WITH the cost-of-living skyrocketing, more households are being forced to find new ways to survive.
Car boot sales have always been an option for keeping costs down, and amid the current financial climate, even more people are flocking to buy and sell items at cut prices.
Ashley Heath becomes home to a well-loved boot sale every Sunday, seeing hundreds of families go on the hunt for a bargain.
Vintage and antique dealer Terry Connor runs a stall there most weeks and has seen the impact the cost-of-living crisis has had.
He said: “I like people watching while I’m here, and if you look at the general public these days, they’re exhausted, and they’re damaged.
“I feel that people are walking around for one of two reasons. One, to get out of the house so they’re not using the gas and electricity, or two, because they want to buy something that they know they can’t buy new.
“I feel sorry for people, they’re desperate, and you can see the pain and the anger. You can see it in their faces.
“They don’t know what they can do, they’re hopeless and helpless. It’s now gone way too far.”
Barbara, another regular seller, explained that whilst the numbers of people visiting the bootsale were high, people were limiting the items on their shopping lists. She said: “I regularly sell but it’s gone very quiet me for over the last three months or so.
“The numbers of people are there, but they’re not just buying the same stuff anymore. They’re buying the clothes, the essentials.
“People aren’t buying china; I normally sell loads of china, but people are cutting back on that sort of thing."
The crisis has also seen new sellers flock the boot sale to make some extra money. Kat has started selling regularly at Ashley Heath in a struggle to make ends meet.
She also uses it as an opportunity to buy second hand clothes for her daughter.
Kat said: “I’ve had to sell here regularly lately because I’m completely broke because of the price of living, the price of fuel and just everything going up.
“My money isn’t lasting as long so I’m literally digging out anything I possibly can to sell.
“I’m really struggling.”
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