Did they have it easier than us now?

[[TW]Fox]

On the house front - you wonder how much of an impact on being able to afford a house is caused by people spending money on other things e.g. the latest gadgets, the new car every couple of years, the 3 holidays a year.

This and the fact many people these days try to afford a house alone. Go back 30 years and almost everyone bought a house with a partner and not alone. And then didn't pay £1000 a year for communication products.

 

[dekez]

I think we have it way easier now, we are just so used to having it easy that when any challenge comes along we think we're hard done by.

 

[Admiral Huddy]

This and the fact many people these days try to afford a house alone. Go back 30 years and almost everyone bought a house with a partner and not alone. And then didn't pay £1000 a year for communication products.

Agreed.

People were more content with what they had at the time and consumerism seems to have imploded at quite a frightening level... Must have gadgets, desirable homes, cars, holidays etc have become far more important than anything else. The mortgage/rent and food on the table were priority when i was a lad and i know my parents strived and worked hard for everything .. a treat then really was just that.. Today however is very different, any loss of expendable income seems to worry people that they may not be able to afford their luxuries.

A perfect example of todays living is Radio Rentals. Who "hires" their TVs nowadays? Hardly anyone but I remember that nearly everyone did including my parents because it was the most cost effective way of doing so.


Did the older generations have it easier? Yes and no, they just accepted things they way they were and took nothing for granted but they didn't have the aforementioned distractions that we do today. People often put themselves first before considering starting a family.

 

[do_ron_ron]

I think we have it way easier now, we are just so used to having it easy that when any challenge comes along we think we're hard done by.

People consider having the latest consumer products now as standard. I still do not have a mobile phone .... never saw the need. Ask the young today to do without their mobile phones for three months and you would be met with derision and excuses about how it is 'essential'. It is about perceptions.

People were more content with what they had at the time

Not quite true, they just accepted what they had and hoped for better tommorrow.

I did a similar calculation a while ago and came to the same conclusion.
One thing that you fail to account for is the fact that wage inflation was much higher back then though.
So, while the initial payments at the time the mortgage is taken out may be higher, the longer term amount over several years is less that what we pay now.

The lower (wage) inflation environment means people are encumbered by their mortgages for a longer period these days.

One thing you fail to take into account is the way mortgages were calculated(see my earlier post) It was stated that when they moved to monthly calculations it meant the mortgage was paid off 10 years earlier. Today, with computers, they do it daily.

A perfect example of todays living is Radio Rentals.

A big business then and it was not just TV's but other electrical goods.

There was more of a community feel then because everybody around you was in the same circumstances and people would help each other more than today.

 

[RaMDOM]

I don't think that it was easier or harder back then; everyone in every age has their struggles.

However I think it was a simpler life, and so therefore I think it would have been easier in that respect.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

A perfect example of todays living is Radio Rentals. Who "hires" their TVs nowadays? Hardly anyone but I remember that nearly everyone did including my parents because it was the most cost effective way of doing so.

And the number 1 reason why VHS beat Betamax.
Sony wouldn't allow their video machines to be rented.

 

[Haircut]

One thing you fail to take into account is the way mortgages were calculated(see my earlier post) It was stated that when they moved to monthly calculations it meant the mortgage was paid off 10 years earlier. Today, with computers, they do it daily.

I think you're overestimating how much of an impact that has on a mortgage.

I'll assume the standard is monthly compounding as if a single payment is made every month this will be adequate.
For a 15% mortgage of £40K, this equates to a payment of £512.33 per month.

Even if we assume that things only compound every year, the monthly payment works out to be £515.67 - only a 0.65% increase over the other figure.
Interestingly the difference between the two figures is at a maximum when interest rates are between 6 & 7%, so the higher you go from there you lose out less relatively by annual compounding.

Not sure where paying mortgages off 10 years early came from, but if you have any sources from the time I'd be glad to see them.