If things get tougher?

JoeyEmma

I was in the supermarket the other day and commented to the lady on the check out that I couldn't believe that 6 eggs now cost £1.45 (I buy free range). She agreed and told me that the store manager has warned them that come January there will be large further increases on the cost of things such as milk, eggs, bread etc. They have been told they are keeping prices down for Christmas but then will be increasing them.

The drop in the interest rate means the money saved on the mortgage (all £30) will be swallowed up on food, gas and electricity!

dizzydolly

its really discusting that when theres one or two of you in a family thats going out to work and you still have to scrimp and scrape just to get by ,you should be able to live comfortably and have a little extra left for treats /holidays or whatever ,
what a bl**dy country we live in ,they wont be happy till theyve bled us dry.

JoeyEmma

dizzydolly wrote: »

its really discusting that when theres one or two of you in a family thats going out to work and you still have to scrimp and scrape just to get by ,you should be able to live comfortably and have a little extra left for treats /holidays or whatever ,
what a bl**dy country we live in ,they wont be happy till theyve bled us dry.

Who are "they"? Do you mean the government, the big businesses or some other people?

I don't think its this "bl**dy country". What's going on is a global issue, affecting people in China http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7128797.stm as well as in the US.

Plum_Pie

JoeyEmma wrote: »

Who are "they"? Do you mean the government, the big businesses or some other people?

I don't think its this "bl**dy country". What's going on is a global issue, affecting people in China http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7128797.stm as well as in the US.

Thank you! We're not a self-sufficient country! We don't produce gas and oil! We ship food in from other countries! How many people here work for companies owned overseas?! (And vice-versa - Tesco stores are being opened in the US currently.)

In the course of a normal human lifespan there wil be ups and downs economically! Atleast we have the skills to cope!

Yes, I am bothered by rising prices btw!

dizzydolly

yes ,I mean the government and yes other countries have their own problems but its a fact that we pay more for most things here than our european counterparts.
if youre happy with your lot ,then good for you ,personally I think the british public are been taken the p!ss out of .

JoeyEmma

I am bothered by rising prices of fuel and groceries, of course I am, I notice when my bread costs an extra 20p and my gas bill goes up. However, I hardly feel the government is the sole cause of this, it is due to living in a global world. The large global banks have been irresponsibly dealing money, selling loans and selling on bad debts, leading to the "credit crunch". I hardly feel my local MP is responsible for Citibank and all the other American banks.

As for saying we pay more for things here than our European counterparts, I don't think that is true. Since going into the Euro a lot of people on the continent have found that the cost of groceries has gone up massively. This year I've been to Holland, Ireland and Italy and have been to supermarkets in all countries. Yes, ok, they get cheaper beer, wine and cigs, however a lot of things are more expensive, including basics. Do you really think the cost of our bread is going up, but in Europe the price remains static?

nicola1982_2

Well we could cut down on the food, get rid of sky, broadband, mobiles, car, landline, OH's online game sub, LoveFilm, turn down heating, get a water meter, stop using lights (ie sleep to the season), get a second job, move cot into our room and get a lodger in.

Plenty of options before poverty, but I guess worst case scenario would be DMP/IVA or Bankruptcy if debts weren't repaid before it got that bad. I think that there are people in worse positions than me for whom that will be the only option.

I like this thread, it's made me reflect on how lucky I am.

Horace

I can't get rid of the car but try and use it infrequently. I already wrap up warm as only have expensive electric heating. I am already going without and cannot scrimp any more but use MSE for freebies.

One thing that I would do and that is gather my savings together, get some huge fireworks and try and break into the house of commons and maybe try and finish the job that guy fawkes failed to do. Failing that, I would vote in a better party than this one - who seem to have the same policy as Janice Nicholls - spend spend spend!:eek:

[Deleted User]

I am reading bits and pieces here and there about the rising cost of everything. I just read somewhere that the big supermarkets will be putting the price of basic foods up in the new year

I feel very very lucky in that I learnt to manage the hard way ie by making do when I was a child and again when our children were small and interest rates went up to 15%. So I can cook good soups and stews and I can make bread and I can use pulses. I know how to keep warm and how to cover my front door with a curtain and to use a `sausage draught excluder`

I have learnt to do my washing at 30 and I have a bike, only it is too cold and hilly for me (at 60) at the moment, so I plan my trips to the shops as I have to go by car

I have a small portable induction hob and stainless steel pans and can cook a full meal in one pan with my steamer attachment or I can cook a full meal in my large electric steamer

Our house is new and energy efficient but years ago I made secondary `glazing` by using cling film and a hair fryer. I put silver foil on cardboard and stuffed it behind the radiators. I lined all my curtains and shut them to keep the cold out as soon as dusk came

I have no debt to anyone but I feel very much for those who got sucked in and now struggle to get out of the mire

nowadays, I don`t NEED to do any of that because the pennies saved over a lifetime added up and we can have a comfortable third age but old habits die hard. Things like only using the oven when I can fill it

I count my blessings

katieowl_2

Well I have been sitting here this morning going over my Direct Debits and Standing order (council tax - no way those bu&&ers get direct access to my account!) And trying to work out IF and it is a big IF if they would let me anyway, I converted my CC and overdraft to a loan, whether I could actually afford the monthly repayments, so the re-emergence of this thread is timely!

I had hardly any debt this time last year apart from my OD at the bank, which I relied on heavily, but my OH has had next to no work this year (he is a self employed joiner) He is complaining that it is now £50 to fill the car up each week, and that the cost of materials is SKY HIGH. Too many customers do sharp intake of breath, the materials ALONE is more than they want to pay! (Last time this happened BTW we went into recession....)

We were intending to sell up our house and move early next year to cash in on the equity in the house and buy oughtright. I am having more sleepless nights about this than I care to think about at the moment. There is no way we won't make a healthy profit, as we've been here 21 years, but whether we can AFFORD another house is another matter (and yes we are moving to a cheaper part of the country - sorry kids...) We couldn't move sooner because I have a DS that needs to finish his GCSE in Summer 08 and a DD that is due to finish A levels at the same time.

So back to the list of debits...can't cancel the insurance on Mortgage or house.... DM pays the pet insurance for me anyway....Can't do without gas electric or water, HAVE to pay the council tax. Internet? My contact lenses? TV license???

OH and I had already decided to totally stop drinking in the new year (the two bottles of wine a week we allow ourselves currently)

Can't turn the heating down, as we don't have any, we burn wood offcuts from DH's workshop, and I'm sitting here wearing three layers.

I'm already just about the most frugal person I know when it comes to shopping.... and the kids have had a tenner each spent on them for Christmas (fortunately they are all old enough to understand our current predicament) Like Kitty I can make my own bread, cook pulses, make jam, do rubber chickens etc. and I've been doing it for years but I am rapidly reaching the point where I CAN'T COVER THE BASICS.

I'm finding it all a bit scary at the moment. :eek:

Regards

kate