Do you fear for your financial future as Mr & Mrs Average.

DylanO

The irony is that it's those that have and will prosper from the debt who are moaning the loudest. The people who are paying for it (twice!) are those who have had to pay increased house prices and then also suffer financially to pay down the debt that the Government took on to stop the economy from collapsing because of out-of-control house prices.

It's not unusual to see someone who is paying off their mortgage to own 90% of their home but have only paid about 10% of the current value. The rise in prices wiped out so many mortgages so quickly that it had to come down eventually - the problem is that those who benefited from the rise are not the ones paying for it.

There's also a flipside though for some people like myself - pre-2007 I wouldn't have needed a large deposit and I would have paid more interest on a house purchase. As it stands now - I moved back home and I'm saving for a house, which are still bloody expensive around here and I have a much more realistic view of mortgages and financial affairs than those who bought during the boom. Then, the majority of people didn't think of the consequences of increased borrowing - nor the potential of house prices potentially falling - you can't escape that now.

In a decade or so, they'll probably be another boom and people will make money and others will lose - but those of us who lived through it, won't make the same mistakes again. What I'm sure of is that the boom won't come until wages have recovered significantly and caught up with house prices, and we'll probably have a long period of high interest rates before then.

alyth

It may be hard for Mr and Mrs Average but try being Ms Average. A single life can be terribly hard going, we still have to pay the bills although its definately cheaper eating as a single person, but we still have cars to run, council tax to pay and on a single income that is becoming harder and harder each month. A single, child-free person receives very little assistance from the state, whilst I know child benefit is very small it's still something you receive with regards to help in bringing up your children.

Cyril

I agree it is twice as tough for single people as its solely down to you. If one of you in a couple gets made redundant at least there is usually another wage coming in so although you have to tighten your belt at least the roof over your head is paid for.

There is no buffer at all for a single, childless person re emergency accommodation so if you get evicted due to redundancy where do you go. If you have kids at least the council are obliged to keep a roof over your head.

I wonder if in years to come there will be compounds for single retired people offering support with the tasks you don't have family to do ie fetching your shopping, taking you to the doctors etc.

Kaz2904

I'm not so sure about this. I think DH and I are Mr and Mrs average (although according to Jeremy Vine the other day, he was likening the middle classes to the people earning around £40K and we're nowhere near that as a couple ).
We both own cars (we need 2 to co-ordinate work and collecting children), we own our own home (well almost) and we have a nice lifestyle. The kids do their clubs (both do Aikido, 1 guide, 1 cub, 1 set of music lessons at £8pw, 1 set swimming lessons £8pw). We are going on holiday this year (very lucky that MiL is paying for flights and accommodation or we would not be going. We afford to buy the kids new shoes and clothes without too much hardship when they have grown out of their current items.

I think we are different than some Mr&Mrs A's because we don't buy convenience food, we don't go on holiday all the time (I wouldn't be able to get that much time off work in school holidays). We don't go out a lot. We don't have new cars just old ones bought outright. We don't shop regularly (I hate clothes shopping) and any purchases we make are carefully considered. We take the less is more approach to life.
Our furniture may cost more than something you would buy in Ikea but we will only buy it once for example.

I pay into pensions for the children and I pay into my own. This is taken at source so I never see that money. We have no debt other than the mortgage so we aren't paying high interest rates for a 4 year old telly or for clothes which have long gone to the scrap heap.

We are on a fairly average wage I think (about £2500 per month between us) and we do alright. Money will become much freer when we have cleared our mortgage though. My son is starting middle school in September so I anticipate it being a bit of a struggle over the next year or so with fuel bills, food, clothing (I have large children!), my son wanting music lessons and the various camps they have ahead of them this year. Plus having to save up for our holiday spending money. Also in the last year or so, I have cut my hours at work to 30pw, and had 6 pay cuts. We have had to start paying for parking and our pension contributions are starting to increase soon. I have to pay yearly for my professional registration.

It IS hard, but it is nowhere near as hard for us as it will be for our children. You just have to cut your cloth accordingly really. If you don't have it, don't spend it.

ETA: I specifically meant to add a comment about singles. A single person is probably one of the most vulnerable in our society right now. Who actually cares for singles when the whatsit hits the fan? Nobody really.

janninew

alyth wrote: »

It may be hard for Mr and Mrs Average but try being Ms Average. A single life can be terribly hard going, we still have to pay the bills although its definately cheaper eating as a single person, but we still have cars to run, council tax to pay and on a single income that is becoming harder and harder each month. A single, child-free person receives very little assistance from the state, whilst I know child benefit is very small it's still something you receive with regards to help in bringing up your children.

Def agree with this, my younger sister is a single women, living alone and under 25 in a min wage job. She gets no help and really struggles every month.

This thread has really depressed me!! :eek:

podperson

I do think it's a great deal more difficult to plan for the future at the moment when so many people are struggling to just survive in the present. I used to own my own property - slightly complicated situation but in a nutshell, lost my job, benefits wouldn't help, bank didn't want to know and was eventually repossessed.
Would eventually like to get back on property ladder but cannot see how it is going to happen when it is such a struggle to save anything up. In the last 3 months, rent has gone up, electric has gone up, phone line has gone up, am waiting on council tax bill but would be surprised if that didn't increase as well - the only thing that hasn't gone up is my wage, which won't be doing as the company I work for has been making cutbacks all year and a lot of people have been told their jobs aren't secure.

FBaby

Without being rude, I think this thread is a bit pointless because the recession will affect people very differently, both in real terms, but most importantly in perception.

I have to say that I am always amazed the very rare times I get into town to see how busy the shops are. Ok, there might be a recession that means that people don't shop AS MUCH, but still do so at least at times for things that are not totally essential.

I think people's perception of what is essential has changed a lot in the last couple of decades, probably because we went through such good economic years it has become the norm. People see to moan a lot about how they are struggling, systematically blaming the recession, but in the next breath, they tell you how they went and bought a new car, or have booked that next holiday, or got a super deal on a brand new huge TV, or trying to justify when they really needed to get the new i-phone.

If struggling means having to do with less than they did a few years back, then I would think just about anyone is struggling. Many people are struggling because they have amounted many debts from the years it was seemed as a fine thing to do as long as you had a job. I don't think there are so many more people finding themselves totally destitute.

I'm not from this country originally, but I wouldn't go back to my country, despite its stereotype of residents having a much better lifestyle there. Wherever you live, you will find yourself facing the same issues, worries, questions. Home is where you make it home, the rest is about choices and consequences wherever you are.

wapow

Through meditation. I have learned to not let these worldly affairs affect my mental, emotional or physical state.

The clear mind shows me the way and allows me to do what needs to be done.

the_cat

The trouble is that Mr and Mrs Average probably haven't had very low mortgage payments anyway. Loads of people have fixed mortgages which if fixed earlier did not benefit from the rate reductions. Anyone remortgaging has had huge hikes in profit margin from the banks. SVR's are the same.

Only those on a tracker type mortgage have benefitted from the lowest rates. Of those, how many also have loans/debts racked up in the good old days?
Of those who post here, maybe not so many. Out in the general population, loads!

Callie22

Cyril wrote: »

Thats my point Mr + Mrs Average haven't been able to save during low mortgage rates as the cost of living has eroded any saving on the mortgage.

Mr + Mrs Average are really struggling.

Would Mr and Mrs Average actually be homeowners now? I'm sure if you look at the numbers of people in social housing, plus people in privately rented accommodation, then 'average' is probably unlikely to be a homeowner, so probably won't have benefitted from low interest rates. Rents have increased a lot in the last few years, far more than most people's mortgages.