We very soon won’t be able to afford our life

[WhatsHoppening]

We have a high mortgage, high childcare costs which thankfully will reduce but still wraparound. With our mortgage term ending in December and the increase in gas and electric, food costs, petrol and the increase in mortgage when we remortgage on a higher rate we will not be able to afford to live. Our outgoings will outstrip our income. We are both professionals, I work part time (4 days) and there’s no hope of DC getting into after school club on my day off (and realistically after childcare I bring in less than £100 pcm per extra day worked after childcare). I feel sick. I keep getting told by my parents and grandparents we will get through it but how?! My grandparents were post war so it was hard but my gran could be a SAHM for 3 kids on a my grandads teacher salary. This is a pipe dream for us now and DH earns more than a NQ teacher. Just a rant- lots have it much worse. But I’m scared for the future.

We were only just getting by on 2 part time wages - having 3-4 days a week with zero in account. Struggling with SEN dc.

we’ve made decision that we both gave up, both are now full time carers and get all our rent paid so with that paid but the increase with gas and electric we are still in a similar situation but if we had stayed as we were we would have been worse off

£100 extra per month and shes not choosing ,but can't get after school child care. Please read and make sure you understand, the poor woman is really worried and its entirely justified.

Me and my DH live in a tiny cottage, both earning with £55k pa combined. Mortgage but it's £80k. Short term though as I want it off my back asap. Fixed energy until nov 2023. And we are cutting back. I have a horse that's costs a mortgage but he's my therapy and I'll go without before I get rid of him and I have other animals too and it isn't their fault (cat food prices have gone silly, why??) I insure them all because I'd be stupid not to, I insure us for the same reason.

How the hell does anyone else cope? This is terrible.

I am sure others have said this. But please call stepchange. Do a budget. They will help you see ways of managing this and hopefully be able to reassure you. 08001381111

Previous generations just don't get it and will inevitably say something beginning with "ah, but interest rates...". Part of the problem IMHO is adjusting to a lower standard of living than your parents' generation, who often don't help the matter by making you feel as if you're not working hard enough
I don’t think this is true, I remember when my DC were babies and toddlers and our mortgage being 60% of take home pay because of the interest rate rises and thinking this can’t be right, how are come older/middle aged people have it so good? Then gradually as the DC got older and careers progressed I became the better off middle aged person.
My young neighbours who I’ve known for 10 years talked about how stitched up they were when they had their babies but then I’ve watched them gradually get a bit better off and now they’ve moved to a bigger home.

I don’t mean to sound unsympathetic as very few people would have predicted inflation at this rate pre-pandemic but even with that how had you ‘not considered this would happen’ for mortgage rates?

Mortgage affordability calculators, financial advisors etc. are always banging on about making sure you can afford an increase. The rate has increased a small amount in reality and remains at such low historical levels, so mostly this is cost of living. That shows that along with your parents helping with a deposit you’ve really over stretched yourself on the house and have very little wiggle room.

My advice when you re-mortgage is look to extend the term or go interest only for a whole. The cost of living crisis is only just hitting and interests rates will go higher.

I hope you find a solution.

Well I don't have a horse! 🤣🤣🤣 But I totally understand how much pleasure animals can give you.

Ways to cope...

• I've kept up with available promotions at work
• no gym membership
• no Sky
• eat vegetarian (shop around for best deals)
• no fancy cars (and only one)
• no phone contracts

Keep life simple, you can still get a lot of pleasure out of it without material things. For example, I love reading and borrow e-books from the library.

"Mortgage affordability calculators, financial advisors etc. are always banging on about making sure you can afford an increase. The rate has increased a small amount in reality and remains at such low historical levels, so mostly this is cost of living. That shows that along with your parents helping with a deposit you’ve really over stretched yourself on the house and have very little wiggle room. "

This is true. We've had it too good for too long. If your interest rate doubled to say 4% or even 6% people couldn't do it. It was double figures in the 80s

That's the truth and it's coming again. Markets work in cycles. You need to be on the right part of the wheel to survive

In reality, most people buying their first home don't have the luxury of buying one more affordable. They need to put everything on the line just to buy at all. Its not a matter of dropping a few demands and saving 50 grand or whatever...

Do not go interest only OP...

@collieresponder88

unfortunately not everyone is in the same boat
I’m not and plenty of people that I know won’t be affected by the cost living

I know that I won’t be affected .

I’ve been through high interest rates when mortgages doubled over night
My DH went bankrupt in the mid 90s and lost two houses

I’m not clever by a long way but I could see that at some point in the future the rates would rise and when they did they would rise quickly which they have

didn’t matter how long it would take it would happen at some point .

ok it took Covid and the war in Ukraine to speed it up
but it was going to happen at some point

The stamp duty holiday just encourage people to buy what they couldn’t really afford as well .

Crumbs.

Are you in the same profession as the OP?

@RosesAndHellebores I agree. I've never heard of a lecturer at 3rd Level without a pHD.

@AchatAVendre

I’ve been a first time buyer in recent memory and when interest rates were 6%, and then there was the global economic recession.

House prices are expensive in many areas but to say people don’t have the luxury of buying an affordable house is not true. It is a choice, and a naive one to think rates can’t go up as well as down.

If someone literally can’t afford their repayments and monthly bills as the OP is describing here, with no option to increase earnings, what’s the logic of not going interest only? I’d personally extend the term but don’t know OPs details.

If you have the space take in a lodger
in my city professional people are screaming out for a room share / to be a lodger

you would literally have your choice of people in my city in the south west

people are paying £500 -£600 a month as a lodger where I live - for just a room .

if you have the space then consider it

If you work in a university you probably have plenty of student for know of someone who is looking for a room in September

I just saw a post on Reddit from someone looking for a room in September in my city as they are doing a PHD and is willing to pay up to £750 a month

beggars can’t be choosers

Yes the academics on here will indeed shoot you down because the misunderstanding of pedagogy here is breathtaking. The PhD HAS to be in a niche to make its original contribution to scientific knowledge. The teaching we do at undergrad and postgrad is in our broader field, and occasionally our own sub field (if we are offering a specialist optional module) and it’s our years of training, and producing that original contribution to knowledge that allows us to do that research-led teaching in an authentic, inspiring and substantially value adding way.

@BoJoGoGo completely agree.

It's pointless to pit generations against each other because people only see the bits they want to see.

I see my adult children's frustration at not being able to get on the housing ladder because they can't get the deposit, but in many respects they have a quality of life and experiences which completely surpass what dh and I had at their age. My kids all went abroad from a young age, the go to festivals, gigs, shows, meals out. And good on them! If my dd and her partner have a baby, she'll take up to 12 months maternity leave and even has the option to transfer some of the leave to her DP. Then when she returns to work it'll only be a couple of years until the free hours allocation kicks in.

When I think of the early 90s, going back to work with a 12 week old breastfed ds, our mortgage rate hiking up into double figures and childcare being exorbitant - we certainly didn't feel lucky as homeowners and parents. I used to think my own mother had it easy as a SAHM when they could live on one income. But look at all the crap that came with that! She was as bright and well educated as my father but regulated childcare was virtually non existent in the 1960s so she had no choice really. Now that I'm in my late fifties with a career under my belt I think overall dh and I have had the better deal - it's definitely easier to have a more equal marriage these days.

I think housing is the one main area which needs reform and I wish things weren't so hard for todays generation of young adults. But it's important to keep things in perspective. Every generation has its own challenges. And like I say with the SAHM issue- sometimes the things people hark back to as a golden era probably felt the opposite to many of those involved. I used to think my own parents were lucky but I'd rather live in an era when women have more opportunities.

Yes the academics on here will indeed shoot you down because the misunderstanding of pedagogy here is breathtaking. The PhD HAS to be in a niche to make its original contribution to scientific knowledge. The teaching we do at undergrad and postgrad is in our broader field, and occasionally our own sub field (if we are offering a specialist optional module) and it’s our years of training, and producing that original contribution to knowledge that allows us to do that research-led teaching in an authentic, inspiring and substantially value adding way.

you forgot 'condescending' and 'arrogant'

@Bertieboo82 , I agree - something isn't adding up here.
If you would get £250 per month extra for working 5 days rather than 4 days that means your daily rate is about £62 a day.

That would only equate to a gross full time salary of about £18500 - an hourly rate of c£10 an hour. For a lecturer with years of experience?

Again - well done for gettting your position - but which univesity is paying barely above minimum wage?

You have either made up some crap on here or are bullshitting the figures to make us agree that working that extra day is not worth it.

university

Yes the academics on here will indeed shoot you down because the misunderstanding of pedagogy here is breathtaking. The PhD HAS to be in a niche to make its original contribution to scientific knowledge. "The teaching we do at undergrad and postgrad is in our broader field, and occasionally our own sub field (if we are offering a specialist optional module) and it’s our years of training, and producing that original contribution to knowledge that allows us to do that research-led teaching in an authentic, inspiring and substantially value adding way."

Wow. Just wow. My son got a PhD in chemistry and landed a job in PA, US. His student loan with interest is now hitting £70k and he's researching climate change for the benefit of this earth but despite his brilliant brain he's got this massive debt. This world is shit unless you're rich already.

The OP currently works 22 hours a week.

My childhood to a tee (but without holidays). And no snacks between meals

< old gimmer alert >

but that was then and this is now

No. The op has said she works 4 days per week which is 28 hours contractually. If she has been lecturing g for two years she will be on about sp 35 of the 50 point academic scale. That's about 36,000 x 0.8 divided by 260 for the daily rate.

It really doesn't compute.

My apologies, it's 260 x 0.8.