£1m house but “on the breadline”.

Generali

StevieJ wrote: »

So now we know what ruggedtoast looks like.

Not a Baby Boomer so there's a chance.

mystic_trev

Joanthebone wrote: »

No sympathy whatsoever, they are living beyond their means.


I never had a bedroom to myself until my elder sister left home to get married, I was about 14. Its no big deal, thousands of kids share bedrooms.

It's all relative. Like you, I shared a bedroom with my brother until 16.

My mother was bought up in Bow, East London. Her parents lived in what would now be regarded as a slum, although her Parents owned it. Her Dad was a Cobbler and they lived a very frugal existence. That 'slum' would now be worth well over a million.

onlyroz

Yes, their house is very nice but I am sure they could have bought one just as nice out in Surrey/Berkshire for about half the cost. I'm afraid that I have little sympathy for someone who prioritises their fancy new kitchen over simple necessities like food and clothes. And surely it was their choice to have four children as well?

N1AK

It's a shame that given my agreement with some of her points, the person making them is so hard to sympathise with. Claiming one second she has to penny-pinch and the next that she spent £4,500 on a door.

It just doesn't seem fair that hard working people should be condemned to penny-pinching thanks a toxic storm of sky-rocketing house prices, rising living costs and stagnating wages.

It seems painfully ironic to me that as I step out of the eye-wateringly expensive (£4,500 since you ask) bifold doors

They've made some obviously stupid financial decisions, and based on this article are still in denial of that.

PasturesNew

It's obvious.... she can't live the lifestyle she wants because ... well, she obviously didn't work hard enough.

I am sitting in a house I can afford. I sit here and dream up all sorts of 'improvements', but all you're really doing is wasting money. If I have a £30k extension and re-jig the layout it'll look nicer ... but I'll owe £30k - and with a debt comes a liability and responsibility and you have to stay on the hamster wheel longer, paying back closer to £45-50k. How many years does it take to have that much sitting in a pile beside you?

My "wow factor" comes from sleeping at night...not from wafting into a huge/shiny kitchen with expensive doors.

somethingcorporate

What a numpty, honestly, this is a non-story. Who the hell cares about some idiot living beyond their means?

mystic_trev

somethingcorporate wrote: »

What a numpty, honestly, this is a non-story. Who the hell cares about some idiot living beyond their means?

It's what the Mail thinks appeals to their readership. Next week they'll be spinning out the story to how it's effected their sex life, and why poor little Tarqiun's been teased in the playground because his mother shops at Aldi.

lostinrates

michaels wrote: »

And what is the levitating bar stool all about?!

Must make cleaning the floor much easier.

lostinrates

Generali wrote: »

I have some sympathy. Reducing your lifestyle is a real wrench, I can assure you from person experience, and things which you were brought up to consider necessary (private schooling, bedroom each) it is difficult to consider to be luxuries all of a sudden.

I realise most people will sneer at her, 'Poor little rich girl'. She seems to be under no illusions about her situation however.

I'm with you.

Lots of my peers are finding the choice about education increasingly difficult. None of them have four kids, very few have 'the type of home' their parents had. I think the education thing is a bigger change than most and IMO at least as important as house prices. If I had children I'd certainly be worrying more about if I could afford fees for school and education pathway to suit my child than if I could buy a house/ buy a house high on my list of choice.

Interestingly childcare is often different too. Very few have au pairs or nannies which so many of my generation had ( depending on income) because so few have room for them.

Not all my peers expected a room to them selves, far from it, even if there were room in the house actually.

I don't feel 'sorry' for her, she's made different decisions to me certainly. I do think I would prioritise education over housing were I in that situation, and I wouldn't have had four children however much I wanted them. But, her choices are hers. She probably thinks people like me are nuts for doing my house slowly , not doing it quickly and enjoying it 'completed' rather than slightly hovel like.

pelirocco

We've spent six months renovating

We bought a 2 bed , we had 4 kids , it took us 20 odd years to do ours lol