How has this house gone up so much?

Mark_Glasses

@Herzlos I'll never know unless I become rich. We too ended up borrowing less than we could afford and our mortgage is less than our rent was but we're in what's probably the cheapest flat in London that's barely big enough for the 2 of us let alone kids too. Add my work situation to that it's more a matter of survival than being rich.

@Elliott.T123 I'd say I'm the one who lives a frugal life and the person who sold the house in this thread lives the highlife. He's always going on holiday and going out for meals. He also drives a Porsche and I don't even have a car.

@lookstraightahead sounds like that relies on friends and family doing the same.

@jimbog I don't need a car in London. The one pleasure I get during the working day is seeing the sights of London on my lunch break. When I go back to Leeds it's depressing and a pretty scary place compared to the one I grew up in.

@MeteredOut I am listening to what people are saying but am trying to keep it on the topic of money without going down the rabbit hole of my mental health problems.

BlueVeranda

I had a colleague who drove a Porsche. He picked it up second or third hand for a surprisingly low price considering.

I wouldn't recommend having a car if you've no need for it. Parking worries, insurance costs, tax, MOT and in London ULEZ: you might as well join Just Stop Oil and throw orange powder over your mate's bonnet instead.

Herzlos

Mark_Glasses said:

@Herzlos I'll never know unless I become rich. We too ended up borrowing less than we could afford and our mortgage is less than our rent was but we're in what's probably the cheapest flat in London that's barely big enough for the 2 of us let alone kids too. Add my work situation to that it's more a matter of survival than being rich.

If you're not happy now, then being rich won't help. Whatever rich is.

Elliott.T123

Mark_Glasses said:

@MeteredOut I am listening to what people are saying but am trying to keep it on the topic of money without going down the rabbit hole of my mental health problems.

If we are looking to focus 100% on the topic of money then. In short you are saying you want more money how can I get rich quick...... you wanted to know if there is a magic house you can buy that will make you a millionaire. No, there isn't. There is no get rich quick.

 Your only realistic options are:

1. Find a way of getting a job that pays more money
2. Accept that this is your life

There are no other realistic options I am afraid. Those are your two options, nothing more nothing less. No one else on here is going to be able to give you any other options. 

[Deleted User]

I would slightly disagree that there are only the 2 options suggested "1. Find a way of getting a job that pays more money
2. Accept that this is your life" .   You may not be able to find a job that pays more, ( though you may be able to find one you find better suited to you) but you might be able to find a way of supplementing that salary. Do you have a couple of hours spare to sell something  online, have you tried that? How about your wife, can she earn more? 

Very few people get "rich", those that do are not necessarily happy as has been said. Most of the country is "surviving", just because you know someone who is doing well doesn't mean that's the norm. 

YoungBlueEyes

Mark_Glasses said:

@YoungBlueEyes you probably won't read this but what was wrong with my response to you? I was answering your questions.

Mark I am still reading and there's nothing wrong with your answers. The reason I said I was out was I don't think the things I'm saying (or what everyone is saying) is helping you. I spent a good long while typing out my post about thinking of it from a different angle, and instead of considering it you came back with 'I can afford a £500k house but that can't be right cos my boss doesn't have one' and 'yeah but we went to primary school together and he lived a 3 minute walk from me'. Nothing I said made an impact, so it was really a waste of my (and everyone else's) time. 

I'm actually sorry that you'll not get any help from this thread, because there are some really good answers here. But you need to get your head into a place where you can take them in. Or at least genuinely consider the points of view that people are putting forward. It might be that, while you're not exactly happy in London, you'd be more unhappy anywhere else if London is such an important factor to you. 

If you softened even a wee bit, you'd get an outpouring of help on here that a lot of people would pay good money for. 

spoovy

Mark_Glasses said:

@Herzlos the reality is I've been unhappy my whole life and I've been obsessed with money my whole life. What kept me going when I was younger was the knowledge that I was going to be rich when I was older. Now I'm older and not rich I can't see how I'll ever be happy.

Working out how to get rich is not a solution to this, because for the vast majority of people there is no reliable way to do so.  Not by property dealing or anything else. There just isn't. You might get lucky like your friend, but the truth is you probably won't.

So you have to learn to be happy without being rich. Think of it like this, what's the alternative? Spend the second half of your life unhappy, like the first half? That's the choice you have, and thankfully it's something you do have control over.

Elliott.T123

spoovy said:

Mark_Glasses said:

@Herzlos the reality is I've been unhappy my whole life and I've been obsessed with money my whole life. What kept me going when I was younger was the knowledge that I was going to be rich when I was older. Now I'm older and not rich I can't see how I'll ever be happy.

Working out how to get rich is not a solution to this, because for the vast majority of people there is no reliable way to do so.  Not by property dealing or anything else. There just isn't. You might get lucky like your friend, but the truth is you probably won't.

So you have to learn to be happy without being rich. Think of it like this, what's the alternative? Spend the second half of your life unhappy, like the first half? That's the choice you have, and thankfully it's something you do have control over.

This ^^^^^ this is the most accurate and concise response on this topic so far, please do take heed Mark

Mark_Glasses

@BlueVeranda I'm not planning on buying a car any time soon.

@Herzlos I would saying having enough money to never work again

@Elliott.T123 It's not so much getting a better paid job (though that would help) but buying a house that doesn't stagnate whilst everything else goes up.

@purbeck14 I never really buy anything so don't have anything to sell. My wife does have the option of overtime but she's not much of a saver. Around 90% of our savings came from me. 

@YoungBlueEyes I do think there's good answers in here. London does suit me, I feel at home rushing for the tube etc. but stand out like a sore thumb if I do the same in Leeds. My job not so much, everyone wears jeans and t-shirt but I'd rather work somewhere everyone wears suits. 

@spoovy at the very least I want a house that's big enough to have kids and a job that's stable and doesn't make me depressed.

Herzlos

Mark_Glasses said:

@Herzlos I would saying having enough money to never work again

Not many people can retire at 41. Though you could probably get away with moving to somewhere really cheap but touristy (like a remote Scottish island) and open a B&B.

At least you've got a goal that isn't dependent on how someone else seems to be doing.

Mark_Glasses said:

@purbeck14 I never really buy anything so don't have anything to sell. My wife does have the option of overtime but she's not much of a saver. Around 90% of our savings came from me.

That's probably the crux of your problem here. You're obsessed with money for some reason, whilst your wife isn't.
How does she feel about it?