Nice People Thread Number 11 - A Treasury of Nice People

lostinrates

chewmylegoff wrote: »

Why don't you do a thread on it? We might manage a page of decent debate before it descends into people calling Graham_Devon stupid.

M'eh....do you want the long version of why not or the short one? Hmm, ultimately Either way the answer is, I don't think so ATM.

lostinrates

PasturesNew wrote: »

You can't compare cars to ISAs. Many people have to own a car to get to their low paid job, ISAs are luxuries.

I've always had a car, I've only had ISAs since I sold my house... and I am cashing them in next month to pay for a house, so I'll be back to owning a car and no savings/ISAs.

But a car other than a banger with no savings is also a luxury I think. I also think that for many people cars aren't 'not' a luxury. Its the same as the salary equals wealth discussion but at a lower price point of realisation that sometimes 'luxury' becomes essential to a certain lifestyle expectation or unwanted circumstance.

PasturesNew

lostinrates wrote: »

But a car other than a banger with no savings is also a luxury I think. I also think that for many people cars aren't 'not' a luxury. Its the same as the salary equals wealth discussion but at a lower price point of realisation that sometimes 'luxury' becomes essential to a certain lifestyle expectation or unwanted circumstance.

You need a reliable car, not a banger, for most journeys as you need to get to work so can't afford losing your job due to a breakdown. Many jobs aren't on public transport routes, or shifts mean there's no buses etc.

A £8k car is a luxury, a £3-5k car might not be.... it'll last years.

An ISA is what you buy with leftover money. Savings are leftover money. If you're continually going without and firefighting unexpected life bills you never get to the point of an ISA... and/or have to cash it in the next year.

A £3k ISA is £250/month - that's more money than I've had, after basic/raw utilities, in most jobs to entirely live on.

LydiaJ

Is the news item that sparked this discussion available online anywhere, please? I'm enjoying reading what you say about it, so I'd like to understand what the starting point was. Thanks.

LydiaJ

PasturesNew wrote: »

You need a reliable car, not a banger, for most journeys as you need to get to work so can't afford losing your job due to a breakdown. Many jobs aren't on public transport routes, or shifts mean there's no buses etc.

A £8k car is a luxury, a £3-5k car might not be.... it'll last years.

Agree with PN on this.

PasturesNew

LydiaJ wrote: »

Is the news item that sparked this discussion available online anywhere, please? I'm enjoying reading what you say about it, so I'd like to understand what the starting point was. Thanks.

Can't find it yet, they keep running it on the Breakfast show about wealth in Britain.

e.g. some snippets I remember:

1/4 of people have no pension
7% of people have a private number plate
11% have a second home

If I can find it it could end up as an NP "I've got that/not got that" comparison if we CBA.

Looks like a spin off and infographic compiled from this type of report: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2629227/Revealed-How-Britains-richest-families-HALF-countrys-household-wealth-1-10-people-call-millionaire.html

That says "One in five graduates who hold at least one university degree go on to become a millionaire" - so there are more than 5 of you guys here with a degree, which of you are the secret millionaires??

CKhalvashi

lostinrates wrote: »

But a car other than a banger with no savings is also a luxury I think. I also think that for many people cars aren't 'not' a luxury. Its the same as the salary equals wealth discussion but at a lower price point of realisation that sometimes 'luxury' becomes essential to a certain lifestyle expectation or unwanted circumstance.

Agreed. Our cars are definitely luxuries, whereas the ST (which I paid £350 for) probably could be defined as a necessity if we didn't have the others.

Whether it is a luxury or not is IMO whether it's a Dacia or a Jaaaaaaaag, surely?

CKhalvashi

PasturesNew wrote: »

Can't find it yet, they keep running it on the Breakfast show about wealth in Britain.

e.g. some snippets I remember:

1/4 of people have no pension
7% of people have a private number plate
>10% have a second home

If I can find it it could end up as an NP "I've got that/not got that" comparison if we CBA.

Quick Google suggests there are 1m Brits with second homes, although I'm not sure whether I trust the good old DM!

PasturesNew

CKhalvashi wrote: »

Quick Google suggests there are 1m Brits with second homes, although I'm not sure whether I trust the good old DM!

I've got a £10 pop-up beach tent .....

lostinrates

LydiaJ wrote: »

Agree with PN on this.

PasturesNew wrote: »

You need a reliable car, not a banger, for most journeys as you need to get to work so can't afford losing your job due to a breakdown. Many jobs aren't on public transport routes, or shifts mean there's no buses etc.

A £8k car is a luxury, a £3-5k car might not be.... it'll last years.

An ISA is what you buy with leftover money. Savings are leftover money. If you're continually going without and firefighting unexpected life bills you never get to the point of an ISA... and/or have to cash it in the next year.

A £3k ISA is £250/month - that's more money than I've had, after basic/raw utilities, in most jobs to entirely live on.

I both agree and disagree.

I agree a reliable car is a better purchase, but disagree its ' essential'. Its a less enjoyable luxury item. We could work many begging. Or, like many outside Londoners point out, live where we work and cut our cloth to get jobs in distance of other travel.

I am NOT saying cars ( and other transport) don't open opportunity for greater earning ( or earning at all) and other savings, but buying a car is not something that is 'life saving' like food or a roof. I suppose that's why car or transport owning benefits are limited in our society to the young in some rural areas and other vulnerable groups.

Int h same way as you would feel posh alert about, for example, dh's wardrobe or some of our other expenditure, its something we SPEND to save or secure some sort of benefit from usually.

I'd say savings are to be budgeted, in the same way that transport is, because they can buy you life savings like food, and give you something to firefight with. Its not Immeadiate like food and shelter now is, but then, neither is a car for some car owners ( like me for example)

Tbc, I'm not sure but I don't think the percentage was just cars, so we're slightly over egging the car portion of this.


Fwiw, my fil, sil don't drive and have never owned cars, ( though dh's mother did and for a while fil had a scooter) yet are employed and lived very rurally in Italy. My bil has only recently learnt to drive, so managed a working life of fifteen years or so with out one.