To be absolutely fucking amazed how much money people have?

[HiggsBoson]

I thought we were in a recession.

I thought people were genuinely struggling.

DP and I certainly do as we are on low incomes, but we try to be grateful for what we have.

How is it then, that so many people can afford ipads, clothes from the likes of Joules and Boden, Mercedes and Audis, Hunter wellies for their kids ffs, expensive overseas holidays and huge 10/20/30K weddings?

Honestly I'm quite baffled. Everybody seems to have an ipad - they're £500!!

What's going on?

I think it depends on people's priorities. On the flip-side, I know people who give 10% income to charity every month and more on top, save alot and therefore don't have loads of money to buy new stuff or lots of holidays etc. But they're probably not as bad off as they seem, they just do different things with it.

I know what you mean though. I think things like FB/Instagram make it so much more obvious that someone's off on holiday/bought an iPhone/gone on a shopping spree etc - I have often found myself wondering how on earth people afford it!

We have definitely reined it in over the last year or 2. Even more so now I'm on mat leave.

No holiday this year for the first time ever ever.

My pram is lovely but was off eBay, as was all my other baby stuff.

Smart phone each on contract. Mine to be reduced right down next month.

We have booked Centreparcs for dec, booked last year so ample time to pay off.

Credit cards, maybe?

Some people have parents who can help them with money, too.

"The whole sacrifice one thing for another gets my hackles raised a tadge."

Why? Because you can't do the same? Too bad for you.

I'm actually very tightly budgeted. That budget just happens to include smart phones. My Tablet was bought through vouchers from a survey I did, not that it's any of your business.

Hmmm...so I'm probably taking too simplistic a view...

Yes, but whilst one of my friends quietly admits she is well off and happy about it, my other friend of equal means is always pleading poverty, but has five holidays a year, is always out for meals/drinks/lessons for dcs, having work done on expensive house.....all fine, if you've got it/earned it to do what you will, I don't envy them, but don't pretend you're bloody hard up, especially when you have friends genuinely struggling.

Another couple we know that are vair, vair well-off, never discuss money, but are so kind and generous to their friends and family (in ways that matter). When DS2 was 4WO and I was struggling after a second CS, my friend came round, looked after DSs and cooked then left some meals for DH and I. It was so kind, I cried. The other (poverty-stricken ) friend I mentioned above is desperate to get in there with this couple I know.........

Some people are just lucky I guess.
I don't begrudge them, but I'm jealous
I'm sadly not one of them, though on the holiday thread that Tee mentioned, I couldn't believe the sheer number of holidays people were having.

A lot of people spend beyond their means, and a lot of people have low mortgage payments and will be hit hard when interest rates start to rise again

Jeez Tee, are you as kind in RL?

I repeat. Doesn't matter a fuck if it's my business or not - I'm entitled to post about it on here if I wish.

Store cards for ipads and the like with a lot of people.

I bought dh an ipad for Christmas. Very are doing interest free credit for a year so every month I put £40 in to a savings account and I'll use that to pay for it.

A holiday is out of the question for me. Haven't had one for the past four years and won't be this year either.

I am struggling to keep my very elderly car on the road at the moment. I can't afford another one and even worse my plans for going back to my previous job are scuppered without it.

But....I am healthy, we have enough to live on (just about) and we can do without luxuries.

I've just written and deleted a very smug post.

Without trying to be a bitch, yes OP, I'm better off now than I was before the recession.

How? Well, I've been promoted since then.

It's inevitable that individuals don't always follow national trends isn't it?

Fair enough Rosesforrosie, but you are probably an exception.

It's normal to wonder how other people manage though surely? You are not being judgemental, just curious.

Jeez, HigssBoson, are you this judgemental in real life?

You're entitled to post about it and I'm entitled to tell you it's none of your business. That's the beauty of the internet.

And I'm exactly like this in real life. If you questioned my spending or said "The whole sacrifice one thing for another gets my hackles raised a tadge." to me, I'd give you the exact same answer.

Ask my friends.

iPads have nothing to do with how badly off you are.

Proof.

Email from my brother to my sister in law

.....

"No. I won't be sending you five pound in child support becuase simply I do not have an extra five pounds to spare."

-sent from my iPad

....

So there you have, a magic forcefield around iPads and feeling the pinch.

stifles the urge to go and shove his iPad so far up his arse he chokes on it

I'm one of the twats with a load of expensive stuff. However:

iPad was bought for DPs 30th as a joint present from me, my parents, his parents and our siblings.

Expensive pram was bought by each of working 3 extra shifts per month (including boxing day and new years day) during my pregnancy AND money as a baby gift from my parents and sister.

Car bought when I graduated and had no responsibilities. Now paid off. I justified it by saying if I was going to commute 90 miles a day, it would at least be in a comfortable car. Prior to that I had a 12 year old Renault.

Tbh, it's about priorities, considering we are living in a rented house but when we think that we may never be able to buy (the average 3 bed round here is £280k) as we will struggle to save the massive deposits, we may as well spend the disposable income we do have on things that we can enjoy.

A lot of our friends are the same, we have professional jobs and a decent wage. We can afford a good standard of living but have nowhere near enough to get on the property ladder so spend disposable income on luxuries instead.

I'm not sure Roses is that much of an exception... people still get promoted in a recession. Dh was promoted this year, he got a sizeable pay rise and an increase in his benefits package from his employer which include shopping vouchers, we've got an extra £200 a month in vouchers for our food shopping now which has made us feel much more secure.

I'm better off now...

BUT in 2007 we had JUST bought a house on a 5 year fixed rate deal and I worked at northern rock in a minion capacity.

So you can imagine the absolute shit we went through.

So now I'm bloody enjoying my cheap as chips mortgage, overpaying and splurging :D
I also have a very nice pushchair.

the baby kit thing does stagger me - it is bloody difficult to sell second-hand kit for anything other than a pittance, even if in immaculate condition.

Also with savings rates almost non-existent, mortgage rates very low and the government wanting to keep it that way, many people will have more disposable income and see no reason to do anything with it except dispose of it.

there's also the 'can't take it with you' thing.

but we are, after all, a 'first world' country (can I say that?) That means nobody starves, nobody is shooting at us, we can drink the tap water and we can say what we like.

Some people just earn a lot of dosh.

Mortgages are relatively cheap you can get really good deals if you shop around and nearly all the restaurants are doing deals and vouchers. For some people their disposable income goes even further now.

I live in an affluent town in the south east where many commute into London. Tbh I don't really see signs of any one cutting bank or having frugal times round here. Loads of new Range Rovers etc and house prices are going up and up and up!!

You do sound a wee bit put out about it OP.

There are still plenty of people out there with well paid jobs. DP is one of them. We (luckily) don't have to budget and booked a lovely summer holiday today with no real restrictions.

I would never buy any of the brands on your list though especially the Ipad. There's a difference between having money and having taste

carpe :( and :o at the same time to your last post!

We are better off on the face of it following the recession because it forced us to get our books in order.

I go on far far less nights out with friends or DP. Buy less clothes/cheaper clothes. Haircuts less often and hairdye at home etc... but in return I can go on holidays now which I couldn't do previously as we were relying too heavily on credit etc.

It is weird, and our wages are the same (in fact a little less) but we are in the best financial position that we've ever been. There's a lot to be said for being frugal in certain places.