Younger People (18-25) - Attitudes to money

byb3

I count myself very lucky in that i'm under 25 and have a decent secure job. I've just graduated from uni, become totally independent from my parents, rent privately and pay my own way in everything. However I am also a bit tight when it comes to money, and I'm quite proud of that.

When I find myself in a group of friends or other people my age, I am quite frankly amazed at what I hear. They think nothing at spending £80 on a pair of shoes, £50 on a night out, £200 on a new XBox, £75 on a new pair of jeans, £15 on a new DVD each week. I'm always referred to as the tight one! They look down at me when I say I love to shop at Aldi!

I've just started saving up a deposit for a house, a bad time to start but we all start from nothing. Please tell me i'm not alone and there are other financially responsible young people out there?

GDB2222

I'm sure that you are doing the right thing. For years people have had it both ways. They've spent every penny they earned, plus probably borrowed some more, and then when they wanted to buy a house they were able to get 100% finance. Given time, attitudes will change to your way of thinking, I very much hope!

lostinrates

byb3 wrote: »

I count myself very lucky in that i'm under 25 and have a decent secure job. I've just graduated from uni, become totally independent from my parents, rent privately and pay my own way in everything. However I am also a bit tight when it comes to money, and I'm quite proud of that.

When I find myself in a group of friends or other people my age, I am quite frankly amazed at what I hear. They think nothing at spending £80 on a pair of shoes, £50 on a night out, £200 on a new XBox, £75 on a new pair of jeans, £15 on a new DVD each week. I'm always referred to as the tight one! They look down at me when I say I love to shop at Aldi!

I've just started saving up a deposit for a house, a bad time to start but we all start from nothing. Please tell me i'm not alone and there are other financially responsible young people out there?

I'm 29, but I was younger, er, a few years ago

I was the only fulltime student on my university course who also worked more than a few hours a week: that shocked me. Continuing to work throughout my university course meant my small student loan was taken for 'prudnce' rather than necessity (and in fact invested into the business I started while at university). It also meant that my four year sandwhich course could be completed in three years, as I workd in a relevant sector negating a 'year in industry'.

At one, mad point I was in term time, working a job in industry, plus doing some part time hours somewhere else PLUS dealing with my business. As a result my papers were completed not only on time but early, I had to be super efficient!

What I would say is that when I was around 23 my reelationship from university broke down. It was vry difficult and I ralised I had started to become pigeon holed in an active but still too socially restrictive for my taste and needs, social circle.

At that point I cut back some hours (I was still working multiple jobs, as NDG says about herself now, my view then was sleep was for wimps). It was a hard decision to cut back on 'profitable time' and break out of what had become my comfort zone but it was truley valuable, incidently, leading to more work :rolleyes: which is how I met my now husband.

Sometimes, there is such a thing as TOO committed to maximising the work you do, and minimising spend, especially if you are self employed, or working in very diverse areas concurrently.

My advice now might be to remember that financial sense can make the difference between a good life and a hard one, but only if you let the money work for you sometims too.

ETA: actually thr is nothing wrong with buying stuff each week, or expensive things, but only if you can afford it. It might be you earn enough to cover it, or that you cut back somewhere else. Or it might be you can't.

Max_Headroom_3

byb3 wrote: »

When I find myself in a group of friends or other people my age, I am quite frankly amazed at what I hear. They think nothing at spending £80 on a pair of shoes, £50 on a night out, £200 on a new XBox, £75 on a new pair of jeans, £15 on a new DVD each week.

What you need to understand is that many kids grow up with their parents not wanting to be their parents but wanting to be their friends.

Little Jimmy grows up getting whatever he wants whenever he wants it as his parents buy his affection with gifts and cash, and when he grows up he can't understand that he has to save to buy, and that he can't just have whatever he wants whenever he wants it.

Or actually he can, as doting parents are happy for the apple of their eye to live at home into his thirties, spending all his disposable income (which is all of his income) on tat.

I grew up thinking my parents were very mean toward me (actually they were, but that's another story). However I also grew up knowing that the only way to have a 10 speed racer like my mates was get a job and start saving. I had a paper-round from the age of 12.

I honestly think that much of the excesses of recent years is a combination of easy credit and want it/buy it/have it now upbringing.

lynzpower

I was thinking about this arlier today, what it must be like for those parents who have unfortunately made a rod for thier wn back now the word NO is going to have to be spoken.

Many parents and we have seen them on these very boards have not just bought the trainers and the other consumer bits but MAJOR purchases, mewing for thier little uns to have holidays "of a lifetime", cars for their 17th birthday, degrees and downpayments on overpriced piles of bricks.

There is somethng about rampant consumerism that makes parenting doubly hard- how can you say no when you can "afford it". Especially when you see others who shoulsnt be able to afford it but they do ( from mew or otherwise)

It must have been easier when no one had anything and no wasnt based on " not spoiling" it was based on we havent got it and you have to work for it and that really is that.

Guy_Montag

GDB2222 wrote: »

I'm sure that you are doing the right thing. For years people have had it both ways. They've spent every penny they earned, plus probably borrowed some more, and then when they wanted to buy a house they were able to get 100% finance. Given time, attitudes will change to your way of thinking, I very much hope!

That's my thought - sooner or later people will twig that you can't turn up at an estate agent & virtually buy a house then & there.

It's going to take at least 10% deposits from now on in.

SingleSue

I came from a family where 'no' was the normal word and saving was encouraged...my ex hubby came from a family where credit card use was normal as was all the latest gadgets.

You can imagine the 'discussions' we had when we were married! He would want to spend on the latest games system ...... and I would take his bank card away only letting him have the item once it had come down in price and he had saved enough to buy it outright without credit.

That sounds rather controlling doesn't it? Well I hadn't been like that until one day when we were short of money just prior to our reposession, he got a small bonus at work. I had planned for that money to pay for our television license but he came home with a brand new game for his megadrive instead..I was so angry and we such a huge arguement about it that he challenged me to do better, so I did.

It did start to go wrong towards the end, he could see that his money was decent and I was working and he couldn't see the point in saving for something, so he went upto the nearest big town and instead of putting a deposit on a watch he wanted and asking for gifts of money for his 40th to pay the balance, he took out finance...another huge row ensued as it was already a very thorny subject, I just couldn't see the point in paying £1,400 for a watch, so paying interest on £1,400 was even more of an eeekkk thing for me.

His spending is not controlled now and the last I heard, he was in debt to the tune of over 20k and that has taken him around 2 years to accrue.

Max_Headroom_3

Absolute perfect example there Sue.

Max_Headroom_3

lynzpower wrote: »

I was thinking about this arlier today, what it must be like for those parents who have unfortunately made a rod for thier wn back now the word NO is going to have to be spoken.

Many parents and we have seen them on these very boards have not just bought the trainers and the other consumer bits but MAJOR purchases, mewing for thier little uns to have holidays "of a lifetime", cars for their 17th birthday, degrees and downpayments on overpriced piles of bricks.
.

Even bigger rod when they've been saying "yes" to an older child, but are now going to have to say "no" to a younger brother or sister...

[Deleted User]

im 23, and i have a very good attitude to money, i save approx 65% of my wage each month and currently have quite a substantial amount to use as a deposit on a house. Whilst i still live with parents, i pay a fair rent and im not tight when going out with mates.

I still buy dvds, cds and games and all the top gadgets (iphone etc) and i have a season ticket, i have a couple of credit cards which i pay off in full every month. Personally i believe it all comes down to money management, if you cant afford it, dont get it, vary where you spend money. Im lucky to be bought up by parents who dont like spending money, so ive sort of learnt from them.

amcluesent

The worlds going to hell. Post peak oil, post peak water, climate instability, risk of global pandemics, global food shortages, nuclear armed islamics.

Reversion to the mean? We could all end of living in hedges and eating grubs as that was the norm of peasants throughout the Dark Ages. NB please see my other thread about cancelling Xmas.

I'd be enjoying whatever time is left and spend, spend, spend!