I earn good money and my partner has a decent job too (one she’s horribly underpaid for as a critical care practitioner in the NHS on the intensive care wards). We are childless for now and that helps, but what I’ve really noticed is we’re struggling to save money at the moment and have started to give up most luxuries.
I appreciate we’re very lucky - albeit work hard - but we have reduced our trips away to maybe one city break and one holiday a year, we’ve cut out luxuries from our weekly shop and whilst we used to eat out 2-4 times a month, it’s now maybe once every other month as a treat we plan for ahead of time. I’ve binned off most of our subscriptions that weren’t getting enough use.
I understand that us still being able to have the odd takeaway and meal out, and to go abroad at all is in itself a luxury, but when we don’t smoke, rarely drink, don’t gamble and have no real frivolous spend, it’s disheartening to struggle to save for the future. I’m on more than double what I was on 5 years ago, and yet I probably save the same small amount each month. We could sack off ever going abroad and I could get rid of my season ticket and that would save us a few grand each year, but then we’d rarely have anything to look forward to, which I think is very important, mental health wise.
Everything is degrading, getting more expensive and people’s tolerance towards one another is rapidly fading as a direct result of the pressure the economic situation is putting people under.