Are earnings too low / living costs getting too high??

What I find worrying is that people want to spend more than they have/earn. Eventually that bubble may burst as many live beyond their means. As individuals and as a country we need to cut the debt. We seem too think we can have everything now, and not have to save for it. What makes it worse is that there's just so much tech we all want and it changes all the time - its fairly easy for many to spend £600 a year on a new phone for example. Then there's all the little small things that add up, subscriptions etc.

Not sure earnings are too low, it is what it is. With huge automation efforts, the higher the salaries the quicker jobs may disappear is one of my thoughts, either through automation or outsourcing. It's a difficult one. Pay higher salaries and that may affect the cost of living too.

I do think the world will change drastically one day though, the greed of money eventually probably will have to go if we are to survive as a species IMO. We shouldn't today have people living on the streets begging for money, and at the other end of the scale, a sports person or celeb should not be paid millions for really contributing little arguably (sure, generates money but what about someone who may coome up with a cure for cancer, they'll be on £25k a year)......what I mean is, being paid millions for singing a song someone else wrote is just stupid. Some payments are just too excessive. I read about people moaning about the salary of CEO's yet not much said about celebs......
 
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DarrenM343 said:
its fairly easy for many to spend £600 a year on a new phone for example
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Kind of the point of the thread though its all relative - someone earning the kind of money that would have traditionally been able to afford that £600 phone once a year in the kind of job that ostensibly funds that lifestyle, or it could be the equivalent for a £300, £150, etc. phone is increasingly either having to go into debt to do that or make sacrifices elsewhere and so on and a lot of that comes down to a relatively small number of areas - the rising cost of rent/house prices being the most obvious one. Some things are just going up way out of line with income and/or salaries have stagnated.
 
DarrenM343 said:
What I find worrying is that people want to spend more than they have/earn. Eventually that bubble may burst as many live beyond their means. As individuals and as a country we need to cut the debt. We seem too think we can have everything now, and not have to save for it. What makes it worse is that there's just so much tech we all want and it changes all the time - its fairly easy for many to spend £600 a year on a new phone for example. Then there's all the little small things that add up, subscriptions etc.

Not sure earnings are too low, it is what it is. With huge automation efforts, the higher the salaries the quicker jobs may disappear is one of my thoughts, either through automation or outsourcing. It's a difficult one. Pay higher salaries and that may affect the cost of living too.

I do think the world will change drastically one day though, the greed of money eventually probably will have to go if we are to survive as a species IMO. We shouldn't today have people living on the streets begging for money, and at the other end of the scale, a sports person or celeb should not be paid millions for really contributing little arguably (sure, generates money but what about someone who may coome up with a cure for cancer, they'll be on £25k a year)......what I mean is, being paid millions for singing a song someone else wrote is just stupid. Some payments are just too excessive. I read about people moaning about the salary of CEO's yet not much said about celebs......
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It's funny - the more I earn the more modestly I seem to live. When I was a young professional in my early 20s I was in a HUGE amount of debt (20-30k+). But I was living the life of riley - holidays, women, cars, bikes, gadgets....

Now other than a mortgage, I'm debt free, and put most of my money into savings, with the odd frivolous spending. I wish it were the other way round, but then as you get older you have more responsibilities to consider (family etc...).
 
I'm glad I don't want children as it would put a huge amount of strain on my salary/lifestyle.

In not greedy or money driven, but I certainly don't want money worries. And that is what kids would cause. Although I'm not money driven I'm used to a salary where we can go on one of two abroad holidays and several camping ones (ie use all my holiday allowance well) and still buy treats and save.

A child/children would take all that away as I wouldn't then have the excess.

I suppose people get used to what they have and don't like going backwards.

Don't do much have a problem with sports star etc salaries as if people didn't pay too see it, they wouldn't get it. It's completely choice.

What I do think is the big issue from big wages is multiple homes and huge rent. The more people pay for rent the less they have to spend on things that provide people jobs etc. And the more burden place on tax payer later in life.

Was shocked to hear my friends friend are a a couple with kids at 31 have no pension, earn 27k and 6k and no house. What is that going to be like later in life? Money isn't everything, but you need to have some.
 
Can't say that it has for us, as I said, I strangely live more modestly now, but having children just changes your priorities, it doesn't necessarily cripple you financially - more time wise! :D
 
413x said:
I'm glad I don't want children as it would put a huge amount of strain on my salary/lifestyle.

In not greedy or money driven, but I certainly don't want money worries. And that is what kids would cause. Although I'm not money driven I'm used to a salary where we can go on one of two abroad holidays and several camping ones (ie use all my holiday allowance well) and still buy treats and save.

A child/children would take all that away as I wouldn't then have the excess.

I suppose people get used to what they have and don't like going backwards.

Don't do much have a problem with sports star etc salaries as if people didn't pay too see it, they wouldn't get it. It's completely choice.

What I do think is the big issue from big wages is multiple homes and huge rent. The more people pay for rent the less they have to spend on things that provide people jobs etc. And the more burden place on tax payer later in life.

Was shocked to hear my friends friend are a a couple with kids at 31 have no pension, earn 27k and 6k and no house. What is that going to be like later in life? Money isn't everything, but you need to have some.
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Sure it is. You cannot do nothing without it. Health, travelling, heating...
 
This ought to please some on here:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...rd-levy-raises-1-3-billion-more-than-expected

A levy on landlords and second-home owners that roiled sales of property rentals is becoming increasingly important for U.K. government coffers as home sales fall.

The tax raised 1.64 billion pounds ($2.1 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 31, figures published Friday show, a billion pounds more than the Treasury estimated when the levy was announced in late 2015.

[...]

London’s most expensive properties have been hit hardest by the levy, with values in the best districts falling 6.4 percent in the year through March, according to data compiled by broker Knight Frank LLP. The percentage of London homes bought by landlords fell to about 12 percent in the 12 months through February from 20 percent a year earlier, according to broker Hamptons International.
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The charge has been criticized by developers and landlords, who say it discourages people from investing in property and could lead to rent increases for tenants.
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The BTL market is slowly crumbling, completed house sales have dropped 40% on last year, rents are falling in London, average house prices have dropped for the second month in a row.

So landlords whining about this levy is the least of their concerns really, the equity they have tied up in their properties when that disappears they'll be losing far more. And a rush to sell will only compound the matter.
 
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