Do you feel poorer?

Good to see some input, as the media has whipped up this frenzy about everyone struggling. And I was hoping to see if people had cut down spending on furnishings, clothing etc as the stories in the papers are showing a lot of retail outlets struggling.

I do feel poorer, even though, in reality, I'm probably not. That sentiment alone is enough to make me stop and question expenditure. I'm guessing this is a common thing at the moment and is contributing towards the slide in retail sales :)

I'm really glad I didn't get a mortgage last year or I would be quite unhappy right now I think. I do manage to do pretty much everything I want to do, but I find myself justifying anything that could be considered frivolous, whereas before I'd just splash the cash without a second thought. I also have avoided debt like the plague.

My main three killers at the moment are eating out, beer, and petrol. I can't do without good food and beer, as they make me happy :) I drive a LOT more now for pleasure rather than out of necessity as it's almost become a hobby - I like to explore the countryside and go to historic attractions. Unfortunately the price of petrol recently has definitely made it a more noticeable expenditure.

WNB: You just raised a good point. I work out that I'm spending about £106 a month at work on lunch (and sometimes I have brekky too). Time to start making my own stuff I think and putting the money towards the next motor ;)
 
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Jez said:
And takes far longer than its worth to collect, and i actually have woodland in my grounds so it should be easy! Real fires are romantic on a winters evening but they are useless for heating the house with.
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Not true! My mum and dad bought a wood burning stove and they buy loads of wood in bulk already cut into nice squares. In the winter the heating doesn't have to go on at night, as the stove obliterates the living room with heat, which also heats my room as i am above it. They are pretty effective!
 
FrostedNipple said:
Not true! My mum and dad bought a wood burning stove and they buy loads of wood in bulk already cut into nice squares. In the winter the heating doesn't have to go on at night, as the stove obliterates the living room with heat, which also heats my room as i am above it. They are pretty effective!
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He was talking with free wood collected from woodland. Waste of time as it burns too quickly, there is no way you'd ever want to spend enough time collecting enough :)
 
FrostedNipple said:
Not true! My mum and dad bought a wood burning stove and they buy loads of wood in bulk already cut into nice squares. In the winter the heating doesn't have to go on at night, as the stove obliterates the living room with heat, which also heats my room as i am above it. They are pretty effective!
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Your room has been obliterated by heat? How does that help? One would expect a destroyed room to be cooler in winter due to lack of doors, roof, walls etc.
 
Feeling it food shopping but that's about it. Costing us about an extra £100 a month if I was to go back a few years.

I hate this term Credit Crunch. All it means is that the bank are not giving out loans so freely now which isn't a bad thing. Although this has a bearing on the housing market, part of the economy is based on consumer confidence which is a bit low at the moment. We've been banging on about house prices crashing for so long that in fear we've actually made it happen. Interest rates are still low and people still have money in their pocket. For the time being that is.
 
Yes because I've just come off a two week holiday in Croatia....but not because of the credit crunch. I think food shopping is possibly on the rise, but that is all i have noticed so far. I don't own a car so I'm immune to petrol prices. I've just capped my gas and electricity so I'll be OK till next year on that.

It's going to be exciting times ahead though.
 
not really. we are coping with a mortgage, one car (we dont pay road tax, just pay more on petrol now), leccy, water, and a baby (it'll be ready in november), on two wages, soon to be one wage :eek: i cant wait lol... as i read somewhere further up the thread, eating is far over rated anyway? :D
 
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Do I feel poorer? No.

Just got £143 back from my gas bill and £170ish from my council tax. Bonus :]
 
i dont feel poorer but i dont make impulse purchases now. Also save more from my wages so although i dont have as much to spend on random things my savings is growing nicely :)

Although my mortgage fixed term ends in february :(
 
-Tauren- said:
not really. we are coping with a mortgage, one car (we dont pay road tax, just pay more on petrol now), leccy, water, and a baby (it'll be ready in november), on two wages, soon to be one wage :eek: i cant wait lol... as i read somewhere further up the thread, eating is far over rated anyway? :D
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Even though we've just had a baby, the fact that we go our for dinner much less we are almost saving money LOL.

Tauren - don't forget to give your employer 28 days notice of when you want to take paternity leave.

Oh, and being a Dad is lot of fun :)
 
I am earning more, and have less outgoings due to changing living situations and rejigging payments on things and reducing / cutting outgoings that aren't even needed.

So, no I am not.

Rich
 
melbourne720 said:
Even though we've just had a baby, the fact that we go our for dinner much less we are almost saving money LOL.

Tauren - don't forget to give your employer 28 days notice of when you want to take paternity leave.

Oh, and being a Dad is lot of fun :)
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I don't get paternity leave...its one of the downsides to working in a very small shop not owned by co-op, or tesco's, purple shirt brigade etc.. :( i have to use my holiday to get time off for two weeks.. thanks for the advice though i do appreciate it :)

i know, it sounds it, i cant wait to show my little girl off :D
 
topshot said:
food prices are coming into line with what they should be. for too long producers and farmers have been suffering with getting undercut and squeezed by supermarkets to reduce the costs to their customers and draw in more paying customers.
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the problem being that since the cost of food production is rising, the producers and farmers are still being undercut :(
 
topshot said:
food prices are coming into line with what they should be. for too long producers and farmers have been suffering with getting undercut and squeezed by supermarkets to reduce the costs to their customers and draw in more paying customers.
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By "undercut" I guess you mean "reduced to the most economically advantageous price" and by "squeezed" I guess you mean "negotiated and worked with" to give the customer a better deal?

There is no "coming into line" regarding price other than that which the consumer dictates and the market and supplier can agree to deliver.

Yes, producers should make a profit but they should be always challenged as to what drives that profit and if it is beneficial not just to themselves but to the repeating customer who buys their goods.
 
Much better. I saved when things were good and when the credit crunch started I used those savings to pay most of my mortgage. As of next month my monthly payment will be under £5. I notice the food/fuel rises but still have lots left thanks to my saving earlier.
 
-Tauren- said:
I don't get paternity leave...its one of the downsides to working in a very small shop not owned by co-op, or tesco's, purple shirt brigade etc.. :( i have to use my holiday to get time off for two weeks.. thanks for the advice though i do appreciate it :)
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??

You might want to check that:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworkentitlements/Parentalleaveandpay/DG_170373
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworkentitlements/Parentalleaveandpay/DG_170383

iirc, as long as you give the 15 weeks notice then you cannot be refused paternity leave.
also, note on the 2nd link the following:
You cannot take annual leave during paternity leave
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you might want to speak to someone about this.
 
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