Is it really that expensive?

givememoney

Dan-Dan wrote: »

Only somebody living a life of relative financial comfort and security and shielded from the harsh realities of life could possibly post something this gormless

I don't expect people to agree with me on this but I suppose I take umbrage at being called `gormless`.

I am after all just stating facts and pointing out what you get for your money.

Others on here, not me, have pointed out that some people are more than happy to spend money on non essentials at the expense of having money for their fuel bills.

sheffield_lad

PollySouthend wrote: »

its a well known fact that people these days have way less disposable income than they did 50 years ago. mobiles, broadband, landline are all pretty much essentials these days.

and the gym is very good value for money, 30 a month, but if you go a couple of times a week and to classes, pool, sauna and steam then its a very inexpensive year round leisure activity.

you sound like one of those misguided old people saying that the reason young people cant afford to buy a house (that is ten times their wage) is because they spend 30 a month on a phone.

living standard have been falling constantly for the last 50 years, but the dept bubble has just expanded...and that is now about to pop.

Living standards have been falling for the last 50 yrs Where?

Up to 2008 we have never ever had it so good. You are correct about the debt amount too many over borrowed and now have the excuse that those bankers caused it but in reality it was always going to end badly.

Now rates are low money is being paid back slowly and credit is harder to come by.

I am not old btw (under 50) but I get sick of hearing young folk have never had it as bad and it takes years to save for a deposit well tough. Many older (than me ) had to live with the inlaws for years before buying and did not have kids for cash but had them when they NOT the state could afford to keep them.

Back to the debate I agree with the op utility bills are not out of the ordinary when compared to entertainment devices/subscriptions. A good example is sky HD, I don't think there is a tariff below £37 per month unless other money savers know better add that to a smart phone contract and BB & gym and you are well on your way but no one complains at the price of these 'necessities' to some.

PS, 50yrs ago a takeaway was a special occasion not a regular occurrence

houseimprover

Pincher wrote: »

An article in the Sunday Times today says some long term thinkers fear that if a cheap source of energy was actually found, so that our dependency on oil disappears, it will turn the Middle East into a pit of hell. One half will try to kill us by Jihad, the other half will be turning up seeking asylum.

So if some scientist did come up with cheap fusion, we might have to arrest him and put him somewhere safe. Maybe this has already happened?

There is no way that a cheap fuel option hasn't been found already IMO.

Trebor16

PollySouthend wrote: »

You forgot to mentionthe vital fact that the UK is much colder than much of europe!

Rubbish! Winters in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece might be warmer than the UK but Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania are no warmer than here and in many cases suffer colder winters.

tictak

I cant believe how low some peoples bills are on this thread.We pay £179 for ours,4 bed house with 2 teenagers but we both work full time

LesU

Dan-Dan wrote: »

Only somebody living a life of relative financial comfort and security and shielded from the harsh realities of life could possibly post something this gormless

• Heating
• Clothes washing
• Dish washing
• Showering
• Lighting
• TVs
• Computers
• Cooking
• Ironing
• Vacuuming
• Appliance charging
• Hair drying

So which items on the list, in the post, are you not using?

sulphate

tictak wrote: »

I cant believe how low some peoples bills are on this thread.We pay £179 for ours,4 bed house with 2 teenagers but we both work full time

Sounds good to me my parents live in a 3 bed terrace and pay £230 a month. :eek:

sheffield_lad wrote: »

Living standards have been falling for the last 50 yrs Where?

Up to 2008 we have never ever had it so good. You are correct about the debt amount too many over borrowed and now have the excuse that those bankers caused it but in reality it was always going to end badly.

Now rates are low money is being paid back slowly and credit is harder to come by.

I am not old btw (under 50) but I get sick of hearing young folk have never had it as bad and it takes years to save for a deposit well tough. Many older (than me ) had to live with the inlaws for years before buying and did not have kids for cash but had them when they NOT the state could afford to keep them.

Back to the debate I agree with the op utility bills are not out of the ordinary when compared to entertainment devices/subscriptions. A good example is sky HD, I don't think there is a tariff below £37 per month unless other money savers know better add that to a smart phone contract and BB & gym and you are well on your way but no one complains at the price of these 'necessities' to some.

PS, 50yrs ago a takeaway was a special occasion not a regular occurrence

Offtopic i guess but i can't believe how much people pay for sky, seems insane to me (but up to them what they spend their money on), we had the cheapest tariff on sky then cancelled after the necessary contract was up and now we just have the box connected to the dish and pay nothing for tv apart from the licence.

We only managed to save up a deposit out of luck - being able to live with my parents for 2 years. Yes it makes me chuckle a bit listening to a colleague at work who is older than me but only moved out recently, and she doesn't want a mortgage because she still wants a lot of money for (quote) "going to the cinema and out for dinner". But not everyone has that option, several people I know live in London because that's where their work is but their rents are very high.

Can't remember the last time I had a takeaway but oh the joys of being gluten free

I looked at the cost of getting solid wall insulation. Insane considering we are unlikely to be here in 10 years so wouldn't reap the benefit, and not sure I'd want to saddle our prospective buyers with that loan. I guess that means I can't complain at energy bills though.

DragonQ

sulphate wrote: »

Offtopic i guess but i can't believe how much people pay for sky, seems insane to me (but up to them what they spend their money on), we had the cheapest tariff on sky then cancelled after the necessary contract was up and now we just have the box connected to the dish and pay nothing for tv apart from the licence.

I currently have better-than-half-price from Sky. I'm only interested in the sports channels, would never pay full price for them.

sulphate wrote: »

We only managed to save up a deposit out of luck - being able to live with my parents for 2 years. Yes it makes me chuckle a bit listening to a colleague at work who is older than me but only moved out recently, and she doesn't want a mortgage because she still wants a lot of money for (quote) "going to the cinema and out for dinner". But not everyone has that option, several people I know live in London because that's where their work is but their rents are very high.

My growing deposit fund comes from 3 places:

- Student loans (I got grants that covered my rent & expenses, so all the loans I just saved)
- Year in industry (got paid a decent amount yet still had student-like low expenses)
- PhD stipend (pretty generous pay, spent most of it house-sharing for low rent & bills)

If it wasn't for the grants I got due to my parents splitting up (lower household income) and getting good grades, I'd have nowhere near as much right now. I could pay off my student loan tomorrow and have £10k left but I see no reason to. I have a year left and hope to save a further £1-2k.

sulphate wrote: »

Can't remember the last time I had a takeaway but oh the joys of being gluten free

Heh, I also no longer get take-aways just because they're so expensive. Occasionally I'll get them if a really good voucher appears but, again, I'd never pay full price. Another big way to save money is to use leftover dinners for lunch - saves £3-5 per day on buying it!

apt

Trebor16 wrote: »

Rubbish! Winters in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece might be warmer than the UK but Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania are no warmer than here and in many cases suffer colder winters.

Indeed. Unless you live in the Scottish Highlands UK has relatively mild winters and no great need for air conditioning in the summer.

PollySouthend

sheffield_lad wrote: »

I am not old btw (under 50) but I get sick of hearing young folk have never had it as bad and it takes years to save for a deposit well tough. Many older (than me ) had to live with the inlaws for years before buying and did not have kids for cash but had them when they NOT the state could afford to keep them.

What planet are you on? houses are the most unaffordable they have been in living memory.