You and yours this morning,, feeling the pinch??

I wouldn’t have felt very sympathetic either.

I expect the person interviewing him was on £80,000 a year so felt he must be struggling!

Well he certainly would not be able to manage on my pension!

Aww what a shame, they now have to cook meals / buy food from Aldi and cut back a few media subscriptions... welcome to the real world...

And they might have to give up the foreign holidays and gym memberships too.?

Maybe they have a very large mortgage along with student loans?

On the other hand they may need a few lesser on how to run a household budget…

While I know a lot of us find a joint income of 60k good income, most people live to the income you earn some even over. I have never gone into debt for things like holidays or even cars I know a lot of people who maxed their credit card on a regular basis for what I considered silly non essential items. I think everyone is going to feel the pinch for the next few years. But those who have always spent Willy nilly will feel it all the more.

You and Yours perhaps needs to find some better examples of those scrimping and saving.

I didn't hear the programme - maybe they were pointing out that even on an income of £60k a couple are having to reduce subscriptions, eating out, etc.

You don't have to be at the food bank stage to be feeling the pinch.

Yes werent they showing that even on good incones the current situation will have an impact. And thats important because if people are cutting back on gyms, restaurants etc that will have an impact on those who work in them.

Yes the current situation does have an impact on the more comfortably off. My DH and I have economised on many occasions in the past. We have saved and been careful. Now that he is about to retire we’re not going to be able to afford everything we hoped to do. It doesn’t mean we’re in severe hardship. Believe me my heart goes out to those on very strict budgets. We’ve all worked hard in the hope of having a comfortable and stress free retirement.

I guess it depends on what your fixed outgoings are. If you have a large mortgage, two cars on lease etc. even £60,000 may not be as much as it sounds. The people who are really struggling in real terms though are those who have a very low income, because they’ve got nothing to cut back further on. There have been some heartbreaking stories in the news about disabled and older people as well as families who just can’t see a way to manage. Worryingly it’s been reported today that borrowing is starting to increase as well, which doesn’t bode well for next winter.

Galaxy

Yes werent they showing that even on good incones the current situation will have an impact. And thats important because if people are cutting back on gyms, restaurants etc that will have an impact on those who work in them.

If that was the point then yes, especially if they have student loans, graduate loan and a mortgage.

However, they are not having to cut down on essentials like some people, just tweaking their lifestyle.

I always think that as you start to earn more, your outgoings grow accordingly, so whether you earn twenty thousand or sixty thousand you feel the pinch.
Having said that, obviously if you’re on sixty thousand, you have a lot more wriggle room.
I don’t like to criticise people for how they spend their money, they’ve earned it, and they can spend it however they wish, but I think they have to be careful what they whinge about when people are facing real hardship.

Galaxy

Yes werent they showing that even on good incones the current situation will have an impact. And thats important because if people are cutting back on gyms, restaurants etc that will have an impact on those who work in them.

Yes, that’s a very good point.

It just goes to show how little people realise the dire situation that people in real poverty are in. I do think that they were trying to show how the cost of living is having an impact on people in a number of income brackets; but it would have been better if someone in the really poor bracket had been on the programme well.

I’ve listened to several families on the radio on very low incomes, and even if they are managing, there can be very little joy in life when your children have to give up their clubs, when you can only afford the most basic food, and when you’re frightened to turn the heating on.
I still work, so does my husband, but we do have our daughter and three children living here, and I’m concerned about the price of electricity and heating oil.

There was an interesting article in our local paper today. In Burnham on Sea, N Norfolk, aka Chelsea on Sea because a lot of fairly well off people have second homes or take holidays there, owners of shops and cafes said this Easter wasn't as good as last despite the lovely weather. Rising fuel costs for the Chelsea tractors and rising costs generally had been felt even amongst relatively well off people, and of course it filters down.

If people on that sort of incone are struggling to pay all the bills (which might include student loan debt and mortgage) then we should be very worried about the economy

Riverwalk

I didn't hear the programme - maybe they were pointing out that even on an income of £60k a couple are having to reduce subscriptions, eating out, etc.

You don't have to be at the food bank stage to be feeling the pinch.

I agree. I think the point is that even people who would be considered comfortable, are having to cut back, and apart from anything else this is bad news for an economy built on people buying stuff. For every comfortably off person cutting back, not eating out, not having their hair colour done, there is a small business not getting business. For every parent cutting back on after school activities such as music lessons, swimming clubs etc., there is a self employed tutor not getting business.

Oh, and £60k is not a huge income for a couple. Most people in their early 30s, a few steps up the career ladder earn this, all of my adult children do

I have a horrible feeling that the U.K. will see lots of small/medium businesses close over the next 12-18 months along with the bigger companies laying off some of their workforce and not replacing those that leave or retire.

The above will just compound the problems for the U.K. economy, and those in the bottom percentage of income and job security will carry the burden.

I didn't hear that part of the programme, I turned on late. What I got was discussion about helping people reliant on Food Banks make the most of what they are given, because, some Food Bank food gets thrown away because the recipients do not know what to do with it or how to conjure tasty meals from tinned and packaged food. One volunteer at a Food Bank had produced a book of recipes.

There were several other similar interviews. Perhaps the first one was done to show how cloth-eared and insensitive some of those well clear of the breadline can be.

I have seen things in the food bank trolleys which I would struggle to use, a jar of olives, white wine vinegar, loads of cat food
There is usually a list of what’s most needed, and I can honestly say, I’ve never seen olives on it.