Past Recessions - what were your experiences?

steadysaver

drbeat wrote: »

And 30 years on we now enjoy the infamous Purse Snatcher. :rotfl:

Was !!!!!! Turpin a Scot?

Generali

I worked as a barman and a cleaner in the last recession on GBP3.02/hour for the bar work and quite a bit more for the cleaning.

I hated bar work.

drbeat

steadysaver wrote: »

Was !!!!!! Turpin a Scot?

PENSIONS STORM OVER ‘PURSE-SNATCHER’ PM


From the Daily Express :rotfl:

Davesnave

I was a student in the 70s, so my 'income' was unaffected, but the power blackouts hindered my studies at a crucial time. My heating was by paraffin stove, so that was OK, and I also used paraffin-filled jam jars with cord wicks to see my books/write essays etc when the lights went out. (Candles were hard to find.) I must've been an insurance nightmare.

I also worked in a factory in the earlyish 70s, but I don't remember serious unemployment at that time, otherwise there would have been people doing my unpleasant cleaning job on the other shifts. I had as much overtime as I could handle and the managers increased my basic pay several times.

After I turned down a management post in the factory, I went into teaching, which wasn't paid so well, but offered security and, in those days, considerable freedom, so no other recessions touched me. I felt that the attitudes on both sides of British industry weren't right, and that companies like Honda would kill off traditional firms. That proved correct, but it took a long time to happen; for example, Longbridge was only bulldozed a few years ago.

rozeepozee

PasturesNew wrote: »

Back in the early 80s, anybody remember the band UB40?

Yes, suddenly I'm feeling my age!

I was at Uni as the last recession began to bite and then went onto law school so I was somewhat removed from it until 1991. Once I entered the real world, it was a very anxious time. Many of my fellow students, having spent a fortune to get their professional qualifications, couldn't get a training contract so were unable to qualify as solicitors (some might say this was a good thing :rotfl: ). I was one of the "lucky" one's who got a job but had the most awful bullying boss and times were too tough to leave so I had to suffer him for two years. Knew lots of people in negative equity who couldn't move house and quite a few who were repossessed. I remember the Tories going on and on about we were about to turn a corner economically and we would see "green shoots of recovery" soon but then there wasn't.... (I've recently heard this phrase mentioned again in the press, the first time in over 15 years). Fortunately, I was only able to buy my first house in 1993 so probably quite close to the bottom of the market which has set me up quite nicely for now, 15 years on. So every cloud has a silver lining....?

I'm removed from it again now, being out of the job market due to motherhood. It's interesting but worrying to read these posts and I'm just glad I've always been so afraid of debt (probably as a result of my experience of recession) so have avoided it.

Kez100

I loved UB40 and that song brings back memories of me doing things I wasn't supposed to be doing!

My brother was made redundant 3 times from factories in the 1980s recession. He luckily found work quickly twice but the last time it was awful for him and took years.

I was working in a training position in the 80's being paid peanuts for what I did but gaining experience and being supported through exams which didn;t make it a bad time for me.

The 1990's was worse. We had negative equity and wanted to move closer to my work so we could start a family and I could work part time. We didn't have to move - I could have left the babe with a childminder for two more hours a day if I wanted but it wasn't ideal. We lived on tomato pasta type meals for months on end. I had a strict budget of £24 for food and drink a week for the two of us. Everything else went into saving to pay of the negative equity.

It took six months to find a buyer by which time we had saved the £5k needed (I know nothing compared to many then and certainly now). That was when we started to look for new home. Oh my, the repossessions were sad and the market dire. Quite a few people I knew went under purely because they couldn't sell their property and the interest rates were so high. We realised just how lucky we were to have such an attractive FTB place to have actually sealed a buyer. We moved and managed to bag a brilliant deal on the family home we are in now.

hethmar

Perhaps we all need to watch The Full Monty again?

drbeat

hethmar wrote: »

Perhaps we all need to watch The Full Monty again?

I would suggest Threads.

Sapphire

lovethymini wrote: »

As we seem to be entering into another recession, I am interested to hear anyone's stories from past periods of recession in the uk.

In particular, how you felt about it at the time, and how you feel about it in hindsight, as this may be helpful for us today.

I feel this is going to be a bad one, and feel concerned for the future, as I expect many of us do.

I was a teenager during the last recession, so I don't have much to judge the current situation against, although I do remember one year Dad telling us that the Christmas turkey was actually a pigeon as it was so small!!!

I lived through two recessions, but they seemed to pass over my head – I didn't really notice them and kept working just the same as I had when there was no recession.

In a past recession I did notice a patch when there were many 'for sale' board outside houses. They seemed, in fact, to be outside practically every house on some streets.

I am, however, noticing this recession. It seems to be really bad and there does not seem to be much cause for optimism that anything is going to get better anywhere near soon, or any indication what the way out of the mess is going to be. I do feel quite fearful and am unsure where this country is headed.

I also do not remember a government ever permitting uncontrolled borrowing of the sort that took place over the last few years. Any fool could see where it would lead (and many people, on this site for example, predicted correctly what would happen), yet this 'government' allowed the whole giant speculative bubble to grow. I find the whole thing absolutely incredible and it makes be very angry when I think about it. :mad:

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

drbeat wrote: »

There was no minimum wage in those days.

My husband desperate for work,took a job for £20 a week in 1977,he would of got £24 a week on the dole.He's always been a very proud hardworking man and after being made redundant for the third time he took any job he could.Better than being unemployed to him.
There were no other benefits for working people then.We had three little girls at the time too,but I'd rather see my husband in work and having self respect than more money.
Employers had you by the short and curlies,they knew if you wanted to work they could make the rules and job conditions up as they went along.
And believe me they did.