Cost of Living Crisis.

Congratulations! Are you moving in by yourself?

One thing I'm glad I done when I got my property was not overstretch myself. The mortgage broker kept going on about how I could borrow much more etc. but I decided to try and live well within, if not slightly below, my means. When I was out of work for 9 months, boy was I glad I didn't have a car debt and a larger mortgage payment to somehow deal with.

Would be cool to compare spreadsheets. I've got all my bills listed, salary and what that means for our wife and I once everything has come out. Definitely helps keep me on top of things and I very easy just to quickly scan and see where a bill can be culled.

Thank you! I'll be living by myself, but my girlfriend will be moving from Japan next year which will be lovely as we haven't seen each other in person for over 3 years. My parents will only be 15 minutes away too. I'm lucky in that i've fully paid off my car and the only debt I have is a student loan, so hopefully i'll be OK. My biggest vice is buying vinyl and blu-ray. I'm OK spending £50 on a single film, but balk at paying £3 for a sausage roll, so i'm quite weird like that. My spreadsheet is set out so that I deduct my monthly bills and have a sum to play with for treats. Obviously once I move out, i'll have to edit it to include council tax, utilities etc, but my hope is that after the first month i'll get used to things and know how much most things cost.

I'm buying lots of stuff now and I will be getting lots of one off things like a new bed, TV etc, but I'm worried that the pull of limited edition stuff will cripple me. I hope i'm strong enough to resist it as I worry that's my achillees heel.
 
I've been pretty fortunate in that I live close to my companies office and can WFH as an option for however many days in a week as I'd like, so thankfully I haven't been paying much more for gas after the crazy increases we've been having. However, there's obviously the trickle down effect in that everything costs more because it costs more money to ship, on top of the issues with inflation and the delayed effect with manufacturing issues due to COVID.

I hope everyone's able to weather the storm. I think it's best to make sure you don't panic and stay the course in your savings and investments the best you can, unless you're absolutely low on cash to pay your bills. Be careful not to panic sell your stocks and lock in your losses, and if you have the means, it could actually be a great time to invest more money in the stock market so that you're well positioned when it recovers.

I say that because a lot of people stop investing when stock prices are low, but then decide to invest again when they start going up, which is kind of a lost opportunity. Of course it's a different story if that money is needed for bills and food and I'm not undermining the struggles that a lot of folks are going through.
 
Loud and clear, Tomato; I'm basically in the same sitch and I haven't put fuel in my car since June 27th; walking from home is a great thing (and gets some much-needed exercise).

My wife and I are doing alright, however the previous week, this week and the next 2 weeks will be absolutely brutal, more for timing than anything else.

- My Credit Union was bought out by a bigger one (which is a good thing), but they not only have a different pay schedule, they pay for the previous 2 weeks of work, not the previous week and current week (like my current CU). Therefore, due to timing and pay schedule, I am effectively getting LESS than 1 full, 2 week paycheque, for *4* weeks.
- My wife's maternity benefits got cut off 8 months too early, because the provincial government (who handles the maternity pay) processed the wrong Record of Employment and when everything is cut off, you must RE-APPLY. On top of that the amount of said benefit, as a result, will be up to 1/3 less than what she was getting, so not only are we denied money that is rightfully hers, we are going to be getting less than what we're deservedly-owed, for the next 35 weeks (once the benefit starts up again).
- Our dog is going in for dental work today and she needs it, otherwise she may prematurely die.

Both of our credit cards (I have 2, 1 I don't use unless it's for large purchases, because the interest is killer and the other is the one through my CU) are not near the limit, but that will probably not be the case after next week, so it may be a rough summer (thank GOD we have no trips or anything planned). My son did have his baptism on Sunday, but that money is for him and has been put away in his account.

I was able to defer all insurance payments, mortgage and my wife's car loan, until August, but bills still need to be paid... Timing is absolutely BRUTAL.
 
It's terrifying stuff. I'm grateful that i'm financially OK (for now), but I worry about my family. I've delayed moving out for a couple of years by taking out a loan to buy my parents a car and to help them whilst they were working their way through a CJD(?) (some kind of financial penalty that's not bankruptcy, but close to it). I have been adament that once I move out, that's it. I can't help them no more, because I'm 37 and need to have a bit of independence. It's for this reason i've been giving them more money (which to be fair isn't a great deal), but as my father had been out of work for half a year and has no pension, it's making me so anxious.

Until I get my first bills I have no idea how much things will cost me, but the thought that utilities will be more than double the cost of last year and could be worse is making me physically sick. I know we're not alone, but the UK is a horrible place to be at the moment. I don't want to delve into politics too much, but i'm sure i'm not alone in thinking the last 12 years have just been horrible.

Next week, Bruce Springsteen tickets are finally on sale in the UK and i'll be treating myself to that, but I can see this being one of the last treats I give myself for a while (that and the Mega Drive Mini 2 whenever that is announced).

I forgot to mention i'm starting a new job (as a secondment) around the same time as I move house, so it's a double whammy of newness which is going to fuck my autism right out of whack. That and there's no rhyme or reason to petrol/food costs at the moment.
 
Back
Top