How do people afford it?

Fizog

I know it is hard sometimes to see other people holidaying every year with new cars etc. One of my son's friends has just had a car bought for him (04) and insurance paid and they live in housing association property and he receives the EMA which we can't get for our son and can't afford driving lessons for him let alone a car....!!!
I tend to just count our blessings and grit my teeth...grr

PasturesNew

I am often gobsmacked at what other people's incomes are. And their rents.

There are a lot of people here whose household income is about £2500 or more - with rents of 250-350.

So they're loaded.

I think most of it is: some people's income is much higher than you imagine - and their rent is much lower.

The starting point for how much money people have got is: How much money is left over after housing costs (rent/mortgage, council tax, water). And it can vary between two households from, say, £300 to £3000 per month!

And people's perception of how much they earn is often negative. So people will plead they earn peanuts ... then if you find out how much it is, you'd find they've got LOADS more than you ever dreamed possible.

Even your posting didn't include any actual figures! So it might be perception, not reality.

vikingaero

That's pretty spot on Pastures New.

You get people who rent a Council/Housing Trust property for £70 per week/£340 per month. Over the years they migrate to better jobs and get an income of £2,500 but remain in the same property.

Other people will buy on the housing ladder and whilst earning £2,500, will have a mortgage of £1,000 per month. Also the Council tenant won't have to pay for any repairs whatsoever. One of my friends lives in a HA property and gloats that he's had a new shower and kitchen installed for nowt, whereas homeowners will be paying thousands for them.

across

i too believe that happiness,health and a good family life are more important than materialist objects, you should stop comparing yourself against others and enjoy what you have as life is too short and they cant take the flashy car to the grave we all end up in the same place at the end so chin up and create yourself happy memories for everyone who knows you as they dont cost money and you'll be remembered a lot better than the flashy gits in the end!!(preaching time over!:D )

djdido2

I am in that boat Pastures New. Can earn a decent living but my mortgage takes a huge chunk out of my earnings and there was me thinking it was the be all and end all to be on the property ladder?!?!

I have seriously considered selling or renting my property and getting a HA/LA house. I adore the house I bought but have the constant worry that it is costing me the earth.

Its easy to think that others are "better off" but in reality they are not!

Sassers

Morning everyone :wave:
This is such an interesting topic. I think with the better lifestyle thing a lot of it is outward appearance of `the considerably richer than yew' Harry Enfield thing. The favourite topic among the boyos aka old farts in our pub is not the mortgage but who earns what, who's earning more, who's got the biggest best car, house, most expensive holiday etc etc....
Comical at times but makes me want give em the old-style `how to live off £25 a week' challenge or something like it!!! Anyway, sorry about the long post but I thought I'd share this with you. Bit off topic but....this morning before I went to work there was a Paul McKenna Tv programme on and this woman from Blackpool. She was addicted to shopping and the buzz she got. Her favourite clothes designer was Missoni. She'd spent thousands on designer shoes and clothes but seriously never wore them. She bought a pair of Jimmy Choo's just cos VCitoria Beckham had a pair on and she wanted them.....!!!!
You could tell the stress of it all was really taking it's toll on her as she looked a right state.....
Anyway, Paul McKenna eventually `cured' this woman of her addiction so much so that she stopped shopping, took a deep breath then on camera a couple of weeks later totted up all her reciepts she kept over three years hidden in boxes in a locked room in her home.
The total was £125k!!! and she had 25 credit cards! I thought I was going to fall off my chair!!! Actually I felt quite sick just watching her as you could tell just by looking at her face and into her eyes she'd had an unexpected lightbulb moment.
The sad thing was this woman said she could have got a bigger house and mortgage with the cash she'd spent on clothes and shoes.
Have a good day peeps love Sassers xx

calleyw

As has been said some of it is illusion.

I am lucky that my mortgage is so low. As other wise when my husband had a stroke last september while working for an agency. He was in hospital for nearly 4 months with no money. We would have been up a creek with out a paddle.

Money means very little to me now after such a health scare. And would give up everything house, car etc to make my husband back to the way he was but it will never happen.

Don't worry about what your neighbour does or does not have. I thought envy was one of the seven deadly sins. Also it is waste of time and energy thinking about it. Let them have there new cars etc. But if it is a illusion based on a house of cards then it is them that will suffer and not you when it falls.

Surely as long as you have clean and tidy clothes on your back, a roof over your head and food in your belly what else matters.

But each to there own. I personally have better things to worry about then what everyone else has that I don't.

I mean I must be poor because I don't have a TV or an Ipod. I mean how can I get out bed every morning

Yours


Calley

frivolous_fay

I'm baffled how people can afford kids

Right now we're comfortably off on our joint income, despite taking on a mortgage which costs us £1300 a month... but add a kiddie to the mix and we've got £20k income taken out of the equation, and an extra mouth to feed! I have no clue when we're ever going to get round to having babies, and I'm 30 already, can't hang about! :cool:

OddjobKIA

we have 4 kids and live on a wage of £16,000 its simple how we affrord to live like this.

Dont spend what you havent got

frivolous_fay

OddjobKIA wrote: »

we have 4 kids and live on a wage of £16,000 its simple how we affrord to live like this.

Dont spend what you havent got

Ah, I see... if I want kids, we need to move to a smaller, cheaper house.

Hm... not quite how I saw it working.