Costco is a real bonus as is the ability to cook from scratch. No ready meals and the minimum of pre-prepared stuff saves us around 400 a month on food and grocery as well as being better for us and much tastier.

To answer the OP, it worries me to death, I’m praying that won’t be literal*

* I do OK, it’s my pension I worry about.

i try not to worry about things that are out of my control.

I reckon the figures on inflation have been getting fudged ever since they changed from the old index. It really feels like they’ve stepped on the gas over the last 6 months or so though.

It’s like a neo-malthusian check on greed culture.

resisted.I think you mean Welfare cuts not Reforms don,t you?

Ticker on CNBC this mourning:

“BOE’s King defends ultra-low interest rates, insists inflation will fall”.

You have a choice between high mortgage repayments or increasing prices. If the BOE bods are really, really clever you’ll end up with inflated prices and high interest rates as they suddenly realise inflation is our of control and hike rates in a panic. The late 70s all over again? (add smiley to suit you situation)

Child tax credit gone

Speaking as somebody who still gets child tax credits, I really feel for the level of poverty you must be in if you don’t get them.

We qualify for Child Tax Credits but never claimed them as I feel we are well enough off without and there are a lot more deserving cases. Child Benefit goes straight into a bank account for “the future”. These are two benefits which could be improved by some/better means testing.

These are two benefits which could be improved by some/better means testing.

Well Child Benefit is disappearing for higher rate taxpayers from 2013.

We are definitely driving less and drinking less. (not at the same time, of course).
Same pay freeze as Drac here (well, actually a cut in terms of cost of living) on both our incomes. When we have finished paying off our student/crazy 20’s debts we will be better off again in terms of disposable income so I suppose we have that to look forward to in a couple of years.

Speaking as somebody who still gets child tax credits, I really feel for the level of poverty you must be in if you don’t get them.

Oh stop whining, I lost them due the bizarre change. I’m fortunate not to need them though and appreciate that a lot. Being someone who sees true poverty all too regular, if you can afford to buy a MTB your not in poverty either.

The system is off 2 parents earning £39k each per year can still get them. If one parent is the sole worker and earning £40k they don’t get them.

It’s relevant though the rising costs to what you earn, I’ve lost the Tax Credit and as mentioned other costs have gone up. It means I watching things but no I’m far from worried like I said I have a good life.

The system is off 2 parents earning £39k each per year can still get them. If one parent is the sole worker and earning £40k they don’t get them

Except it doesn’t work like that. If 2 parents are each earning 21k they lose them. It’s on household income (unlike child benefit, but that’s a different issue).

I’m not complaining at all about the amount of money we have – we’ve taken lifestyle choices to be where we are and cope just fine thanks. It just seems strange that people with more household income than us are whining.

Except it doesn’t work like that. If 2 parents are each earning 21k they lose them. It’s on household income (unlike child benefit, but that’s a different issue).

I understood it to be one parent, OOPS!

It just seems strange that people with more household income than us are whining.

It’s relevant though as I said and I’m far from whining. The pay freeze I see as necessary to do my bit, the pension part of frustrating but as I have that many years in I’ll get an option but it’s not as good as it was when I joined, the shift allowance part that may be reviewed is what boost my pay up to a good wage. With out that my wage is going to a lot lower and would have to make huge changes but still have to work the same shifts. The likely hood is that’ll be effected hugely as the uproar would be pretty huge.

Could be worse though eh? We could live in Greece. Looks like those poor buggers are going back to bartering with chickens as a currency, and living in mud huts at this rate.

Just thought I’d add some perspective 🙂

druidh – Member

We qualify for Child Tax Credits but never claimed them as I feel we are well enough off without and there are a lot more deserving cases. Child Benefit goes straight into a bank account for “the future”. These are two benefits which could be improved by some/better means testing.

Universal benefits are important in avoiding the poverty traps and in improving take-up. All that happens is the richer people who can claim them pay more tax to cover the cost – give with one hand and take away with the other.

Means testing is expensive, reduces take up in groups that need the money and leads to situations where you get very high marginal tax rates – the poverty trap. This is where you increase your earned income and thus go over the thereshold for benefits thus actually reducing your total take home income.

It is right that some benefits are means tested but it is also right that some are not.

binners does make a point about the Greece thing

i am a public sector worker aswell so i am currently on a pay freeze so that doesnt help but i am quite happy to accept a pay freeze on the basis i still have a job! lots of people out there have lost there job in this mess

just think that the fat cats in whitehall dont get how hard it is for normal folk to get by just now and they are not making it any easier

have now ditched the SKY tv from the house to save some cash and looking at which insurances i really need try and save somthing there

The solution is to buy british products in the uk from uk retailers, not to outsource, not to globalize the labor pool. But it is not going to happen.

That’s one solution. Another one would just be to have less people. I mean do we really need Leona Lewis and Mylene Klass – couldn’t we rationalise?