It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

Si_Clist

Boiling water seems to work just as well on the weeds between our paving slabs, with the advantage that unlike vinegar it doesn't eventually corrode the mortar between them.

Rosa_Damascena

Wednesday2000 said:

@joedenise - I would love a two bed (or even one bed) bungalow with a very low maintenance paved over garden.:) I am not sure I would even bother having plants in pots as I hate gardening so much.

Re chips and the prices - I now have a local chippy that does a huge portion of chips for about £1.50. We have experimented with a few others since we moved here but we decided the other day that they seem like the best value and great taste.  We used to have an old fashioned chippy near us in East London but the portions were tiny! The local kebab place near our old house was extremely generous, but they were the thin type of chips/fries, not the proper chip shop chips.

Where is that? And what do they fry their chips in?

Whenever I take my little niece to Adventure Island we go through the whole rigmarole of "oh I'm hungry" and "we get 20% off here" (wristband privilege). Last time I caved and bought her a cone at the chipper at the bottom of the High Street - she tried one and then declared McDonalds fries are better. So that was a waste of £3.30!

I took them home and introduced her to the delights of a chip butty with white bread, butter and tomato ketchup which I haven't had for at least 25 years, and she was less than impressed. So hard to please.

Si_Clist

Rosa_Damascena said:

I took them home and introduced her to the delights of a chip butty with white bread, butter and tomato ketchup which I haven't had for at least 25 years, and she was less than impressed. So hard to please.

Good grief!  If you put tomato ketchup on my chip butty, I wouldn't be impressed either!

cinnamon123

basketcase said:

Isn't the amount 'the locals' are earning also a factor? 

My 2p - It depends on what comparison you are trying to make. Some categories/comparisons make more sense than others - e.g. comparing the % people spend on food (or housing, or home energy costs) to their income. The wealthier you are, the less % you spend on food - and that can become alarming as inequality increases because the lower you are on the income/asset ladder, the greater the % you spend on food.

Comparing petrol prices I believe is a bit more nuanced because individuals will view the petrol/L price differently in part based on how often they fill up their cars/km traveled. Unless it is a huge jump, you drive a lot, or you have very little room in the budget, the increases/decreases may not matter much to you. But because petrol prices affect the overall cost of living (specifically in the realm of macro transit costs) any difference between countries have a much larger impact regardless of the amount locals are earning since an increase will result in higher prices on most goods eventually. (Sadly, decreases don't always make their way to consumers wallets.)

It's also hard to just look at one sector (like food) and make comparisons between countries. So much goes into it, like the industries government is subsidizing, tax rates, available natural resources, etc.

But I'm not even an armchair economist so the above is literally worth 2p

I will say as someone who has visited the UK a good amount in the past 20 years as well as followed UK bloggers/vloggers, food prices have always seemed extremely low to me. Some of the prices of the supermarkets own brands have always made me wonder how they can even cover the food+manufacturing costs. (Meanwhile when I look at Canadian food prices, I wonder how they can even afford to eat.)

ladyholly said:

Food prices in different contries are hard to compare as other expenses come into play such as housing costs, wages etc. The only constant is that prices are rising across the world and as hard as it is we are better off than many in third world countries where is famine. Some of which is due to the actions of a certain leader in the Kremlin but many are due to the effects of climate change.

Completely agree with @ladyholly 's comments - we are so much better off than the countries experiencing famine. But I will also say that while prices are rising across the world - the ultimate question is whether the majority of a country's residents are able to handle those increases. It seems to me (granted my view is from afar), that because the price increases in some countries are in so many different areas, their people will truly suffer, inequality will significantly increase etc. To me, that points to more than just the actions of the Kremlin and climate change and are most likely systemic practices/policies/failures across many industries.

I watched a video the other evening from a woman in the UK and she noted that energy prices increased significantly from April 2021 to October 2021 - clearly before the war. (Based on the OFGEN energy cap - not sure I got that acronym correct.) So while the war may be further affecting energy prices (and food prices/famine because of wheat/transport etc), it definitely isn't the only cause of them. Unfortunately, people have been impacted for far too long.

Sheesh - this was long! I've had way too much coffee today  

Wednesday2000

Rosa_Damascena said:

Wednesday2000 said:

@joedenise - I would love a two bed (or even one bed) bungalow with a very low maintenance paved over garden.:) I am not sure I would even bother having plants in pots as I hate gardening so much.

Re chips and the prices - I now have a local chippy that does a huge portion of chips for about £1.50. We have experimented with a few others since we moved here but we decided the other day that they seem like the best value and great taste.  We used to have an old fashioned chippy near us in East London but the portions were tiny! The local kebab place near our old house was extremely generous, but they were the thin type of chips/fries, not the proper chip shop chips.

Where is that? And what do they fry their chips in?

Seacrest in Westborough Road. They have a labelled vegan/veg menu and really good portion sizes for the price.
SEACREST FISH AND CHIPS, Westcliff-on-Sea - Updated 2022 Restaurant Reviews, Menu & Prices - Tripadvisor

Oldhams chip shop is meant to be good too, but we haven't tried there yet. I walked past that shop today. Totally off topic but I saw the Sue Ryder furniture store today while I was walking to the Civic Centre for my Covid jab. I have to go for a proper look around there.:)

YoungBlueEyes

Si_Clist 

Good grief!  If you put tomato ketchup on my chip butty, I wouldn't be impressed either!

Agreed! Salad cream on chip butties or I’m not eating it! 

Rosa_Damascena

YoungBlueEyes said:

Si_Clist 

Good grief!  If you put tomato ketchup on my chip butty, I wouldn't be impressed either!

Agreed! Salad cream on chip butties or I’m not eating it! 

I knew this was coming! Personally I cannot stand the eggy taste.

@Wednesday2000 - aren't you clever for finding this? Its slightly off the beaten track but walkable from my parent's home so I may surprise them one evening as a one-off treat. I've had some great finds from Sue Ryder but it is now getting quite pricey. I walked to the Civic Centre yesterday evening for my booster and felt achey all day. It seems to be improving a little now.

Florenceem

I have two free £5 vouchers for HobbyCraft - will go and use them tomorrow.

Pollycat

Chip butties should only ever have salt and vinegar on.
The bread should be thickly sliced and spread with proper butter.

thriftwizard

Going back to "feeling the pinch" I've just come back from a hard day on the market stall and can vouch for the fact that people are suddenly very worried and afraid to buy, even things like (inexpensive) lined curtains & warm blankets that they know will help keep the cold out! So many customers - many of them regulars, bless them - said things like, "I love it and I really really want it, but until I know what my mortgage & fuel bills are going to be, I daren't spend any money..." I did OK, but it was all small transactions. And this is in a "wealthy" town...

Hard times all round...