Cost Of Living

[Milltown Row2]

Inflation is worse in the sterling counties. Sterling is losing value consistently because the UK is living beyond its means and has to borrow money just to pay the bills. So inflation is higher than elsewhere. It must be very hard for poor people in the North on limited budgets.

I read an article on BBC today about a uni lecturer who's struggling with childcare costs and cost of living costs.

People are always going to struggle with childcare costs. Child care means paying someone else to look after your children, the only way that would not be expensive was if that person was poorly paid compared to you. If the economy improves then you might get more, but presumably the child care person gets more too, so it will always be expensive.

The part in bold is total nonsense

The vast majority of Europeans don't struggle with childcare

The fact the those in UK & Ireland struggle is a conscious choice by gov't

Childcare adds zero value to the economy

This is exactly an area they should be subsidising if they want to get UK productivity up

In an ideal world one salary would be enough for a good lifestyle rather than strangers having to raise your kids

Families don't want to give up having two cars, foreign holidays, the big houses, the branded clothes, eating out, the unnecessary gadgets, the Netflix!Disney/Sky/Prime the top speed broadband and the latest IPhones

I was lucky enough with the wife being a teacher and when the kids were young (up to p7) she was on a 3 day week and I managed to do shifts which allowed me a day here and there to accommodate.

There's a definite change in people's needs, or what we think we need.

Childcare is expensive because there's a demand for it

[tbrick18]

Inflation is worse in the sterling counties. Sterling is losing value consistently because the UK is living beyond its means and has to borrow money just to pay the bills. So inflation is higher than elsewhere. It must be very hard for poor people in the North on limited budgets.

I read an article on BBC today about a uni lecturer who's struggling with childcare costs and cost of living costs.

People are always going to struggle with childcare costs. Child care means paying someone else to look after your children, the only way that would not be expensive was if that person was poorly paid compared to you. If the economy improves then you might get more, but presumably the child care person gets more too, so it will always be expensive.

The part in bold is total nonsense

The vast majority of Europeans don't struggle with childcare

The fact the those in UK & Ireland struggle is a conscious choice by gov't

Childcare adds zero value to the economy

This is exactly an area they should be subsidising if they want to get UK productivity up

In an ideal world one salary would be enough for a good lifestyle rather than strangers having to raise your kids

Families don't want to give up having two cars, foreign holidays, the big houses, the branded clothes, eating out, the unnecessary gadgets, the Netflix!Disney/Sky/Prime the top speed broadband and the latest IPhones

I was lucky enough with the wife being a teacher and when the kids were young (up to p7) she was on a 3 day week and I managed to do shifts which allowed me a day here and there to accommodate.

There's a definite change in people's needs, or what we think we need.

Childcare is expensive because there's a demand for it

It's painful to give up things you once could afford but through no fault of your own you now cannot afford.
I get the point you're making.
In my opinion though, for most people living outside of a city, 2 cars is a must because there is no other way to travel or get to work. I agree on the phones etc....the number of people I see running about with the latest 1K Iphone or Samsung is ridiculous. Its the brand snobbery, not the actual need.

My wife is a teacher too and yeah it def helps with childcare but it is still costly. We eventually got someone to come into the house to do school runs and the like and it actually worked out cheaper than a creche and much more convenient.

But all that aside, the cost of every day essentials have risen so much that even the people who have really cut back are still really struggling.
In my own circumstances, I had to move jobs to get an increase in salary that would cover the increase in bills (such as mortgage deal coming to an end). If I hadn't been able to do that, we'd have been in difficulties too. And believe me when I say we don't live a lavish lifestyle.
My eldest is now 18 and we've only ever once had a foreign family holiday.
No flash cars, no flash phones or branded clothing...I'd say we live within our means and always have done.

There were plenty of people already struggling before this cost of living crisis, but now many more better off people are too and in many cases no amount of reducing streaming services, for example, saves enough to alleviate that. People need to earn more or pay less out just to survive, not to thrive.

[armaghniac]

While there are people struggling, in general wages have kept pace with inflation, and in the ROI the government has indexed tax bands etc. Most people are about the same and do not have a crisis, which seems to showing up the shops.
In Ireland, people have not lost the run of themselves they way they did in 2007.

You read of queues for food vouchers etc, I would be interested in the stories behind these; e.g. excessive rent might be squeezing the food budget.

[imtommygunn]

While there are people struggling, in general wages have kept pace with inflation, and in the ROI the government has indexed tax bands etc. Most people are about the same and do not have a crisis, which seems to showing up the shops.
In Ireland, people have not lost the run of themselves they way they did in 2007.

You read of queues for food vouchers etc, I would be interested in the stories behind these; e.g. excessive rent might be squeezing the food budget.

Not up north they haven't or even close. Are you just talking about the south here because in the north or the remainder of the UK that is very very far from the truth particularly for public sector workers.

[Mike Tyson]

While there are people struggling, in general wages have kept pace with inflation, and in the ROI the government has indexed tax bands etc. Most people are about the same and do not have a crisis, which seems to showing up the shops.
In Ireland, people have not lost the run of themselves they way they did in 2007.

You read of queues for food vouchers etc, I would be interested in the stories behind these; e.g. excessive rent might be squeezing the food budget.

Surprising how easily it could happen - our mortgage fixed rate came to an end a year ago and went from £700 to £1200, childcare bill shortly after went up due to increased staff, heating & electricity cost from £780 to £1100 a month - so there's £820 a month extra we are paying on those two items. Factor in home electricity, gas, food & fuel increases and I can understand how people who were relatively comfortable are suddenly having trouble paying bills and buying food.

Edit - my salary hasn't increase by £820 a month in the same period!

[seafoid]

Our parents generally only needed one salary/wage to rear a family.The old deal say 15 years ago especially for workers was you won't get a payrise but you can shop in Lidl/Aldi and interest rates will be low for the mortgage and you can buy your clothes in Penneys and it will still look ok. But even Lidl and Aldi prices have been inflated.   Now you need 2 incomes  because the cost of housing is far higher. And now interest rates are higher than 3 years ago so it is not just that houses are more expensve but the cost of servicing them is too. Wages have not kept up with inflation in the vast majority of cases. 

Most people are passive and just take it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgJ5ZEn67tk

[armaghniac]

While there are people struggling, in general wages have kept pace with inflation, and in the ROI the government has indexed tax bands etc. Most people are about the same and do not have a crisis, which seems to showing up the shops.
In Ireland, people have not lost the run of themselves they way they did in 2007.

You read of queues for food vouchers etc, I would be interested in the stories behind these; e.g. excessive rent might be squeezing the food budget.

Not up north they haven't or even close. Are you just talking about the south here because in the north or the remainder of the UK that is very very far from the truth particularly for public sector workers.

Clearly public sector workers are screwed, but someone is getting increases, many in the private sector are doing OK.

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/northern-ireland/pay-up-75-in-northern-ireland-to-2100-a-month-report/a256063943.html

[Mike Tyson]

While there are people struggling, in general wages have kept pace with inflation, and in the ROI the government has indexed tax bands etc. Most people are about the same and do not have a crisis, which seems to showing up the shops.
In Ireland, people have not lost the run of themselves they way they did in 2007.

You read of queues for food vouchers etc, I would be interested in the stories behind these; e.g. excessive rent might be squeezing the food budget.

Not up north they haven't or even close. Are you just talking about the south here because in the north or the remainder of the UK that is very very far from the truth particularly for public sector workers.

Clearly public sector workers are screwed, but someone is getting increases, many in the private sector are doing OK.

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/northern-ireland/pay-up-75-in-northern-ireland-to-2100-a-month-report/a256063943.html

Not sure I'd use that term given inflation was around 11% the year prior. So not only was there a delay in wage rise but they haven't even kept pace with inflation.

[imtommygunn]

Yeah and when you factor in mortgage rises etc then I don't think wages have kept pace at all.

[seafoid]

Interest rate rises have reduced the size of places people can buy by 25%. Rents have exploded as a result.

[LeoMc]

While there are people struggling, in general wages have kept pace with inflation, and in the ROI the government has indexed tax bands etc. Most people are about the same and do not have a crisis, which seems to showing up the shops.
In Ireland, people have not lost the run of themselves they way they did in 2007.

You read of queues for food vouchers etc, I would be interested in the stories behind these; e.g. excessive rent might be squeezing the food budget.

Not up north they haven't or even close. Are you just talking about the south here because in the north or the remainder of the UK that is very very far from the truth particularly for public sector workers.

Clearly public sector workers are screwed, but someone is getting increases, many in the private sector are doing OK.

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/northern-ireland/pay-up-75-in-northern-ireland-to-2100-a-month-report/a256063943.html

Is that take home pay they are referring to when it is taking about monthly pay and comes from PAYE data?

[seafoid]

Police and teachers are baling out all over Europe because of salaries and stress.  Some public sector workers in countries like France are turning to the far right.

[manfromdelmonte]

Our parents generally only needed one salary/wage to rear a family.The old deal say 15 years ago especially for workers was you won't get a payrise but you can shop in Lidl/Aldi and interest rates will be low for the mortgage and you can buy your clothes in Penneys and it will still look ok. But even Lidl and Aldi prices have been inflated.   Now you need 2 incomes  because the cost of housing is far higher. And now interest rates are higher than 3 years ago so it is not just that houses are more expensve but the cost of servicing them is too. Wages have not kept up with inflation in the vast majority of cases. 

Most people are passive and just take it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgJ5ZEn67tk

People buy too much stuff on credit - too much money flowing out of account every month
Car
Electronics
Furniture
Holidays

Nobody saves for anything anymore.

[manfromdelmonte]

Are all women cat for it?
Herself loves nothing more than leaving every possible light and  electronic device on as much as possible. Heat on, electric blanket on, hot water on, outside lights on, Christmas tree lights on, tv on. Few token windows left open.

Yes. It vexes me as herself only works part time and I make sure to turn everything off before bed or leaving the house.

Women at work have thermostat turned up to the max - place is like a sauna
Too much heat is not good for comfort or staying alert

[seafoid]

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2023/1225/1423197-inflation-dictates-consumers-adapt-amid-rising-prices/ 

The rate of general price increases slowed down, but that however, is not the same as prices dropping back and living in Ireland is more expensive at the end of the year than it was at the beginning

 The rate of general price increases slowed down, but that however, is not the same as prices dropping back and living in Ireland is more expensive at the end of the year than it was at the beginning

For mortgage holders whose lenders passed on the interest increases however, it all brought financial pain.

Monthly payments rose steeply for many adding thousands per year to the cost of their mortgages

Significant increases in mortgage payments, coupled with the cost of living increases has forced many individuals and families to make very difficult decisions," said Michelle O'Hara of MABS.

"Three quarters of south Leinster MABS clients have reduced electricity use, home heating use, non-essential spending and grocery spend in order to afford their mortgage," she added.