" back in the day " we used to be able to get on the property ladder, admittedly somehting grotty, with 3 times combined salary. Now it's 5 , 6 or more. My daughter is paying £1.550 a month in rent for a 2 bed flat in Croydon. How are they expected to save for a deposit when that flat would cost them £400,000 to buy?
Both my daughters are paying back students loans ( we didn't have take those out. Free University, remember that? ) Neither of them expects to get a pension until they are into their 70s. Women's pensions at 60? remember those?
All gone
The playing field has changed dramatically. I'd not swap places and start over again, and yes , I too was paying 17% interest on my mortgage.
I think that's a sweeping generalisation about the young. I know many older people who are completely feckless, and I know many young people who are struggling because they don't have high enough wages to enable them to save and get on the property ladder etc. My younger daughter is one of them. I also remember my mum buying things 'on tick' when I was a young child in the 60s. It's not a new phenomenon.
I also agree with @philippasmith2 re the aid to some countries. I recall a man phoning into the radio talk in I was listening to, and saying that '******** [his country of birth] is a very, very rich country' and they were laughing at us in the UK with the amount we gave, because it never filters down to the people who actually need it. He lives in Britain, and wasn't boasting, or being rude or dismissive in any way - just stating the facts, and couldn't understand how we were so blinded to it.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Crippling interest rates are nothing new - 16 % or so in the mid 1980's. Not much fun for those with mortgages/loans.
No you're right it wasn't, but we managed somehow. We cut our cloth accordingly. Throughout our working lives we made sensible decisions and we progressed slowly. We didn't splash out on luxuries, we saved and saved and paid off our mortgage early.
Now that we're retired we'd quite like to earn some money from our savings. I'm not in the slightest bit embarrassed to say that and I don't feel guilty at all. My OH is constantly checking interest rates and moving money around just to earn a little bit more.
Yes I feel sorry for some folk but I've been there and survived. I'm afraid I see far too many people living beyond their means and then expecting other tax payers to bail them out when the going gets rough.
Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
"Foreign aid" is just the polite name for a slush fund. It covers bribes given to countries/government officials so that they will buy UK products, usually military gear. You will find that countries that buy UK bombs often receive 'aid'.
I remember paying interest at 15% or so on our mortgage. Money for everything else was extremely tight, and we were in junior-level professional jobs (engineers). Goodness knows how people in lower-paid work ever managed. The young people I know in similar sorts of roles (so reasonably well-off compared to some) say that they're hard up but they manage to have holidays and nights out.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
"Foreign aid" is just the polite name for a slush fund. …You will find that countries that buy UK bombs often receive 'aid'.
I’m afraid this is scarcely borne out by the evidence. The top 10 recipients from our foreign aid budget are, in terms of armaments purchases, in 33rd, 34th, 44th, 50th, 92nd, 97th, 104th, 108th, 121st and 139th positions. And, it goes without saying, money given is frequently tied to humanitarian projects and not filtered to some nefarious bank account named ‘Bombs’.
I fear the right wing press is guilty of minimal fact checking when they publish their frothy articles on this topic. Foreign Aid distribution is rigorously and independently checked to arguably one of the highest levels of inspection in the world. Some goes astray but nothing like as much as some have you believe.
"Foreign aid" is just the polite name for a slush fund. …You will find that countries that buy UK bombs often receive 'aid'.
I’m afraid this is scarcely borne out by the evidence. The top 10 recipients from our foreign aid budget are, in terms of armaments purchases, in 33rd, 34th, 44th, 50th, 92nd, 97th, 104th, 108th, 121st and 139th positions. And, it goes without saying, money given is frequently tied to humanitarian projects and not filtered to some nefarious bank account named ‘Bombs’.
I fear the right wing press is guilty of minimal fact checking when they publish their frothy articles on this topic. Foreign Aid distribution is rigorously and independently checked to arguably one of the highest levels of inspection in the world. Some goes astray but nothing like as much as some have you believe.
Posts
My daughter is paying £1.550 a month in rent for a 2 bed flat in Croydon. How are they expected to save for a deposit when that flat would cost them £400,000 to buy?
Both my daughters are paying back students loans ( we didn't have take those out. Free University, remember that? )
Neither of them expects to get a pension until they are into their 70s. Women's pensions at 60? remember those?
All gone
The playing field has changed dramatically. I'd not swap places and start over again, and yes , I too was paying 17% interest on my mortgage.
I also remember my mum buying things 'on tick' when I was a young child in the 60s. It's not a new phenomenon.
I also agree with @philippasmith2 re the aid to some countries. I recall a man phoning into the radio talk in I was listening to, and saying that '******** [his country of birth] is a very, very rich country' and they were laughing at us in the UK with the amount we gave, because it never filters down to the people who actually need it.
He lives in Britain, and wasn't boasting, or being rude or dismissive in any way - just stating the facts, and couldn't understand how we were so blinded to it.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
No you're right it wasn't, but we managed somehow. We cut our cloth accordingly. Throughout our working lives we made sensible decisions and we progressed slowly. We didn't splash out on luxuries, we saved and saved and paid off our mortgage early.
Now that we're retired we'd quite like to earn some money from our savings. I'm not in the slightest bit embarrassed to say that and I don't feel guilty at all. My OH is constantly checking interest rates and moving money around just to earn a little bit more.
Yes I feel sorry for some folk but I've been there and survived. I'm afraid I see far too many people living beyond their means and then expecting other tax payers to bail them out when the going gets rough.
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
Shameful.
It covers bribes given to countries/government officials so that they will buy UK products, usually military gear. You will find that countries that buy UK bombs often receive 'aid'.
In my day, it was Lay-by. Pay now, Buy later.
I fear the right wing press is guilty of minimal fact checking when they publish their frothy articles on this topic. Foreign Aid distribution is rigorously and independently checked to arguably one of the highest levels of inspection in the world. Some goes astray but nothing like as much as some have you believe.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/mar/09/national-disgrace-fury-over-100m-aid-deal-between-uk-and-saudi-arabia
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/02/as-a-system-foreign-aid-is-a-fraud-and-does-nothing-for-inequality