Discontent #7 food, energy, transport, cost of living, society etc

[Clemmy Fandango]

It's mad that we basically have to be a mathematician to put the heating on or make a cup of tea nowadays. What a time to barely be alive.

 

[instasham13]

So I mentioned this previously on the thread but today at work at our daily meeting we were reminded that there's £10 to put in for a 50th, £20 for a retirement and £5 for flowers for someone who's gone off sick AGAIN. My pay day is tomorrow so that's £35 straight off my wage. Today should have been my opportunity to say sorry I can't afford this but it's so awkward. They even brought up that not everyone had put in so far and most people sat quietly so I think most people feel the same as me.

It's pay day tomorrow and I have £11.92 in my account currently. I've been on the bones of my arse since about the 2nd week after payday and this was a 5 week month.

 

[masterone]

What we have been quoted for electricity for my husband's work space. Currently paying £500 a month. We cannot afford this and will most likely shut up shop. Will have to let go of atleast 6 people.

 

[jackolantern]

Fucking done with it all. Everything is more expensive and we earn no more. The price rises are so rapid as well, within a month our dog food alone has gone from £11 per box to £15! Not just that, everything is getting smaller, we have gone from £75 a week to £125 on groceries for less fucking food. My monthly bills must average at an additional £500 now and before all this we probably needed about £500 more anyway to try and dig ourselves out of debt to ever have the hope of owning a home. So realistically, now we probably start each month £1000 down before we've even got anywhere. There is just no chance of ever digging out of the holes they've put us all in. Can't afford to stay where you are, can't afford to move, so you just get in deeper and deeper, exactly where they want you. They are deliberately pricing us all out of life.

 

[definitelydifferentbecca]

Im seriously hoping there is some ready made mega plan that will be announced next week with the new PM, then they can come in on a blaze of glory and do their PR saving big announcement that the price cap won’t be going up and this will all just be a bad memory
call me naive or a conspiracy theorist, I’m just holding on to the last shred of hope!

Like lots of people on this thread I’m so worried about people on fixed or very low incomes, who will suffer physical and mental health issues as a result… but even people who can afford the new bills will be diverting money from other ‘luxuries’ to pay it, those ‘luxuries’ usually pay someone else’s wages and every pound we spend pays a good chunk to the tax man in VAT, business rates, employee income tax etc. There’s needs to be some kind of universal solution

 

[MissTeddy]

Just because we’re not on benefits doesn’t mean we don’t need help.
also if all our income goes on utility bills then we won’t be supporting retail or hospitality industries which are so important for jobs and the economy.

 

[Blond3g1rl]

I think if the energy freeze is announced it will be for the same groups that benefited from the cost of the living payments. It doesn’t say for everyone just ‘millions’.

Squeezed middle being shafted again most likely

 

[mchammerr]

This government need to fuck off. How can you be forced into working more hours if you have children and can’t afford the extra childcare? What if you have an ill parent who needs looked after? Forcing the poorest of society into more hardship while removing the cap on bankers bonuses if you didn’t laugh you’d cry. Nothing will ever change while Tory’s are in power.

 

[JoeBloggs]

I would suggest bean on toast would be better nutritionally than only eating basics chips and nuggets.

No ‘typical’ adult can live on nuggets and chips that cost £20 a month. Are you not buying milk, veg, fruit or anything else?!

No wonder the NHS are worried, eating like this will cause so many health problems. I know some people don’t have a choice, but spouting that others must be able to cut back because you are eating such crap isn’t right.

 

[Purrrrrrr]

Reading the 'Designer Items' thread I dont think everybody is worried about paying their bills. The Ladies there positively encourage each other to spend £1000s on a new bag/watch etc. I dont begrudge them I just wish it was me.

What people say they do and what they actually do might be two very different things. You get a lot of fantasists online. Even if they are not lying it could be on the never-never, I have a friend who spends like there is no tomorrow, I thought she was very well off. But it's all debt, nothing is actually paid for. fuck that. I might not have the latest cars, furnishings, clothes etc but I don't owe a penny to anyone.

 

[jackolantern]

Nope it shocked me aswell, I did it on Sainsburys earlier just seeing how low I could do my shop for.
I do eat like a not very adventurous child though, so live on pizza, garlic bread, chips, nuggets, crisps, bread etc
My normal budget is £20 a week but that includes crates of pop & branded food

Are you eating 1 nugget and chip per day? I’m sorry I just can’t believe any grown adult can survive off £20 a month without being severely malnourished. That’s not even £1 a day.

 

[Thank(space)you]

My work have just confirmed a 5% pay rise for everyone, which is lovely. Definitely gonna help this winter as comes into effect next month

 

[Kas01980]

I've only just found this thread and I'm glad I have. I'm not moaning or feeling hard done by, just want to get it off my chest I guess

I'm 43 years old and the area I live in, my only option when I left my ex was to rent a room in a flat share. For what it is, I'm content here and first time I've been OK being on my own because I'm settled and quite like it here. Towards the end of this year I was just about able to afford rent a one bed flat for myself. However. Since the energy prices are doing what they are doing, the room I rent is now at this moment costing the best part of £700 a month before Octobers increase. The flat I was going to rent was £875 with bills on top...just about affordable for my wage. Now the price of this room by January is estimated at £970 a month and the one bedroom flat will be £1100-£1200 with bills on top. Absolutely not possible.

To make it worse the landlord of this flatshare has got cold feet thinking he won't be able to rent it out when the prices go up to £5000 come January so he's just put this place up for sale. So there goes the roof over my head, the one bed flat of my own is out of the question and I'm going to be renting another room somewhere for around £800-£900 come January. For a approx a 10ft by 12ft ROOM. I'm entitled to no support whatsoever because o have no dependants and am in full time employment.

I'm not being ungrateful but living in flatshares with people half my age is not something I should be doing at the age of 43. I start work at 8:30am but I have to be up at 5am to ensure I get to use the bathroom before someone else goes in there for a shower. This gives me about 3-4 hours sleep (it takes me ages to get to sleep) and I'm constantly exhausted and falling asleep at my desk at work. Plus the other tenants in here, two of them their rent is paid by their parents and they give no shits as to electricity usage. Having the tumble dryer on for 8 hours at a time (it doesn't work properly and they're told not to use it but still do) because they're not the ones paying for it, their parents are.

I just can't see a way out of this situation now or how im ever going to afford renting somewhere of my own. And how much worse are these energy bills going to keep going in another year or two?

 

[maharini]

I’m lucky to be relatively solvent now, but in my 20’s and 30’s was a working single parent who always seemed to earn just enough not to qualify for any additional help. Son (now in his 30’s!) reminded me how at the end of the month, we’d share a tin of tomatoes on toast, 15p (!) and how much he enjoyed it because it meant payday (and biscuits) were close. So he’d popped out and got a tin of toms and had a nostalgic tea - but with black pepper and a grating of Parmesan - he enjoyed it on two levels! I did the same last night. Yummy. But tomatoes now 70p….

 

[FoksiOska]

Gosh, it's chilly tonight and we're only in mid September. Dreading the coming months

 

[Burrito88]

So I mentioned this previously on the thread but today at work at our daily meeting we were reminded that there's £10 to put in for a 50th, £20 for a retirement and £5 for flowers for someone who's gone off sick AGAIN. My pay day is tomorrow so that's £35 straight off my wage. Today should have been my opportunity to say sorry I can't afford this but it's so awkward. They even brought up that not everyone had put in so far and most people sat quietly so I think most people feel the same as me.

It's pay day tomorrow and I have £11.92 in my account currently. I've been on the bones of my arse since about the 2nd week after payday and this was a 5 week month.

you said previously there’s around 15 in your dept, that would total £140 for the 50th, £280 for the retiree and £70 for flowers??? Are you sure the organiser isn’t pocketing some of this! Absolutely ridiculous money

 

[instasham13]

Sorry to hear that you work in such a toxic work environment that can’t be good for you It must be very frustrating. The collection should be voluntary not compulsory!

I would personally stop taking in the nice branded biscuits and whilst people might notice (strange how they don’t when you do it religiously) you can use that money towards something you want and need.

I was like you I’d take in nice food for others to eat and my friend told me a guy said “Imagine her food bill must be massive! I’d hate to be with her!” (I paid for my own food as I was single) He didn’t say anything when he was stuffing his face with the food I offered. I confronted him as it was a short term contract, he had nothing to say! Not even a sorry….

The collection isn't compulsory but it may aswel be because everyone is pretty much reminded publicly until they end up putting in for fear of the embarrassment of not.

Funny thing is I don't even buy my kids branded stuff for their packed lunch. They are happy enough with Aldi brands but when it's work I think they will turn their nose up at the aldi stuff (they have done in the past) so I buy the good gear for the people I barely like and my kids get the crap.

Christ just typing that makes me realise I'm a total people pleaser who worries what others think.

 

[Thetruth123]

I have fingerless gloves in my drawer at work for typing in the winter and lots of the girls in the office have a pashmina on the back of their chair that they wrap around themselves when it's cold. Love looking like a victorian tramp at my desk

I just proper howled at that “Victorian tramp” killed me

I’m not very impressed with liz truss comment today about “higher energy bills are a price worth paying and I’m happy to make that difficult decision”

yeah Ok liz when you can afford to take the hit of course you are going to say that ….please ask the people barely covering their bills … choosing between heat & eat …. That comment has really got my back up ….they think the scraps they have thrown us £150 here , £400 there on energy bills that are up considerably more than ever ….they think they deserve golden halos or something!!!!

sickening really sickening!!!!

 

[Millennial Pink]

Apologies if this has been done before.

I'm on a couple of saving tips groups on the Book of Face and unsurprisingly there's been a number of recent posts on how to save money on food shops. Now we're a household of 4, 2 adults and 2 children under the age of 5 plus a small dog (whose food bill is under £7pw so doesn't really count). I am struggling to get our weekly shop for under £130. We don't eat meat and have cut back on lots of little extras like beer or fancy crisps/snacks but the average weekly total falls in that ball park figure. Yet there's hundreds of comments on these posts from those also in families of 4 and spending like £50pw including toiletries, cleaning supplies etc.

Am I being cynical or are they talking nonscence?

I think some people are either lying, getting stuff for free or eating cheap, (probably) processed shite with not a lot of variety for that price. I mean, in theory I could live off rice and beans for not much per month, but its not recommended and hardly 'living'.

 

[Yel]

I've got a lot of admiration and respect for the queen. But I do worry this shutting down and canceling of stuff will be the final straw for some businesses financially. The palace said they didn't want this to happen.

Some of it made no sense at all like canceling last night of the proms, when instead they could have adjusted to pay respects and it would have been very fitting. The last thing we need is more uncertainty during tough times.