Cost of Living Crisis.

Joined
Jul 28, 2018
Location
London
Hi all.

Would be interested to know if a similar thing is happening in your country and how it's affecting you. Fortunately, my wife and I have good paying jobs and recently got a pay rise. With that said, we still spend more than we earn each month and have to constantly go into savings or use the credit card. When looking at our monthly bills, the only things that are not an absolute necessity is the £60 a month we spend on the children's activities (football and swimming). Everything else is bills which are at the lowest they can be.

We don't drive a fancy car, and it's the same Ford Fiesta I bought cash 10 years ago. We don't have fancy phones. Instead, buying a cheap phone for about £150 and a sim only contract for about £10 a month which will last us years. We don't go on holidays, hardly eat out and yet I feel like we're broke 2 weeks after pay day.

We regularly use our car and that was the first expense I noticed. Usually it would cost £45 to fill up my car, now it's closer to £70. We had a £250 food shopping budget for the month and even that is no longer enough. Now, there is going to be a tax rise at the end of the month.

This is coming form a couple who, together, earn over £100k a year and live in a very modest house in the cheapest part of London.

Anyone else feeling the pinch?
 
Yeah, generallly Inflation has been crazy strong recently. Just some of my own observances when walking through my local super market: noodle prices have about doubled compared to a year ago, milk has gone up by at least 30%, gasoline prices have doubled.

The pandemic and the war keep disrupting supply chains. Average loan interest has tripled during the last 6 months.
 
Of course, it all depends on where you live... but that might not matter anymore. I remember when I was living in Arizona as a kid, houses were 75% cheaper than what they were in California 20 years ago. Now with more people moving into Arizona (from California, no less), rent and housing has gone up exponentially, but still much cheaper than California (which has also gone up exponentially.) Still, a $250,000 house in AZ would still be $1,300,000 in CA. I heard some parts of Texas (as long as it's not somewhere like Austin) are still highly affordable, but the property taxes are kinda the killer.
 
The time to care about the economy was 2 years ago when the lockdown started, if anyone is just starting to care about the economy now they are too late. Slow pokes.
Maybe I misunderstood your message but do you mean that the worst has passed? In that case, I wish so but the kind of news we get doesn't go in that direction. Hold on all you there.
 
Maybe I misunderstood your message but do you mean that the worst has passed? In that case, I wish so but the kind of news we get doesn't go in that direction. Hold on all you there.
What I'm saying is that anyone with half a braincell would have know an economic recession would happen eventually when practically everything shut down for months on end when the lockdown started two years ago. Why people caring about the economy just now is beyond me.
 
Last edited:
What I'm saying is that anyone with half a braincell would have know an economic recession would happen eventually when practically everything shut down for months on end when the lockdown started two years ago. Why people are now caring about the economy just now is beyond me.
Ahh, yes it was obvious that the lockdown was to brought recession and I remember analysts warning about supply chain giving red flags too. Analysts warned about the risk of entering into a perfect storm if another black swan event occured in conjuction. And as biblical as it sounds, we got pestilence now war... next horse is famine right?

"Why people are now caring about the economy just now is beyond me."
To me is not caring but this: "Citizens, hear me out. There's inflation on the loose... Empty your pockets! Gimme, Gimme.. search for cash between your sofa's cushions and gimme!".

The worst of all is feeling today that this will reach deflagration level and the only incognita is the magnitude: a slow exhaust chime or Yellowst..fuck I won't even dare to write it down.
 
In short yes, for years I haven't really paid any attention to the cost of my food shopping but these days I am taken aback at the till, the price of fuel is also now so high that for the first time in my life I really do grudge filling the car up.

Personally I am extremely fortunate in that I am paid well and my employer gives pay rises well ahead of inflation but I do worry about how the most vulnerable members of society are going to manage.
 
People will pretend to care about the economy for a month or two, then after that they will go right back to being distracted from the economy and being obsesed about something else that has nothing to with with the economy whatsoever. Like what people have been doing since the '08 recession ended a decade ago.
 
People will pretend to care about the economy for a month or two, then after that they will go right back to being distracted from the economy and being obsesed about something else that has nothing to with with the economy whatsoever. Like what people have been doing since the '08 recession ended a decade ago.
Ordinary "people" shouldn't need to have a robust interest or understanding of economics. I'm trying not to read too much into your posts but they seem disparaging, verging on victim blaming even.
 
Ordinary "people" shouldn't need to have a robust interest or understanding of economics. I'm trying not to read too much into your posts but they seem disparaging, verging on victim blaming even.
I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just saying facts, the state of the economy will be "trending" on tw@ter for a month or two until a hot new "trending" topic will emerge debate about. That's just how the internet and reality work nowadays. Besides if the "ordinary people" truly cared about the state of the post lockdown economy they would at least be concerned about it when the lockdown started, instead of just accepting crap like the government giving them a thousand dollars per month while not caring about the inflation that would happen.
 
I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just saying facts, the state of the economy will be "trending" on tw@ter for a month or two until a hot new "trending" topic will emerge debate about. That's just how the internet and reality work nowadays. Besides if the "ordinary people" truly cared about the state of the post lockdown economy they would at least be concerned about it when the lockdown started, instead of just accepting crap like the government giving them a thousand dollars per month while not caring about the inflation that would happen.
Mm, respectfully, I think the one thing we can agree on is that you don't understand people. With that in mind I understand your position and wish you well.
 
I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just saying facts, the state of the economy will be "trending" on tw@ter for a month or two until a hot new "trending" topic will emerge debate about. That's just how the internet and reality work nowadays. Besides if the "ordinary people" truly cared about the state of the post lockdown economy they would at least be concerned about it when the lockdown started, instead of just accepting crap like the government giving them a thousand dollars per month while not caring about the inflation that would happen.
Mate, has been your account hacked? This isn't you. I can agree to some extent but the mood is not "the user Im used to". Remember that you also are "the people". Peace.
 
I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just saying facts, the state of the economy will be "trending" on tw@ter for a month or two until a hot new "trending" topic will emerge debate about. That's just how the internet and reality work nowadays. Besides if the "ordinary people" truly cared about the state of the post lockdown economy they would at least be concerned about it when the lockdown started, instead of just accepting crap like the government giving them a thousand dollars per month while not caring about the inflation that would happen.
I've been concerned, but made this post as the cost of living, in the UK anyway, is something that is quite recent and post lockdowns. I can't remember ever changing my shopping habits due to inflation, rate rises etc. This is the only time it's happened.

I'm literally deciding not to visit my parents each month because of the petrol cost. I would drive up to the grocery store to grab some snacks, it's only a mile or so away, but don't even do that anymore and restrict my shopping to once a week.

Turned off my mood lights, stopped the pond waterfall, keep my soundbar off and other little things to save electricity.
 
This is depressing.

When I moved into this house 7 years ago, my gas and electric bills combined was £65 a month. Since having kids and stuff it's gone up to £120 per month. Now my "deal" is coming to an end, I've just been quoted £289.24 per month, and that's the cheapest offer.
 
I'm moving out for the first time in 12 years - finally as a home owner - and i'm so frightened about what to expect. I'm told i'll be OK, because despite my need to buy so much stuff, i'm really financially responsible (I keep spreadsheets and everything), but it's the fear of not knowing that's crippling me.
 
I'm moving out for the first time in 12 years - finally as a home owner - and i'm so frightened about what to expect. I'm told i'll be OK, because despite my need to buy so much stuff, i'm really financially responsible (I keep spreadsheets and everything), but it's the fear of not knowing that's crippling me.
Congratulations! Are you moving in by yourself?

One thing I'm glad I done when I got my property was not overstretch myself. The mortgage broker kept going on about how I could borrow much more etc. but I decided to try and live well within, if not slightly below, my means. When I was out of work for 9 months, boy was I glad I didn't have a car debt and a larger mortgage payment to somehow deal with.

Would be cool to compare spreadsheets. I've got all my bills listed, salary and what that means for our wife and I once everything has come out. Definitely helps keep me on top of things and I very easy just to quickly scan and see where a bill can be culled.
 
Back
Top