JohnnyB Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 I got married at the same age as this bleeding heart.Had been saving for 3 yrs before this. Saved for another 5 after the wedding with the missus. 8 years in all. Got the deposit for the house. Wasn't easy and gave up what many would call "luxuries". Never owned a games machine in spite of the temptation to buy. One look at the prices of the games was enough to scare me. One 30 quid game per month x 8 yrs at todays prices will set you back £2880. No sympathy at all. :angry: Yeah but a lot of games are so damn long these days, with storylines that span entire evolutionary cycles, so you don't need to get one every month. Plus multiplayer can keep you occupied endlessly, particularly with Xbox live. I'm an avid gameplayer, having always had at least one console since the Commodore 64, and i'd go without a lot of other things before I decide to go consoleless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dissident junk Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 I'm not much younger than him and have the same gripes with HE costs and debts, jobs etc..... but i'm not thinking of cracking.Mind you, I only owe my student loan and didn't pay a fortune for a one bed flat, so I guess I have reason to be optimistic. I think the fissures start to surface when you've lived under quite financially-tight circumstances for a decade or more. I graduated ten years ago, and for the first seven years, I was completely fine and optimistic, and didn't worry unduly about pensions or savings (I didn't earn enough). Now I am over 30, I do get very nervous about my pension and our savings. We've lived a bit hand to mouth for the last few years to save up a deposit for a house; now we are realising that that money maybe should be ringfenced as I have no pension provision. This, of course, means we have to start saving for a deposit all over again. Then there is also the issue of saving for a calamity cushion, to have something in case of an emergency. We also got to the point where we wanted some sort of quality of life as well - and I am not talking playstations and designer gear here, more not having to spend the entire weekend washing, ironing, cleaning, tidying, paying bills, and pushing a trolley round a supermarket. We found we couldn't really do that living and working full-time in London as a married couple, both of us leaving the house at 7am and not coming home til 7.30pm. I started to want some order, some properly cooked meals, a decent sleep and a chance to relax. For a young couple trying to get finances sorted, and set up a reasonable living system, London is a hard place to be. Add more financial pressure to the mix, and it will start to really strain some young couples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyB Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 I think the fissures start to surface when you've lived under quite financially-tight circumstances for a decade or more. I graduated ten years ago, and for the first seven years, I was completely fine and optimistic, and didn't worry unduly about pensions or savings (I didn't earn enough). Now I am over 30, I do get very nervous about my pension and our savings. We've lived a bit hand to mouth for the last few years to save up a deposit for a house; now we are realising that that money maybe should be ringfenced as I have no pension provision. This, of course, means we have to start saving for a deposit all over again. Then there is also the issue of saving for a calamity cushion, to have something in case of an emergency.We also got to the point where we wanted some sort of quality of life as well - and I am not talking playstations and designer gear here, more not having to spend the entire weekend washing, ironing, cleaning, tidying, paying bills, and pushing a trolley round a supermarket. We found we couldn't really do that living and working full-time in London as a married couple, both of us leaving the house at 7am and not coming home til 7.30pm. I started to want some order, some properly cooked meals, a decent sleep and a chance to relax. For a young couple trying to get finances sorted, and set up a reasonable living system, London is a hard place to be. Add more financial pressure to the mix, and it will start to really strain some young couples. I dunno, me and my Fiancée both manage okay living in London, and we don't get home until near 7pm but still manage to easily keep up with cleaning, ironing etc... and have time to relax and save. I think getting the pension sorted early is an important factor, I set mine up as soon as I started my job so I never missed the cash that was going into it but I know its tough for a lot of my friends to have £100 a month cut from their pay in order to save for retirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granite Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 (edited) As long as you're not obsessive about it, computer games are a very cost effective way of spending your leisure time, in third place behind browing the internet and watching TV (which I've come to avoid, as it's now more of a pointless waste of leisure time than something I enjoy). A long single player game will last 40-50 hours, and can usually be replayed with different options. Multiplayer games have virtually unlimited play time if you like them (especially if you've got friends who play as well). MMO games like World of Warcraft, well, they're extreme cases, but there's a reason why news outlets keep going on about MMO "addiction", and they're only around £10 a month, cheaper than a single evening in the pub, and some people are still playing the same game after eight years. Though I have to conceed, buying a PS3 is about the most expensive route you can take for playing computer games. Using a PC or the cheaper 360 or Wii is much more sensible if you're trying to save. A handheld's often even better, as you won't suffer from the idiotic notion the you have to have a 42" plasma screen to get the "Full effect". Edited June 30, 2008 by Granite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashedOutAndBurned Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7450384.stmOMG, where to start... . Some choice quotes here... rather than renting which, at the time, seemed like throwing money down the drain I had banked with the Halifax for years but they wanted a £40,000 deposit. How can anyone in our position save that? We bought a one-bedroom ground floor flat in Bromley for £177,000 in December. Our budget was £180,000. It was a bit of a dump but friends helped to do up the bathroom and we borrowed a bit of money to do it up. It sounds silly but I have really wanted a PlayStation for six months but I cannot go out and buy one. He's done what the government and banks and financial industry advisory PR-push told him to do. And by listening to people that everyone knows are ******* he's helped them pump the market higher so the same ******* can hoover it all up in a bargain sale. But it ain't him to blame, he's only a pawn in their game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 4 Horsemen Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 What about10 years of low inflation 10 years of low interest rates low unemployment stability and prudence What other incentives did they expect? Ungrateful whingers. [/sarcasm] Shared equity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juvenal Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Yeah but a lot of games are so damn long these days, with storylines that span entire evolutionary cycles, so you don't need to get one every month. Plus multiplayer can keep you occupied endlessly, particularly with Xbox live. I'm an avid gameplayer, having always had at least one console since the Commodore 64, and i'd go without a lot of other things before I decide to go consoleless. Johnny boy, you need to get out more. The adult world looks at those games machines as being for fourteen year olds. Sorry to be tough on you, but it's for your own good... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whoslaughing? Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Is it possible that one of the HPC Guru's could arrange that all these sob stories could have a forum of their own? There will be so many over the coming months... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juvenal Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Is it possible that one of the HPC Guru's could arrange that all these sob stories could have a forum of their own? There will be so many over the coming months... Can I suggest it be named 'The Agony Column'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whoslaughing? Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Can I suggest it be named 'The Agony Column'? Only if it reads... "financially f*****? The Agony Column ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impatient_mug Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 (edited) Johnny boy, you need to get out more. The adult world looks at those games machines as being for fourteen year olds. Sorry to be tough on you, but it's for your own good... For better or for worse, that's changing. A quick Google search threw up this, one of many results. There's a great number of games a 14 year old can't legally buy, not that the BBFC ratings have ever had any impact on access to content since it started. Me? I've got a 360, still waiting for a compelling reason to get the PS3 - it'll probably be Blu-ray now HD-DVD is dead. Going back to the guy in question - if it takes him 6 months to save up for a £300 toy, then maybe he was never in a position to buy whatever the price?? Edit Reason: Because I can. Edited June 30, 2008 by impatient_mug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giordano Bruno Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 What about10 years of low inflation 10 years of low interest rates low unemployment stability and prudence What other incentives did they expect? Incentives for first-time buyers is not what we want. The incentives listed by redwing fed the boom that set these people, and a lot of others, up for a fall.Actually, I don't think we had stability and prudence, or the country would not be in this mess that it is in. The boom was not stable, it was a house of cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrcutegurlzz Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 The quote about not being arsed to save for a deposit...Jeez. I really really struggle to work out what is going through these people's minds when they borrow such a riduiculous amount of money on a 1 bed flat. As you say, has he any financial sense at all? How on earth did he get a job? Actually, i can understand that. When you dont have a deposit, you dont have the perspective that having a deposit provides. When I first went to my bank I pretty much demanded a 100% mortgage, and I got it. I got £180k in principle but the bank manager said I could have more if I wanted. And that was what I wanted to hear. At that stage I didn't realise that it was possible to save, it just seemed that the monthly repayments were the same as paying rent. It wasn't until I got home and looked at the fine print in that I was going to pay the bank £1.99 for every £1.00 I borrowed that I decided that I did not want to by a financial product that cost nearly £400k which simply entitled me to spend £200k on a place to live. Point is, at the time I felt it was the duty of the bank to make money available if I felt I could handle it as they were essentially controlling my ability to own my home. I still feel the same really. However, what is more apparent is that it is not directly the banks fault that house prices are so high. Point is, rent is dead money, but only when we assume that house prices are affordable. However, anyone that willingly aquires a flat is either too inexperience to know what a sh*t hole is, or just plain retarded. Especially for that money. Flats should be about £10-20k which would mean that people would be able to buy easily and move easily. Its only greed that distorts reality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gusset Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 I dunno, me and my Fiancée both manage okay living in London, and we don't get home until near 7pm but still manage to easily keep up with cleaning, ironing etc... and have time to relax and save. I think getting the pension sorted early is an important factor, I set mine up as soon as I started my job so I never missed the cash that was going into it but I know its tough for a lot of my friends to have £100 a month cut from their pay in order to save for retirement. £100 into their pensions? If they are 22 and on £25k, they'll be retiring on less than the minimum wage. I hope they plan massively increased future contributions. Send them to the excellent Hargreaves Landsdown pension calculator -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I don't have a signature yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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