How does VI affect what we think?

carolt

Really2 wrote: »

Could you qualify that? In terms of housing may be but what about

• disposable income
• Cost of luxury goods EG technology, phones etc
• Car costs in terms of wages
• Health

I really cant say I that our standard of living is worse than 10 years ago. Perhaps because I am older, but people of the same age as me 10 years ago do seem to have a better standard of living.

It's very difficult to compare oneself or one's immediate social circle with 10 years ago. Personally, I had far more disposable income 10 years ago, as I didn't yet have 3 children and so didn't need to spend large amounts of my income on a large family house to accomodate us - IIRC, at one point I lived with family, and at one point had accomodation (a 1 bed flat for the 2 of us) included with job. So no accomodation costs, actually.

Also, with no kids I was obviously working full-time. On the other hand, OH changed jobs and his salary has more than tripled over that time. So v hard to compare.

This is the problem - how many people over 10 years have no changes in family (marriage, children...), jobs (change, promotion, lose...) or other changes in situation (build up debts, inherit, etc)?

So not sure 10 year comparisons are possible, except on a mass scale, if they are to be meaningful.


Re the poll, it's interesting to note that it currently stands that the vast majority appear to believe that prices will fall, and very few of those actually have a vested interest in believing that (and yes, for the record, I'm one of those who voted as having a vested interest and believing that). Currently 24-11 (fall-rise/stagnate).

Great thread, OP - the only change I would have made is to make it public, to prevent any accusations of fibbing, or duplicate voting by many-named users, if any still left...).

bigheadxx

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Our spend on food, drink, housing, and all other bills combined is less than 25% of our net after tax income,, and we don't exactly have a frugal lifestyle. And that includes overpaying a 90% LTV mortgage on a 200K house taken out in 2007.

The latest affordability measures show that the average homeowner spends less than 35% of disposable income (after tax and food) on mortgage payements today, versus 68% in 1990. The long term average is 37%.

This figure is based on when you first purchase the house. In the 70s and 80s after a few years inflation would soon reduce those payments as a proportion of your income enabling a rapid increase in the standard of living at the same time as rising inflation.

In recent times inflation has been very low and the amount of household income used to pay the mortgage changes very little over the term of the mortgage and actually increases if equity is released.

In the future a return to inflation being tolerated by government and electorate is the likely road to a "new" economic miracle so overstretching to buy the best house you can, struggle for a few years and then watch as inflation sees the value soar and mortgage repayments fall as a proportion of income.

michaels

30 years ago my parents bought a 'mansion' for what inflation adjusted a small 3 bed semi will cost me - but they did devote a lot more of their income to paying the bills and upkeep

Cleaver wrote: »

I don't know if I agree with this. My parents were in very similar jobs to me and my wife at our age (late twenties) and they certainly had a bigger, cheaper house than us. In fact I can say with certainty that the house they bought at our age as their first house we couldn't afford now.

And it was hard to heat so my room on the top flor did have ice inside the windows in the winter...

JanCee wrote: »

I can remember ice on the insides of windows and in our first house with no central heating the water froze in the washing up bowl one particularly cold night.

My mum has her cental heating on more or less all the time and when it gets too hot she opens the window.

But now using the thermostat and the AC my house is 16 at night and 22 by day 365 days a year

lostinrates

Am I really the only person who quite likes ice on the inside of the windows?

Really2

mewbie wrote: »

SOME PEOPLE DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT PAYING 200K FOR A SH1THOLE DOES TO YOUR FINANCES.

Perhaps you need to stop paying for sodomy.

Really2

carolt wrote: »

This is the problem - how many people over 10 years have no changes in family (marriage, children...), jobs (change, promotion, lose...) or other changes in situation (build up debts, inherit, etc)?

What I was comparing was what people in their early 20's have now compared to what I had 10 years ago..
But there as been the introduction of minimum wage etc. so perhaps that is the difference.

If standards of living have decreased over the last 10 years I am sure their would be evidence, the only bit I could find is that our standard of living had increased over the last 15 years.

Really2

lostinrates wrote: »

Am I really the only person who quite likes ice on the inside of the windows?

Good childhood memory but now associating the colds I used to get from damp conditions in such situations is something I am glad I am away from.

Something magical about ice in a child's mind perhaps it is the brains trigger for Christmas, snow etc.
We still keep those triggers only we don't admit it half the time as adults.

lostinrates

Really2 wrote: »

Good childhood memory but now associating the colds I used to get from damp conditions in such situations is something I am glad I am away from.

Something magical about ice in a child's mind perhaps it is the brains trigger for Christmas, snow etc.
We still keep those triggers only we don't admit it half the time as adults.

we feel much healthier without central heting: damp would change the situation entirely though, I agree.

DH and I postively indulge in such triggers. We are a pir of kids really. My mother clls us ''the Babes in the Woods'' which is quite sweet, if little desperate sounding.:D

Cleaver

lostinrates wrote: »

Am I really the only person who quite likes ice on the inside of the windows?

I like the bedroom icy cold, windows open in the winter and love being in bed when it's freezing everywhere outside the duvet.

Sounds like we're made for each other Ratesy, shall we elope? The only spanner in the works seems to be that you seem really happy with your fella and I'm really happy with my missus. But maybe our passion for icy cold windows could keep us happy.

Afriend_2

Really2 wrote: »

Something magical about ice in a child's mind perhaps it is the brains trigger for Christmas, snow etc.
We still keep those triggers only we don't admit it half the time as adults.

That's so very sweet. I interpreted it as lir being a sadomasochist.
Eye of the beholder and all that.