To hate the "if young people gave up iphone and starbucks they could afford a house" attitude

[Creambun2]

Some people really do believe that young people giving up a mobile phone would lead to them being able to afford to buy a house?

The attitude from certain boomers that "I worked hard and had nothing so I could buy in my 20s" and then it is drilled down that they only needed a mortgage of 2/3 times their salary.

Sorry for the shit DM link but this article is simply written to reinforce these stupid views about young people: www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5321703/Woman-reveals-bought-home-20.html

So much unsaid in the article, like where she lived when saving £500 a month (at home rent free presumably), how she describes herself as debt free (really - mortgage paid off @ 21?) and how gasp she has also been to India etc. Lucky she lives in a place where flats are 120k.

Que the comments section being full of the typical baby boomer attitude of lazy youngsters.

I agree. The people featured in these articles always live in places where housing is dirt cheap. They sure as hell don’t live in a big city, or even a decent-sized town.

Yanbu. And Yate is a cheap area. Good for her but it depends hugely on where your job is. Sadly ours are in an area where we couldn’t afford a bedsit on what we currently earn.

The article isn't saying that though is it? She mentions that she didn't go out much but its not saying 'I bought a house because I don't buy lattes'. It's more about how an apprentice can be a better option than going to uni and acrruing huge amounts of debt. Additionally, a 10% deposit is also 'only' £12k (I'm in S/E so that's very cheap)

I think that there is a vicious circle, younger adults realise that they can’t afford a house so spend their money on other things, such as expensive phones etc. This is very visible and attracts negativity. . I feel really sorry for young people today who can’t afford to buy, but spending £1000 on an iPhone when you could spend half that on a decent phone and save toward your own home is going to attract criticism I suspect.

I haven't clicked on the link but it you are reading articles in the Daily Mail, then surely you know that they are writing for their audience.
It isn't designed to be a reasoned, fair discussion, I'm surprised you thought it would be.

It's just incorrect.

TBF about 15 years ago (when I got my first place) I did it due to the following factors:
1 - having met my partner at a young age so having someone to buy with early on - this is quite a key factor
2 - partner having a decent job straight out of uni
3- parents lending a smallish amount of money for deposit
4 - not having a phone contract, car, expensive holidays, or eating out or having tea/coffee out.
No. 4 was definitely a factor but mainly because we'd been poor students so hadn't gotten in the habit of paying for this stuff.

So - I've been there, scrimped and scraped, no luxuries, and had the other things going for me - and I fully acknowledge that it would not be possible now with salaries and house prices the way they are. The maths simply don't add up.

The simple response to anyone actually stating this is 'how much do you think I am spending on XYZ and how much do you think I need to buy a property?' Get them to talk numbers. Things are totally different even compared with 15 years ago.

(Not going to read a DM link, sorry)

I used to get a similar spiel from my late DM years ago. She said that if I stopped spending 'so much money' on magazines each week,I'd be able to afford a holiday. I bought 2 magazines a week,costing the grand total of £1.80. Another gem was when my washing machine gave up the ghost. I couldn't afford a new one and was spending about £6 a week at the local laundrette. DM said to me that if saved the 6 pounds each week rather than spending it at the laundrette,I'd have enough within a year to buy a new washing machine. Yes mum,I'm sure I would. But in the meantime,how do I get my washing done?

Some people can't afford to buy a house full stop. But some people do prioritise other things over saving and then moan that they don't have savings.

I feel that it is much more expected these days that disposable income is a necessity not a luxury. So no, you might not be able to afford to buy a house if you gave up Starbucks alone, but coffees, meals and nights out, clothes, cars, holidays etc all add up. The housing market is shit but some potential first time buyers don't help themselves by spending their money on luxuries and then complaining that they'll never be able to afford a house

sleepyhead
How much are you assuming a typical person spends on those luxuries a month? (A car is often a necessity to work - believe me, I tried without one for over a decade)

Who buys an iPhone? Most people get them with a contract don't they?

Oh, yeah, that one is usually followed by 'move up north where it's cheaper' but where it's usually harder to find a decent-paying job.

Oh, yes, 'luxuries'. 'We didn't have a microwave, computers or mobiles back in my day' - no fucker did, because they didn't exist.

It’s not an either or thing - I know some FTBs who live at home in a cheapish area/area with shared ownership options who easily piss away £400 a month on crap then moan about the housing market. So there are some young people in that situation.

However I think for most a house would still be unattainable even if they cut out fripperies.

“Ah boomers say this”

Says the person starting the third thread of the day moaning about boomers

Yabu just for that alone

I just worked it out, I have had a contract phone for 10 years. It all works out around £5k I would have saved if I didn't have my phone. I would however still have had a phone bill to pay each month albeit a landline.
So realistically it would take me around 25 years to save up the initial deposit for a house round here. I would say that my having a phone has hardly made a difference.

And they can fuck off with their shitty starbucks comments. If I want to enjoy a something-frappaccino every once in a while, I bloody well will. This is coming from the generation who collect 'display plates' and commemorative plates....aye, so fucking wise with their money

Having a couple of coffees a day, plus a packet of crisps or some fruit from M&S, plus lunch was costing me around £10 a day. Almost a year ago, I started a diet, and instead of a coffee/snack habit, on the way to work, I now transfer £10 from my current account to my savings on my phone. It’s shocking to think it was being frittered away. I now have nearly .£3500 in savings as a result. If 2 people do that, that’s £20k in three years. When we bought our place, we had payg phones, no tv, donated furniture, no holiday for 5 years.You have to make a sacrifice if you want to save.

Being a homeowner as opposed to renter has been a thing for decades now, it's not just a recent phenomenon as some claim. Because it shows that you have, in the materialistic sense. It's a status symbol, like having a fancy car or the latest iPhone or designer gear.
Humans have always been materialistic. It's just more apparent now, because we have so much more stuff.

And I really dislike those people who say "just move!" like it's that bloody easy.

See what I mean? This idea that everyone is spending a tenner a day at M&S and buying two coffees a day, that's why they can't save. And they have someone to buy with, too.

I bought my first house with exh 18 years ago... in Scotland so cheaper properties... the 3 bed terraced house cost £29,000!

My parents gave us £5,000 - £4,000 was used for the deposit (although we could've got a 100% mortgage) & the rest was used to buy our white goods. £25,000 mortgage over 25 years & our monthly payment was around £200.

I was a sahp & exh take home pay was around £1,000 pm. Our household bills were quite cheap - we had sky tv etc but our gas/electric was only about £40 a month, petrol/diesel was about half the price it is now & our weekly food shop (inc formula & nappies for dd1) was around £30-40pw.

To buy that same house now would be around £100,000 & would cost roughly £100-125 in gas & electric each month not to mention the cost of fuel & food has increased greatly over the past 18 years & yet wages haven't increased with NMW take home pay being roughly £1,100 each month... but yeah if they stopped the Starbucks coffee & iPhones young people would easily be able to buy a property... maybe even 2

I’m single and in private rented accommodation. If I scrimped and saved every penny I would be miserable and maybe save £100 a month. Because the vast majority of my money goes on rent and bills.

At the rate of £100 a month it would take me more than 8 years to save a £10k deposit. By which time I’d actually need a £15k deposit. So yet more years.

Everyone i know who is my age and owns a home has had parental help, either by gifting/“lending” a deposit or letting them live rent free at home to save up. Funnily enough it’s much easier to save £££ a month when you’re not paying extortionate private rent!

For so many of my generation, house buying is just unattainable. No matter how much we scrimp and save. Especially for those of us who don’t have partners to split costs with and who don’t have parents who are able to help.

Again? Blimey anti boomer anti ageist threads on the up this week. Yay.

I agree to an extent.

I also know that a lot of people are unwilling to cut back on holidays, eating out, the latest technology etc and yet still feel sorry for themselves that they can't buy a house.

So, basically, yes and no.

Take the average wage and then the cost of a home (or flat) as a multiple and compare it with when I started to buy my first home 30 years ago, and you will easily see how much harder it has got to become a home owner.

People have priorities, different priorities.

I could equally say the same about an elderly friend of mine who, was left a reasonably wealthy widow 10 years ago, now has to do an equity release on her house to maintain her life style - which includes 40+ ciggies a day. That is her choice I guess. Same as the young lady in the article made the choice to streamline her lifestyle so she could afford to get on the housing ladder.