To wonder what people actually expect and why they can’t just be happy to live simply?

Well going by car parks they are.

But people are spending a fortune on things they take for granted- gadgets, tech, cars etc .That's why they have little left over .

No, it’s that housing costs have become completely out of kilter with salaries.

A single person working 40 hours per week on minimum wage isn’t taking out loans for flashy cars or all the other things you mention. They’re struggling to keep up with the rent and the rising cost of food.

And the taxpayer pays this for those who don't work and pays the top up benefits for those who don't earn enough because full time work doesn't always pay enough to live on. Having done all that hard work and paid that tax to support others and the businesses that don't pay adequately, OP then thinks that the working taxpayer doesn't deserve "fun" and extras. SO many working people are really no better off than those on benefits - surely the incentive to work rather than sit around all day is to have some money to spend on a little of whatever makes you happy.

Even when I was a kid in the 70s, working people expected to have some fun with their money. Pub at the weekend, a trip to the seaside, an outing to the cinema, that sort of thing. And by and large, they could afford it and pay their rent, without benefits.

This is true. My dad was in the pub two evenings a week, my mum did many evening classes and socialised that way mostly. Those things are really only for people with quite a bit of extra cash now.

Have you had a blow to the head or something?? 😂

I've a feeling I understand the so-called 'logic' you were grasping for, but it's nothing short of absurd to frame this as being what the left want after the way the Tories systematically went after the poorest people in society while they themselves got increasingly rich.

I’m not. However don’t whine if you’re broke funding it. Holidays aren’t a right .

Except that what you consider to be "wasting money on crap" might be extremely important to someone else. Holidays and travelling are certainly important to me. Who are you to tell anybody how they should live and what they should enjoy?

Completely agree. If life is made up of nothing but work, sleep, eat, what's the point?

This is the utopia that the left, especially the far left are aiming for. Everyone equally miserable and penniless. Crocheting clothes from recycled tea cosies.

Who says you’re just surviving without expensive crap and experiences.

Wow we went on holiday every few years as a child. We were seen as fortunate. My kids had to put up with camping in Cornwall for most of their childhood before we could take them in a a few city breaks. They feel fortunate, it’s laughable that people now think 2 weeks in the sun every year is a right and basic necessity and probably explains why so many people are in debt and looking at miserable retirement.

It’s so entitled.

I think Covid showed us how much fun life was with very little to do - namely not very!

I did find joy in the little things during that time too, but one of the things I found most depressing was having so little to look forward to.

Life is short you shouldn’t just “survive”.

Ok, I’ve never met anyone who changes their kitchen and sofa every two years, but understand you live in an environment where that’s common. I’d agree it is wasteful. I don’t think anyone would disagree. My point is simply that’s never extreme and not most people’s experience.

I had a different experience, I was WC and born in the late 60’s. We went abroad every year from the age of 7, I had beautiful clothes and new toys frequently during the year. We did lots of days out (my DM collected coupons from the local paper for kids travel on the train for free/a pound or whatever).
I also did clubs every weekday evening and three on a Wednesday.
We often went to London by bus or train and ate at Garfunkels and went ice skating.
I grew up on a massive council estate and the clubs were free at school and I was always signing myself up for things such as tennis camps or a kayaking course or getting the bus by myself to the nearby museum to do brass rubbing.

But is it all to do with money? I think there’s seriously something missing if you are equate in more happiness with more money.

Financial security is necessary for happiness but not just loadsamoney.

And you don’t need to be 105 to appreciate the finer things in life!

Oh I think it is. It’s very much excess stuff I see people spending on and then whining that they’re broke.

If my hours of work only cover basic food, a roof and "daily walk", I might as well go on benefits 😂

Holidays are a basic expense in my books, so are my kids birthdays and just .. life. If I can't afford them, I need a different job!

Having a dentist is a luxury in this country, and getting medical treatment is going that way. It's grim for some people.

Yes they can if they’re not taking out ridiculous car finance for shiny high spec cars they don’t need, buying the latest phones, booking foreign holidays every year, spending silly money on take always every week and eating out etc.

Purely because the government uses tax receipts to pay, and if you look at the national debt…

Well sure, but that’s a bit extreme. And not what’s being discussed.

Oh good. Another one of these threads.

Well if you are constantly changing your kitchen, sofa, phone, car, toaster …every couple of years or so when you don’t need to and buying crap that just collects dust, clothes you bin after 2 wears etc yes you are wasting money.

I understand what you mean - to some extent. For many people around the world, this lifestyle would be more than they could ever hope for, and they’d be perfectly content with it. But for those living like this in a wealthy, developed country, it feels more like mere existence than truly living. Working day in and day out just to cover the mortgage, bills, and children (who will probably go on to repeat the same cycle) until the end…it’s understandable to feel dissatisfied. Many of us want more out of life than that.