Discontent #14 food, energy, transport, cost of living, society etc

[smellsofbiscuits]

New thread as the old one was over 1, 000 and making me twitchy.

Previous thread was looking at the changes in Local Housing Allowance, renewal of fixed rate mortgages and our old favourite, the price of energy bills.

Old thread here: https://tattle.life/threads/discontent-13-food-energy-transport-cost-of-living-society-etc.41313

 

[Yel]

I can't see the farmers going away quietly long term even though they've backed off in the last day, this could be one of the biggest issues the EU has faced. With everything ordered just in time there must be shortages even with just a few days of interruption.

 

[fireflies]

Haven't really kept up with farmers protests will it affect fruit and veg imports as we import over 50%.
Twitter is full of panic over new brevity checks on food said food will be longer in transit and cost more.
Already feels like fruit and veg hardly lasts 5mims.
So far the problem with red sea ships going round long way not had major impact on prices.

I see bank of England held rates at 5 25% thur but they still say they might rise as anyone else journalists the city keep saying they will fall.
Makes no difference even of does fall as we fixed another 5 years. Paying extra £250 month feels painful only another 58 more payments until we can renew .
Worked it out we paying an extra £14500 over course of 5 years due to our rate doubling I know many people who's mortages went up higher than that.
Many bang on about used be 15% in 80s but not sure other bills and food was as expensive then.
Every outgoing is going up.

Food still feels expensive but falling inflation doesn't mean prices going down means going up at slower rate many don't grasp that and idiot politicians talk about lower inflation more money in pocket.
The recent NI cut saves me grand total of £1.58 per month!

We did home bargains this month first time in ages even noticed few rises in there.
Frozen rice used be 99p.now £1.89.
Also did farnfood and used the money off vouchers.

Been trying get new home insurance this week that's gone up cheapest quote not including useless post office who we currently with is around £17 more per month refuse stay as pointless if they don't pay out I'm still angry about it.
Some confusion over car tax as changed car so husband thought we were paying monthly but nothing came out turns out we paid up for now but think we need to renew in May so expecting a hike then.
New people carrier smaller engine petrol is mire road tax than old diesel around £10 more per month but we no longer have pay clean air zone.

Read lots of broadband/ telecoms/ water going up April.
Also most councils raising council tax maximum 5% so I'm looking at around around £200, maybe slightly more for band b 3 bed terrace per month paying over 10months but we overpay good pay months so pay over 8 gives is some breathing space dec/ jan/ Feb /March.

Still awaiting confirmation of pay rise as I get what they call the real living wage which is 40p more an hour outside London.
So currently get £10.90 London get £11.90.
But national minimum wage rising to £11.44 in April.

An increase would add extra 100 per month gross which could help as non food retail is slow and expect it be crap this year people just don't have much disposable income.

Does anyone know if child benefit getting a miniscule uplift?

 

[50degreesnorth]

Child benefit (and all others) are going up 6% afaik.

My contents renewal is up this month - and car the month after which are both currently cheap as chips.

My electric bill is eye-watering though. Most of Scotland outside the cities doesn’t have gas - and our winters can be brutal.

 

[Catfan2]

Car insurance quote up by £200, home insurance by over £100. Not still blaming Covid surely? The price of everything in the shops - two things that come to mind are olive oil (over £7 for a not very big bottle!) and butter/spread. Crazy times we live in.

 

[Yel]

Hasn't there been a big thing about land rovers costing over a grand to insure because the vehicles are so favoured by criminals in the UK?

Range Rover Thefts Plummet as JLR Fights UK Crime Wave

The number of Range Rovers that have been stolen in the UK has fallen by more than 40% for recent models, after Jaguar Land Rover bolstered security features in response to a wave of thefts of its luxury SUVs.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[smellsofbiscuits]

I know I said I'd update re mortgage rates but it turns out we were too early Mr B went through the process online and the rates are what we suspected. The cheapest fix for 5 years is roughly 4.5% which would see us about £250 pcm worse off. However, our youngest now qualifies for the 30 funded nursery hours meaning the money we budgeted for that can contribute towards the rise in mortgage costs.

I can't bear to check how much of our savings went into childcare in recent years but our bill was £1000pcm at one stage. And that was in addition to help from the grandparents as well. I appreciate that having children is very much our choice but I don't think either of us anticipated the price of absolutely everything shooting up.

 

[Multi-21]

Hasn't there been a big thing about land rovers costing over a grand to insure because the vehicles are so favoured by criminals in the UK?

Range Rover Thefts Plummet as JLR Fights UK Crime Wave

The number of Range Rovers that have been stolen in the UK has fallen by more than 40% for recent models, after Jaguar Land Rover bolstered security features in response to a wave of thefts of its luxury SUVs.

www.bloomberg.com

Yes, so the Land Rover PR team are releasing these statements to refute it. The article I read said they are fighting back against unfair accusations or similar

 

[Chickenandgravy]

I know I said I'd update re mortgage rates but it turns out we were too early Mr B went through the process online and the rates are what we suspected. The cheapest fix for 5 years is roughly 4.5% which would see us about £250 pcm worse off. However, our youngest now qualifies for the 30 funded nursery hours meaning the money we budgeted for that can contribute towards the rise in mortgage costs.

I can't bear to check how much of our savings went into childcare in recent years but our bill was £1000pcm at one stage. And that was in addition to help from the grandparents as well. I appreciate that having children is very much our choice but I don't think either of us anticipated the price of absolutely everything shooting up.

We are the same, I had to go back full time earlier than I anticipated because a)work needed me back and b) we were struggling a little so I didn't put up too much of a fight. But we are over £1000 a month in childcare and really we only just break even, we're not better off with me working full time again and I don't get to spend anywhere near as much time with my daughter .

Car insurance and home insurance both need renewed in May and I'm dreading it our mortgage is up in June but we've locked in a rate 4.69% (from our original 2%)and increased to maximum term to try and absorb some of the costs. The bank emailed to say that our rate has gone down again so we can revisit so hopefully that comes down a wee bit more. So stressful all of the time

 

[smellsofbiscuits]

@Chickenandgravy Totally get where you're coming from. I was fortunate to go back part time after my eldest was born. Then I went back full time after having my lock down baby which was *intense*. Now I'm back to part time in a demoted post which I'm happy with. Work are putting a little pressure on me to consider coming back FT. It's not something I can do right now due to many factors but childcare costs are one of them.

There was a Tik Tok video doing the rounds where different countries were comparing different childcare costs. Germany for instance pay for a year what I used to pay a month. How have we got childcare so wrong in this country?

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

I ended up coming out of the workplace after the birth of my first child because the nature of both the sectors we worked in at that time just didnt fit in with the hours available for childcare.

Paid for childcare pre 7am and post 6pm just isnt a thing anywhere Ive ever lived. Also small children need more sleep so the idea of not collecting them until 8pm or so is just a ridiculous notion.

That was before even considering the cost of it.

I went back to work when we got funded hours at 3 for eldest but then it was only 15 hours per week so I was still essentially paying for 3 and a bit days for FT.

After I had my 2nd baby the cost of childcare meant we made the decision I would be part time because weighing it up meant that I valued the time with my child over the very small increase in earnings Id have from working 5 days.

We are long past the childcare costs days now and are very fortunate to both now work in areas where we work office hours and there is always one of us working from home when the kids come in from school. However I have friends who are just entering in to the childcare cycle and I was shocked to find out the price per day has increased by around £20-£25 in 3/4 years since I last had to use it.

Our private after school costs were almost £20 per day when I used it previously for 3-6pm but could pick up any time prior to 6.

Im not in an expensive part of the country, its not a big city and hundreds of miles from London/The South. Its impossible

 

[smellsofbiscuits]

@Caffeine Fiend I always value your contributions to this thread and see how much my own experience sometimes mirrors your own. One of the reasons I'm reluctant to go FT is that the increase of earnings would go on childcare. These costs are not likely to drop once both children need pre and after school care. My job is outside the home and my commute means any after school activities would be extremely difficult to manage. Also, I'd hardly see the children at all if I went FT due to commuting.

At one point we were spending £100 per day on childcare for two children (one toddler, one primary school aged child) during the summer holidays. Plus the additional expense of supplying all snacks and meals too.

On the other side, I have no idea how my single friends are managing in this climate. At least we can bulk buy food as a family of 4 as well as split the bills with two wages coming into the house.

 

[Anotherdayanotherwalk]

Childcare costs are astronomical and make things very challenging. If at all possible though, in my view it's worth pushing on with working if you're able to. I had two in nursery at the same time plus a long commute and it would cost me £140/day before I'd even so much as bought lunch and this was 6 years ago. I was better off in the unpaid bit of my maternity leave when I still used to get my car allowance which was about £300/month! Longer term though it's paid off as Mr Another has had three redundancies in the past 5 years but as I had kept working I was able to continue to progress my career and increase my hours from part time to full time and I am now the main earner.

 

[smellsofbiscuits]

@Anotherdayanotherwalk I appreciate we all have different circumstances. That's great you've progressed in your career to that stage and hopefully it's a situation others can work towards.

Unfortunately Mr B has a very good job in tech and I float around in education and the third sector (and not the parts of the sector where charity folk are earning big bucks). I can only dream of earning the salary he has at the moment. To compare, my highest ever salary was not far off when he was earning about 4-5 years into his career. In addition that salary was as high as I could hope to progress in my field which is pretty depressing.

I appreciate the field I'm in does have lower paid careers and it was my choice to move into that sector. But it does make it difficult to hand over that money for childcare knowing it doesn't necessarily equate to seeing my career progress or money earning potential rise.

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

@Caffeine Fiend I always value your contributions to this thread and see how much my own experience sometimes mirrors your own. One of the reasons I'm reluctant to go FT is that the increase of earnings would go on childcare. These costs are not likely to drop once both children need pre and after school care. My job is outside the home and my commute means any after school activities would be extremely difficult to manage. Also, I'd hardly see the children at all if I went FT due to commuting.

At one point we were spending £100 per day on childcare for two children (one toddler, one primary school aged child) during the summer holidays. Plus the additional expense of supplying all snacks and meals too.

On the other side, I have no idea how my single friends are managing in this climate. At least we can bulk buy food as a family of 4 as well as split the bills with two wages coming into the house.

Aw thank you

Its bloody hard work and obviously you do know that before you have children, you dont think itl be a walk in the park but living it is a whole different ballgame. I love being a parent, Id never a change it but those early years of working even part time I found very difficult. I was fully in office and the days of coming home at 6, cooking dinner, unpacking the bags, repacking the bags, tidying up from dinner, putting a small still breastfed toddler to bed who was still waking through the night, crawling into bed at gone midnight and back up at 6am I was permanently exhausted. Even if it made financial sense (which it didnt) I think going back 5 days would have killed me. I work in a sector where loads of people work PT for various different reasons so was very fortunate it was an option for me.

I tried to and still do tbf reframe it as I am fortunate I can pay for childcare, my children get alot from it (which they did) and I do actually get something out of working too. So all in its the best thing for us all but it doesnt make it easy financially, mentally or emotionally.

I am through all of that now though and you will get there too. Mine just eat me out of house and home now pre and post school the way food costs are rising its alot but not *quite* as much as childcare costs ha.

 

[Chocolategoggler]

Aw thank you

Its bloody hard work and obviously you do know that before you have children, you dont think itl be a walk in the park but living it is a whole different ballgame. I love being a parent, Id never a change it but those early years of working even part time I found very difficult. I was fully in office and the days of coming home at 6, cooking dinner, unpacking the bags, repacking the bags, tidying up from dinner, putting a small still breastfed toddler to bed who was still waking through the night, crawling into bed at gone midnight and back up at 6am I was permanently exhausted. Even if it made financial sense (which it didnt) I think going back 5 days would have killed me. I work in a sector where loads of people work PT for various different reasons so was very fortunate it was an option for me.

I tried to and still do tbf reframe it as I am fortunate I can pay for childcare, my children get alot from it (which they did) and I do actually get something out of working too. So all in its the best thing for us all but it doesnt make it easy financially, mentally or emotionally.

I am through all of that now though and you will get there too. Mine just eat me out of house and home now pre and post school the way food costs are rising its alot but not *quite* as much as childcare costs ha.

I've always thought it has to be an individual choice of what's most important to you. Every person is different and what matters to one person might not be top priority for another.
I've never had children but have been witness to the trauma of a mum being separated from her child.
One sticks in my mind of a lovely, bubbly colleague who returned to work a shadow of her former self.
Turned out that she'd had a breakdown in the male boss's office. She literally couldn't walk any further than his office as that would be it, no going back. God! I'm crying just writing this.
He was absolutely lovely with her. Not so a female boss further down the line who shamed her in front of all the staff, because she couldn't get into work in time to open up the office - 8.30 a.m.
It was not in the job description, so my colleague wouldn't have been aware.

 

[emmer_moans]

Car insurance quote up by £200, home insurance by over £100. Not still blaming Covid surely? The price of everything in the shops - two things that come to mind are olive oil (over £7 for a not very big bottle!) and butter/spread. Crazy times we live in.

Oh gosh, this has reminded me to put aside more money for my car insurance when it renews in a few months. Sigh.

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

I've always thought it has to be an individual choice of what's most important to you. Every person is different and what matters to one person might not be top priority for another.
I've never had children but have been witness to the trauma of a mum being separated from her child.
One sticks in my mind of a lovely, bubbly colleague who returned to work a shadow of her former self.
Turned out that she'd had a breakdown in the male boss's office. She literally couldn't walk any further than his office as that would be it, no going back. God! I'm crying just writing this.
He was absolutely lovely with her. Not so a female boss further down the line who shamed her in front of all the staff, because she couldn't get into work in time to open up the office - 8.30 a.m.
It was not in the job description, so my colleague wouldn't have been aware.

Oh absolutely its an individual choice and there is no right or wrong. Having kids / not having kids. Returning to work / not returning or choosing to be part time or free lance. You need to figure out what suits you and your life and your finances I guess too come in to it.

Thats awful for your poor colleague. I hope they managed to sort it all out in the end.

I think these days in particular very few people can afford not to return to work at all. Im an elder millennial and when I was in primary school so many of my peers would have had one parent at home full time. I think the % of kids with one parent not in any form of paid employment in my childrens school would be very low. Just a sign of the times. House prices and rental costs make it impossible on one wage unless the one wage is very good.

 

[ItchOfTheWestCoast]

Upped my hours at work in a way that means I don't need extra childcare.

Whenever I'm making a one pot meal I'm putting a portion away in the freezer. Longer hours will be hard as I have a physical disability so hopefully this keeps me away from takeaways and such when it's been a long day.

Work have also offered us all extra training and I'm going to take it and see it as an investment in case I'm ever truly back on the job market.

Fruit and veg don't last long at all. I have a larger family and fruit and snack veg have never had time to go off but they're awful when they arrive.

 

[Yel]

Obviously it's wrong to sell a cheap service to pirate channels, but 12 months in jail for a teacher with a good record seems excessive when people guilty of violent crimes often get off with a suspended sentence.

I guess it's to give a strong message to not mess with media giants . Seems a silly thing to accept payment via something so traceable like paypal. I doubt the people would have paid the money to sky / bt in anycase.

---

Paul Merrell, 43, built up 2,000 customers and £450,000 into PayPal account
School council at Elmfield Rudolf Steiner School pleaded judge to spare him jail
The headteacher of a private school has been jailed for running an illegal online streaming business which ripped off the likes of Sky and BT.

Paul Merrell, 43, pocketed £240,000 over four years from selling software for £10 a month providing illegal access to subscription-only services.

The married father-of-one had been 'tempted by the extra money' as he built up a base of around 2,000 customers and around £450,000 in a PayPal account.

Of that amount £200,000 was moved into criminal online enterprises which hosted the illegal streams.

Merrell took a pay cut to earn £56,000 a year as headteacher of Elmfield Rudolf Steiner School, in Stourbridge, West Midlands, where pupils are charged up to £3,311 a term.

A judge jailed him for 12 months despite the school's council pleading to spare him prison saying it would put the school at risk of closure if he was sent behind bars, Birmingham Crown Court heard.