AIBU to think lifestyle expectations and spending habits have risen enormously?

20 years ago childcare was completely normal. It was 2006, not 1950. Childcare vouchers for tax relief on childcare had been in place for years by then (thank you Gordon Brown).
If you want a childcare bashing thread start your own.

How many 6 month olds do you think are in full time nursery now?

Very few babies were in full time nursery care at six months or less, or doing 8 till 6. Very very few.

I agree. I saw a thread here recently where someone was trying to make a realistic budget for her becoming a SAHM to see if they could afford it. The comments were ridiculous, things that people considered 'basics' that needed budgeting for included regular trips to hairdressers and nails, an annual holiday abroad, gym membership.

If people can afford that stuff, great, but I found it surprising how many people considered 'basics' things I consider luxury or nice-to-haves.

@thestudioagain, mothers were working when I was young. Are you saying millions of adults have been damaged by this?

Oh yes, I loved that, too, especially the butterscotch one. But I think it was rare and not often in the shop!
Happy days!

Actually, yes, that reminded me of all the various gadgets owned by us and many friends so Gameboy, Nintendo, first Playstation. My brother and friends wanted Nike Airs and labelled clothes. I went to the cinema regularly with my parents and friends. We would shop at John Lewis didn't think it was particularly 'wealthy'. Presents between my parents often bought at department stores. We weren't incredibly wealthy, lived in London suburbs and it was part of life.

I have massively downsized my life in order to give up work and have picnics in the countryside.
It's possible and I recommend it.

None of this is new.

The acquisitive capitalist society started in Georgian times. People wanting what the aristocracy had and businesses exploiting that fact. The Victorians were past masters at making cheapo copies of what the nobs had so that the middle classes could show off.

Dirt cheap crap imports have made acquiring crap easier.

The internet which simultaneously pushes the shite and widely makes fun of the gullible twats buying into it is all that's changed.

OP as you’re in your late 30s I guess it’s the 90s you’re comparing today to. Have you done a similar comparison between the 1960s and 1990s? Or the 1930s to 1960s? I’d guess you’d see similar disparities there too.

almost nobody had a brand new car. People went abroad once a year if they were lucky. Eating out was very rare, maybe a handfull of times per. Getting a new kitchen was rare as was buying most household items. Kids often got cast off clothes from their siblings. Coffee & wine were basic.

I’m in my early 30s and the above is all very normal amongst my friends. Only one I know with a new car gets them through work, and any major house work has been funded by inheritance. The friends who travel a lot tend to be the ones who don’t have kids or mortgages yet so are prioritising their spending there which is fair enough,

Again, babies’needs dont change with the economy. They still need what they need. We have to find another way around this that doesn’t sacrifice their security and development. Political ways, primarily.

Yes, heartbreaking for the minority affected, but it was a minority, just a few hundred thousand homes out of many million homeowners, over the decade. Yes, each repossession was a travesty for the family affected, but the vast majority of homeowners didn't get repossessed. You have to look at National things on a National scale, not an individual scale.

I agree, people DID spend in the 80s and 90s. Me and OH went on lots of expensive holidays from the mid 80s to the mid 90s, i.e. Egypt, California, Kenya, etc., I bought a brand new car in cash in 991. We had mobile phones in the mid 90s, together with a video camcorder, I was buying home computers right from my first ZX80 in 1980, through to Commodores, etc and then PCs, bought my first "touchscreen" laptop around 1990. My brother was very similar, lots of "gadgets", a few very expensive electronic organs, etc. Work colleagues, friends and family were similar, lots of spending going on. I think you have to go back A LOT further to the times of no one spending anything except on necessities, i.e. maybe post war years through to the 60s and 70s. There was A LOT of optimism in the 80s and 90s, and with that, came people spending money. Some of that was a "reward" for coming out of the dark years of the 50s to 70s.

I was a manager of a building society arrears department at the time, you are making very light of what was a heartbreaking time for many people who lost their homes. Many more were under incredible financial pressures which led to pressure in all other areas of their lives.

@thestudioI think it’s outdated to think a parent has to give up work to have a dc and then assume
years later they will get a job.

🤣

I dunno, I’m getting the Sunday afternoon blues about working again tomorrow and I’m thinking I could be pretty damn happy having picnics in the countryside if it meant I could go to work less.

Then I am wondering whether some are in the group of people in their age group who have received significant inheritances [or know that they will in due course]? Most of my peer group are only just beginning to inherit from parents - nothing came from Grandparents as they weren’t the generation that owned their homes (and none of them come from generationally wealthy families).

Many of my friends parents are in their 80’s, so the past property booms mean they they are sitting on valuable homes and, due to generous pensions/work benefits, also have healthy savings pots - but these haven’t yet trickled down to us yet. But that may not be the case for some of your friends, if grandparents have looked after them in their wills?? I think if you have inheritance (or realistic expectations of significant sums coming your way in due course) it can shape the way you spend (or choose not to focus on saving) and the life choices you make now?

What do you mean 'outdated'? Many many more babies are in long-hours or full-time nursery than they were 20 years ago - and child development and attachment processes don't change according to consumer habits.

A kitchen. I have the money in an account earning 5%, while the kitchen is on 0% finance.
My point was just that the stats regarding debt don’t show the full picture. I know a lot of people who use debt strategically while their money is earning interest elsewhere.

Is that repeatable debt (shopping clothes etc) or one off?