Younger People (18-25) - Attitudes to money

Badger_Lady

Max_Headroom wrote: »

Sadly you can't get all that just by being frugal. You do actually have to earn a decent amount as well to afford a BMW convertible and a five bedroom house in the first place!

Well I've managed at 25, having left home at 16 and worked at it independently... certainly not out of reach And bear in mind I'm only part time now!

SingleSue

Phirefly wrote: »

Back to the thread, (and I'm procrastinating as I have a boring brief to work on) I started working at 16, more for social reasons than anything else (and all the desirable 6th formers worked up at the airport hotel) and it was once I started earning tips that my lifelong relationship with money began. It was almost like my first taste of self-employment. I suddenly realised I could actively influence the size of that pot of cash I kept by my bed, just by pretending to be interested in where the punters were flying off to in the morning as I poured their wine.

My dad is 'frugal' to say the least and I think that played a part, you either reflect or react, I definitely reflect whereas my sister reacted massively and is very casual with money.

Like LIR, I worked all through uni and realised the only way I was going to get a job in industry was by working unpaid placements, so I negotiated that I would spend a year of uni down in london during the week working for nothing (with a 3hr round trip commute), then back at home in the midlands at the weekend, working in a shop in the day and waiting on at night. Pretty hard going which manifested itself in a head-on collision with an HGV but thats another story...

I've always felt very responsible for my own earning (acutely so now I'm S.E.) and I think that has a knock-on to attituded to spending. I feel uneasy if I ever spend more than I save any given month.

It is (and has been) really REALLY hard work though, so no wonder we're the exception to the rule (in life as opposed to round here) as the majority have neither the drive nor discipline.

I started working at 16 (full time, part time at age 11) as I was just so impatient to get out in the world and earn some money.

I learnt the way to go forward and increase my potential earnings was to work extra hours, always arriving early and having a willingness to expand my knowledge in the workplace so I could cover most other positions.

I never just completed my work and then twiddled my thumbs, I would actively go around my colleagues to see if I could give any assistance even for work which I initially didn't know which meant that being able to work overtime (and thus increase my earnings) was much more possible when sickness or holidays occured for others.

In short, I became indespensible and relied upon, I was given bigger bonuses, bigger payrises...plus it gave me glowing references when I did come to leave the companies.

cupid_s

Everyone has something that they think it's worth spending money on. We've just paid for our next holiday: 8.5k for the 2 of us. Our friends asked how much it cost and when we told them and they couldn't believe we'd 'waste' so much on one holiday. Yet they literally spend that much a year on going out for food and drink and takeaways. That to me is a waste, not going on a once in a lifetime holiday to see wildlife you only get in one part of the world.

But they just choose to spend their money in a different way and I just feel lucky that the things I value are the same as what my husband does.

I suppose one difference is they have always earned more than us, have no savings and tonnes of debt. Despite our 'wastefullness', we have no debt (except for student loan), our own house with a relatively small mortgage, and a fair amount of savings. But we only got all that by being sensible from a young age (I'm also just outside the 18-25 age range now) and I suppose we feel we can reward ourselves slightly now.

Though in the defence of the OPs friends, it isn't easy to spend less than £50 on a night out. We don't seem to be able to spend less than £80 between us so we only go out every 3 months, and then just go out for dinner say once a month which works out cheaper. And I used to buy cheap shoes and now I refuse because it really is a false economy and our feet should be looked after and they deserve good shoes.

However whilst there is no point wasting money, and buying loads of consumer goods, there is also no point denying yourself things you really want and taking frugality to an extreme. I think if everyone could maintain a happy balance then the country wouldn't be in the problems we are now.

SingleSue

For some of us, frugality is the only way due to not much coming in....a happy balance for me is being able to put enough electric and gas in the machines and buy the weeks food.

Treats are just that...treats, which can only be had when I sell a collectable or some books and money is left over after paying for the essentials.

I recently went to a dinner dance (shock horror, I actually got to go out!) and my nights drinks bill came to £5 as I purchased 2 drinks but interspersed them with having the free water provided with the meal and drinking slowly. I still had fun and didn't feel as if I was going without at all, in fact I felt proud of myself at doing it so cheaply.

moneymass

No OP, you're not the only one (obvously since your thread's grown 4 more pages since I read it :rolleyes:)

I can be very frugal, ok tight, with money when I want to be and I'm only 22. Having graduated this year and went into my dream job I can still behave like a poor student.

Ignore the/any criticism you get from people and save harder

The only debt I have is my student loan, and that is less than the 'average' figures I hear / see being talked about. I use Credit cards but only for the credit rating, cashback and consumer protection. If I can't afford it, I won't 'buy' it on credit.

Having said that, as much as I like cold hard cash, the shineyness of gold and seeing numbers of digital money jump up and down on a whim ... You really do have to 'treat' yourself. You have to enjoy your life; within your means of course.

For me this is travel, literature, shows, sports, food etc.

The above sounds like I 'waste' alot of money but I still squirrel away a lot and to me it's worth it, even if I baulk at some things other people 'waste money on'.

neverdespairgirl

SingleSue wrote: »

I started working at 16 (full time, part time at age 11) as I was just so impatient to get out in the world and earn some money.

I didn't start working full-time until I was 24 - but I wasn't entirely sitting around doing nothing, I was in full-time education (and working part-time).

I did work for a year full-time when I was 18, but other than that I was in full-time education from the age of 4 to 24.

neverdespairgirl

cupid_s wrote: »

Everyone has something that they think it's worth spending money on. We've just paid for our next holiday: 8.5k for the 2 of us.

Where are you going?

SingleSue

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

I didn't start working full-time until I was 24 - but I wasn't entirely sitting around doing nothing, I was in full-time education (and working part-time).

I did work for a year full-time when I was 18, but other than that I was in full-time education from the age of 4 to 24.

And that is what I SHOULD have done...would have been so much better set up to get decent employment now if I had.

I was just so impatient...and impatience is turning out to be my downfall years down the line but then I was 16 and thought I knew the best way :rolleyes:

cupid_s

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Where are you going?

the galapagos islands

wolfman

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. I'm always referred to as the tight one! They look down at me when I say I love to shop at Aldi!

As far as uni students are concerned, and getting a first job, I find that quite typical and not such a bad thing.

When I first started earning it was a novelty to me, and I had a chance to really enjoy the money I was earning after years of being a cheapskate student. It was a phase that lasted around a year or two. I went out lots, travelled, bought consoles and hifi's etc... Got a lot of it out of the system.

I'm now 27 and have been saving for a few years. Currently saving £900 a month, so should be well positioned by this time next year to buy in London.