How close to the brink are you? poll discussion

JBEILBY

I am fortunate that so far we have not been affected. I paid off my mortgage over a year ago when I was made redundant for the 2nd time. As I could afford to take early retirement have done that too in case my pension went west. The only thing affecting us is that we are trying to retire to the country and although we have three possible buyers for our current home none of them can sell their own property. Nevertheless on a day to day basis we are being careful. I wish everyone good fortune in the coming tough times.

oldagetraveller

"0" for me - unlike the government I've made use of the good time in anticipation of any bad time. Therefore no mortgage, no credit card debts, no loans etc. and absolutely loads of savings.

ceridwen

Well - no mortgage, no debts - but unfortunately no savings either (unless you count my pension lump sum I am due for when I retire). I was pretty good with managing my money anyway - but have learnt a lot from this site, which helps me feel more confident whatever happens.

My salary is scarily low anyway - but at least I know my home is safe no matter what - which helps a lot.

I envy those 1 in 5 surveyed who feel totally secure or not far from - I've put myself somewheres in the middle. I'm always aware personally at any time anyway that - though I have decided never to get in debt ever again - there is always the possibility that some health problem might come up that costs thousands of £s to put right (in view of the state of the N.H.S.) - and that could land me up correspondingly in debt to deal with it. So - I dont think many of us could regard ourselves as bulletproof - recession or no recession. The state of the NHS could land us up in s**t anyway. I also wonder, for other reasons, how safe those who think they are "safe" are. The thought honestly never crossed my mind that I could ever be made redundant - until I was. It had never happened to anyone I knew - and I assumed, from that, that it couldnt/wouldnt happen to me either.........so my first reaction was sheer disbelief when it did. I had read about it happening to other people - but that was the nearest I had come to it - so it was one heck of a shock when it happened to me.

I guess we will climb out of this current "recession" at some point - at a lower point to what we have been used to - then plateau for a while - then another one - taking us down to a lower level again - then plateau again etc several times before finding ourselves in Post Peak Oil Society - and what that will be like is anyone's guess.

Jennifer_Jane

I voted 1, as I would be in real trouble if interest rates/council tax/fuel/food increased to a major degree - or if my pension was somehow denigrated before I could take it.

But if all is as it should be, then I'll ride out most of the recession to take late retirement in August 09.

Jen
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ldavies_3

I voted 1.. unless somthing drastic happens then we will be ok... though what I mean by drastic, im not sure!!

No debt except the mortgage which is under 25% of joint income and a relatively small cc.

ianian99

[SIZE=+2]1[/SIZE] It’d need to be extreme before we felt it.

Welshwoofs

We're about a 6. My job is stable and I earn decent money, however my other half's trade has gone down the toilet and he's studying for a new career. He's also suffering from clincial depression so the light study is as much as he can cope with.

We'll make it through, but it'll be with some belt tightening and me doing some consultancy on top of the usual work.

Nony_2

As a pensioner on a fixed income, it's a case of having to manage. There's no more money coming my way, so budgets have to be adhered to. I allow a set amount for electricity, coal/logs, food and petrol each week, also for buying Glucosamine/Chondroitin tablets (16.99 for a month's supply from Boots) and a sack of dog food every 5 weeks (£11.70) Can't let my mate go hungry
Living in a small village with no shop I need my small car, a present from one of my sons, to get shopping, visit doctor and chemist, etc. but I'm very strict on my petrol allowance - when it's gone, it's gone and car usage is limited.
With fuel, electricity and food prices all rising constantly, things are getting tight: food and heat expenses have to be juggled and adjusted according to other expenses. But I know I'm not alone; at least I can get out walking with my dog to keep warm and save on heat in home. Sometimes I take a book and sit in the car in the sunshine - 'tis a cheap way of keeping warm! :cool:

anniecave

Nony wrote: »

Sometimes I take a book and sit in the car in the sunshine - 'tis a cheap way of keeping warm! :cool:

I like that one!

I saw a quote somewhere on this website that people under 35 may not have ever experienced a recession - that is so true!

However I am 30, have been working for 8 years and have never considered my job to ever be secure despite having two permanent jobs so it depends how you see things!

For most people redundancy or losing a job is the one thing that makes the most difference and we are only seeing the start of this.

Nessa56

Nony wrote: »

, also for buying Glucosamine/Chondroitin tablets (16.99 for a month's supply from Boots)

What about this company for Glucosamine etc

http://www.healthydirect.com/product/GLU15/d.jsf;jsessionid=CBECB2051C7CAED0C13962434F94A469

Brilliant, I have been using them for about 13years now

HTH

V
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