You have it SO much better than previous generations...

Old_Slaphead

Exocet wrote: »

I agree, just whack it on the credit card and enjoy. Life's too short for saving up first.

Maybe if you live to 100 and have to spend the last 40 years in penuary you'll revisit that cliche. The future state provisions won't be half as generous as you'd like to think.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Old_Slaphead wrote: »

Maybe if you live to 100 and have to spend the last 40 years in penuary you'll revisit that cliche. The future state provisions won't be half as generous as you'd like to think.

A statement that could just as easily be applied to those who believe money can't make you happy.....

Exocet

Old_Slaphead wrote: »

Maybe if you live to 100 and have to spend the last 40 years in penuary you'll revisit that cliche. The future state provisions won't be half as generous as you'd like to think.

Balance transfer sunshine. Could go on for years.

nickmason

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

From the ONS......

Housing, water and fuel now represent 21% of domestic household expenditure compared with 15% in 1970.

So yes it's more, but not a lot more.

But.......

Food and drink now represent just 9% of domestic household expenditure compared with 21% in 1970.

Clothing and footwear now represent just 5% of domestic household expenditure compared with 10% in 1970.

Alcoholic drinks and tobacco now represent just 3% of domestic household expenditure compared with 8% in 1970.

Surely this can be read "we only get to spend half of what we used to on clothes, and while we used to drink and smoke a full twelth of all our expenditure, now it is only one pound in thirty-three!"

carolt

Quite like that - suggests we are all buying too few clothes and not enough booze...

I wonder what the solution could be? :think:

Old_Slaphead

Exocet wrote: »

Balance transfer sunshine.

Balance transfer fees and payments hierarchy sunshine

chucky

more money does not equal more happiness

more money can be very helpful to be more happy but it is not guaranteed.

poppingjay

I think more money can make certain types of people happier and it would seem that our culture does pretty well at breeding those kinds of people. However, I'd imagine that most people with a shred of a social conscience find it very difficult to live in these times. I suppose it just depends on formula you use to measure quality of life.

fc123

Tales of 2 lottery winners show that, for some, money makes no difference. Both had drink problems made worse by being able to afford to drink as much as they wanted. Maybe, before they drank less as they could only afford so much?

This guy died after his win...

Phil Kitchen was a jobless carpenter when he won £1.8million in 1999. But he was soon bingeing on whisky, and when he died aged 58 in 2002 the cause was given as self-neglect.

..and this bloke went on a spending spree (including property, racehorses and cars.........what is it with the horses?), lost most of the 9 million then died.

A nice chap with whom he got on well, Homer says winning the lottery should have made Gough a very happy man, however, winning all that money did not help him get the best out of it. And though, Gough might have had problems, he never spoke about them anyway.

Gough gave up his baker’s job, began drinking heavily, spending as much as £1 million on buying a country mansion, £80,000 on a gardener and chauffeur, bought a £500,000 house, blew £180,000 on racehorses, £35,000 on the executive box and a £60,000 BMW.

When his 25-year marriage ended in 2007, he gave his ex-wife £1.5 million following their separation. He began to drink heavily after splitting from his wife, reportedly checking into the Priory rehabilitation clinic in Birmingham for treatment, where he fell victim to fraudster James Prince, who conned him out of £700,000 between August 2006 and July 2008.

However, his life spiralled out of control, as he gambled away tens of thousands of pounds, splashing on cars and parties.

MiserlyMartin

Cleaver wrote: »

What a truly fantastic post and I couldn't agree more.

I've just highlighted the two lines above because, sadly, I think there are a few people who post on here that do feel that having more money does bring happiness. Or, indeed, that having a 'dream house' somehow brings happiness. I'm not sure either do.

That is true. No good having the dream house unless you have the dream life to go with it.