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

Dunroamin

Weronika wrote: »

I think this kind of lifestyle view is the biggest problem right now - just because they didn't spend money on take away and restaurants it doesn't mean their quality of life suffered. The happinesses is not directly connected to the amount of money spent!
!

I did say that I wasn't keen on consumerism and I certainly agree with you about expensive presents etc. However, I also believe in having as many experiences as possible and you do need money to travel as well as to go to the theatre, concerts etc.

Weronika

Dunroamin wrote: »

I did say that I wasn't keen on consumerism and I certainly agree with you about expensive presents etc. However, I also believe in having as many experiences as possible and you do need money to travel as well as to go to the theatre, concerts etc.

I agree - you need money to go museums and opera and what not - but you can do that WHILE saving money on takeaways! And I bet most of the disposable income of those who use live in the now excuse right now goes to the pub, SKY Sport or all-inclusive (alcohol especially included) holidays rather than cultural experiences.

(Just as note, I don't intend the above personally directed to you, as your presence here indicates in some sort you are more financially savvy - I'm just saying in general, those who 'can't OP their mortgage coz they need to have big Christmas' probably just spend on things they won't even recall in month or two. I might be wrong though. It's all matter of perception.)

ms_london

Callie22 wrote: »

There is something of an attitude amongst 'older' homeowners (i.e. those who were able to buy before house prices went insane) that young people just can't afford a home because they're spending all of their income on consumer goods, booze, mobile phone contracts, flash cars and designer clothes, and if they just cut back and saved, then they'd be able to afford a home. I think that this is unfair and unrealistic - most of the young people I know (and I'm older than my username would suggest) don't live like that, and have no chance of getting on the housing ladder without significant help from their parents/families to get the kinds of deposit you need nowadays. It's galling when people who were able to take advantage of 95-100% mortgages, lower prices overall and low deposits criticise young people today, and suggest that if you just didn't have that iphone (which I don't have, btw), then home ownership could easily be attained.

I am 31, single, and have just bought my first home (outside of London), I have done the whole spending money I didn't have on consumer goods, booze, mobile phone contracts, flash cars and designer clothes - and ended up in £19,000 of debt. After paying that off and going travelling, and after returning mid recession and struggling to find work, I have still spent what I have earned wisely and decided that earning my own home was most important to me.

It hasn't been easy, but I have sacrificed a lot to get here - same as when I was in debt I sacrificed a lot to pay it off so I could go travelling, I haven't had any help from family but have just been sensible about what I spend my money on.

I'm happier now being far less materialistic than I ever used to be.

I do appreciate that house prices are extremely high, but I just don't think people are prepared to put in the hard graft to get where they want, it's all well and good moaning, but it doesn't get you anywhere at the end of the day! xx

Four_leaf_clover_2

Since becoming a lone parent six years ago I have often feared and worried about my financial future. I was very lucky to be raised by lovely parents who taught me to be resilient and instilled in me a dogged determination to keep going even through the roughest times. I saw them 'ride the storm' with their finances several times as I was growing up. Just as is happening now, they nearly came unstuck after buying the home I grew up in, after mortgage interest rates rocketed. Their answer to it was to batton down the hatches, economise and work as hard as they could.

We didn't have the latest gadgets and gizmos but life was comfy. I saw them save up for things they wanted and buy quality items that would last for years. My mum taught me how to knit and sew, how to cook from scratch. She took me on the weekly shop so I learnt from a young age what was a bargain and what was a con.

In my mid to late teens my dad showed me how they budgeted each month and what things like utilities etc cost. He showed me how to check my car over regularly to help keep it running well. Advised me that having your car serviced yearly, is an investment in the one thing that few people can live without, or can afford to have go majorly wrong.

So I can stick to a budget and run my home. All my bills are set up on direct debit each month so I know exactly where I stand. It scares me witless when I see the cost of everything except my salary rising. I fear that one of these days I wont be able to make ends meet and will fall into debt. Something I have avoided so far. I have a small emergency fund set aside, but that will only go so far.

I dont have a private pension set up yet. Rocking towards 40 as I am this concerns me. It upsets me greatly that I cant afford to take my children away on holidays abroad. We spend a week here and there at my parents house by the coast for a bit of a break. I wonder if I will ever be in a position to help them through university or contribute towards the deposit on their first homes.

If I let my worries get on top of me though and thought about it all to much I would miss the here and now. This precious time when they are growing up and enjoying their childhoods. That is something that money just cant buy, so I am holding my nerve and just taking each day as it comes.

balletshoes

Four_leaf_clover wrote: »

It upsets me greatly that I cant afford to take my children away on holidays abroad. We spend a week here and there at my parents house by the coast for a bit of a break. I wonder if I will ever be in a position to help them through university or contribute towards the deposit on their first homes.

If I let my worries get on top of me though and thought about it all to much I would miss the here and now. This precious time when they are growing up and enjoying their childhoods. That is something that money just cant buy, so I am holding my nerve and just taking each day as it comes.

please don't beat yourself up over the possibility that you won't be able to help your children much financially through university or to get on the property ladder. There are thousands of us all over the country who never had, and never expected, that kind of help from their own parents, and who don't think its necessarily a terrible thing for kids to start standing on their own feet once they become an adult.
And I bet your kids absolutely love their holidays by the sea .

Your parents attitude to money have served you very well, and I'm sure you're passing that on to your children too.

Spendless

ms_london wrote: »

I am 31, single, and have just bought my first home (outside of London), I have done the whole spending money I didn't have on consumer goods, booze, mobile phone contracts, flash cars and designer clothes - and ended up in £19,000 of debt. After paying that off and going travelling, and after returning mid recession and struggling to find work, I have still spent what I have earned wisely and decided that earning my own home was most important to me.

It hasn't been easy, but I have sacrificed a lot to get here - same as when I was in debt I sacrificed a lot to pay it off so I could go travelling, I haven't had any help from family but have just been sensible about what I spend my money on.

I'm happier now being far less materialistic than I ever used to be.

I do appreciate that house prices are extremely high, but I just don't think people are prepared to put in the hard graft to get where they want, it's all well and good moaning, but it doesn't get you anywhere at the end of the day! xx

Just wanted to :wave: to ms london. You were one of the early DFW and I haven't seen you on the boards for a long time. Glad to hear you're still on top of things. :beer: