The Edcawber Principle

PositiveBalance

AlexLK wrote: »

Ed: collectively, I'm not sure about each generation having a harder time. Historically much of the population lived in much worse conditions than could be contemplated today.

I think this is true if you look back over a long period of time (a hundred years or more) but if you are looking at the shorter term i.e. Baby Boomers onward, it's hard not to feel that those of us who won't get final salary pensions after paying tuition fees and struggling to save up a large deposit for a house against a background of, on average, lower wages due to globalisation etc. don't have it harder than a few generations back.

AlexLK wrote: »

PositiveBalance: In my experience it is difficult to have a 'purpose' when not required and disheartening to know the previous generation did much better than the present. Perhaps says more about me than anyone else, though.

I imagine it is, in general. Having said that, in your particular case, you are looking at you parents financial situation at the end of their working life, perhaps not seeing some of the struggles it took to get there. You are only in your thirties - there is still lots of time for you to get there (or further), which seems entirely plausible given your recent change in attitude to money, your new career, your ability to buy and sell niche items of value for a pretty penny or two on the side and even your other ways of making a living if pushed, such as your private music tuition. If you keep going in the direction you are currently facing, things could end up financially very rosy for you, Alex.

Just don't start getting a major pen habit on the side!

Also, in other areas you seem to be far ahead of your parents; your relatonship with Master LK appears to be fabulous, over all. Some of the stories you have told about your own childhood have been quite sad to hear, from an outsider's perspective. All that matters cannot be counted, and sometimes all that can be counted isn't the what matters most.

Perhaps you should spend some time thinking about what *YOU* really want in life - what, if you were at the pearly gates was read out to you as your life would make you proud - and aim for that? Stop measuring your worth in comparison to your parents financial worth - yes, they made some money and paid for you to go to a nice school, but they have made some pretty hefty mistakes on way, too (your father seems to have realised it recently) and figure out what counts for YOU and live your life by that! :T

*Hands thread back to Ed* Sorry Ed!

edinburgher

Alex - I don't disagree with you - the quality of life that we take for granted nowadays far surpasses that of a few generations previous.

As, however, we're in the lucky position of being able to enjoy warm homes, nutritious food and absence of war, the mind naturally wanders to some of the higher order needs.

When it comes to financial prosperity, opportunities for meaningful self-development and the horizons we look towards, I worry that the options may actually be reduced for future generations because of the huge amount of capital they'll have to invest in providing for these basics needs that I've already mentioned.

Maybe I've been reading too many post-apocalyptic novels, but I can't help but feel that crippling housing costs + "peak" everything are going to make the future world a much less abundant one than the one we knew.

edinburgher

£287.26 paid off a CC (regular payment + the second set of CB we've robbed off DD ) - the amount of debt that isn't offset by savings seems to be dwindling (very) slowly but surely :j

Greying_Pilgrim

edinburgher wrote: »

With a grumpy mood and a promise to make up the difference, I have accepted the counsel on here to use the CB to help get things under control. I am noting the date of each payment and have noted the current Unit Cost so that I can make up the shortfall once the CCs are gone. If the value drops over the interim period, I will pay in whatever the missed monthly payments were without 'penalising' the ISA for any lost value.

edinburgher wrote: »

£287.26 paid off a CC (regular payment + the second set of CB we've robbed off DD ) - the amount of debt that isn't offset by savings seems to be dwindling (very) slowly but surely :j

ed - can I, in the most polite and kindly manner, please implore you to 'mind' your language? I refer you to the first quote of a post you wrote on the 29th January this year. No parent, who is determined to 'make up the shortfall' can in any way describe themselves as 'robbing' CB from their child. I know that you feel bad about doing it - but all that you are doing is optimising household income to meet household payments at this moment in time. At worst, you are 'borrowing' from DD. But I even find that too negative, for what you are actually doing.

Please ed, don't be so hard on yourself.

Greying X

beanielou

Agree with Grayling.

VDOT47

Have to say, it has never even occurred to me that child benefit should be put to one side as some sort of savings fund for DD - I have always viewed it as "me and OH have paid taxes all our lives, we get some small amount back as help for the additional costs of having a child, so we will use it as such and spend it on things that children need".


Just my twopenneth ......

edinburgher

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

Please ed, don't be so hard on yourself.

beanielou wrote: »

Agree with Grayling.

Greying, Beanie, sorry for making you waste your precious e-ink, I meant that as tongue in cheek, poor choice of smiley! :eek:

VDOT47 wrote: »

Have to say, it has never even occurred to me that child benefit should be put to one side as some sort of savings fund for DD - I have always viewed it as "me and OH have paid taxes all our lives, we get some small amount back as help for the additional costs of having a child, so we will use it as such and spend it on things that children need".

Just my twopenneth ......

My take on it was that I wouldn't get the CB unless I had a child (faultless logic up to this point). Having a child is a decision, so I can't really expect a tax refund because my decision costs money (that probably makes sense logically, even if you disagree)? Suppose youl could get into a line of thought along the lines of "child will add to tax base at some point", but that way lies madness and the tragedy of the commons :rotfl: At this point, investing the money for DD seemed like the only logical choice :think:

ZTD

edinburgher wrote: »

My take on it was that I wouldn't get the CB unless I had a child (faultless logic up to this point). Having a child is a decision, so I can't really expect a tax refund because my decision costs money (that probably makes sense logically, even if you disagree)?

It's untrue. If (for example) you were to suddenly decide to pack in your job right now (which would cost you money), you'd receive a tax refund at any point up to the 5th of April - though it would be pretty small on the 4th of April.

To recap: It's a decision. It would cost you money. You'd get a tax refund.

edinburgher

When did I have the child in that scenario?

themadvix

I think the peak everything situation is more of a worry than rising costs. I've not been reading (post-)apocalyptic novels but I can see that the world we know isn't going to last for much longer. Skills and knowledge of how to do things for yourself (and sadly Alex, that doesn't extend to servicing old cars (unless you can get them to run on locally produced waste cooking oil), even though I fully agree that that's an important skill!) with local resources are going to become more important, possibly even than having a good stash of cash. That sounds very doom and gloom-y, but it's not intended to - I just think that it'll be a new challenge (and one which the people on here will be better equipped to deal with than the majority of the population).