Reply With QuoteAs one of my colleague's commented recently ..... "Is there a downside to fiscal irresponsibility? "
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That was what I was told at 10!!!
Now it seems it's shits happened, who can I blame, and who is going to pay my mortgage/rent and bills?
Dont get me wrong the government have played a blinder, and furloughing has been brilliant and kept many people afloat, but what if they hadn't?
As one of my colleague's commented recently ..... "Is there a downside to fiscal irresponsibility? "
A lot of people in the country barely make enough to get through the week, how do you expect those same people to be able to save up enough money to pay 3 month's rent or 3 month's mortgage? As well as putting food on the table and paying bills?
Not for large businesses it seems.Originally Posted by MarcP
You're on £1,000 p/m after tax.
Your 1 bed flat is costing £550-600 p/m in rent.
Your council tax with single person discount is £100 p/m.
Your gas and electric is £60 p/m
Your broadband is £25 p/m
Your phone contract is £20 p/m
Your car repayments are £50 p/m
Your car insurance is £20 p/m
Your petrol and or transport for work is costing you £40 p/m
Your home/contents insurance is costing you £10 p/m
Your car tax is costing you £10 p/m (hope you don't need an MOT and any repairs soon)
Your TV licence is £10 p/m
Your water is £30 p/m
Congratulations! You've got £35 to put in your savings account (if your rent is £550 and not £600)... Unless you planned on eating at all that month.
Very true (.. in most cases)
It wasn't aimed at people on exceptionally low wages, although their grandparents probably used to manage to do it, a lot of people live fully to their means these days.
I meant people earning from £30K to unlimited amounts without a pot to piss in, I know from experience people don't save like they used too and look to be bailed out if anything goes wrong, I don't think it was like that forty years ago, perspective has changed.
I think the cost of living has gone up a little bit since the 40s, 50s and 60s.
When I started working someone told me a good old fashioned saying you spend Monday's wages, Tuesday's Wages, Wednesday's wages, Thursdays wages and put Friday's wages away in case something goes wrong!
Now it's probably, spend Mondays to Fridays wages, then for the weekend ask to borrow next weeks in advance.
That's what happened with this crisis, we will all be paying it back in the form of taxation for the next ten years
I think he is excluding people on low wages.
It certainly has and so has people expectations, but probably at a much faster rate.
Definitely I fully appreciate the divide, for some people the times are much tougher, and zero hour contracts and low pay for some would make it very difficult if not almost impossible to put money aside.
He said "It wasn't aimed at people on exceptionally low wages, although their grandparents probably used to manage to do it"
He'd be wrong on that one. Although my grandparents wouldn't have borrowed money to go on holiday, or to buy a TV, or the latest gadget, or a new car every 18 months they would have had nothing over for savings either. Both sets were dirt poor, and back then only the man would have gone out to work.
£30k a year is £2k a month after tax, it's not like that's a massive amount of disposable income after rent/mortgage, bills, food is it?
Not really, but we all cut our cloth according to our income, there are some that would save an emergency fund on £2K a month, but many that can't or don't want to, I am not saying it's wrong, it's their choice, it's just an observation.
this is the issue the under 40's dont get, most i know live month to month, despite earning a good wage
I have a good mate who is in his late 30's, we met 14 years ago when our kids went to the same preschool, we have gone through lifes high and lows with the kids and always chatted about them, he started out with a house about 20 houses down the road from me, i drove past his house every day on the way home, if it was a nice evening, he would be out washing his cars with a beer, i would pull up, we would have a beer and a chat, at the time he was driving a nice-ish volvo, he was working installing printers
Then he worked his way up the company, moved houses maybe 7 times, every promotion meant a better car and a bigger house, things he didnt need, but he had the money, so why not, he still had over 30 K in credit card bills, which amazed me
he now lives in a £750 K house, drives a BMW X7, his wife drives some top end sports car, he has a holiday home in spain on a golf complex , its all good
Now this guy is now earning £ 150 K a year , the good news is that his credit card bills are not £ 30 K, they are 50 K, it doesnt matter, as he is earning great money, savings ?? ? not a penny, nothing, every month they dive into the overdraft
He facetimed me last week for a beer, we sat in our gardens and chatted crap like we normally do, he moaned about not having any money, of course he is forloughed and his company is topping up his wages a little, but its certainly not the £150 K a year, i found it a little funny that a guy can earn that much and still not put anything away for a rainy day, he got annoyed that Im not sweating like him, but being in the building game most of my working life i knew that recessions can arrive with little notice, the building game it always the hardest hit, I have normally got 6 months money put aside, as it happens, this time i havent ( as i ploughed it all into the house move ) but Ive mortgaged holidayed for 3 months and will get through this
In the early 1990's our mortgage payments were over 75% of our net income - I then lost my job and me and the Mrs used to deliver yellow pages to survive, something like £75 per week. Two young children .Wouldn't have dreamed of asking our parents for money. Life's tough, always has been, but if you've got your health it's your hands.
There's one big difference between how my generation viewed 'saving' and nowadays. I was brought up to put money away each week before anything else - you could then go and blow the lot on the usual stuff. Today it's the other way around so consequently they've nothing left. Even today when we're quite comfortable the habit of saving whenever you can hasn't gone away..
Good luck with it, hopefully the mortgage holiday will get you through the other side. I have the equivalent of 12 months wages saved (after tax) - it means I won't be eligible for benefits if I ever need them despite having paid into the system for 24 years. Like I say, a lot of people get sarky when I say I have 12 months backup in finances - probably it is more like 18 months - but I don't go on holidays every year, I paid my car off 6 years ago, I don't give £70 a month to Murdoch for the joys of watching crap. I'll go to the cinema once or twice a month, will have a meal out in a date night with my partner once or twice a month, don't spend a fortune at Christmas etc.
I remember hiding from the rent man, the TV licencing van, and all sorts, so I'm doing all I can to avoid repeating that in my life.
A family member once called me tight-fisted, which was a bit rich after I lent him money at the drop of a hat to fix his roof.
I know so many people who buy on impulse. It's easy to get the urge, but I usually walk away with the intention of saving for the thing I feel like buying, By the time I have saved the money, I've lost interest in wanting the new purchase. As has the impulse buyer, except they borrowed money to get the thing they no longer need or use.
Property prices are the biggest killer.
Property is only expensive because so many people buy houses to rent them out to others
It wouldnt need to happen if we had more low cost and social housing
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