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

[Littleelf]

I know it’s still eyewateringly high but does anyone else feel better now they know more or less what they’ll be paying for the next 2 years? I couldn’t have gone through that every 3 months, my binge eating was terrible and triggered by feeling out of control. I’ve felt a bit more settled the last few days. I realise that I’m fortunate to be able to pay the higher amount with some small lifestyle changes and asking my 20 year old to pay dig money

Yes, like you before I felt very out of control. My mind was a constant spiral of thinking what else can we cut out, what can we do to lower our bills etc. All made worse by hubbys redundancy confirmed for October I was really anxious every day.

Now if feel like, although still high, we can plan for the the cost, we know what it is and we can manage. Also hubby got offered a new job so my mind has claimed down massively the last few days.

Was thinking we'd be homeless by Christmas this time last week (total over exaggeration but my mind ran away with itself)

 

[jackolantern]

To an extent

My husband cant leave morrisons without buying yellow sticker stuff. Last night he bought cheese and onion rolls which no one in the house eats but they were cheap sick of telling him hes not really saving money if no ones going to eat the stuff!

If I wasn't female I'd seriously question if I was your husband Came home with discount biscoff cheesecake the other day and we all hate biscoff, just can't resist a bargain, £1.60 it cost me to swallow it down with a grimace, in hindsight rookie error, what can I say I'm not designed for the budget life

 

[zoominmoom]

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.

I think you should start making them feel embarrassed. Start making up stories about how you ate nothing but crusts for dinner the night before and how you all share bathwater for your weekly wash or something.

 

[RaRaPeach]

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.

I think it just takes one person to say that they feel the amounts are too much and others will agree.

 

[Northern northener]

There’s a YTer I watch she’s always bought yellow labels and been thrifty , has anyone ever got weekly bargains like this at Morrisons

The problem with yellow sticker shopping is that you can rarely get a range of healthy food. It's usually processed stuff that's expensive anyway or bread and doughnuts. The meat always has a funny colour and the veg ready for the compost heap. You can get the odd bargain or treat (we got cream cakes yesterday but we wouldn't have bought them otherwise).

I did used to watch a YouTuber who attempted to live on yellow stickers but she would eat weird, weird combinations and would spend hours waiting around the store following staff around. Obviously she was quite obsessed with it and single . For the rest of us it's not a long term strategy to cut back. It's better to learn to cook cheap meals really well. I think batch cooking is going to be the norm for most people.

 

[wideopenspace]

Overhead in lidl they are bringing in limits on all items. No date but the area manager had told the staff at our local store

Whilst some people do take the mic there are those genuinely shopping for larger or multiple families and this makes it harder. During lockdown I was often shopping for two households and grabbing extras for a third which meant multiple cartons of milk or loaves of bread wasn't as excessive as it looked at first glance. There are also people I know that do one big shop at the start of the month and then just grab fresh bits during the month like milk and bread.

 

[a.pain]

Think I’m going to vom. We are waiting for our new build which has been delayed and thanks to those delays we can’t get a mortgage extension and need to reapply and it’s going to cost us £170 a month more. Really hoping it doesn’t increase again between now and end of October

 

[Littleelf]

Yes, I have a lot of friends who's entire life is on tick & bnpl

I have the same, for a long time I wondered what we were doing wrong why couldn't we afford new cars, holidays abroad each year lovley houses and clothes etc. All my freinds seemed to have it all and we had very little. After speaking to a few of them I soon realised they were up to their eyeballs in debt which they will probably be paying back the rest of their lives. I couldn't live that way, not for the sake of a holiday and a flash car.

 

[Yel]

Unpopular opinion but this mps expenses stuff is reductive.

They have to run an office and the vast majority is staffing costs for said office.

They often have to have two homes and travel between them.

It's very clear on the site what each person claimed. The way it's often presented people act as if they're siphoning off all the cash for themselves.

When I was a PAYE employe having to travel for work, my expenses were a fortune. But it's not like I got any of that. By making so much noise over expenses real issues might be lost. Sure highlight when they're employing someone falsely to steal public money. But there are associated costs with running a office.

MPs’ staffing and business costs | IPSA

MPs’ staffing and business costs and expenses.

www.theipsa.org.uk

 

[Blond3g1rl]

Energy cap announced. People online still commenting they can’t afford £2.5k, how can people still not understand what the cap means?!

 

[bowtiesarecool]

Cars could soon run on THIN AIR with new method to make hydrogen fuel

Experts at the University of Melbourne said there prototype idea may allow the provision of hydrogen fuel to dry and remote regions, with minimal environmental impact.

www.dailymail.co.uk

This has always stuck in my mind as I saw something on TV yonks ago where someone predicted we would run cars using air. Always stuck in my mind as being outlandish but looks like it's happening

They'll be charging us to breathe next....

 

[Anne1448]

A small business owner in Ireland received this bill for the month of August :

Now, can you imagine the cost in December or January?

 

[Jc456]

Idea of how much everything costs

 

[monga]

She shouldn’t be commenting at all when she’s not personally experiencing what some people may go through this winter in a country she doesn’t live in. I lost all respect for her when she posed for vogue whilst as she states people in her country are dying. Classless and tasteless just like her.

We have given Ukraine enough handouts it’s time the government started thinking about our country first.

It's been quite a while since we had a government that put the country before themselves , mostly why we're in this mess .

 

[MissTeddy]

Imagine going into debt for a bloody Gucci handbag! Talk about stupid.

 

[rainbowlemon]

 

[Yel]

Like the constant mention of “struggling families” how about just struggling PEOPLE which then includes everyone ?!

Totally agree, it's absolutely terrible that anyone that isn't a family often gets deemed not worthwhile. To be fair to Liz up until now she's avoided saying this language while labour / SNP / lib Dems pick holes saying families need more help. No idea what she's said today though.

I'll vote for any party that stops with all this "hard working family" stuff. I'm sure Blair and Cameron were guilty of saying this.

 

[Elbow80]

Honestly you're right, and it's p vulgar to be spending a tonne on a state funeral just now. She saved clothing coupons for her wedding dress in immediately post-war Britain when rationing was still still in effect, ffs. That wasn't necessary, but not to would have been unseemly.

Absolutely hate a food bank in a school, jfc.


I loved this story, thank you for sharing. I've got some memories like that from my childhood and teens which aren't even bittersweet, just a cute memory of that time with my mam.
I hope my kid has some 'bright side' memories of the daft stuff we do to stay busy and have adventures on a shoestring, and the weird end-of-month concoctions I do my best with, and I think all of the parents struggling now and soon should bear this stuff in mind and not grind themselves down too much with what they weren't able to give their kids.

Kids remember what they had, what they did, how they felt and who they were with - they never know what you'd hoped they could have had/done.

This is the mindset I’m trying to cling to at the moment. I ran up a lot of debt when my eldest daughters father died. I developed a habit of buying things to try and mask my grief and also to compensate her for her loss. Obviously very silly in hindsight and I’m painfully paying the price now with a big chuck of my monthly wage going to pay it off. It actually gives my a lot of anxiety and I have a lot of guilt about not being able to take my youngest on holidays now etc.

It’s going to be a tough Christmas again but I really try to make memories that don’t cost a lot. Just today we had a lovely day at a local National Trust site as they had a free entry event on. I just hope they look back on their childhood and don’t feel that they missed out.

 

[MissTeddy]

Just a reminder that management are still employees

No dig at you personally. But my office often refer to "management" as if we aren't also employees who have their own bills etc and we should fund everything. And don't get me started on the things "management" should or shouldn't do in regards to poor performance/sickness etc.

sorry - I’m ’management’ for what it’s worth.
I have a budget and I buy my team flowers, wine, voucher for birthdays etc .
Employees - whatever their title- should not be funding.

 

[Thank(space)you]

£20 a month?!

Even the famous baked bean blogger claims £20 a week, not £20 a month for food?!?!