A Millennial Speaks out

[Deleted User]

Now, I bought in London, aged 26, earning an 'average UK wage'... but, I was buying with someone else, was buying in Zone 6, had saved a deposit whilst flat-sharing in a much cheaper city, wasn't an idiot who blew lots of money on frivolous stuff, I also had help from family.

Even then, it was buying a £200k house, which seemed super expensive at the time. The same house now? £375k - that's 10 years later.

ukcarper

Arklight wrote: »

She did say she'd need £100k deposit to buy a 1 bed flat.

She could buy a 1 bed flat in Woking for £200k then she wouldn’t need a £100k deposit. Apart from a few years it has not been possible to buy in London on your own unless you were earning a lot more than average. That’s why the commuter trains from places like Woking have been busy for the last 60 years.

bugslet

spadoosh wrote: »

I occasionally get upset im not super rich. Then i remember im bone idle.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

sulphate

I’m 30 and we are on our second owned house now. The problem is with some of my peers is that they expect to buy a house without making any sacrifices. Similar story here.

I have a couple of friends who still live at home and have no plans to move out (either to rented or owned). They’ve worked since we graduated 8 years ago but moan constantly how they can’t even afford to save a deposit for a rental and how it’s all the government/their parents generation’s fault etc etc that it’s so hard but have managed to go on expensive holidays to Thailand, New Zealand etc. Not to mention their regular Instagram posts of their meals out including expensive cocktails.

economic

Arklight wrote: »

She's Australian so I'm not sure how the daily commute from her parents' house would work out. She's also after a one bed flat not an entire house.

You can easily get a 1 bed in croyden for £250k. 20% down and thats 50k she would need to save. Easily doable on 40k in 5 years. Of course it seems like she keeps squandering the money on eating out and buying clothes.

The fact is most 2nd gen + british millenials and even 1st gen british millenials (like me) can afford to buy in london as they have good earnings + parental financial support.

Doozergirl

LydiaJ wrote: »

I don't perceive her as whining, at least not by the end of the article. She did the spending diary, she discussed it with Martin, she came to the conclusion that she can have a house in due course if she wants it enough to be willing to make changes to her lifestyle. This shows the exercise was an effective learning experience.

Be realistic - most people consider that the spending patterns of their peer group are "normal" and "reasonable". All of us on here spend without a second thought on things that would seem to be wild extravagances to the global poor. Meanwhile, spending much less than all your friends is hard - taking lunch into work may seem like an easy thing, but if if means that every lunchtime you have to stay behind while all your work friends go have lunch out together, then the discomfort and feeling of deprivation are going to be a lot more significant than for somebody whose peer group don't do that.

It takes an exercise like this and some straight talking from someone like Martin to show someone like the writer of the article that they could in fact have a happy life while spending a lot less money than all the people they regularly spend time with. Rather than blasting her for not seeing it beforehand, why not be pleased that she got the message eventually?

Furthermore, she has earned some money writing about it in a way that will get the message across to a few people in similar situations. That is also a good thing.

I couldn't agree more.

It is an article, she is allowed artistic licence to make the point of what Martin says. It wouldn’t be nearly as interesting to people in a similar position as her.

We are all young once and most of us do “grow up” at some point, usually once we find a partner and the future starts to become visible, although hopefully not too much that it drains all the fun out of life. She got the best advice straight from the best man. That’s great for her.

Arklight

LydiaJ wrote: »

I don't perceive her as whining, at least not by the end of the article. She did the spending diary, she discussed it with Martin, she came to the conclusion that she can have a house in due course if she wants it enough to be willing to make changes to her lifestyle. This shows the exercise was an effective learning experience.

Be realistic - most people consider that the spending patterns of their peer group are "normal" and "reasonable". All of us on here spend without a second thought on things that would seem to be wild extravagances to the global poor. Meanwhile, spending much less than all your friends is hard - taking lunch into work may seem like an easy thing, but if if means that every lunchtime you have to stay behind while all your work friends go have lunch out together, then the discomfort and feeling of deprivation are going to be a lot more significant than for somebody whose peer group don't do that.

It takes an exercise like this and some straight talking from someone like Martin to show someone like the writer of the article that they could in fact have a happy life while spending a lot less money than all the people they regularly spend time with. Rather than blasting her for not seeing it beforehand, why not be pleased that she got the message eventually?

Furthermore, she has earned some money writing about it in a way that will get the message across to a few people in similar situations. That is also a good thing.

When I lived and worked in London, going to the canteen / sandwich shop with colleagues, or the pub at lunchtime, or for a few drinks after work was quite the done thing.


If you didn't do this ever you were considered pretty antiscocial. One place I worked had a culture that we'd go to the pub next door at 5 and the first one at the bar would buy a round for whoever was behind them, and rounds would continue like that. I was hourly temping on a lowish wage and utterly lived in fear of this arrangement because one 12 person round could easily wipe out much of what I'd made that day.


But if you didn't do that then you weren't going to get very far in the organisation...


There is also the thing that if you don't do any of the things in London then there isn't any point being there anyway. Easy to make sober financial judgements but when you're sitting in the bedroom of a grotty rented flat listening to your flatmate arguing with her boyfriend through the wall,, checking out that new Jordanian restaurant in Edgware Road you read about can seem mighty appealing.

Andy_L

spadoosh wrote: »

I occasionally get upset im not super rich. Then i remember im bone idle.

So its not just me then, nice to know

westernpromise

She also has the Labour Party to remind her that if there's something you want and haven't, it's clearly someone else's fault and other people can just be taxed more to give it to you. You aren't really entitled and greedy; you're actually a victim. Boo hoo.

Given the above it's not surprising she spends £10 on an Uber back from lunch. That was someone else's fault.

Arklight

westernpromise wrote: »

She also has the Labour Party to remind her that if there's something you want and haven't, it's clearly someone else's fault and other people can just be taxed more to give it to you. You aren't really entitled and greedy; you're actually a victim. Boo hoo.

Given the above it's not surprising she spends £10 on an Uber back from lunch. That was someone else's fault.

It was to dinner not lunch. And she's a Guardian journalist so I doubt she votes Labour.