Is Anyone preparing/hunkering down for 'after the budget'

[IsUnemploymentRising]

The news is today seems to be full of headlines such as unemployment is going up, housing markets are softening, budget is make or break.

Lots of people such as Andrew Bailey quoting things like markets could crash due to debt and AI bubble etc

I just don't see how RR or anyone else for that matter can get us out of our current situation without considerable cutbacks and pain.

Raise Taxes - lots of people think this is maxed out now with rich leaving and businesses already hit (thus rising unemployment)

Cut Benefits - will they try this again. If so what will all the people on benefits actually do to live. Will they all get jobs. Is there jobs?

So are you hunkering down?

Me personally I wish they would just get on with it. I hope to move house in next few years and whilst I'm still committed to it I can see another frozen housing market coming where only forced sellers sell and everyone else sits tight.

I'm retired (although not getting any pensions yet as too young) and definately worried about pension values (ie stock markets, bonds etc). It's very difficult to plan when your pensions are dependant on things outwith your control. (not applicable to those with final salary/defined benefit schemes of course)

State pension is a good 14 years away for me (I'm fully paid up) but I worry it will be eroded when I have built it into my calculations for retirement not to mention the freezing of tax brackets which means we are all getting taxed more each year by stealth.

I'm probably in a better position that many to weather the storm as no mortgage or debts and holding cash etc but even then I worry about our currency being worth nothing soon if they go down the route of printing money again.

Am I being overly pesimestic. I mean how are they actually going to get us out of this. For those on benefits (apart from worrying, being scared etc) how will you actually cope if your benefits are cut.

I've made a lot of changes this year, paid off my house. Drawn down from a couple of private pensions and I did all foreseeable maintenance on the house.

I overhauled my personal budget and trimmed the fat so that I can retire early, state pension won't kick in for 11 years.

I might look for a small job next year but I'd rather economise if possible. I'm planning to downsize and move further north in 4.5 years so I'm watching the housing market with interest.

I think basically I've steadied my ship and can, very carefully, weather any upcoming turbulence. But I'm making no unnecessary purchases and living carefully in order not to work. Because I'm pig sick of it.

that's just silly. You have no idea how much of my own income I saved from working and how much I got from an inheritance.

Retiring in your fifties is actually becoming increasingly common. My street is full of retired 50 somethings.

I don't actually pay a penny in tax at the moment (except council tax and vat of course). My personal allowance covers interest from savings and there was no tax on my inheritance although we did pay over 30K to the firm of solicitors who handled the estate.

I'm still cutting out any unnecessary expenditure though and trying to make the best of my assets. Vets bills have cost a fortune this year and I've had to pay for some private GP costs as my NHS one is difficult to access.

It's not a race to the bottom. We are all going to be affected by the budget even if it just our pensions going down with the markets reacting.

I really didn't. In fact I still don't. I mean I get it was something unpleasant or sarcastic but I didn't get the meaning. Probably just as well.

The unearned wealth you’ve inherited, your dad may have earned it but you did not, therefore you haven’t paid tax on it. I’m going to hazard a guess your parents owned a property, so there’s more unearned wealth there, it’s really not hard to understand.

I cant even think about it. I live pay day to pay day, sometimes withdrawing part of my wages earlier than due. I have worked for the NHS for more than 20 years, am on the lowest paid manager band, studying for a diploma, a single parent of a primary aged child, in a HA house and on UC and only just about making it through each month. At breaking point.

Everybody should be at least concerned about the state of the country working or not.

I promise you lots of people in their fifties are retired. I am surrounded by them. Most of whom seem to have much more money than I do based on their size of house and new cars.

I don't think I retired too young and I'm not sure why you think it isn't going to work out. If I am forced to look for a job (and yes it could happen) then the country will be in a very, very bad way. I hope that does not happen for all our sakes.

I promise you lots of people in their fifties are retired.

That doesn't mean it's going to work out for you all. It might be that lots of people have made the wrong decision and will need to return to work.

You literally said in one of your posts you were able to retire early because of your inheritance….

Yet you seem weirdly proud of the fact you pay no income tax, whilst calling for benefits to be cut and questioning how much funding disabled children get. Really??

To be honest because I am surrounded by people who have retired in their fifties and have bigger houses/newer cars than me I didn't actual consider myself to be that privileged. I can only retire because I don't go on holiday and spend very little on clothes etc.

I have lots of empathy for disabled children. It must be such a worry. What I think though does not matter. It's what the goverment thinks that matters and what action they are going to take.

My parents actually rented a council house for most of their life and bought a small sheltered housing place in their retirement. It didn't really follow the housing market due to it's limited market and so unfortunately while it's value did go up a bit, it was not the huge increases some people have made. Their estate was not huge but it was horribly complicated to sort.

I don't think anyone wants to go back to 'the good old days' it's more a case of can we afford not to? If we are increasing our debt each month then the answer would appear to be no.

Yes and your parents paid you to care for them ! I cant get my head around that but anyway it meant you werent surviving on the 80 pounds a week carers allowance presumeably.
So really you.are in an incredibly privileged position and have the luxury of choosing not to work now because of your father .And banging on about not being able to support rescue dogs whilst nonchalantly suggesting disabled kids should be put in asylums to save money is not helping your cause and hardly likely to lead to productive debate

No just an ordinary kid from a working class background. Grew up in a council house. Left school after 5th year (highers) in Scotland when I was 16. Started uni in Sept and turned 17 later that year. Only a 3 year course (ordinary degree rather than honours) so I graduated when I was 19.

I live on very little. I made some money in the Edinburgh property market. So some of my retirement is due to my own property gains plus being a high tax payer for many years. My inheritance gave me enough on top to make retirement possible as long as I am frugal. If i want to go on holiday (which I don't) I would need to go back to work.

Retiring in your fifties is actually becoming increasingly common.

Is it?

Actually it does matter what you think because people need to speak out for what is right and good.
If we don't challenge the rhetoric of disabled people being a drain on resources and unworthy of support then where does that ultimately lead.?

Would you have appreciated anyone labelling your beloved parents that way because they were old and frail ? Of course not. You would have challenged it .
Well i am determined to challenge the vitriol and resentment continally being directed at children like mine . Not just on here but in the wider media.
On the thread running about pensions on here the OP has just openly said we need to means rhe state pensions and push assisted dying !
So there it is in black and white. The resentment i am seeing now towards innocent disabled children and vulnerable old people is frankly shocking now and it is being whipped up more and more by so called debates like this one.
So yes ! it absolutely matters what you think. And what you say .

Well without my inheritance I wouldn't have been able to retire till 55 so that is true. I would have been able to retire from 55 thanks to my own efforts and private pensions etc.

I'm not proud of the fact I don't pay tax. I'm just glad because if I did I wouldn't be able to afford not to work. I have paid alot of tax during my lifetime though.

I'm haven't particularly said I want benefits cut etc. I have said I think we can't afford them and so what do we do if the coffers are empty? Changes to benefits will likely affect me as well you know (state pension changes) and the NHS is already affecting me in so far as I have had to shell out for some private medical care.

Just because I retired early does not mean I don't worry about the country and does not mean I am not cutting back in anticipation of the budget.

why can't you get your head around my parents paying me to make up for the salary I gave up. I didn't lose out financially and they got the ending they wanted. So you are correct I didn't get carers allowance but surely that saved the country some money which is a good thing.

I don't have to work because partly an inheritance and partly due to being a high earner all my life and partly due to making gains in the Edinburgh property market. I was aiming to retire at 55 but my inheritance made it possible to bring it forward to 51. I didn't explain all that because I didn't think anyone would be that interested. Nor is it relevant to the state of the country and the fact I am still making reductions in my spending.

I never said disabled kids should be put in asylums. That was another poster who said if the country was broke we would have to go back to looking after the vunerable at minimum cost to the taxpayer. I said she was probably correct given how broke the country is. That doesn't mean I don't feel sorry for people with disabled kids.

Re the dog charities I was just pointing out that I can feel sorry for something/someone but still acknowledge that I/UK can't afford it.

Well it is where I live and I do read fairly regularly on mumsnet about people retiring in their fifties so I suppose that was my impression. I could be wrong though.

I totally get that if you have a disabled child you will be very sensitive around the subject and I'm sorry for your troubles.

Even if I was the most sympathetic person in the world towards disabled kids the country cannot pay out what it does not have.

I'm not really sure how me being sympathetic or not changes the finances of the country or what will happen after the budget.

I am the OP but I never said anything about means testing state pension or assisted dying. That must have been other posters.

Okay fair enough so I have learned something about disabled children tonight. I can only go off my own experiences though and like I say the only one I knew had a fund set up to care for her after her parents passed.

I'm not sure why you would be annoyed at me not understanding loads about disabled children. I would think most of the population does not understand unless they actually have one.

Same as I expect most people don't know what it's like to care for someone with dementia unless they have done it themselves.

But what sort of world do you live in to be so out of touch that you think parents can afford to save for a disabled child?

@flapjackfairy completely agree with your last post. I had worked in the NHS for the past 30 years, and my brother was very severely disabled for many years - so have seen people struggle up close.

The shoulder shrugging 'well if the purse is empty' rhetoric is disingenuous at best - or actually very dangerous.

It boils my blood when a disabled or non verbal patient does not receive the same standard of healthcare as a more vocal person - but this shit does happen.

To be fair the OP has advised they are Scottish so uni at 16 isn’t impossible

😂😂

Exactly. The standard "I'm happy to say I'd pay more tax because I'm so virtuous but I won't actually do it unless I'm forced to by the government".

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: regardless of who’s in power, whichever Chancellor or party is in charge, you simply cannot run or fund a country through taxation alone. It’s unsustainable to keep raising taxes at every budget.

What we need is business confidence and genuine economic growth. Right now, the level of taxation, the increases in National Insurance, and the overall fiscal approach have made the UK deeply unfriendly to business.
We’re already seeing high net worth individuals and entrepreneurs leaving the country, and while some may scoff “boohoo, cry me a river,” the reality is that these people contribute enormous amounts to the system. The loss of that tax base is something the UK simply cannot afford.

And it won’t stop there, high earners will start going too. Again, people can say “boohoo,” but what will that leave us with? Less talent, fewer innovators, and major business hubs relocating overseas, taking their top teams with them. Anyone who thinks this isn’t already happening is being naive. If we keep punishing success instead of enabling it, we’ll end up with less revenue, less opportunity, and a weaker economy. Growth, not constant taxation, is the only sustainable path forward.