Diary of a house sale disaster

steadysaver

Not sure if this has been posted here before, but it makes for some interesting reading.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/mortgages/article.html?in_article_id=447091&in_page_id=8

Its a diary of a women trying to sell her house. She has debts mounting, and her kids "have to" go to a private school at a cost of £20k a year, she earns 1.5k a month.

I dont see why she cant just ship her kids to a state school. The mess people will get themselves in is just incredible.

johnycoldears

Good grief.

The school fees alone are more than her earnings, and her BMW 4x4 is hardly a model for frugal living.

It looks like she's already downsized once to finance her living standards and now she is trying to do the same again.

I know she's a widow, and I do feel some sympathy for her plight, but surely she should have realised from day one that the sums regarding her income vs her future living standards just did not add up.

When are schools in this country going to teach financial literacy to their pupils ?. If we are going to prevent future booms and busts the next generation need to be educated now.

steadysaver

Yes it is a crazy situation to get yourself in for the sake of your kids education, and it shows the lenghts some people will go just to keep up with the elite.

Only in this day and age would a dental receptionist consider sending kids to public school.

My parents never had much, and I went to state funded school. I used their experience to drive me on, and now I have a degree in engineering and a good salary.

Hugbubble

And did her late husband not have any life insurance/ life assurance to protect his family? Why would you not set up protection for your family....no-one likes to consider the worst happening but it seems silly not to be prepared.

She has my every sympathy but I suspect her family possibly lived beyond their means before she lost her husband.

Oh and she is obviously still paying for gym membership when a run around the local park is totally free.

WTF?_2

Just read the link - this must be some sort of wind-up surely?

No one could be that monumentally financially incompetent, could they?

If it's true, then despite her being a widow etc. etc. I have to say that I find it hard to muster any sympathy. She seems to be a poster child for living outrageously beyond one's means.

She could ditch the stupid BMW X3 and the private schooling and there you have massive savings, straight off the bat.

Also, why on earth is she so fixated on paying 420k for this new house - does she not realise that she can shop around and get a much better deal in the current market. Better yet, take the money from her house sale (whatever that might eventually be) and rent for a bit......

dhassen

there's an exact same thread as this that I was replying to........ confused me for a sec there

that thread is for the sympathisers though (not me)

steadysaver

It makes you wonder how many other people there are out there that have got themselves in this position, and not just widow's, but couples too.

Its been said time and time again, but people have clearly lived way beyond their means and have no idea of the value of money. Things need to change. And the government need to do something about it. I firmly believe money managment should be taught in schools.

steadysaver

Maybe its time we all got together with Martin as our spokes person and petitioned the government to get lessons on dealing with money into our schools.

Though chances are the government wont listen as they like people to spend all their money to generate more taxes.

PasturesNew

steadysaver wrote: »

Maybe its time we all got together with Martin as our spokes person and petitioned the government to get lessons on dealing with money into our schools.

I don't think th is would work. Think back to your school days.... how many people could be dropped in France and order a coffee and a cheese sandwich in French?

You don't take much in at school, moreso for things that are mathematical/financial in manner, most would just be sat there watching the clock. Those that took it in then would have forgotten it by the time they're 18-21 and borrowing.

Doozergirl

steadysaver wrote: »

Maybe its time we all got together with Martin as our spokes person and petitioned the government to get lessons on dealing with money into our schools.

Though chances are the government wont listen as they like people to spend all their money to generate more taxes.

Martin has set up his own charity which gives grants to educate people financially. Much of the money raised by this site goes into it!

I'm sorry that her husband doesn't seem to have been very well insured but her lifestyle has been totally excessive compared to what she earns. My instict if, God forbid, I lost my husband, would be to protect myself and the children as financially as possible. She left herself in a completely untenable situation. Where was the extra money ever going to come from? If private school is an essential, then spending £90,000 on home improvements when you've only downsized by £100,000 is not. That's basic maths.

Doozergirl

PasturesNew wrote: »

I don't think th is would work. Think back to your school days.... how many people could be dropped in France and order a coffee and a cheese sandwich in French?

You don't take much in at school, moreso for things that are mathematical/financial in manner, most would just be sat there watching the clock. Those that took it in then would have forgotten it by the time they're 18-21 and borrowing.

Bit of a sweeping generalisation PN! I didn't even know what a mortgage was when I left school and I don't think I understood that a credit card wasn't 'real' money until I was well into my teens, let alone that you had to pay interest on the money you borrowed until I was well into my teens and probably how APR works until I was in my twenties! The sort of thing you learn and then use every day, like how not to spend £000s more each year than you earn is much less likely to be forgotten than trying to speak french after 20 years of speaking none!