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If you wait for the price crash...
Comments
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The second income thing is a thorny issue.
Whilst it's good that women who would once upon a time have been expected to stay at home can now go out and work, I think it's pretty disgraceful that we are in a situation where the cost of living is so high that it takes two incomes just to make ends meet.
It can't be good for young kids to grow up mostly in childcare facilities but parents in non-benefits households usually don't get to make this choice if they want to pay the mortgage and the bills.
However, anyone who makes this argument gets jumped on as being misogynistic by the feminist element. Sometimes I think they've shot themselves in the foot by promoting doing a job and thus 'having a career' (how many working class people of either sex can really say they have a career as opposed to just having to do a job?) as the be-all and end-all for women.--
Every pound less borrowed (to buy a house) is more than two pounds less to repay and more than three pounds less to earn, over the course of a typical mortgage.0 -
There are very sound arguments for financial inducements for the middle classes to have more children
Agreed, they should be rewarded, not punished.
After all it is this calibre of person that will make the government the most money.
Stay at home parent might claim £500pm in benefits from the government. If that stay at home parent went out to work, they would actually give the government £500.
So double whammy effect which makes/saves the government £1000 for 1 parent going back to work.
(figures are only examples just to make the point)
That is an incentive and would fund 'free' childcare for all in order to get the unemployed back to work.0 -
It can't be good for young kids to grow up mostly in childcare facilities but parents in non-benefits households usually don't get to make this choice if they want to pay the mortgage and the bills.
Agreed, people on benefits get the best of both worlds although at a lower quality of living.
It also cant be good for a kid to have an unemployed stay at home parent, usually on some sort of benefit. What message does that send out to them?
My working ethic came from having 2 constantly working parents. I would imagine if my parents were to live off benefits and be unemployed all their days, i would have followed suit.
Yes it is a thorny issue.
And i believe childcare costs are a major factor in why there are lots of unemployed stay at home parents.0 -
Well maybe not, but I had one child, and we waited until he was five before having a second, because when my earnings were lower (around £40k) I didn't feel it was financially sensible to have a second child. It is only when I started earning over £100k that I thought it more prudent.
It's all very well to say people should pay for their children, but there is a big problem with this, in that for sensible people this acts as a powerful contraceptive, so not enough children are born to keep the country going, so we end up having to import people, and the people having kids are the ones living purely off benefits, who are statistically highly unlikely to contribute in the future. There are very sound arguments for financial inducements for the middle classes to have more children
You feel that it is not financially sensible to have a child if you're only earning £40k?
Your Daily Mail'esque comments are somewhat offensive, and very out of touch.0 -
How about a £1500pm mortgage that is taken out of the £40k pa salary?
£40k is only £2400 after tax.
So £1500 mortgage
£175 council tax
Electric/Gas/telephone £150
Fuel Costs £200
Food £400pm
Your already just past that £2400, and you havent factored in any debts, car finances, savings, trips out, clothes, holidays etc etc.
Its alright if you bought back in the 90's where your mortgage is £250pm or if you live in a council house and pay £250pm, but to buy a decent family home today, you're going to be paying over £1000pm in mortgage to do so.
Would you manage on £28k if you had to pay £1500pm mortgage? No, not a chance.
Which then goes back to living within means, obviously you would not take on a mortgage of that level if you was earning only 28k.
My council tax is a fair bit lower than that (£92 a month) and that is for a 3 bedroom family house in the south east of the country.
£400 pcm for food? Blimey, our cupboards would be bursting! My current spend of food per week is approx £40 at the highest, some weeks I can get away with £30 and even others, £20! And that is for a growing family of 4.
Electric/gas/telephone (and including broadband as well here) is £90 for me.
I do live in an HA property but I can assure you my rent is not £250 pcm, more like £550 pcm....yes still cheap but certainly not as cheap as you say.
No debts to service as I refused to take on credit even when I was married and earning... our motto was if there no money then we didn't buy it.
Holidays, well nice cheapy holidays, even more so now...never pay more than £400 for our annual 2 weeks holiday although I did splash the cash early last year and take the boys to Disneyland for 4 days....£650 (I got a share payout).
Trips out are confined to either walks along the sea front, visiting no entrance fee places or very cheap child goes free etc.
Clothes have already been explained, last item purchased for myself was in January in the sales for the grand total of £4, total spend on my clothes in the last year is around the £10 mark, total spend for all 3 (growing very fast) boys is approx £40.
My car was purchased from ebay, albeit with a small loan from my parents, for £450, I have never and will never have finance for a car....if it makes me gulp then it's too expensive.
Savings, all odd change is thrown in the rainy day jar plus ebay items that has been grown out of or we no longer use (books etc) - this usually pays for our annual holiday in my parents static caravan in Great Yarmouth.
Fuel for the car, all non essential journeys have now been cut and it only goes to service school and medical appointment runs so around the £65 a month mark (hasten to add here, my current school run is in the region of 16 miles minimum per day, way more than when I was working and driving to work!)We made it! All three boys have graduated, it's been hard work but it shows there is a possibility of a chance of normal (ish) life after a diagnosis (or two) of ASD. It's not been the easiest route but I am so glad I ignored everything and everyone and did my own therapies with them.
Eldests' EDS diagnosis 4.5.10, mine 13.1.11 eekk - now having fun and games as a wheelchair user.0 -
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Which then goes back to living within means, obviously you would not take on a mortgage of that level if you was earning only 28k.
My council tax is a fair bit lower than that (£92 a month) and that is for a 3 bedroom family house in the south east of the country.
£400 pcm for food? Blimey, our cupboards would be bursting! My current spend of food per week is approx £40 at the highest, some weeks I can get away with £30 and even others, £20! And that is for a growing family of 4.
Electric/gas/telephone (and including broadband as well here) is £90 for me.
I do live in an HA property but I can assure you my rent is not £250 pcm, more like £550 pcm....yes still cheap but certainly not as cheap as you say.
No debts to service as I refused to take on credit even when I was married and earning... our motto was if there no money then we didn't buy it.
Holidays, well nice cheapy holidays, even more so now...never pay more than £400 for our annual 2 weeks holiday although I did splash the cash early last year and take the boys to Disneyland for 4 days....£650 (I got a share payout).
Trips out are confined to either walks along the sea front, visiting no entrance fee places or very cheap child goes free etc.
Clothes have already been explained, last item purchased for myself was in January in the sales for the grand total of £4, total spend on my clothes in the last year is around the £10 mark, total spend for all 3 (growing very fast) boys is approx £40.
My car was purchased from ebay, albeit with a small loan from my parents, for £450, I have never and will never have finance for a car....if it makes me gulp then it's too expensive.
Savings, all odd change is thrown in the rainy day jar plus ebay items that has been grown out of or we no longer use (books etc) - this usually pays for our annual holiday in my parents static caravan in Great Yarmouth.
Fuel for the car, all non essential journeys have now been cut and it only goes to service school and medical appointment runs so around the £65 a month mark.
Fair point, you live to your means.
£92pm council tax, i assume only £920pa as CT is usually taken over 10mths. That is cheap, especially so for the south.
My £175pm is the Scottish CT system which takes into account water/sewerage charges on top and works out around £1750pa
It costs me about £70 alone per week just in fuel with travelling to work and social jaunts.
As to food, chineese delivery once a week and there's £100pm or so onto the food bill straight away.
I suppose it depends on what you are used to, im sure you've budgeted well with your income, but thats not to say those with higher incomes dont budget well either, its just their expenditure may be more even for bare neccessities such as housing, council tax and basic bills.0 -
As to food, chineese delivery once a week and there's £100pm or so onto the food bill straight away.
Instant saving of £100 a month there! I can't stand chinese, and don't like takeaways full stop....much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0 -
...much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0
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Yep agreed Mitchaa.....
When I was in my mega well paid job back in the late 80's early 90's, we certainly lived to our means and had more expensive items back then.
My fuel costs at one point were a lot higher due to all the miles that had to be done for the school runs, thank goodness I managed to get my middle son into a localish school in the end and didn't have to continue with the constant running him around from one place to the next or my fuel would be nearer to what yours is now!
I am also lucky in that I live in a town which is one of the main employment bases in this area so no long commute would be needed once I do return (although my last office was 8 miles away but on a nice fast bypass) and would be on the way back to my house from a school run.
Chinese delivery.....yummmyyyyyyyy!
*Goes away saying to herself... I really don't want that chinese, I really don't want that chinese!We made it! All three boys have graduated, it's been hard work but it shows there is a possibility of a chance of normal (ish) life after a diagnosis (or two) of ASD. It's not been the easiest route but I am so glad I ignored everything and everyone and did my own therapies with them.
Eldests' EDS diagnosis 4.5.10, mine 13.1.11 eekk - now having fun and games as a wheelchair user.0
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