The recession

Paul.J.M

Bless you, you have had some great advice, primrose especially, not so good the " get over your self" comment, ignore that one.
I think from what you have said your DH will do almost anything yo protect his family, that must be very reassuring.
You seem to be in a reasonable position in life at the moment, so that must be comforting, in other words you have a bit of a head start on other couples savings, your own home etc etc.
I would not worry to much, this reccesion will probably be short lived, 6 months or so?? What you should bear in mind is everybody is in this not just you, there is always some one worse of than you.
Please sleep well at night and remember these broadcasters will do and show anything that makes sensational news, i watch BBC 24 all the time, its wise to be aware of what is happening in the world today but sometimes you have to switch off your emotions.

Stay safe.

Paul

Reaper

Yes there will be a recession, but you are well set up for it. Rainy days are ahead but you have put money aside for a rainy days - and you should congratulate yourselves for your foresight. You are better positioned than most.

Relax. Most of the advice on this web site and forums is all about saving money without reducing your quality of life, which is excactly what you should be doing.

Buy your son his bike for Christmas, but get a second hand one in good condition instead of new, then everybody in the family gets what they want.

DocProc

I do think you need to change your life-style a bit. I'm sure you'll agree with this?

This might then take your mind off the negative things you are whittling about, as you are mentally diverted towards something else.

I read the following in The Times the other day. I thought it was excellent advice:-

A big question in mental wellbeing is what individuals can do,” Felicia Huppert, Professor of Psychology at the University of Cambridge, who led part of the project, said. “We found there are five categories of things that can make a profound difference to people’s wellbeing. Each has evidence behind it.” These actions are so simple that everyone should aim to do them daily, she said, just as they are encouraged to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables.

Steps to happiness

Connect
Developing relationships with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours will enrich your life and bring you support.

Be active
Sports, hobbies such as gardening or dancing, or just a daily stroll will make you feel good and maintain mobility and fitness.

Be curious
Noting the beauty of everyday moments as well as the unusual and reflecting on them helps you to appreciate what matters to you.

Learn
Fixing a bike, learning an instrument, cooking – the challenge and satisfaction brings fun and confidence.

Give
Helping friends and strangers links your happiness to a wider community and is very rewarding.

amcluesent

TBH, I'd be looking to emigrate. There's loads of countries which would welcome professional people, while England only takes the dross, criminals and the scroungers and then lavishes every possible benefit on them while bleeding the tax-payer white.

Face it, white middle-class people are loathed by the elite fools who want to boo-hoo-hoo over the 'disadvantaged' and, yes, we'll be having to 'respect' Shariah Law soon enough too as the fifth-column grows in power and numbers.

England is finished. If you can, get out now.

2cats1kid

£80K is four years income for a lot of families. You need to take a chill pill.

StevieJ

Primrose wrote: »

Tell your Dear Husband not to be too complacent. He can't promise he's going to have a job for life and he could well find that his earnings start drying up faster than he imagined. All the people who put their money in Icesave thought they had a nice safe savings account for life too !!
Your husband should be grateful that you're concerned and not just sitting on your butt and spending his hard earned money without a care in the world.
Tell him to "get real", stop being Macho, and start acting as though eviction could end up being a real possibility. That will concentrate both your minds on where surplus money you have now could be better directed to a savings account. Will your child die if he doesn't have a new bike for Christmas? Of course not. The age of "Must have everything" is OVER. This "spend, spend, spend" mentality is one of the things which has contributed to the present crisis and most people in this country have been living beyond their incomes. Could you buy a second hand bike instead, check out whether your local Freecycle organisation has one, or put a Wanted advert in your local paper. I don't know how old your children are, but bringing them up to get everything they wanted is not a good idea anyway. Stand your ground - one day your husband might be very grateful he has a wife who is prepared to economise. Better to do it now rather than start putting preparations in process when it's too late. The experts are all forecasting that this recession will be far deeper than anything we have previously experienced so I don't know where your husband has this clearvoyance that whatever happens he will always be able to earn sufficient money to pay all your bills. With unemployment forecast to hit 2 million very soon, even a lot of low paid jobs will dry up because companies will be laying staff off and reducing or freezing headcount.

I thought she came on here for a little reassurance, you should change your name to AllwaysWorried2. I don't find this a very helpful reply, you can tell she is suffering stress and you are just piling it on.
The husband is perfectly correct in not worrying himself in to the ground over something that may never happen, the fact that they have 80k in savings should provide a buffer. The fact that the husband is self-employed engineer should mean that while work may reduce it is highly unlikely to disappear altogether ( like someone being made redundant).

1echidna

Being subject to a bit of depression just as often occurs in a very capable person. Look at Winston Churchill. A dismissive "get over it" not only displays ignorance about the difficult nature of the condition but also denigrates you as a person. It would be a pity if this forum was not a safe place to bring such concerns and receive advice both on the health and practical aspects of it. If people have nothing to say other than 'I'm alright Jack' perhaps they should restrain altogether.

Mrs_Boo_Boo

Sounds like you are a highly anxious person. Come across loads of these in my line of work 'the worried well'. If you find it all unbearable a short burst of medication could be advantageous but I like the post about maintaining mental health by doing things.
Right what is the worst case scenario? your husband loses his business and it all goes down the pan. You would still all survive. Benefits and housing is available for those less fortunate. I know my family would always let me move in with them. So have a go at the worst. Its never as bad as you think. Like the other posters there is so much you can do to safeguard this end and you have the control to do this. I bet there's lots of people here who have survived the last recession. I know my husband was made redundant three times in all but we just pulled our horns in and got on with it.
Good luck and try to relax.Count your blessings. Worry is wasted energy.

martinman3

As this is a moneysaving site I should repeat the excellent advice of Bromley86 to try and get a offset mortgage.

If that £80k is in anything other than a fixed rate account the interest received will be falling shortly as interest rates are cut. Not only that but any of it not in a cash ISA is being taxed, either at 20% or 40%.

With an offset mortgage you effectively receive interest at the same rate as your mortgage and that interest is not taxed.

You don't say if the mortgage was taken out before your DH became self-employed ? Does it allow payment holidays which for example the ONE ACCOUNT does (or so my sister who has one tells me) ? What is the current LTV ?

The flexibility of an offset mortgage would help in your situation.

gairlochgal

amcluesent wrote: »

TBH, I'd be looking to emigrate.

England is finished. If you can, get out now.

What interesting advice! What country are you posting from then?