Could be worse...
http://www.euro-millions.org/featured/613/
Yes it was a long time ago but regardless. Imagine that hanging over you...
Debt and Society Today
- Thread starter Faustus
- Start date
Could be worse...
http://www.euro-millions.org/featured/613/
Yes it was a long time ago but regardless. Imagine that hanging over you...
Also a lack of financial self control. Kids not taught about debit/saving, credit so easy to obtain that many just don't care and spend beyond their means. There is a big bubble waiting to burst.
I'm only trolling. Completely agree with you.
Shouldnt be too long now either.
Far too risky is the financial circumstances right now.
Those ones depress me - not that I'd go mad with that kind of money but I'd always make sure I had a fallback so atleast I could live comfortably even if somewhat sparsely if it all went wrong - was reading the other day about someone who'd won 13million and couple of years later literally had 0 money left - no debts but literally no money in the bank and little to show for it except a nice house.
This is pretty much the size of it.
I've never been in debt, aside from the mortgage. I've never had a particularly lavish lifestyle, but then again I'm a man of simple needs. I don't need flash holidays, I don't need flash cars, latest phones etc. My mobile phone bill is currently £5.50 a month and I think even that's too much.
Our next door neighbours are a couple who are both about 30. They both have pretty run of the mill basic office jobs. They have two young kids, always kitted out in the latest gear (them and the kids), latest phones, holidays abroad all the time etc. Couple of months ago they got rid of a 3 year old top of the range Alfa Romeo and replaced it wish a 1 year old Merc CLA to the tune of about £21000, both this one and the Alfa they had are Sport models, white with black 20" wheels. Absolutely buckled with all that debt just for Facebook posing rights. Not that I begrudge anyone a nice car if they've worked for it but this is just blatant posing at massive expense.
Even Alan Sugar said football clubs don't make money. That was why he got out.
Unreal that plonker invested 4 million in that football club. Obviously proven but if he had any brains he could have easily liven off the interest alone without touching that nest egg.
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That's some self-restraint there. Admirable.
in the past I could have quite decently supplemented my income off my savings (though I left it building up my savings) these days the interest is barely pocket change :S
When renting low quality housing in low quality areas still costs more than 1/3rd of the income from working 40 hours/week and most jobs don't guarantee 40 hours a week anyway, not having enough savings to live off for 3 months is not necessarily a sign of irresponsibility.
Things have changed a lot at the bottom end in the last 10 years, even in the last 5 years. It's easy to draw conclusions based on how things used to be, but it's wrong.
The working poor could scrape a subsistence living 10 to a house in rookeries. They could slowly save some money then. But do we really want to go back to a Dickensian socio-economic setup, which was the worst in known history? Feudal serfs were better off.
As it happens, I do have some savings despite being a minimum wage flunkey. I can quite comfortably save £150 a month. But that's because I was able to buy a cheap house 20 years ago, so my mortgage is ~£200 a month less than current rental costs, and I can walk to work.
Things have changed a lot at the bottom end in the last 10 years, even in the last 5 years. It's easy to draw conclusions based on how things used to be, but it's wrong.
The working poor could scrape a subsistence living 10 to a house in rookeries. They could slowly save some money then. But do we really want to go back to a Dickensian socio-economic setup, which was the worst in known history? Feudal serfs were better off.
As it happens, I do have some savings despite being a minimum wage flunkey. I can quite comfortably save £150 a month. But that's because I was able to buy a cheap house 20 years ago, so my mortgage is ~£200 a month less than current rental costs, and I can walk to work.
About 8 years ago it really hit - that was the last time I saw a decent jump up in my salary - pretty much stalled since - even changing jobs would likely be a step down short of going into something completely different. Meanwhile living costs haven't slowed down.
Entitlement culture, you see it everywhere.
"waaaah cutting my benefits" be grateful you get any in the first place... -.-
Also just society in general. Everyone wants the latest thing, reality TV stars are what kids aspire to be not doctors or scientists. People who will be "super open minded and welcome criticism" at work but the second you give them criticism on their parenting you're a massive ***** and need to mind your own business. You're not perfect get over yourself, plenty of people have done it before you and they probably know better than you. You can say no to your kids.
The list goes on.
"waaaah cutting my benefits" be grateful you get any in the first place... -.-
Also just society in general. Everyone wants the latest thing, reality TV stars are what kids aspire to be not doctors or scientists. People who will be "super open minded and welcome criticism" at work but the second you give them criticism on their parenting you're a massive ***** and need to mind your own business. You're not perfect get over yourself, plenty of people have done it before you and they probably know better than you. You can say no to your kids.
The list goes on.
oi, sod off you. I spent a LOT of Wonga's cash to buy a Hilux I know you'll love.
I think a lot of it is people trying to imitate others in higher social circles and the affordability of finance allowing them to feel like they can. I.e. I can have a 80k Range Rover but because it's really only £500 a month, which I can afford.
As soon as the cost of money increases, a lot of people will be in a lot of trouble.
As soon as the cost of money increases, a lot of people will be in a lot of trouble.
Soldato
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Yes and encouraged constantly by banks and advertisement to have the latest 'must have'.
Society gives out the message that this type of spending is normal like spending on food.
You and I come from that generation, but our family never had a six month buffer. Throughout my later life I could afford newer things but my upbringing taught me the value of money and I always asked "Do I really need it" or "Is the old one still good enough". In our days debt was frowned upon, a very last resort but today debt is seen as normal. If you listen to the younger posters on here they will tell you, the Baby Boomers had it all. Reality was different.
Soldato
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There is an issue with attitudes, mate of mine is determined first thing he's doing when he finishes his degree is replacing his 320 coupe (lovely motor) with a brand new 4 series.
When i ask him how he plans to pay for this on starting salary being sucked up by rent/gas/electricity/internet/food/furnishing a house etc his answer is finance.
Maybe its being the son of an accountant, but i dont get it, i dont even like phone contracts, and its strange these days how hard it is to talk the staff of carphone warehouse around to the concept that you want to give them money for a phone and walk out owning it, rather than signing up for a contract.
Meanwhile im feeling happy i get to leave uni with a sizable chunk of my student loan unspent, a nice car that fingers crossed wont need £500 to get it through mot every year, and no phone contract
When i ask him how he plans to pay for this on starting salary being sucked up by rent/gas/electricity/internet/food/furnishing a house etc his answer is finance.
Maybe its being the son of an accountant, but i dont get it, i dont even like phone contracts, and its strange these days how hard it is to talk the staff of carphone warehouse around to the concept that you want to give them money for a phone and walk out owning it, rather than signing up for a contract.
Meanwhile im feeling happy i get to leave uni with a sizable chunk of my student loan unspent, a nice car that fingers crossed wont need £500 to get it through mot every year, and no phone contract
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Soldato
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I won £1100non a football bet on sunday and put half in my isa which im using for a house deposit. Sensible 
Caporegime
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Nah, sensible would have been to put all of it in the ISA
How do we compare to the states? My dad accidentally went on the American Ford site to do a finance quote for the 'Edge' and they were offering 0% interest over 6 years! Who makes the money there? No brainier if you are a consumer really.
How do we compare to the states? My dad accidentally went on the American Ford site to do a finance quote for the 'Edge' and they were offering 0% interest over 6 years! Who makes the money there? No brainier if you are a consumer really.
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I won £1100non a football bet on sunday and put half in my isa which im using for a house deposit. Sensible
Depends how much you have had to gamble to win 1100. If you've gambled thousands over the years to win 1100 that's not sensible.
some people are genuinely poor/unlucky then again we're all just human and prone to making mistakes too
there are a lot of issues with innumeracy though in the UK and just general lack of planning - especially when you're conditioned into being used to the idea that when you hit rock bottom the state is always there to give you additional help.
Fact is wonga is a successful company, chavvy areas have electrical stores offering goods on really really bad value schemes whereby the chav paying for a new TV ends up buying it on credit, at full RRP, and paying several times over (a bit of patience and they could have had a few hundred in savings instead). They total price isn't the figure emphasis is put on but rather the weekly payment amount.
And it isn't just the underclass - working class and middle class people seem to be quite adept at blowing money they don't have. A fair few people who were in the same grad scheme as me bought BMWs and Mercedes within the first year of starting... granted some of them lived with parents and weren't paying rather expensive London rents but still, straight out of uni with a load of debt and they think blowing 5 figures on a car (on credit of course) is a good idea.
I reckon that while there will be a small % who have been massively unlucky and ended up in debt through no fault of their own there will be many more from various walks of life who simply haven't bothered to plan for the future.
One person I know is reluctant to get married to his current girlfriend as, though he owns his own flat, she currently has £XX,XXX in credit card debt and loans... and has done for a few years now despite being in full time employment, in a good job and in a position to stop spending at the current rate and pay it off.
there are a lot of issues with innumeracy though in the UK and just general lack of planning - especially when you're conditioned into being used to the idea that when you hit rock bottom the state is always there to give you additional help.
Fact is wonga is a successful company, chavvy areas have electrical stores offering goods on really really bad value schemes whereby the chav paying for a new TV ends up buying it on credit, at full RRP, and paying several times over (a bit of patience and they could have had a few hundred in savings instead). They total price isn't the figure emphasis is put on but rather the weekly payment amount.
And it isn't just the underclass - working class and middle class people seem to be quite adept at blowing money they don't have. A fair few people who were in the same grad scheme as me bought BMWs and Mercedes within the first year of starting... granted some of them lived with parents and weren't paying rather expensive London rents but still, straight out of uni with a load of debt and they think blowing 5 figures on a car (on credit of course) is a good idea.
I reckon that while there will be a small % who have been massively unlucky and ended up in debt through no fault of their own there will be many more from various walks of life who simply haven't bothered to plan for the future.
One person I know is reluctant to get married to his current girlfriend as, though he owns his own flat, she currently has £XX,XXX in credit card debt and loans... and has done for a few years now despite being in full time employment, in a good job and in a position to stop spending at the current rate and pay it off.
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