The cost of living... what can we do?

Unfortunately I dont think any of this is new, its gone on for years, I think we are told about it a bit more than we used to be but governments have always wasted money, biggest waste usually occurs when governments change and the new one sets about changing and rearranging everything.

 

Yes my last Council Tax was reduced to just over £100.

 

I was hoping to get the single-person discount but my wife says she won't leave.

 

Explain to her if she did you could both get it.

 

The general rule was, your rent or mortgage should be about 30% of your net income. Going by your figures a nurse on a £32k income should be budgeting on £642 per month on take home pay. How would a full time NHS domestic cleaner £21k manage let alone a nurse in your area.

There are many factors, but when the EU expanded, our infrastructure has not grown at the same speed as the population, also the amount of people owning second homes has seen a sharp increase too. Land owners and building companies know by keeping demand stronger than supply boosts their profits, more for less. Also with interest rates being so low for so long, a good percentage of people have left themselves no buffer as they spend on what they want instead of need.

 

I dont think you can get away from the fact that there is far more to spend your money on these days than there was 30 yrs ago.
One car per family was pretty normal then now its two at least.
A pound for a video at blockbusters once a week, not £100 plus on TV per month.

Everyone wants you money these days, but you have to resist as best you can.

 

Well prohibitive for some I guess,
I see plenty that can afford them, and plenty who cant.
But they seem to sell all the 4/5 bedroom detached properties they build around here.

 

When someone has a 4 pints of milk delived when they could walk to a shop 5 minutes away and save £5 then moans they haven't got any money

Any way Bannans haven't gone up for a long time been 78p kg for a long time

 

Are developers building affordable homes for British citizens or homes with specific buyers in mind, foreign investors.

How many properties in the capital are owned by foreign investors, probably 300k. Liverpool has seen a surge of foreign investors buying residential property. According to real estate agencies, from 2017 to 2021 foreign investors, mainly Chinese have purchased £8.7 billion worth of homes, with 35k homes now linked to Chinese/Hong Kong residents and investors.