Random thought the other day - I've never had more than £2300 in my bank account

Appliance_engineer

I had a fairly random thought the other day that I've never had more than £2,300 in my bank account ever.  Some people would spend that on a foreign holiday without a second thought!

I've worked all my life and am now in my early sixties. I'm now self-employed and earning now quite a bit less than when I was last working for a firm, but I no longer have to work silly hours and weekends!  My last firm (a big German household name) paid a wage of between £1600 to about £1800 a month (take home), and I left them 8 or 9 years ago, so not sure what they would be paying now.

I've always managed my money well, and don't have any debt or credit cards or loans. 

I live on a small estate comprising housing association properties, and I see all around me people with fancy new cars and they seem to go on foreign holidays all the time, but I've never quite understood how they afford these things. I presume that they are up to their eyeballs in loans and leasing payments.

I'm not complaining about anything in this post, just making an observation.

I am very risk-averse so won't take out loans or credit (I don't think I'd even qualify). I just don't get how people similar to me seem to be able to go abroad and have new cars and other things who are presumably earning around the same as me.

eskbanker

Appliance_engineer said:

I live on a small estate comprising housing association properties, and I see all around me people with fancy new cars and they seem to go on foreign holidays all the time, but I've never quite understood how they afford these things. I presume that they are up to their eyeballs in loans and leasing payments.

I'm not complaining about anything in this post, just making an observation.

I am very risk-averse so won't take out loans or credit (I don't think I'd even qualify). I just don't get how people similar to me seem to be able to go abroad and have new cars and other things who are presumably earning around the same as me.

Everyone's different, and some will prioritise holidays or cars over what you choose to spend your money on, even if that means living in lesser accommodation than they could potentially afford.

You're unlikely to know their full financial circumstances - debt could indeed be involved but even if earnings are similar to yours (and you can't necessarily conclude that from housing choices alone), there could be inheritances or other windfalls?

elsien

Nothing wrong with a credit card and  having one doesn’t  automatically mean that you are in debt.
Mine is a Cashback card. I use it for daily spending but pay it back in full every month. 

It’s also handy for online purchases and purchases over £100 so I get the section 75 protection. 

pseudodox

Are you happy with your life?  That is all that matters.  You are part of a seemingly increasing minority of people who live within their means as they always have.  No doubt many of those cars and holidays are on credit and may not even be making the people happy as they rack up increasing debt to fund an aspirational life style.  Like @elsien I pay my credit card card off every month in full.  I never spend what I cannot afford - the card is just an easy way to pay.

I have had the same perfect for me car for 23 years - my neighbour has changed his up to 20 times (I have lost count) and has probably spent a small fortune on never achieving satisfaction.  I could not enjoy a holiday if I thought I would be paying for it for months ahead (if not years).

Just look at all the posts on here about debt - some genuinely sad & desperate cases, but also many others from people who have earned good money but simply have felt it essential to a happy life to still spend spend spend far above a level of income that many can only dream of.

EssexExile

I was an appliance engineer for a big British household name for many years. Luckily my wife had a job that paid well.

Appliance_engineer

pseudodox said:

Are you happy with your life?  That is all that matters.  You are part of a seemingly increasing minority of people who live within their means as they always have.  No doubt many of those cars and holidays are on credit and may not even be making the people happy as they rack up increasing debt to fund an aspirational life style.  Like @elsien I pay my credit card card off every month in full.  I never spend what I cannot afford - the card is just an easy way to pay.

I have had the same perfect for me car for 23 years - my neighbour has changed his up to 20 times (I have lost count) and has probably spent a small fortune on never achieving satisfaction.  I could not enjoy a holiday if I thought I would be paying for it for months ahead (if not years).

Just look at all the posts on here about debt - some genuinely sad & desperate cases, but also many others from people who have earned good money but simply have felt it essential to a happy life to still spend spend spend far above a level of income that many can only dream of.

Yes, I generally am happy. I don't have the fear of debt collectors knocking at my door and I know that everything I own is mine and paid for.

I have a mobile on PAYG, I don't have subscriptions to streaming svcs and I don't have any expensive tastes as I've never been in a financial position to indulge in such things.

I will have a holiday in a caravan in Norfolk for a week this year, and that's about £350 plus expenses, so relatively inexpensive.

I do know a neighbour who has had bailiff visits and sometimes hides his vehicle in a different street if he thinks they are likely to call round. I just couldn't be doing with all that!

Your message makes a lot of sense and I think that I am happier than I would be if I was now regretting a life that I have now to pay for after the fact!

Emmia

Appliance_engineer said:

I had a fairly random thought the other day that I've never had more than £2,300 in my bank account ever.  Some people would spend that on a foreign holiday without a second thought!

I've worked all my life and am now in my early sixties. I'm now self-employed and earning now quite a bit less than when I was last working for a firm, but I no longer have to work silly hours and weekends!  My last firm (a big German household name) paid a wage of between £1600 to about £1800 a month (take home), and I left them 8 or 9 years ago, so not sure what they would be paying now.

I've always managed my money well, and don't have any debt or credit cards or loans. 

I live on a small estate comprising housing association properties, and I see all around me people with fancy new cars and they seem to go on foreign holidays all the time, but I've never quite understood how they afford these things. I presume that they are up to their eyeballs in loans and leasing payments.

I'm not complaining about anything in this post, just making an observation.

I am very risk-averse so won't take out loans or credit (I don't think I'd even qualify). I just don't get how people similar to me seem to be able to go abroad and have new cars and other things who are presumably earning around the same as me.

I'm not sure what the purpose of your thread is?

Be happy with your life (as you are) don't worry about what others do.

Rob5342

It's impossible to tell what people's situations are. It could be having a big inheritance, having massive debts to cover it all, working their **** off when they were younger and being mortgage free, or various other reasons. People used to think that my wife and I were quite hard up as we had an old car and never went out for dinmer or had holidays. The reality was that we had a very good income and were saving every penny we could for a house. On the other hand I used to think that one of my workmates had a very lavish lifestyle as er always had a new car and foreign holiday each year. He seemed to think he was quite badly off, on ome occasion he was saying that money had got a bit tight and thst he might not be able to get a new car that year. 

[Deleted User]

Debt. Debt is big business, which is why it's encouraged. Couple that with the fact a great many people are financially inept and companies are always finding new ways to sell increasingly expensive product, that's what you get.

Emily_Joy

Depending on how far do you live from a low-cost airline hub, holidays abroad are not as expensive as you think. In many European countries things are much cheaper than in the UK and you can get a flight for under 10GBP if you go out of season. So 400 GBP could give you a week on the Mediterranian coast easily, and you can make that bit of money by switching banks without much trouble. 

Appliance_engineer

Emmia said:

Appliance_engineer said:

I had a fairly random thought the other day that I've never had more than £2,300 in my bank account ever.  Some people would spend that on a foreign holiday without a second thought!

I've worked all my life and am now in my early sixties. I'm now self-employed and earning now quite a bit less than when I was last working for a firm, but I no longer have to work silly hours and weekends!  My last firm (a big German household name) paid a wage of between £1600 to about £1800 a month (take home), and I left them 8 or 9 years ago, so not sure what they would be paying now.

I've always managed my money well, and don't have any debt or credit cards or loans. 

I live on a small estate comprising housing association properties, and I see all around me people with fancy new cars and they seem to go on foreign holidays all the time, but I've never quite understood how they afford these things. I presume that they are up to their eyeballs in loans and leasing payments.

I'm not complaining about anything in this post, just making an observation.

I am very risk-averse so won't take out loans or credit (I don't think I'd even qualify). I just don't get how people similar to me seem to be able to go abroad and have new cars and other things who are presumably earning around the same as me.

I'm not sure what the purpose of your thread is?

Be happy with your life (as you are) don't worry about what others do.

There is no purpose. Does there have to be one?  It's just a thought.  Who said I was worried? Who said I was unhappy?