How much to live on

helensbiggestfan

Uralmaid.  your daughter has obviously worked hard. She deserves her good fortune.  She sounds like my kind of gal.  I had my first job at the age of 13. I loved it, it made me feel very grown up, and I loved having my own money.  

But yes peoples perception of what constitutes a modest background can vary enormously.  

I once worked with someone who came from a very comfortable background.  Daddy was a big cheese in the oil industry.  When she got married she invited me to see her new home.  A lovely spacious three bedroomed detached house in a very nice neighbourhood.  Not your typical flat or two bed terraced starter home.  

She proudly showed off her latest acquisition, a very expensive cream Italian leather three piece suite.  All the rage in the 70s. Lol. Of course I admired it.  She then delivered her killer blow.  She said she was so broke that she had had to sell SOME of her shares to pay for it.  This to an ex council house girl who, at the time, was furnishing her home with family cast offs. I had a job to keep a straight face.  

 I didn't begrudge her wealth and privilege. She was actually a very nice person. She knew nothing about me or my background. She wasn't being cruel or boastful, she was just excited to show off her new home. She often complained about having no money and would regale me with tales of her attempts at saving money, sharing recipes for such delicacies as "Skid Row Stroganoff"  - whilst employing domestic help and swanning round in a gorgeous little MGB sports car. 

Bless her she was definitely a pampered princess but she was so sweet I could have never taken offence or been jealous or felt envious.  

uralmaid

Thanks @helensbiggestfan. I sometimes read the debt free diaries.  Most of the people on there genuinely want to get out of the predicament they have found themselves in for whatever reason. There are, unfortunately, some who revel in being able to get what they owe reduced and seem proud of it.  The few who really annoy me are the ones wh write copious amounts of "woe is me" stories and how they haven't got any money to put a meal on the table, then in the next breath say they have booked a holiday or purchased some must have items.  I really have to bite my tongue.  I feel sorry for anyone who is down on their luck and have huge admiration for people who can turn it around.  

Albermarle

BrilliantButScary said:

This is what made a difference to many women and continues to do so. The ability of women to take control of their reproductive lives.
Both my partner and I are from large families and we are child free by choice. I didn't want the life that my Mum had.

https://www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.bbc.com/news/business-39641856.amp?amp_gsa=1&amp_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIUAKwASCAAgM=#amp_tf=From %1$s&aoh=17584758797011&csi=1&referrer=https://www.google.com&ampshare=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-39641856

The young people that I have most empathy for are the ones that don't have the 'bank of Mum and Dad to fallback on'. Like them we didn't have driving lessons paid for us, or first cars bought, nor deposits on houses. It is difficult to be aspirational, if you have had limited exposure in your formative years, to lifestyles that are different to your own.

I can fully agree with the first sentence. Very high house prices especially in some regions, means that those without the support of the Bank of Mum and Dad , struggle more to get on the housing ladder and/or end up with higher mortgage payments due to a smaller deposit. This means that inequalities between families is being more cemented into society.

However as said in an earlier post there are many people today having a comfortable retirement, who were brought up in low income working class families, as social mobility was really progressing in the 50's/60's and 70's.
I and many others like me, never had driving lessons/ had no help with a house deposit/ and certainly never was bought a car or ever went on a foreign holiday. ( My parents never went on a foreign holiday)  Only when I could start to afford these things myself in my Twenties and Thirties.
However I had a good enough state education and was reasonably intelligent/confident, so managed to get on in life. Like many other children from lower income families in those days. Certainly not because we came from some sort of gilded aspirational background. Absolutely far from it.

Organgrinder

Thankfully today we're all lumberjacks and we're ok.

If anyone wants to confess to wearing women's clothing like their dear papa please do so.

QrizB

This thread might appreciate a musical interlude.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=roEhFKEFDvo

Organgrinder

I've been crunching the numbers this morning.

I'm torn between making this my last year in teaching and going at 59 at the end of the school year or doing 1 more year.

The monthly difference is more than manageable. How much I'd have in savings is the thing I'm not sure of.

I always wanted a buffer. Money available in the event of a major expense. Through planning that has grown somewhat at the intended retirement date from £100k to £140k.

Going a year earlier means the original £100k figure is still doable, but potentially needs to last a year longer if it is tapped into.

I logged into teachers pensions earlier. Early retirement factors are slightly better than they were too. (Not by much!). My net pension would reduce by approx £60/month.

Decisions, decisions. 

Plasticman

Organgrinder said:

I've been crunching the numbers this morning.

I'm torn between making this my last year in teaching and going at 59 at the end of the school year or doing 1 more year.

The monthly difference is more than manageable. How much I'd have in savings is the thing I'm not sure of.

I always wanted a buffer. Money available in the event of a major expense. Through planning that has grown somewhat at the intended retirement date from £100k to £140k.

Going a year earlier means the original £100k figure is still doable, but potentially needs to last a year longer if it is tapped into.

I logged into teachers pensions earlier. Early retirement factors are slightly better than they were too. (Not by much!). My net pension would reduce by approx £60/month.

Decisions, decisions. 

I also wanted a £100k buffer. Looks like I won't quite make that (although very close). I won't be doing an extra year though. If I start down that route I'll probably never do it!

Albermarle

QrizB said:

This thread might appreciate a musical interlude.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=roEhFKEFDvo

  Maybe an appropriate point to let the thread get back to business as usual 

Organgrinder

Albermarle said:

  Maybe an appropriate point to let the thread get back to business as usual 

But this thread twists and turns like a twisty turny thing. ;-)

helensbiggestfan

Well, that's ok, as long as we all have cunning plans.  😉