The two are intrinsically linked. I.E later this year the minimum/living wages will go up, that means anyone not on minimum/living wage will demand a pay rise too because unskilled workers got one. That means the expenses of every company will increase and so the cost of their products/services will be raised to offset this, thus the cost of living increases.
Are earnings too low / living costs getting too high??
- Thread starter Buffman
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The two are intrinsically linked. I.E later this year the minimum/living wages will go up, that means anyone not on minimum/living wage will demand a pay rise too because unskilled workers got one. That means the expenses of every company will increase and so the cost of their products/services will be raised to offset this, thus the cost of living increases.
Associate
My partner and I currently rent, it's just gone up to £950 as well 
. We were planning to stay renting until we were in a position to buy a decent first time house for around 400K. This would avoid the need to move in five years or so. The fact the landlord has put the rent up £100 has ****** us off though so we are looking to get out asap and settle for a smaller house just so that we are on the property ladder. It's the deposit that is the killer for a lot of people. Saving and paying high rent costs is crippling. If we were on an average wage, we would struggle big time.
. We were planning to stay renting until we were in a position to buy a decent first time house for around 400K. This would avoid the need to move in five years or so. The fact the landlord has put the rent up £100 has ****** us off though so we are looking to get out asap and settle for a smaller house just so that we are on the property ladder. It's the deposit that is the killer for a lot of people. Saving and paying high rent costs is crippling. If we were on an average wage, we would struggle big time.
Only a lot of companies are refusing to match the rise for those on higher pay - some have made tiny concessions like 1-2%.
Caporegime
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that's not what I said.
i said if you don't like it do something about it other than complaining/moaning as that won't get you anywhere.
if your happy then be happy.
Associate
completely agree. mortgage payments ain't the issue for most. but getting that initial deposit, which probably will need to be more than 10%, is hard.My partner and I currently rent, it's just gone up to £950 as well
my wife put it blunt the other day when we were talking about it. "We'll only be able to buy a house once my dad dies." sad but true
"Complaining/moaning" is at the very heart of liberal democracy (which is what the UK is, despite the best efforts of the current shower). I'm sure the government would be extremely happy if everyone just acted the sheep like you and put up with their crap.
Don
Caporegime
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no it wasn't easy. but nothing that is worth it usually is. he lost out on quite a lot but he also gained quite a lot. all of his children live in the UK and are much better off than had they still been in India. Same goes for his grandchildren. Sacrifices were made but overall they paid off.
I think the problem is NMW. if you want capitalism then it should be a free market where people are paid what they are worth naturally. people don't like the wage get another job elsewhere.
the problem you now have is. cleaners, security guards, etc are now getting to the point they are being paid the same as civil servants working on important work like tax evasion. civil servants haven't had a wage rise in over 12 years. it's been capped for the next 4 years too at the amount it is today. so that will be 16 years with a real world wage decrease year on year. in 4 years time a NMW job worker will earn the same as what the person working for HMRC does.
then you have MP's asking HMRC why they aren't catching all the tax evaders. pay peanuts but expect the world instead of monkeys. what can we do to change this? nothing.
the current system is broke but none of us can fix it so we can only do what we can which is look to improve our own situation whatever way we can. however can we all agree moaning doesn't achieve anything. people need to hold themselves somewhat responsible too for their own situation as they are the only ones that can do anything about it.
I wonder what the situation would be like if NMW had never been introduced. It would then be difficult for all the very low paid workers to get on but that has always been the case. Now it's a case of everyone apart from the top are feeling the pinch.
Caporegime
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i'm quite happy with my work life balance and my life in general. Can it be improved upon? Yes definitely. However I don't feel like I'm missing out on much at all. it will get even better with the promotion I get in 2 weeks time.
i have realised this is the way it works and you have to play the game. sit back like a sheep and the game plays you.
where has all your moaning and complaining got you so far in the UK? oh wait you moved to germany. MP's don't care. Otherwise they would have came up with a real solution rather than lining their own pockets and the pockets of their friends. all these HTB schemes are just further inflating the housing market.
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Moan moan moan. Where is this getting you?
Depends, £4-6 on which pub you go to.
Soldato
Oh i know. I worked out what we could afford by the monthly repayments on the calculator, not what we'd get offered for a mortgage. I don't want to put us in a position where we are paying 50% of our income on a mortgage, i still want to be able to save. I am actually considering Whangarei as an option, whilst it's a city, the property is still rather cheap, which i think may be an investment opportunity, once Tauranga gets too expensive, the people are going to go somewhere else, and Whangarei is closer to Auckland (just) than Tauranga. I'm just going to wait and see and save hard until i choose where to live.
How many people who are saving for a house are actually 100% focused on their deposit rather than cars, clothes, going out, holidays and other luxuries? I found myself living 90 minutes by train from London after I graduated so I got my head down, forfeited most of those luxuries and made sure my deposit came first. When you are older and have kids then a house is everything. I wish I could pass some of the wisdom I have gained over the past 6/7 years to other people, but I know I wouldn't have listened when I was younger.
Getting on the housing ladder is the hardest part. Once you are on it you benefit from building equity and house price rises which builds your % of equity. The next move is much easier.
Getting on the housing ladder is the hardest part. Once you are on it you benefit from building equity and house price rises which builds your % of equity. The next move is much easier.
UK housing madness mentality summed up in one post. I really wish you could show people what life is like outside the UK property porn bubble, but you just don't see it when you're on the inside.
It's really sad that so many people in the UK just can't comprehend that it's possible to live well, have clothes and holidays and cars and go out, not spend half your life commuting, AND have an affordable roof over your head. Collective insanity.
Doesn't seem to make a difference, the banks don't want to lend much even if you have a large deposit.
but in most other countries, if you dont want to be saddled with debt you dont have to be.
we are the only country in the EU, to not have a right to live on land you own.
Most countries you can build you own cheap house, live in mobile housing etc.
This is the issue, the lack of options. apart to buy stupidly over priced housing and have massive debt. Unlike the vast majority of rest of the world.
You can't have it both ways though. This is the situation we find ourselves in here in the UK, especially if you want to live in the vicinity of London which generally speaking provides you access to increased earnings potential.
So in this situation do I moan that the world is against me, the UK is too expensive blah blah or do I get on with it and save to put myself in the best position possible? I did the latter, saved a 20% deposit and now it's paying dividends. For a lot of people it's possible (some it might not be, I understand that) but only if you have dedication and commitment. You can't do it half-heartedly.
Sure there are people that complain because it isn't all handed to them - but the angle the OP was coming from is that if you do all that what you can actually expect to attain is becoming less and less at a given wage point and the (increasing) cost of a house or rent is a big factor in that.
Soldato
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Currently paying £1,070 PCM for a one bed flat by myself, I'd pay far less in mortgage repayments on a similar property but can't stump up the deposit.
This is in Guernsey btw.
This is in Guernsey btw.
Soldato
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Whats the answer then?