It’s not bad pay on legacy by any stretch, a year in April it will be over 30k basic.
It's still no better than what we were on back in 2020 allowing for inflation.
Yet enery costs, supermarket costs, housing costs have all sky rocketed in that time. So we're all materially worse off.
Don't see how this is a win.
My bills/costs have gone up £151 per month since 2020...but my wages have gone up £300 per month since 2020...I'm actually £149 better off per month compared to 5 years ago.
I think this is likely the same for a lot of people, but they don't realise it.
+ I am with the same companies/mortgage lender for all my bills as in 2020 + I have the same TV package + I live in the same house + I work the same hours. My weekly food bills are the same as back in 2020, but this is probably because back then I was spending too lavishly on food. Things like switching from buying £4 - £5 Pizzas to £2 Pizzas and switching from orange juice to orange squash kept my food bills the same as 2020.
Last edited by norris9 on 10 Nov 2025, 09:48, edited 1 time in total.
There's no way your food bill hasn't increased substantially unless your eating pure sh!te. A tin of heinz baked beans I seen yesterday in Tesco was £1.40. Steak prices must be 50%+ so I'm not buying it that even with the cuts you have made that your food bill isn't up at least 25%
There's no way your food bill hasn't increased substantially unless your eating pure sh!te. A tin of heinz baked beans I seen yesterday in Tesco was £1.40. Steak prices must be 50%+ so I'm not buying it that even with the cuts you have made that your food bill isn't up at least 25%
Absolutely. So you stop shopping at Waitrose and move to Iceland and your shopping bill has gone down but you eat crap. No way on earth are you better off than 5 years ago. My water bill went up 45% this year alone. As for the council tax I'd hate to think what I was paying 5 years ago.
My bills/costs have gone up £151 per month since 2020...but my wages have gone up £300 per month since 2020...I'm actually £149 better off per month compared to 5 years ago.
Most postal workers are likely to be worse off in real terms than 5 years ago simply because prices have risen faster than our wages. Inflation has risen by about 25% between 2020-2025.
Like willie suggests, you are likely eating lower-quality or less nutritious food to maintain the same spend - but thats not being better off but coping with inflation by cutting back. I've noticed that my energy bills are double what they were 5 years ago and thats not including council tax which has also increased by 20% and water 35%.
Some people might believe that they are better off psychologically because they have more cash in hand i.e. buying cheaper food or have no holidays but that's not because things have got easier, its because you have adapted and made sacrifices which is something completely different.
On the face of it, shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world.
There's no way your food bill hasn't increased substantially unless your eating pure sh!te. A tin of heinz baked beans I seen yesterday in Tesco was £1.40. Steak prices must be 50%+ so I'm not buying it that even with the cuts you have made that your food bill isn't up at least 25%
You don't understand how much branded orange juice I was buying per week. I used to get through 1 bottle per day.
Now I get through 1 bottle a week + 1 bottle of orange squash. That alone is a £15 saving per week.
Then add in the fact I spend 70% less a week on snack foods.
I was also spending ~£4.50 on delivery, now I go for the ~£2 delivery option.
So nothing to do with downgrading the quality of food, I'm actually eating less junk. I'm just simply buying less / making more sensible decisions.
Don't get me wrong - I know food prices are up and if you already bought sensibly then you won't be able to reduce your bill unless you reduce on quality.
There's no way your food bill hasn't increased substantially unless your eating pure sh!te. A tin of heinz baked beans I seen yesterday in Tesco was £1.40. Steak prices must be 50%+ so I'm not buying it that even with the cuts you have made that your food bill isn't up at least 25%
You don't understand how much branded orange juice I was buying per week. I used to get through 1 bottle per day.
Now I get through 1 bottle a week + 1 bottle of orange squash.
That alone is a £15 saving per week.
Then add in the fact I spend 70% less a week on snack foods.
I was also spending ~£4.50 on delivery, now I go for the ~£2 delivery option.
So nothing to do with downgrading the quality of food, I'm actually eating less junk. I'm just simply buying less / making more sensible decisions.
You have downgraded the quality (and quantity) of your food, even if it isn’t immediately obvious to you:
(i) you’re buying squash instead of pure juice just to keep your food spend as it was;
(Ii) you’ve had to eliminate most of the snacks you previously could afford just to keep your weekly food spend as it was;
(iii) you’re opting for a saver delivery slot to keep your weekly food spend as it was.
I was shocked and horrified to discover I was spending over £500 a month on supermarket shopping. Food inflation is unreal. I no longer buy the premium or ‘Finest’ option. Indeed, sometimes the price alone makes me shudder and causes me to walk on empty-handed.
Most postal workers are likely to be worse off in real terms than 5 years ago simply because prices have risen faster than our wages. Inflation has risen by about 25% between 2020-2025.
Each individual household is different. For sure, if your bills were already a big chunk of your outgoings in 2020, then inflation would have had a much higher impact on your households finances.
It's an obvious reason why so many people leave this job, not just new recruits, but legacy staff too.
Royal Mail is never going to increase wages significantly when it is making £12million profit then getting fined £20million. The company will always find it hard to keep staff these days.
My bills/costs have gone up £151 per month since 2020...but my wages have gone up £300 per month since 2020...I'm actually £149 better off per month compared to 5 years ago.
A key point about inflation figures they don't normally include housing costs, so for renters and those with big mortgages the change from 2020 is another factor hammering their budgets.
4.1% increase, isn't that nearly double what the CWU agreed for next year, subject to the inflation rate?
Whatever a posties job is I can't is it's a MW type job.
From April 2026 we have pretty much just lost the wage increase we just got given due to the tax personal allowance being frozen.... and way more money lost beyond that. That's going to make it a lot harder for Royal Mail to keep hold of staff.
To think when I started a posties wage was almost 3x the then minimum wage, and a posties job was a lot simpler and hassle free back then than it is now.
Why would anyone be prepared to still be a postie now with all the hassle, aggravation and bullshit that comes with the job (all from management) for barely more than the current minimum wage that you can earn for stacking shelves in a supermarket or pottering around garden centre watering plants.
4.1% increase, isn't that nearly double what the CWU agreed for next year, subject to the inflation rate?
Whatever a posties job is I can't is it's a MW type job.
From April 2026 we have pretty much just lost the wage increase we just got given due to the tax personal allowance being frozen.... and way more money lost beyond that. That's going to make it a lot harder for Royal Mail to keep hold of staff.
The RM model no longer seems to be to keep hold of staff but a model of continuously replacing staff.
