It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

crazyaboutsaving

Hello,
I've been catching up on the last few days of this forum, there's been some very interesting conversations going on here! I totally agree people need to learn the necessary skills to live comfortably within their means. It's been lost in a modern age of borrowing, borrowing, borrowing. Being in our late 20s/early 30s, all the debt my DH and I have accumulated is entirely from education. It's education debt from overseas, that doesn't have the same relaxed payment options and great interest rates that many students can get here in the UK. We took out these loans as an investment strategy - get a higher level of education so we can make more money and have a better standard of living. Well, the investment hasn't yet paid off. And we're left with lots of debt and employers telling us we're "overqualified" for most jobs....
However, we're still able to manage with what we've got and live within our means. We're paying off our debt ahead of schedule and not accumulating any more. We don't have CC debt, and live comfortably by having developed great household and money management skills. These are skills NOT taught in schools or unis, but have been vital for us to live reasonably well.
Champys, you're right, the most valuable asset any of us could have is our potato patch!

sillylittlejill

kidcat wrote: »

The problem at the moment though is that people on the street have been running their budgets like the world economies have been run and this is partly how we are in the mess we are in now.

It baffles me how it all currently works and some days I wonder whether we will ever get out of this mess.

Hey everyone, just nipped in to catch up with you OS'ers. I totally agree with this, kidcat. How are people such as myself (young and totally don't understand money, never been taught about it etc etc) supposed to believe in a government that tells us not to get in to debt when all they do is do the same as those crazy people that buy designer handbags on their credit card then claim they can't afford dinner.

We haven't been taught to do anything with money at school, maybe my parents should have been better with that, but I think the school should teach us. I remember we had on lesson called "financial management" and it was literally one hour telling us how to write a cheque and that we should all have a bank account!! That's all we were taught, and fair enough I left school 5 years ago but I still think that they need to be taught about money and how to handle it. My little sister is much worse than me with money so I can't see any improvement yet!

I know this may be pointing out the obvious but I think a major problem is that no-one trusts our government. I certainly don't. We have Gordon Brown at the moment, who voted for him? He has been running the country for a while now but there hasn't been an election and I am personally not comfortable with that. I don't know much about politics but its not a good sign when a country doesn't believe in its leader!

This is the first recession I have been through, and quite frankly, I'm scared. My 75 year old nana told me last night that this is much worse than any other depression she has lived through. I can't see anything improving soon, some people say we will see improvements in the next 18 months but others say that we are in for a 10 year depression!

This is all quite scary, I'm currently unemployed and I am afraid that if I don't get a job soon I will be unemployed for the whole depression/recession . I hoped to have a part time job so that OH could work full time and I could stay at home most of the time when we have kids but now I can't see how we can afford to have children in the middle of a recession, we are living in my parents front room and if I dont get a job then we will be here for a looong time!



sorry for rambling, just thinking aloud

xxx

[Deleted User]

sillylittlejill, I just want to put your mind at ease a little bit. There are most definitely little green shoots appearing and we are bumping along at the bottom. I don`t think it will get any worse although it will be up and down for a while yet. Talk is that the rate of job losses will lessen by easter so hang in there and don`t listen to too much media hype

Reverbe

Kittie I hate to bring doom and gloom but I have noticed myself the number of jobs on offer - and I live in the London area! _ are down week on week lately. I had to sign on the other day and the jobs I normally write down on a huge list of jobsearch.applications I have made were down just because quite literally there were only the same jobs locally online that I had already submitted jobsearch to dole office and applied for the previous fortnight.

sillylittlejill

thanks

The problem is though, if we recover from this recession soon, people are just going to go back to the way they lived beforehand, they aren't going to do what we do, spending money on things we need not want etc and rack up lots of debt. I'm almost kind of glad it has happened because I have learned so much from this website etc and I would never have had to if there was no recession, I would probably be in much more debt than I am now.

Its just scary walking through town if you really pay attention to the shops that have closed down. Woolies is still empty, barratts as well as a lot more. It's depressing, I would love to be able to own my own cafe-that's been my dream for sooo long but can't see it happening anymore.

I was stupidly naive when people were talking about the credit crunch (hate that name, call it what it is, its a recession!!!!!!) as I thought it was mainly media hype and things weren't really that bad.

It's just so miserable at the moment, everything is grey (if that makes sense...?), my dad has given up looking for a job, he is an electrician and is waiting for his old boss to give him his job back, which is really unlikely but he won't listen. Think he's just lazy though!!

xxx

Austin_Allegro

marybishop wrote: »

Best quote I've heard recently (on the radio the other morning) - 'due to the current recession the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off!' Says it all really.

My favourite is 'that's not the light at the end of the tunnel, it's the headlight on an express train coming towards you'. :rotfl:

This may sound naive, but I think a lot of the gloom is due to the weather. We haven't had a proper summer for two years running. When the weather brightens up I think people will feel a bit better.

That's not to say we are not in for a long recession/depression - the signs are it's not going to be good - but it's unlikely anyone will starve or even go hungry. With a bit of luck we may even discover values we thought we'd lost.

For example, one thing I really hope will happen is that the cream of the ivory tower graduates will take up jobs in the civil service again instead of being lured away by huge City salaries; this way we might get some more talented people in power.

Naseby

I so agree with the light quality from the "free" energy saving light bulbs. I must admit I had not heard of the daylight ones that a few of you have mentioned so started looking for them on the internet. I am getting confused though. I have found some of them for about £6 - £7 but I have also found some on this link http://uk.daylightcompany.com/home/category/?id=12 which are £9.99. Has anybody used any daylight bulbs and are they really worth the extra money?



I can only get out to shop locally so I am really trying to find somewhere online to buy them from. I tried in Sainsbury's and Homebase this morning but neither had any daylight bulbs although both had the "normal" energy saving lightbulbs.

I would be grateful for any feedback from any of you who obviously know a lot more about this than I do although I am learning fast!

[Deleted User]

http://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/category/32/daylight-energy-savers/

[Deleted User]

I have biobulbs in most places here. They were very expensive but I love the white light. The new bulbs are for 3 wall lights that I put ordinary energy saving bulbs into, thinking I could put up with the dim, yellow light but I hate them. Google biobulbs to find them. I have the 25w bulbs

£9.95 is the cheapest so far in ethical superstore

calleyw

As has already been said the people who will get through this recession are people who have been living within their means before it started.

I mean this afternoon I did some washing and at about 4pm I put it out on the line until about 20 mins ago.

It is not dry but a lot drier than if I had left in doors. And is now on the airer indoors. A lot of people would have left it indoors or bunged it in the tumble drier. I really don't care how mad my neighbours think I am.

Just had my gas and electric bills. Covers the period from Nov 26th until Feb 25th. Gas £46 and electric £59. Which I don't think is bad seeing as my husband is home most of the week and I am home for 3 days a week.

I have always been a bit of hoarder when it comes to tinned and packet foods and toiletries. Use to drive my husband mad. But then he never runs out of shower gel, shampoo etc. I mean I have 14 tins of tuna and 16 tins of baked beans

But then I always have something to eat when things are tight.

Need to push on with my raised beds and get some top soil and then I am going to grow lots of veggies for the summer and autumn :j

Yours

Calley