Can’t believe how much money my parents have amassed

[Tallular819]

My parents started out with nothing, not a penny from their families. My mum was a dinner lady, Dad was a secondary school teacher.

They paid off their mortgage in their 40s. As children we had a holiday abroad every year and multiple uk holidays throughout the year.

They had a lease car which would be replaced every 3 years with a new one.

They paid for mine and my sisters weddings and house deposits.

They’ve travelled all over the world in their retirement and I’ve just found out they have £200k in savings.

WTF?! DH and I have comparable careers, we run 1 old banger of a car, we have 1 uk holiday per year, we’ve stopped at 1 child, we’re on target to pay off our mortgage when we reach retirement, we have a grand total of £4k in savings. We don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t buy expensive clothes.

Its just hit me how vastly different our financial situations are. I didn’t appreciate just how different the cost of living is today compared to 40 years ago.

That's not strictly why house prices have risen so hugely, given our house price bubble is far bigger than comparative economies in Europe, where women also work. Probably hasn't helped but there are other factors, including the selling off of all the social housing in the 80s/90s and the reliance on housing by all governments since then to keep the econom afloat.

It IS pointless to say that they lived more frugally, because living frugally like that isn't really an option now. It's not cheaper to make your own clothes - it's cheaper to buy from Shein, where they fall apart after three wears. It's cheaper to buy McDonalds than cook from scratch. Basics - like food - are way more expensive than they were in our parents' day. Like I said, that genie is out of the bottle, and giving up Costa or avocado toast isn't going to make the slightest bit of difference in the scheme of things.

Bought council houses?
If so, I posted about this last week. Our council encourage people out of 3 bed into nice village, traffic free bungalows. They pay all expenses and give a cash incentive too.
You have to take an interest to make a change. Find out your council policy, if they don't do this, ask why not. Send an email to your MP.

Its just hit me how vastly different our financial situations are.

You're not comparing like for like though are you?

Come back in 25/30 years and it would be a better comparison.

So common.

However, don't denigrate park homes. I have a couple of friends who have chosen to live in them. They wouldn't be able to afford a bungalow (in our area at least £300K) whereas park homes go for about £180,000-£200,000) & there is the security of having neighbours of similar age, the 'old fashioned' neighbourhood ideals - they leave their backdoors open in warm weather, neighbours will bring washing off the line if it starts raining, take deliveries & will knock on the door to see if they OK if they haven't seen them for a while, curtains still closed during the day etc.

Having said that, a friend & her DH got a bit..ummm.. shall we say 'fruity' in their living room, kept curtains closed. Had neighbour knocking on door at about 2pm to ask if all OK. Her DH answered door in his dressing gown & rather flushed. He said everything VERY OK thank you! She suspected the whole park got to know that she & her DH were 'at it' at 2pm. I said 'good for them' & neighbours probably jealous that they not getting any. 😂

Our wealth increased substantially just in the last 5-10 years of working, it's not wise to compare wealth at 30 to wealth at 60-70.

We had a similar revelation with my grandparents several years ago when they mentioned inheritance tax. We couldn't beleive how much money they've got! Luck of the housing market almost entirely, and a little bit of inheritance. Perhaps they were frugal in their youth, I have no idea, but they certainly haven't been frugal in my lifetime (nor have they worked in my lifetime). Such luck shall probably never be replicated, can't imagine housing markets will explode like that ever again. But who knows.

A few of them have, not all. Why are you so determined to find someone else to blame and be nasty to? Not everything in life is someone's fault. Stuff happens, and the larger Boomer generation happened for specific reasons.

Why don't you blame the Boomer's parents, who went through the horrors of the war and returned desperate to return to normal life, have sex, raise families etc? The Boomers didn't choose when they were born, any more than you did, and they certainly didn't have a privileged childhood . Shall I blame your generation for the war in Ukraine, or any other current events? No, it's utter nonsense.

One of the things you learn as you go through life is how little you know and how little influence you have. We all do, if we are wise. Usually the best you can do is try to live a good life and look after those around you as best you can.

Finally, the vast majority of us didn't have the sniff of a Council House even as tenants, never mind as lucky buyers, but we're not bitter about it. Life is a lottery.

25k income for a couple in 87 and buying houses for 42k!! ha ha ha!

In London! My dad was earning less than 5k. My mum earning nothing.

I was earning about £5,500 in West Yorkshire in 1987.

I don’t think people are making that comparison. I’m 35 and my parents are late 60s. There is no way for me to reach their level of wealth through working in a similar profession for the next 30 years. I believe I am much richer, due to having a much more interesting and fulfilling life than theirs, but that’s another point entirely.

The figures are based on median incomes. The fact was that houses were selling for < 2 years income.

I was earning £14,500 as a junior secretary in London in 1987/88?

Bought my first home in the East London suburbs in 88 for £52,000 (investment bank so mortgage deals)

You are misunderstanding my point- I’m not suggesting it’s an option now, but it’s a reason.

and yes there are a number of reasons why housing prices have risen drastically. The British obsession with home ownership and the fact that the availability of jobs is concentrated in the south east means everyone needs to live in same small patch of country.

But the biggest thing is access to credit. Mortgages used to be 2.5 times household income, then it became 4x and 5x. factor in the fact that usually two people work in the average family has led to the increase in amount of money people can access to buy a home.

my point is it’s inflation.

and as you point out, it’s not cheaper to buy from shein because it falls apart after a couple of wears. People used to have stuff for years, so it was cheaper in long run.

Look at fashion- before social media, trends moved much more slowly. You had spring/summer and autumn/winter. Now there’s a new trend on instagram/tik tok every other week. So we need to spend more to stay on trend.

id also say that as a confirmed beauty treatment/flat white/ avocado toast fan, those purchases massively add up. During lockdown, I saved a fortune despite my mortgage/travel and food bills being constant.

the only thing I stopped was the meals out, coffees, and random spends…I saved thousands

Junior secretary avg salary now is £40k, so a house would cost £130k in East London suburbs if ratio was the same.

I was on £4,400 in 1988/89.

but they'd also be building up two defined benefit pensions that those in many other jobs wouldn't have access to,,,

In those days a mortgage was for 25 years. Banks didn't offer longer than that.

I don't think you've been on mn long if you think I'm being nasty. Successive governments since Thatcher have not adequately addressed the issue of future affordable housing. I spent my 20s renting awful hovels from people who had bought cheap housing stock to rent out and were happy charging whatever they could get away with without once repairing a leaky roof or tap. Things might "happen" but you're not a passive passenger in life and you can change things. I don't know what wars have to do with it tbh, you kinda lost me there.

I just absolutely hate the villification of millennials and zoomers for avocado toasts and whatever else it signifies because you can work your ass off and be a renter forever, so why not at least enjoy life along the ride.

Edit: typos

If you are replying to the OP I think you’re being rather unfairly critical. She’s not saying her parents should be gifting her money, she’s purely commenting on how hard it would be for today’s generations who have similar jobs to accumulate the same amount of wealth as her parents have done. I was born in the ‘60’s and I think my generation had the best of it. Free university education, affordable house prices, and final salary pensions. I look at my children and wish they had the same, not £60k of university debt that never decreases and two bedroom flats that cost ten times their salary.

Sounds doable, tbh. Surprisingly. Just right moved East London, minimum 2 bed and quite a few came up, comparable to my first home (some better, actually: mine was a one bed, some 2 beds are under £130k.)

I have a different take, but I remember my parents celebrating paying off their mortgage in their 50’s. They are now approaching 80. My dad was a low paid carpenter and my mum was a house wife. They even bought a second house at one point but sold it on. However, they divorced when I was much younger and dad moved out and left the house plus half joint account money to mum. About 7 years ago, I was helping dad move into assisted living and he only had £17,000 as his life savings. I thought that was really shocking and quite sad. He had worked all his life, however, renting at today’s prices and paying extortionate bills really took its toll on his bank account. He’s an incredibly frugal man who never buys clothes and buys very simple food. Doesn’t drink or smoke. I do think that the realisation of today’s prices hit dad really hard and he can’t quite believe it after working so physically hard all his life.

That's ok, that's what medians and averages are for. The average Yorkshire house price was £26k, which was 40% below national average. https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/uk-news/house-prices-rise-to-record-levels-1836449#:~:text=The%20average%20house%20price%20in%20Yorkshire%20is,time%20buyers%20could%20get%20onto%20the%20property

One factor often overlooked is the relative size of the UK compared to other similar countries and their land masses - Germany, France, Spain to name but three. We are a comparatively small island, and property is expensive because land is expensive. That together with the increase in the population in recent years has lead to more pressure on property prices.

Also, the house builders have a lack of capacity, and people are not taking up the trades. I remember pre-Covid it was said that the average age of a worker in the construction industry was 55, and I can't imagine that has got better. We all know the costs of property renovations and extensions have gone through the roof in recent years. It's all very difficult.

Absolute nonsense! You haven't filtered out shared ownership or cash buyer only hovels.

My inlaws are similar: House bought for under £10k many years ago, easily paid off, now worth over a million. Have spent decades having a lovely life with lots of international trips and holidays, early retirement, etc because pension schemes were much more generous than the current ones. Mind boggling.