False impressions

auntie_brenda

I agree with the mindset on here - if someone has all the latest toys I feel sorry for them as I know they're getting deper into debt each month.

I don't spend money on clothes, I have a 3yr old diesel car with 85,000 on the clock, my TV is at least 12 yrs old (am stressing about whether I'll need a new one when digital comes in), I don't have sky and can't get channel 5 or freeview without a new aerial so haven't bothered (prefer to read a book), take my own lunch to work, don't go to the pub, claim my expenses on time each month. I appear to be the one with no money and loads of debt (ok, so I have a little but it will be gone by this time next year). Girl I work with is the 'rich' one, with all the trappings - but about to go bankrupt . As the yanks say, go figure........

1_step_closer

WoW! thanks for the responses - I was feeling very down about it all. I know we all go through downs as well as ups and I am desperately trying to earn a wee bit extra and this next monthly pay time will be very very tight. So comments such as those that we have received are quite upsetting.

immoral_angeluk

We have a similar problem. Things are seriously tight for us but we have an 03 Reg Rover 25 which was 5k when we bought it. The only trouble is it was buying that car that kind of tipped the balance and forced us into having a LBM. It may not be the poshest of cars but compared to our friends/family who have got older cars it appears like we have a magical stash of money that they don't know about. Far from the truth though but we've tackled it by being completely honest with everyone. Yes we have a nice car.. but we've worked our asses off to make sure we can afford it!

Mozette

Am I just strange in that I don't give a monkey's what people have got, I either like them or I don't, and what house/car/telly/gadgets they have doesn't have a bearing on that. But to anyone who says 'ooh, you must be doing okay' or similar, I have a stock answer: 'yes, a third of my pay goes on my mortgage, a third goes on my other bills, a third goes to paying my credit cards, and the other third I spend'.
And actually, that used to be true!!!!!

frugalpam

1_step_closer wrote: »

WoW! thanks for the responses - I was feeling very down about it all. I know we all go through downs as well as ups and I am desperately trying to earn a wee bit extra and this next monthly pay time will be very very tight. So comments such as those that we have received are quite upsetting.

I occasionally get snide comments from acquaintances (not my friends) about the old micra I drive (It's 9 years old now and I haven't a chance of trading it in for a newer model til I get rid of my debts) - these folk frequently drive gas guzzling 4 wheel drives which have no doubt been bought on credit. I always take pleasure in telling them how many miles I get to the gallon, how cheap insurance is, cheaper road fund license, and few repair bills. Soon wipes the smile off their faces.
Love my little Micra

Pam

1_step_closer

It's as if people are jealous and don't want others to have what they percieve as "better"!!!!!!!

Perhaps all these people are up to their eyes in debt themselves but haven't had a LBM themselves.

I am looking forward to the day when I can say with a smug look "yes I am thanks. All it took was bl**dy hard work, cutting right back, going without luxuries for X years. How about you?"

One can dream.......................................

GirlRacer_2

My work colleagues always treat life as a competition and it really naffs me off. They always judge people by the size of their house/car/clothes and always seem to be bragging about what they've bought. It's a shame really because none of them are really nice genuine people - just goes to show!

lindens

Actually I used to act like some of those people above, until I had my LBM and started coming on here. We bought a new car a caravan, had takeaways (yes because we were lazy or disorganised) etc etc. In fact it took 2 LBM to get me to see the light. Menu planning and storecupboard challenges were the best things that happened to me, that and meeting my OH. He hates debt of any kind and saves up for everything. He only uses his overdraft for when his DD;s are out of synch with his weekly pay, so it's only for a few days. SO between those 2 things I am not like that any more.
And now I am starting to look at friends and colleagues and their lifestyles and wondering exactly how they are paying for all this stuff - cc's usually!!

rog2

We used to have all the 'trappings' too, 1 step. I had driven BMW's for 25 years, and had, gradually, bought newer and newer. My last two cars were a 2000 728i, and a 2003 X5. My wife also had nice 3 series, and we have managed to keep hold of her 2002 318i, as it only has 35,000 miles, and the money that we were offered for it was ridiculously low in comparison to the value of having at least one reliable car. I have not had a car for over 18 months, now. It was a pain, when I was out of work, but I have just started a job in London - where a car can be a double liability. I manage with an Oyster Card, for the tube, and a weekly commute.
At the beginning, a few people asked where my car was, but I just told them that I had gotten rid of it as I didn't want to pay the HP 'bubble'.
We still get the odd comment that 'we must be doing OK' when people see my wife's car in the drive - I just smile.
I KNOW that I won't fall into the 'Easy Credit' trap again - but they might.

SuSu1871

I get this quite a lot from some of my family up in Manchester. They think that because I live and work in London (although I don't, I'm about 10 miles outside London) and I bought my car new four years ago (thanks to selling my terraced house in Manchester and made about £12,000) that I'm loaded!

My friends also couldn't believe that I had so much debt because I was always buying nice things - usually Clarins/Clinique and the like. What they didn't see was that I was living on credit cards and struggling to make ends meet. Now I've seen the light I'm almost more proud of my debt and how I'm chipping away at it than I ever was of all the "things" I accumulated over the years - none of which I still have. Well, a £45 pot of moisturiser doesn't last for long does it (and, I've discovered that it doesn't work any better than a £4 pot!)

I love singing along with an old Voice of the Beehive song:

"Well you don't have the money to dress up like you-know-who honey
But what you have is enough..."