42.3% of Londoners have less than £100 in savings

I'm really not comfortable unless I have a buffer of a few grand, no idea how people cope when running on empty!

Generally, they don't have a choice. You'd cope too, because you'd have to.

In the past, I've gone into the bank to withdraw the last couple of pounds of my overdraft so I could eat that day. It's how it is for some people, especially since our society is geared towards putting people into debt and keeping them there because it's more profitable.

Now I have a month's pay as a buffer. I did have 2 months's pay, but I decided to spend some on toys because I have spare money and I'll accumulate more spare money.

I am an anomaly, though, because I'm a boring and unsociable old fart who was lucky enough to be able to get a mortgage 20 years ago and who hardly ever goes anywhere past walking distance. Those things massively reduce my cost of living, so even though I'm a minimum wage flunkey I have spare money. I'm also on an old contract, so I can work 40 hours a week and get paid for those 40 hours. A rarity nowadays.

If I had to travel to work or pay average rent, I'd be living hand to mouth even on 40 hours a week. If I had what's now a normal contract, i.e. few or zero hours, I'd be unable to live without outside support. That's the norm nowadays because our society is badly flawed and hasn't adapted to changing times.

Saving even £100 simply isn't an option for a large and increasing proportion of people.
 

That's all good and well, but the media being the media, they gear the article in such a way to make it sound like these people are doing everything within their power, working two jobs, etc. I'm yet to see one of these articles actually digging in to their spending habits. Reminded me of the Evening Standard and their Dispossessed Fund thing a few years ago. They had sob story article after sob story article on how young people couldn't even afford the UCAS application fees (think it was £20 or something - might be wrong) yet when they showed photos of these people, clad in Ralph Lauren shirts or True Religion jeans, it did make me chuckle.

The media is too scared to have a hard debate about this. Everyone is happy lying to each other and carefully tiptoe around 'some' of the real issues lest they offend some sensitive souls with an allergy for some home truths and spark a hashtag campaign.
 
6 months salary saved up is a fairytale for me. Not a chance with twin babies and high rent costs. I'm happy if I have any money in my account the time payday comes around (i.e. I've not dipped into my £100 overdraft) I don't know how others can afford to save. No Sky, don't smoke, rarely drink....still skint. Welcome to Northern Ireland living.

(pc in sig was made up from gifts and presents over the years)

Where you based in NI? Rent isn't to badly surly?
 
There's also another statistic - 48% of personal debt in the UK is owed by people under 34 years old. If that demographic don't get a grip on their finances and quickly they are facing a very bleak old age.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37508968

People in their 20s are ****ed. Not only will they shoulder the costs of the aging population, but they'll be left with nothing to look after themselves.

Will be even worse for younger people still to enter work.
 
I have more than £100 in savings but it is borderline at the moment - I have a job just to stop me using it whilst I try to attain other things. I blew all my savings on a car.... so technically I have that.
 
That's all good and well, but the media being the media, they gear the article in such a way to make it sound like these people are doing everything within their power, working two jobs, etc. I'm yet to see one of these articles actually digging in to their spending habits. Reminded me of the Evening Standard and their Dispossessed Fund thing a few years ago. They had sob story article after sob story article on how young people couldn't even afford the UCAS application fees (think it was £20 or something - might be wrong) yet when they showed photos of these people, clad in Ralph Lauren shirts or True Religion jeans, it did make me chuckle.

The media is too scared to have a hard debate about this. Everyone is happy lying to each other and carefully tiptoe around 'some' of the real issues lest they offend some sensitive souls with an allergy for some home truths and spark a hashtag campaign.

There aren't enough jobs for us all to have one each, let alone two.
 
There aren't enough jobs for us all to have one each, let alone two.

Well I don't know. But there's certainly jobs out there for people who really want them. Maybe not initially the job you want, but a job with an income nonetheless. Once employed you can start hustling for something better.
 
I have more than £100 in savings but it is borderline at the moment - I have a job just to stop me using it whilst I try to attain other things. I blew all my savings on a car.... so technically I have that.

Look, I'm not one to judge as I don't particularly care what other people do with their lives, but didn't you buy yourself a Porsche?

Did you buy a Porsche and left yourself 'borderline' £100 savings?

Objectively speaking, would that be a clever use of money?

Anyway, if I'm wrong, accept my apologies and have a £1000 for hurt feelings :P
 
Look, I'm not one to judge as I don't particularly care what other people do with their lives, but didn't you buy yourself a Porsche?

Did you buy a Porsche and left yourself 'borderline' £100 savings?

Objectively speaking, would that be a clever use of money?

Anyway, if I'm wrong, accept my apologies and have a £1000 for hurt feelings :P

The car is worth a few bob.
 
Well I don't know. But there's certainly jobs out there for people who really want them. Maybe not initially the job you want, but a job with an income nonetheless. Once employed you can start hustling for something better.

Not everyone can do that. By the very nature of hours the jobs market works, there will always be a huge number of people that never get more than minimum wage. Even if everyone puts in the effort, there just aren't enough better jobs.

Were going to hit a wall soon. A huge number of people that can't afford a mortgage now won't be able to afford one when it comes time to retire. Either the state pays for it is they work until they die, not making way for the younger generation to work so the state pays for them too.

Soylent Green anyone?
 
Unfortunately the younger generations are not taught financial sense.

That isn't to say that the older generations where either; but its the older/baby boomer generations that have extracted the available wealth, and continue to do so, from the system, and routinely take the advantages they had away from the people following them.

Aside from our savings and investments, we have a years worth of mortgage payments that will cover an interest rate rise to 10% tucked away in an emergency fund, and anything less for us I would be consider a bad position to be in.

It annoys me that there are so many irresponsible people about, because the ones who do get punished are the responsible savers, not the people that do splash out on credit and have no intention (or ability) to pay them off. But I don't blame them. I blame the older generations and the systems in place that force it or encourage it.

It's not just the young. I can excuse idiots in their 20s doing stupid things with life and money. We all go through those curves. I certainly did. They still have time to learn from their stupidity and correct mistakes.

But it's harder excusing people of my generation (born in '80 and the early 80s) that's now parents and still have no clue how to work with money. These are the people that's supposed to be teaching financial intelligence to their children yet severely lack that common sense themselves.
 
The UK quality of life versus cost of living has been miles out of kilter for years and shows no signs of getting better.

I'm happy staying well away from that mess.
 
Not everyone can do that. By the very nature of hours the jobs market works, there will always be a huge number of people that never get more than minimum wage. Even if everyone puts in the effort, there just aren't enough better jobs.

Were going to hit a wall soon. A huge number of people that can't afford a mortgage now won't be able to afford one when it comes time to retire. Either the state pays for it is they work until they die, not making way for the younger generation to work so the state pays for them too.

Soylent Green anyone?

We'll just have to agree to disagree like gentlemen :)

You aspire long enough to better your employment situation, you'll eventually succeed. Not to CEO level, but still beyond minimum wage at least. Just by the very nature that Luck works, you'll get your role and progression but you gotta be willing to hustle and keep trying.
 
The UK quality of life versus cost of living has been miles out of kilter for years and shows no signs of getting better.

I'm happy staying well away from that mess.

It's the same everywhere. Even here in 'paradise' NZ. Exactly the same issues here. Houses too expensive, jobs pay too little or too scare, everything too pricey, immigration too high and screwing it up for the poor old Kiwis. It's as if they took the articles from the Guardian or Daily Mail, change a few keys details and publish it here.
 
I don't really see that point in savings. I don't think I can ever be hit by an unexpected cost that I couldn't handle. If our boiler breaks it would cost a few hundred max. House gets damaged... Insurance...car.. Insurance..

What actually requires you to have a load of cash saved? Losing job? I doubt I'd ever be out of work long enough to struggle.
 
How about retirement? Is that not what most people are referring to as savings or are some just considering savings a rainy day fund for emergencies and new cars?

I've been terrible pretty much all my life up until a few months back. 29 now and I've pretty much been in the same financial situation since starting uni. The last few months I've buckled down and built up a decent chunk but can still go further. £25 takeaways are all too common. I'd dread to work out how much I've spent over the last 5 years.

I used to be annoyed no one would approve me for a credit card, now I think thank god for that.
 
How about retirement? Is that not what most people are referring to as savings or are some just considering savings a rainy day fund for emergencies and new cars?

I've been terrible pretty much all my life up until a few months back. 29 now and I've pretty much been in the same financial situation since starting uni. The last few months I've buckled down and built up a decent chunk but can still go further. £25 takeaways are all too common. I'd dread to work out how much I've spent over the last 5 years.

I used to be annoyed no one would approve me for a credit card, now I think thank god for that.

I'll have a pension from working all my life and a house that will have been paid for by then. At that point i'll need a bit of money for a VR headset then ill just sit around all day and pee in a bucket.
 
What advantages? Lets start with right to buy, cheap houses, good pensions, free university education, an nhs not overburdened.

Are you seriously implying that the baby boomer generation has self-reliance and sheer hard graft compared to the younger generations?

Oh how I laughed at your post. It depends who you are calling baby boomers. I am one given I was born in the 1950s. Let's look at buying a house. As I said try doing that off £4.00 per week. Then there was the deposit - had to be at least 25%. Then you had to persuade your bank/building society that you were worth the risk - yes an interview. You had also to have a good savings record with the building society you wanted your mortgage off. You also had to save for most of what you needed to furnish a house. Hire purchase had recently started but the interest rates were unaffordable.

There was free university education but very few working class parents could afford to send their child to university so it was off down the dole to find yourself a job.

If you have ever watched Carry on Doctor that is how the NHS was in those days, only not funny, with very long waiting lists and doctors restricted in the types of treatment they could offer. Right to buy didn't arrive until much later, in the 1970s under Thatcher - yes that was a glorious age - not :rolleyes:

I'll tell you a film worth watching for getting a flavour of those times 'Saturday night and Sunday morning starring Albert Finney.
 
I'll have a pension from working all my life and a house that will have been paid for by then. At that point i'll need a bit of money for a VR headset then ill just sit around all day and pee in a bucket.

Yeah that's fair enough then!

I don't know what to make of pensions nowadays.

As this article references savings specifically, It would be interesting to see data including pensions/investments and property included.
 
Back
Top Bottom