OK guys, who`s getting angry?

geoffky

duplicate post....

scousethife

Pobby wrote: »

Right now I feel very angry that the inevitable is playing out. How do you guys feel?

I am in a very odd spot to be honest.

After years of being an uber bear we found a house that we bought this year that really is perfect and I mean perfect .

Not only did it tick each and everyone of our boxes but it even added a couple of bonuses too.

But heres my 'ood spot' I personally want house prices to drop for the sake of everyone else who hasnt got their own house I dont care if this place is worth half what we payed and yet I do. Because I will almost certainly die through smoking related disease before te wife, and I dont want her to be in trouble with money.

Maybe I should look into some type of insurance for her.

kunekune

Well ...

I am angry, yes. My husband is someone who works for a bank and it is quite possible he will be made redundant. No, we have not benefitted from the so-called massive bonuses. Perhaps there are people who have - really, I don't deny that - but for him and others like him, they took slightly less-than-market-value pay and then it was made up by the 'bonus'. I'd imagine other IT professionals in financial services would say the same (unless they were contractors, of course).

One of the things that makes me angry, if not him, is that the plight of thousands of families like our own is not being noticed. The press is full of stories about people with savings. Urm, it is much much worse to lose a salary of £40K or so (he is quite senior, this is NOT a big salary for what he does) than to lose that amount in savings if you can't get another job. And the job market in this country is very pigeonholed. "Oh, you're in finance IT. We'll not give you a chance in health, even if you have experience in that from another country."

But ...

1. We are lucky in one important thing - my own salary is pretty reliable. My colleagues may quibble about whether tenure means anything in academia nowadays but the reality is that we're very hard to sack with a MASSIVE amount of advance warning. And it is a better salary than OH's, haha. With, thank goodness, a final salary pension. We'll be ok on one income, even if we have to be less snobbish about the house we buy (see next point).
2. We are at a strange stage in our lives. Unlike others in their late 40s, we have nothing to show for the last 20 years. We lived overseas. We 'owned' but didn't pay back houses. I don't deny the stupidity and wonderful restaurant food that put us in this position. We thought we had 20 years to put it right, and we were already planning an almost-one-income mortgage when we plunged into the UK property market. We can still do that ...
3. Only another blow hit us (I have mentioned this but not on this board). OH was diagnosed with Parkinsons, at the grand old age of 48. His working life - assuming redundancy does not intervene - is now quite limited.

And you know what?

Most of this crisis seems pretty much irrelevant. Money is worrying, I'm scared about the fact I have to provide for my whole family for the forseeable future. Even if OH can earn, I can't guarantee it, so have to assume he won't. But, even though I'm f*cking terrified about our future, the first priority is that we have as good a life as we can. If my children can still have holidays, that would be good. I will work all the hours I need to. My personal work-life balance is going to suffer, there's no getting round that, but the happiness and security of my family is what matters most.

Gorgeous_George

You can only be angry with yourself.

You decide where to save. We boast about the Internet-age and the unlimited access to information. We can all see house prices crashing and the evidence is undeniable.

Banks have been in trouble for a long time now. MSE helped with that by encouraging people to reclaim bank charges, unfair this, unfair that.

For some, it would have been better to buy a house at the peak rather than see the Icelandics steal their savings.

Remember, it is America's fault. It was their dodgy mortgages that were concealed in AAA+ packages.

GG

Peartree

Angry with whom? Who do we think is responsible?

I was just saying I'd like to see all the senior people in the banks (who won't suffer even if they lose their jobs) do six months of community service living amongst the real people who are affected by the current situation - the ones who will lose their jobs, their homes, etc - living in exactly the same conditions. But that is pretty unlikely!

BUT, aren't many of us, to some degree, responsible for where we are at the moment? They might have made credit easy but we took it! Look at the difference in 'minimum' expectations when starting out in life now and, say, 25 years ago (at the risk of veering over to the Old Style board). And, actually, getting on the housing ladder has been pretty damn hard most of the time - times when it isn't are unusual, not the norm.

I'm feeling pretty hacked off though. Finally reaching a point in my life when I can save money. Being sensible and saving up to do some improvements in my house with, yes, you got it, Icesave! Flipping ironic.

But, when you get down to it, who is really, really responsible? And, is me getting angry with them really, really going to make a difference. And what, apart from a strongly worded letter, could I do. And is a strongly worded letter going to make a difference? Answers on a postcard!

A friend of mine did some travelling in Africa recently and came back saying that we've already won the lottery just by being born in the Western world. Yeah, it hacks me off too when people come out with this sort of stuff when my hard-saved house improvement money has temporarily disappeared into the ether but............

WTF?_2

It's looking like any Icesavers just have to apply to the UK FSCS who will handle getting the Iceland portion of the compo.

It's a crap situation but I'm pretty sure you'll get the money back, just after a lot of stress and worry. :cool:

Of course, what the cost of all this mayhem is going to do to our currency and the government cost of borrowing is another matter.

However, the important thing is that the government has acted to secure savings. Regardless of how you feel about them letting things get this far, they have done the right thing.

Another good thing - due to the cost of this thing looks like the idea of buying £40bn of mortgage debt is going to be off the plans. No bailout for borrowers, just for savers.....

With a possible deflation coming, I think savers will be glad they have savings. Debtors are a whole different kettle of fish.

GracieP

Dithering_Dad wrote: »

p.s. not one to say 'I told you so', either, but I was in here several months ago telling all the bears who seemed to rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of a recession that they should be careful what they wish for and that a recession will affect everyone - home owners and renters alike. I was pooh poohed as I recall, and told that renters need not worry due to their large amount of savings. I pointed out that these savings would be eroded by inflation and due to means tested benefits (i.e. if the worse happens and job losses occur). My words fell on deaf ears.

I told you so.

I've never seen anyone on here not acknowledge this. As soon as the economy started it's unsustainable boom this was inevitable. And the longer the boom continued, the harder the bust would be. And this has been quite the phenomenal boom. Everyone knows that we will all suffer, but this has to happen, and as awful as that is it's better that it happens sooner rather than later. And that it is hard and fast rather than drawn out Japanese style.

WTF?_2

GracieP wrote: »

I've never seen anyone on here not acknowledge this. As soon as the economy started it's unsustainable boom this was inevitable. And the longer the boom continued, the harder the bust would be. And this has been quite the phenomenal boom. Everyone knows that we will all suffer, but this has to happen, and as awful as that is it's better that it happens sooner rather than later. And that it is hard and fast rather than drawn out Japanese style.

Damn, I feel so guilty now for bringing all this down on the Global Financial System's head by figuring out we were headed for disaster and warning MSEers about it .......

I wonder why Dithering Dad figures he has to hit out at imaginary targets? He was posting only yesterday about how well placed his personal situation is, it couldn't be that he's crapping himself about losing a well paid contract with a large mortgage debt still outstanding (despite his sterling efforts to reduce it, as he never forgets to mention :rolleyes:) could it?

Gorgeous_George

When the banks were being bailed out some people on these boards were saying that they should be left to go under.

Why should the UK FSCS compensate those savers who chose to invest in foreign banks?



GG

Pobby

I don`t think this thread should be about lashing out at others. In my Op I mentioned that imho everyone will be affected one way or another. Are not most people carping their selves right now? This was the purpose of the thread to a degree.

We live in a country where, due in part to house prices, the gearing is incredibly high. Goodness me, I wouldn`t want to pay the rents that they are asking where I live. I live in a county that has poor wages but massive property prices. I have posted before that my own place went from trough to peak 400% in an area that £20k per annum is a good wage.

I think our county will be interesting as there are many second homes here, many of which, I suspect have been bought by mewing.

I can tell you this. The last recession was very bad for people. I cannot even think that if we go into another recession what it will be like. One thing is for certain, there is a ton of debt compared to the last time.

Good luck to everyone.