Struggling to afford to live nowadays

Hades

Hades

Hades

Man of Honour
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
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Location
Surrey
Just wondering how many others are in this situation. Everything around me is going up in price. My council tax just went up around 9%, my train ticket around 5% (lowest rise in years), the new car tax bands hit me badly when they come into force, my food bill is rocketing, my heating bill and electricity bill is through the roof by around 15%

...and I just got a 2% payrise.

I'm on a very good salary but for the last few years I've been getting poorer and poorer as real inflation outstrips the small payrises I get.

Anyone else in a similar position?
 
Mmmm not really. I live in a one-bed place and my rent is £715 a month which includes everything apart from electricity.

I don't have travel costs since I can walk to work, and I don't drive.

Life is expensive. London is expensive. I'm going to become a monk.
 
Hades said:
Big mortgage. No other debts. The point I'm making is that real inflation is outstripping most peoples pay rises.
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Inflation nearly always outstrips peoples pay increases. The problem is that demand from India and China is pushing up the costs of oil and wheat and this, in turn, increases the cost of living. Then for a double whammy we get hit by the Credit Crunch because of the stupid Americans (I, for one, think the world would be a better place without 'em).

There is a reasonable chance of serious economic slowdown and people who have big mortgages with no room to breath are going to really feel the pinch.

Thankfully being a sensible old man I left plenty of space to buffer any price rises and hopefully will come through the other side smelling (reasonably) iof roses.

Lots of people won't. :(
 
LordSplodge said:
How much of a buffer do you have?
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Buffer ? thats not the point, companys are charging more than they need to because they can get away with it, were all being mugged, the biggest thevies are the councils that charge us council tax (in the £1000's) for sweet FA - its the most expensive waste disposal company I know, thats ALL they do, is take my rubbish away, even then they think they can dictate HOW MUCH rubbish im allowed?!?!?!? idiots. We should scrap councils, privatise waste disposal companies and allow the police a lot more powers to get rid of scum we see everywhere today. /rant:mad::p
 
Are my outgoings getting more expensive? Yes. Am I struggling to afford to live? Certainly not. There's plenty of things I can cut back on before then - beer, games, Sky TV, broadband, WOW subscription etc.

To the OP, what car do you drive that gets hit so bad with the new tax bands?
 
Yeah mate, I'm in exactly the same position as you.

Each year rent on the same property goes up, my council tax just went up (and they had the cheek to say that service may be reduced this year!), leccy and gas is going through the roof, and I didn't get a pay rise this year.

It just doesn't get any easier, I'm waiting for the day when I can actually afford to go shopping and not feel guilty about spending £50, but I can't see when that's gonna be.

It can really get you down if you let it, but chin up, it will get better one day!
 
Combat squirrel said:
Buffer ? thats not the point, companys are charging more than they need to because they can get away with it, were all being mugged, the biggest thevies are the councils that charge us council tax (in the £1000's) for sweet FA - its the most expensive waste disposal company I know, thats ALL they do, is take my rubbish away, even then they think they can dictate HOW MUCH rubbish im allowed?!?!?!? idiots. We should scrap councils, privatise waste disposal companies and allow the police a lot more powers to get rid of scum we see everywhere today. /rant:mad::p
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Of course having a buffer is the point. It means you can survive any financial downturns and still keep a roof over you heads.

Council tax pays for a lot of stuff that most people take for granted or don't see.

If you want to direct your anger aim it at the energy companies or the fact that we pay VAT on top of fuel duty! :mad:
 
scorza said:
Are my outgoings getting more expensive? Yes. Am I struggling to afford to live? Certainly not. There's plenty of things I can cut back on before then - beer, games, Sky TV, broadband, WOW subscription etc.

To the OP, what car do you drive that gets hit so bad with the new tax bands?
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5 year old Golf V6 4Motion

Yeah there are things I can cut back on if needed, and the mortgage is fixed for 10 years. I do have a buffer so won't go under.
 
Yes, but buffers aren't unlimited are they? As soon as you purchase a property/or pay rent then for most people any 'buffers' they have are going to be relatively small since most people in this country aren't going to be on huge salaries.
 
I got a 3.2% payrise (same as the last 12 years)

This year I have streamlined all my outgoings (18 seperate monthly outgoings - now reduced to 13 in fact) - and have managed to reduce my yearly outgoings by over £2000.

From my accounts, I predict I will be +£600 better off after all the increases are taken into account.


If you want to survive you need to spend some time looking at what you spend your monthly money on, and decide what needs changed / removed.

Do you really need Sky @ £15 a month, Magazines @ £6 a month, subscriptions to blah, blah....
Do you really need to stop and get that £2 cup of coffe every week, or that bagel. What did you do before that franchise was there ?
Do you really need a window cleaner (when you can do it yourself), or Mortgage protection that only pays out after 8 weeks out of work (if you afford that long without a job) ?
Do you really need House/contents Insurance at £23 a month, when you can spend 20 mins on the internet and get better coverage for £150 one off payment ?
Do you really need a £20 a month gym subscription when you can run, cycle and lift weights for free?
Do you really need a mechanic to charge you £100 for stuff you can quite easily do yourself in 4 hours for that MOT ?
Do you really need a car wash costing you £4 every 2 weeks - when you can save £100 a year and do it yourself in 20mins every Sunday ?
Do you really need to use that mobile at £30 a month as much. What did you do when you didn't have one ? I now use less than £2 a month on mine & I'm no worse off.
And god forbid, but do you really need that super fast Internet & have to spend 6 hours a week on your landline to that person with the mobile ?
Or - Could you even manage to not park in that multi story in the centre of town that charge £1 an hour - and manage to walk 1/2 mile into town (ohhh, I might get wet in the rain) - saving yourself £120 a year.

Stick anything that costs more than £2 a week on a spreadsheet and sit back as it totals up for the month and the year. Then see why £2 a week for that treat every week, takes £100 out of your yearly wage.

The reason the cost of living has gone up so much, is because everyone HAS TO HAVE that thing in the advert that everyne else has.....

Take the things that are unneccessary away, and you can save a fortune ;)
 
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Triad2000 said:
Yes, but buffers aren't unlimited are they? As soon as you purchase a property/or pay rent then for most people any 'buffers' they have are going to be relatively small since most people in this country aren't going to be on huge salaries.
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Don't buy more or rent more than you can afford.

Once you are renting/have a mortgage don't spend money on crap like the latest gadgets/mobiles/TVs

Financial management isn't a black art even for people who don't earn a fortune.

I'll paraphrase for you: If you can't afford it, don't buy it.

Get it?
 
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