Discontent #9 food, energy, transport, cost of living, society etc

[heretoreaditall2019]

Its such a difficult time. Dont get me wrong, my children both got so much out of nursery and the people who worked with them were literal angels. They made returning to work so much easier but its still eye watering to look back on.

I darent add up the loss of earnings from being part time either!

Women get really shafted - it’s not just the immediate loss of earnings it’s loss of pensions contributions, student loans repayments, even NI stamps, and possibly even unpaid parental leave. And that’s not even factoring in other things such as un/conscious bias against them and progression - if I didn’t have a toddler I’d have gone for roles the next level up but I won’t because I don’t have the extra to give atm.

Full time childcare with no free hours or tax free help for 3 years is just shy of a six figure sum. With inevitable annual price increases it’ll very likely cross over into 6 figs.

 

[Folkevermore]

Yes thank you! I hate the ignorance around it, sure pensioners on a society level had it easier in many ways, but there are plenty who worked their whole lives couldn't afford to benefit from buying a house or whatever else. It's sad how some people evidently wish they got fuck all when in reality the issue is that things are so shit as well for others.

It’s a piss take though when pensioners have a triple lock despite being better off than average and then public sector get a 3% payrise and told to suck it up, and then get insulted by the general public when there’s even a whisper about potentially striking.

My parents are celebrating their pension rise whilst on their eighth holiday of the year. They didn’t need that money and the government need to find a way to means test it

 

[Folkevermore]

Rail staff aren't that hard done by - as some like make out to be.

I know three people who work for CrossCountry trains.

Two are Train Managers. They are on around £35-40k a year. Are paid time and a quarter for overtime, including if a train is late running. Get a final salary pension, free travel (partner and kids get this too) on Deutsch Bahn services for XC and other networks they run in the UK, plus 75% off for all other train companies. Private health care is chucked in too.

Another works on the trolley service. Since covid, they have been allowed to stay at one end of the train, so no more walking up and down the train. He too pulls in the same perks as the Train Manager and is on over £20k a year. Being ex British Rail, he also gets a 'box card' that allows a limited number of free first class journeys to anywhere in the UK.

I believe the staff who work on the ticket gates are on around £13 per hour, with overtime also paid at time and a quarter, with the same free/discounted travel perks, pension and health care.

How many people in other jobs out there can look forward to a final salary pension when they retire? Next to none.

It only seems to be jobs connected to the public sector that still offer this kind of pension.

Being on “over 20k a year” isn’t a good salary tbh. In April that will be barely over the living wage. As far as train managers go, I know managers in tesco stores who earn more than that. £35k is only a few thousand more than the average U.K. wage.

 

[Pinkii]

Santa’s grotto prices are ridiculous, the place we went to last year cost us £70 which I thought was pricey then! This year the same place is £130!!! absolutely taking the piss

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

Feminism is trying to get the dinosaur politicians to get us heavily subsidised care. Because we want to work. Because we contribute a massive amount to the economy, we deserve bigger subsidies.

This! Pay women for the work they do, including stay at home mums cos their work has value!

I reject the idea that being a good mother means selling myself short? I still thinking earning potential is capped if you’re a mother/have a high earning partner you have to be somewhat available to support but why does voluntarily crushing my earning potential, leaving me at the mercy of a man’s decision making, leaving myself pensionless and assetless, and bored stiff all day isolated in a society no longer accommodating to mothers and children result in a great family that’s an asset to its local community?

I think this is quite a white MC portrayal of what family should look like too, WC women have been working out the home for years before MC women popularised yuppy feminism in the 80s or girl boss feminism of the 00s.

Don’t get me wrong it’s fucking hard and I cry at least once a week but I know I’m doing right by all of us with my decision to work. I know this is a v privileged stance but I’m working to give my daughter choices I never ever had so I’m not gonna be made to feel like I’m poisoning society for that. What society anyway lol cos last time I checked I was the one that dragged myself through uni and those early 20s grind years completely alone?

 

[bowtiesarecool]

I've been turned the heat on the past few days, we are managing the cold just not drying the laundry. I consider it a treat lol, but it pushes us up to £7.50 a day on the smart meter. That's £225 a month (30 day month) if we stick to 2 hours a day. And Mr Hunt in the news today saying we just need to get used to using less gas and electricity... How out of touch are these morons.

They're out of touch as they have the bloody money to pay for it. Not like us normal low earning peasants

 

[Cantthinkofausername]

Saw this in the news…really upset me yesterday

I'd take this story with a pinch of salt, to be honest. You've got to remember there's a lot of trolls around. Human food tends to be cheaper than petfood (at least things like basic beans and spaghetti hoops) and there are food banks.

 

[candyland_]

Credit for a food shop? Has the world went mad? They’ll help people get into debt anyway they can.

 

[rainbowlemon]

Sign of the times.

 

[jackolantern]

Surely those in their 60s can help their kids?

- edit- SHOULD help their kids/grandchildren. But of course many can’t or won’t. As you were!

So I'm 30 and my Dad died when I was 21. My Gran (his mum) owned his home (long story) and sold it when he died. She intends to give me the money as next of kin (which obviously I hugely appreciate) but only when she dies. In the past 8 years we have spent over £70,000 on rent (can't afford to buy, well we spend more in rent than we would a mortgage but they won't give us one and that's another debate in itself really isn't it) and we have over £10,000 debt, rent a cold, mouldy property (which she's happy to point out we need to change all the time) with our baby. Is this her fault? Absolutely not. Does she owe us anything? Of course not. However, it's a huge point of ????? for me that she inherited my Dad's property off her father and is well to do herself and lets that money sit in a bank while we struggle, dangling it over my head, sooner than just support us now and be alive to be part of that happiness. She's more concerned about tradition and being seen to 'leave' us something because gosh what will the village say if she gives us it now? My Grandma was the direct opposite and would give you the coat off her back. It's just so utterly bizarre to me.

Again, I need to highlight I absolutely know my shit is my own to sort and I don't expect handouts from anyone, but it's the fact I know she's going to give me it anyway that I struggle with. If it were me I'd want to do everything while I was around to support my son, instead of watching him suffer knowing I could prevent that, at the cost of saving some face for fucking strangers. They are just a weird, weird generation.

 

[Yel]

Its just painful. I dont think some older people really understand how difficult it is these days to afford a home to live in.

Do people these days have far more frivolities, Id say absolutely yes.

However income in correlation to house prices / rental costs is astronomical compared to any point in history.

Also how many people are actually on 50k plus in reality?!?

So many older people are totally out of touch.

Yes you can a big TV cheaply now rather than rent it and flights to Spain for £20 but the essentials cost so much. And this idea of retiring and having a few decades is only a dream for the younger generation.

Someone on 50k could easily have the same take home as someone else on benefits with the housing and child elements. Neither are living the life of Riley!

 

[nomyroofisNOTsarked]

Feminism is trying to get the dinosaur politicians to get us heavily subsidised care. Because we want to work. Because we contribute a massive amount to the economy, we deserve bigger subsidies.

 

[Scorpihoe]

Saw this in the news…really upset me yesterday

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Peoples circumstances change, disposable income reduces.

If you have a pet theyre part of your family you dont just 'get rid of them' this isnt to say I agree people are eating dog food because I know how much it costs and its definitely not a cheaper option and its very much a click baity headline.

Ive spoken before about how much my dogs cost me and its a lot but Id really cut back on everything before I even considered rehoming them. Theyre living creatures who are attached to everyone in our home.

The thought that people would even have to consider getting rid of pets due to the COL crisis makes me so sad.

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

I’m going to sound like a twat here but I wish old people would shut up saying they can’t afford to put the heating on. They were giving over £1000 this year including the warm home thing they get every year.

It’s parents and every body else that haven’t got the money to heat their homes.

This is gonna be SUCH an unpopular opinion and I cba to row so won’t reply sorry -

But anecdotally I see so many older ppl living in £500k+ properties requiring social care or subsidies etc, just fucking sell it?! I know councils are seriously struggling to pay for social care because of a gov funding shortfall, I know that some care costs are redeemable against property sales, but it’s INSANE to me seeing elderly ppl living in 3/4/5+ bed houses struggling financially and any subsidy whether through the state or adult children is just subsidising MC ppl’s inheritances.

 

[jackolantern]

Agree with a couple of the previous posts.

Right to Buy didn't help, as well as the councils failure to rebuild the social housing stock.

People view housing as an investment rather than somewhere to live.

Controversial, but I don't think anyone should be allowed to own more than one home. Breaks my heart that there's people paying mental rents just to pay someone else's mortgage/holiday home, and in doing so are trapped in the rental market because all their money is going on rent.

I was listening to someone the other day telling us how they rent out their first property to a family with young kids, the income from which has allowed this person to get another house with a massive garden. And then trying to justify it by saying they are a good landlord. The greed makes me sick.

And also, stop estate agents buying up property and then renting it out. New block of flats gone up near me, local estate agents got first dibs and bought the lot.

My landlord owns around 30 properties, it's a family and they are all loaded. Gets passed from one rich bloke to the next. On my entire street, every property is his. He never ever fixes a thing in any of the properties unless he is absolutely forced and even then it takes months. There are actually things on the property that he legally has to change and he hasn't. All the properties are in a state of absolute disarray, rising damp covering up to 75% of the walls, mould everywhere, peeling paint. You can't even see the bathroom walls/ceiling for mould. One winter our boiler went and we spent the whole of November with no heating or hot water, bearing in mind we live in Cumbria in an old farmhouse so temperatures were under 10 in the house. The sad reality is, we can't say anything, because if we do it'll just antagonise him and he'll do something like raise the rent which we can't afford. Can't afford to stay, can't afford to move. All so these rich cunts can have 'empires'. Bah.

 

[jackolantern]

It's currently only 12 in our house and hits 14 max with the heating. Haven't a choice other than to put it on because we have a 9 month old :'( Usually we'd just suffer it. Oil is going to cost us about £500-£600 this month and will last 2 months tops. Just failed MOT so that's going to be another £300-£400. Already been eating into savings upwards of £1000 a month because we aren't coping with the rise in cost of living and we've struggled this year making less than usual due to baby being 2 months preemie. Probably got about 6 months before we run dry so going to have to desperately figure out what to do, currently alternate shifts because childcare is too pricey plus I'd rather look after him myself than give all my wage for someone else to tbh. I just don't know what they expect people to do. All bills are atleast 2-3x higher, if not more. You can only cut so much without having near 0 quality of life left. I know people always have it rough and that won't ever change, but this shouldn't be the reality in households with two working individuals.

 

[underwhelmed1985]

Got a £500 cost of living boost from my employer. Nice gesture and would’ve helped but after the government/student loan company have taken their greedy cut I’m left with about £150 of it. Student loans should be set to annual salary not fluctuations each month, it only goes to interest. They say you can reclaim overpayments at the end of the tax year but that’s no use.

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Snap!! Lovely gesture but would have gone further in an envelope of cash off the books, or a few supermarket gift cards lol. Not that I’m in anyway ungrateful but it’s sickening seeing all the deductions come off

 

[emmer_moans]

It's criminal that electrical goods have planned obsolescence for only a few years, just for that stuff to end up in landfill. Same with cars, they shouldn't be scrappable after 5 years. All that metal and plastic that then mostly gets dumped, and portion recycled. I think all such machines should be built to last again. Smartphones shouldn't be designed to only be used 2 years.

 

[Yel]

While it's good that some people who are given public money who don't need it pass it to those that do. I wish it was sorted so it was targeted fairly in the first place.

I was listening to speach radio this morning and someone was saying how much they liked the freedom pass. They said they could afford to pay for public transport but really liked that they get it for free. The problem I have is there's lots of people who really struggle with the cost of public transport but the state help isn't available for them. Where I live (SE England but semi rural) there's multiple bus companies and you often need to get two busses and it's an absolute fortune as you can't even just buy a weekly ticket to cover all the busses from different companies. The job seakers bus pass was taken away ages ago

It seems like often the people around here who pay for buses are the ones that can least afford it.