How is the cost of living crisis affecting you?

[StoneRoad]

Food generally seems suddenly to have had a rapid increase in price - especially some of the more niche items.
But even the basics [and the value ranges] are more than they used to be !
And that's both human and animal - we feed wild birds and their seed mix is much more £££ than it was even a month ago.

As for the cat litter - we buy a cheap one and use the deodourising powder, we are keeping the cat in as he's had a bite on his tail after a fight that almost dislocated his hip [been to the vet and had ABs etc].
Not to mention that I think that the local hooray henries have a meet near here today.

 

[shakespearegirl]

I’ve never really looked at the price of cat litter but was reading this just before Mrshakes asked me to go buy some.. it’s gone up from €5.95 to €7.75

 

[Sue]

Food generally seems suddenly to have had a rapid increase in price - especially some of the more niche items.
But even the basics [and the value ranges] are more than they used to be !

I get an online food shop every couple of weeks and typically buy pretty much the same stuff every time. It's noticeably more than it was six months ago. It was £60 to £65 but it's now more like £80 to £85.

 

[Karl Masks]

My local tescoxpress really seems to struggle getting stock. N=1, but still. Makes me wonder if they are the bottom of the queue for some reason.

I wish Britain could cultivate Avocados

 

[butcher]

(((butcher)))

Wrong butcher. We don't sell scraps for dogs as it is a food hygiene issue and they are vatable

 

[Serene]

Going out for bits now costs 40 quid

 

[Sasaferrato]

Cat food. The only one that buggerlugs will eat is now £14.25. Madame's has gone up a whack as well.

 

[ska invita]

Cat food. The only one that buggerlugs will eat is now £14.25. Madame's has gone up a whack as well.

Out of interest never having had a cat how long does that last?

 

[Sasaferrato]

Out of interest never having had a cat how long does that last?

Box of forty, three a day, fortnight or so.

 

[Cat Fan]

I just looked at my grocery bill for last month, £400 for 2 adults, 1 toddler, 1 baby

When I was a student I would feed myself on £15 a week

I'm considering moving jobs to try to get a decent pay rise

Mortgage fixed until Spring 2024 and I've worked out that we may have to find another £500 a month by then if rates don't go down a lot in the next 12 months

I'm currently the sole earner because childcare for our two kids would cost more than my partner earns

 

[zora]

The above-inflation increases by mobile and media companies that are to take effect from April have made the news in recent days. Just now got a text message from Virgin about the 17.3% increase on my monthly phone plan. Had been toying with the idea of signing up to another plan anyway to save a couple of quid. Their text spurred me into action, and I am now on a 12GB, unlimited texts, unlimited minutes plan for £7 a month, instead of the £11-odd soon to be £13-odd I was currently on for the same package. A small victory...

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I'm thinking about selling my house. I'm spending an increasing amount of time at my mother's house because of her health anyway. In the meantime, my property taxes went up another $1000 a year. It's tripled in three years. My heat and electric bills have doubled in the last year, and I added another internet bill so I could work from my mother's house. I don't see any raises coming my way so I don't see how this is sustainable.

 

[pinkmonkey]

Do you have a microwave at work? I've started doing some smaller portions of my batch cooking to take for lunch. Had a dahl with sour kraut for lunch today with some left over salad from last night.

It does all add up though

I'm thinking creatively, my partner has poor executive function and finds food prep difficult, so can I, once I've got going with work I find it hard to prep, so in the morning, I make us both gluten free sandwiches with bread that costs £3 a loaf and makes just 3 rounds of sarnies. I'm gonna make us a box each with rice crackers or ryvita with some spread, chutney and salad/picky bits in a seperate box. Could cut lunchtime costs by about £1.40. I already bake granola bars, but I make really rich heavy ones, with nuts, seeds and peanut butter, they're super filling. But I also eat those nature valley bars. I've found a recipe to make them and it's very simple. I have to stop buying those, anything confectionary is pricey now. Chocolate will have to come from Lidl - pack of Lidl fake Snickers bars - 69p. Pack of real Snickers bars (not that I'd buy at that price) now £2.75. The Lidl ones have nicer chocolate. I'm certain that Cadbury and Heinz are profiteering out of this.

 

[pinkmonkey]

I'm thinking about selling my house. I'm spending an increasing amount of time at my mother's house because of her health anyway. In the meantime, my property taxes went up another $1000 a year. It's tripled in three years. My heat and electric bills have doubled in the last year, and I added another internet bill so I could work from my mother's house. I don't see any raises coming my way so I don't see how this is sustainable.

I gave up my permanent mooring because the price hikes were too much to bear. When we left, we were paying £4800 a year, the next tenant after us is paying £12000 a year. I don't have a home mooring now, but it's not made much difference tbh.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I gave up my permanent mooring because the price hikes were too much to bear. When we left, we were paying £4800 a year, the next tenant after us is paying £12000 a year. I don't have a home mooring now, but it's not made much difference tbh.

I'm getting a little tired of the city anyway. My neighborhood has never been the best, but recently it's taken a turn for the worse. It's not unusual to see Meth addicts passed out in the laundry or the park. At night the public parking turns into public car camping. There's a mental health treatment center a few blocks away and they tend to release people into the neighborhood, so you get all kinds of mostly harmless, but people clearly needing treatment roaming around. At 5:30 this morning I was awakened by the guy who goes out and yells "Hwah!" at passing cars... in the middle of snowstorm. He's also harassed me by waving a buggy whip around my head as I walked down to get coffee a couple of times. When I was younger, none of this bothered me, and I understand that everyone else is dealing with their issues too, but I wonder how I'll be able to cope with it when I'm 20 years older.

 

[MickiQ]

I'm thinking creatively, my partner has poor executive function and finds food prep difficult, so can I, once I've got going with work I find it hard to prep, so in the morning, I make us both gluten free sandwiches with bread that costs £3 a loaf and makes just 3 rounds of sarnies. I'm gonna make us a box each with rice crackers or ryvita with some spread, chutney and salad/picky bits in a seperate box. Could cut lunchtime costs by about £1.40. I already bake granola bars, but I make really rich heavy ones, with nuts, seeds and peanut butter, they're super filling. But I also eat those nature valley bars. I've found a recipe to make them and it's very simple. I have to stop buying those, anything confectionary is pricey now. Chocolate will have to come from Lidl - pack of Lidl fake Snickers bars - 69p. Pack of real Snickers bars (not that I'd buy at that price) now £2.75. The Lidl ones have nicer chocolate. I'm certain that Cadbury and Heinz are profiteering out of this.

Are either or both of you gluten intolerant? I would imagine having special dietary requirements must add cost purely through the extra difficulty of finding stuff you can eat.

 

[pinkmonkey]

I'm getting a little tired of the city anyway. My neighborhood has never been the best, but recently it's taken a turn for the worse. It's not unusual to see Meth addicts passed out in the laundry or the park. At night the public parking turns into public car camping. There's a mental health treatment center a few blocks away and they tend to release people into the neighborhood, so you get all kinds of mostly harmless, but people clearly needing treatment roaming around. At 5:30 this morning I was awakened by the guy who goes out and yells "Hwah!" at passing cars... in the middle of snowstorm. He's also harassed me by waving a buggy whip around my head as I walked down to get coffee. When I was younger, none of this bothered me, and I understand that everyone else is dealing with their issues too, but I wonder how I'll be able to cope with it when I'm 20 years older.

I loved London, was there for 30 years, but all the same, we lived down the end of a quiet lane in a nature reserve in Tottenham (the riots started about a mile from my home) it's by the river, beautiful by day, but by night, people having sex outside my gates, once came home to find people shooting a porno, there was a carjacking, a few stabbings including one literally up against our gate and regular spates of gangs on bikes mugging people. So trips out at night had to be carefully planned. First thing I did when I left was buy a massive iphone, wanted one for work, last thing you do in Tottenham is wave an iphone about after 7pm, it won't be in your hands for long.

 

[pinkmonkey]

Are either or both of you gluten intolerant? I would imagine having special dietary requirements must add cost purely through the extra difficulty of finding stuff you can eat.

Both of us, wheat intolerant, but not coeliac. My parents are too to varying extents. I bake bread for my father in the bread machine (50% wheat/spelt blend) and he's ok with that, he can't eat cheap white or brown sliced. For mum I get boxes of Biona rye bread delivered. She hasn't eaten bread for decades. I can make 100% gf bread in the bread machine but it goes stale and mouldy in less than 24 hours. If we eat pasta and bread regularly, then eating gluten free is an extra £30 or £40 on the food bill per week.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I loved London, was there for 30 years, but all the same, we lived down the end of a quiet lane in a nature reserve in Tottenham (the riots started about a mile from my home) it's by the river, beautiful by day, but by night, people having sex outside my gates, once came home to find people shooting a porno, there was a carjacking, a few stabbings including one literally up against our gate and regular spates of gangs on bikes mugging people. So trips out at night had to be carefully planned. First thing I did when I left was buy a massive iphone, wanted one for work, last thing you do in Tottenham is wave an iphone about after 7pm, it won't be in your hands for long.

Thanks, it's good to know I'm not crazy to find these changes unsettling.

(I feel you on the riots. I had riots about six blocks from my house during the trial of the cops who killed George Floyd.)

 

[petee]

my property taxes went up another $1000 a year. It's tripled in three years.

that's shocking. so much for low-tax Republicans.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

that's shocking. so much for low-tax Republicans.

When the Republicans are in power, they tax and spend worse than any Democrat. When, they're not in power, they yell about "tax and spend Democrats".

 

[Riklet]

Water bill gone up from 130 quid to 170 quid.

Fuckers. Massive hike.

im expecting the internet to go up soon as im with odious Sky.

 

[savoloysam]

Fuck me. I've just been in Tesco's and went to buy my usual free range organic eggs which are usually £3 for 10. They are now £5.15p

Over £5 for ten eggs

 

[pinkmonkey]

Fuck me. I've just been in Tesco's and went to buy my usual free range organic eggs which are usually £3 for 10. They are now £5.15p

Over £5 for ten eggs

It's wild isn't it? The thing that shocked me was £3.50 for a can of corned beef. Cheap food for poor people isn't cheap anymore.

 

[pbsmooth]

I loved London, was there for 30 years, but all the same, we lived down the end of a quiet lane in a nature reserve in Tottenham (the riots started about a mile from my home) it's by the river, beautiful by day, but by night, people having sex outside my gates, once came home to find people shooting a porno, there was a carjacking, a few stabbings including one literally up against our gate and regular spates of gangs on bikes mugging people. So trips out at night had to be carefully planned. First thing I did when I left was buy a massive iphone, wanted one for work, last thing you do in Tottenham is wave an iphone about after 7pm, it won't be in your hands for long.

that is somewhat over-dramatic.. planning trips out because it's dark? not being able to own an iPhone? come on. I know it's not the best area - and I live in a similar area - but it's not as wild west as you're making it sound. and of course it is being slowly gentrified.

 

[StoneRoad]

that is somewhat over-dramatic.. planning trips out because it's dark? not being able to own an iPhone? come on. I know it's not the best area - and I live in a similar area - but it's not as wild west as you're making it sound. and of course it is being slowly gentrified.

It is that bad, and on a national scale - one of the poshest areas around where I live is Hexham.
It was in the news recently when a 16 year old girl was stabbed and died in the local hospital a few hours later...

In the last few years [actually from pre-covid times] I have stopped walking around on my own, especially at night, for exactly those reasons.

 

[pinkmonkey]

that is somewhat over-dramatic.. planning trips out because it's dark? not being able to own an iPhone? come on. I know it's not the best area - and I live in a similar area - but it's not as wild west as you're making it sound. and of course it is being slowly gentrified.

I'm a woman and in the 17 years I lived there. I've been sexually assaulted right outside my gates and also flashed at on the marsh twice, one guy followed me and was super aggressive. There is no street lighting there, because it's a nature reserve, it's about a 1/4 of a mile to somewhere with street lighting, it's pitch dark at night so it's somewhere people go to have sex, burn the car they stole, flytip, you name it, I lost count of the weird things that went on there. It was my neighbours friend who got stabbed outside my gates by a total stranger. I took a course with the Suzy Lamplugh trust and taught personal safety to many other women who live onboard, so I am careful, it's what I learned. I didn't want to own an iphone or to wear jewellery or flash things about when I lived there because friends had lost these things, kids who weren't so streetwise would get mugged relentlessly. I wanted to be able to ring my partner when out on the street, without stressing. My choice. So apart from the incidents we were pretty safe and we had big guard dogs on our site (we lived onboard). I accepted it, but now I've left I don't want to go back to it. It's a pain in the arse.
I had an easy time because I'm white British - I could walk through any estate any time of day, without any hassle at all, but my mate who is Kurdish, her little brother got stabbed aged just 12, her older brother killed himself, again gangs. I know a lot of Kurds who moved out of N17, up to Cheshunt, it's not safe if you have young boys. they may end up in gangs.

 

[pbsmooth]

I wouldn't doubt your personal experience pinkmonkey and your behavior sounds entirely understandable as a result.

StoneRoad look at overall crime statistics in your area - I just did - and crime rate in Hexham is around 30% lower than it was in 2017 and 2018. maybe it's perception of crime due to news coverage.

 

[Flavour]

Definitely going out less than I used to. But the food price increases aren't quite as bad here as it seems they are in the UK. Packets of pasta up from €1 to minimum €1.20 though, that's a bite. Sometimes even as high as €1.50 for the higher end brands.

Thank god for my fixed-rate mortgage (fixed for the entire duration i.e. 20 years) otherwise i'd be fucked

 

[StoneRoad]

I wouldn't doubt your personal experience pinkmonkey and your behavior sounds entirely understandable as a result.

StoneRoad look at overall crime statistics in your area - I just did - and crime rate in Hexham is around 30% lower than it was in 2017 and 2018. maybe it's perception of crime due to news coverage.

Sadly, there's a lot of relatively minor anti-social stuff that doesn't get into the statistics.
[usually because it is never reported to the police, but as it is gossiped about, it still affects people's perceptions]