpussy]

a lot of people crying poverty on this thread but all appear to have computers, phones, tablets and the internet. Strange that.

[gandhisflipflop]

You’re underestimating the difficulty of making folk see the folly of their ways, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.

[JohnMcGreal]

a lot of people crying poverty on this thread but all appear to have computers, phones, tablets and the internet. Strange that.

I bet they live in houses, too!

[aggi]

a lot of people crying poverty on this thread but all appear to have computers, phones, tablets and the internet. Strange that.

I hear they've got inside toilets too.

[pushpinpussy]

I bet they live in houses, too!

internet and phones etc are not essentials but people appear to rather eat less and live in a cold house. some strange folks on here.

[pushpinpussy]

I hear they've got inside toilets too.

but no toilet paper