Recession

[WILLWONKER]

Ok forget the British stiff upper lip and be honest, how as the recession affected you. Have you had a hard time with the high cost of living, have you still got a job, do you still manage to cover your food bill , can you still afford to heat your home, are you struggerling to keep your car on the road, do you worry like hell to weather you manage till next payday, are you self employed withe no work, and remember be honest, woul be interesting to hear.

[DJHawkes]

I've not been on holiday for a couple of years. Should get away this year though.

[EcclesCake]

I am fortunate; the recession hasn't affected my day to day living. It has affected my reserves though.

[Buenchico]

My life was in recession long before the rest of the country! (I've not been on holiday since 1989, I've not had regular employment for over 7 years and there have been periods where I've lived for a week on a bag of muesli).

However I still seem to struggle by (and I had more casual work last year than ever before). I'm was even able to treat myself to a new netbook at Christmas (which was my first major non-essential purchase for many, many years) and, while I still only buy new clothes when I really need them (and still from places like Tesco or Primark) I can now afford to choose one or two items which aren't simply the absolute cheapest available.

[rockyracoon]

Financially we are ok, we pay the bills etc, but holidays are thin on the ground and I budget now whereas I never have had to before. I've certainly learnt how to stretch a pound.

[237SJ]

If I`m honest it hasn`t affected me at all apart from food prices being higher. I`ve discovered Aldi now though! Don`t want to tempt fate though as I work in a volatile industry where anything can happen.

[ummmm]

It hasn't had an effect on us. He actually got a pay rise last year.

I do begrudge paying some of the food prices though.

[vodkancoke]

I am in a funny position. (loads of Abers have heard this story already so shut your eyes if you have!) I owned a fashion business with my Mum (which thrived even in the recession), she is 64 so I wanted her to retire. She was doing the daily commute between Glasgow and Edinburgh and I felt it was too much for her, my heart wasn't in the fashion business and I wanted to go back to the food industry so we decided to sell. We found a buyer and they wanted to take over in 2012. I stupidly broke my ankle very badly in February, had surgery on both sides and it has never healed properly. I haven't been able to work since then. I have now set up my own business but I can't really get started until I am able to stand on my two feet longer than 4 hours or be able to sit without having to put my foot up so I am looking for part-time work to keep me going (and to get me out the house!). Edinburgh living isn't cheap and I am fortunate to have had savings to live off. The recession means there aren't many jobs out there at all so I guess in a way it is affecting me. It hasn't stopped me going on holiday and I still have my car. I am single so I guess if I had a family and responsibilities, it would be a very different story.

Sorry for waffling! lol :)

[Jeza]

Mic and I saved all our working life for retirement. We are spending more on food and bills, but we no longer need to buy clothes. Fashion is for the young. So no the recession has not really affected us.

[daffy654]

Not at all. It seems to have effected the better off more than us poor people. We couldn't afford luxuries before it started.

[New Judge]

I've been having an interesting debate in "News" on this matter:

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question1210298.html

[WILLWONKER]

Thanks for all your answers, have read them all. NEW JUDGE. yes that was an interesting post in news, and without going over the same debate, your are right about the shops, its not that long ago since we found out that the UK paid more for the likes of CDs/ DVDs , not that i'm a big buyer of such, but may this sort of greed put the likes of HMV out of the highstreet?

[New Judge]

Yes it may have something to do with price, Will. However I am more inclined to think it is lack of service (or surly disinterested service) and, more importantly, lack of goods. When you shop online most sellers have "all of the colours in all of the sizes". This is not true of High Street shops, particularly those selling clothes and shoes. They often seem to have only the sizes that fit midgets or giants, all the "normal" sizes having been sold. I know their storage space is probably more limited but it would not be so bad if they offered to get your size in within a few days, but they don't. "If it's not there we haven't got it" is the stock reply.

The idea put forward that this is caused by shops paying low wages does not wash. Of course they should ensure that the people they have working for them do the job properly but lack of goods and refusal to obtain goods in other sizes or colours is not the fault of the staff. It is it is the fault of management and it is they who are moaning that they cannot survive.

[tiggerblue10]

i haven't had a pay rise in the last 2 years but it hasn't effected me too much. I paid off some of my mortgage last year with some money I got from my grandmother which makes things a little easier. Also, I'm no longer paying for pet insurance for Tigger since she passed away. Every time I put in a claim for her, the insurance company took 20%. Reduced my mobile bill as well by changing the tariff and not upgrading the handset, making a saving of £15 each month.

Having said all that, I don't know what my new gas and electric payments are going to be. I know its gone up though so I'm just waiting for the letter.

[New Judge]

Don't wait for the letter, tigger, work it out. Have a look at last year's usage and calculate it from the new unit prices you should have been given.

Better still use the usage figures to see if it would be worthwhile changing either tariff or supplier. You've done it with your mobile (which is probably much less of an outlay than your gas and leccy) and it's simple to do.

[tiggerblue10]

I don't think I've been given the new tarrif but I'll look into it. Thanks New Judge.