People that say they are hopeless wth money ?

[LardLizard]

How can you be so flippant as if to say oh your not good with money and never will be as if it doesn’t matter ?!

I’ve had terrible money problems in the past and although it’s better than it ever has been, it’s still depressingly so hard. I’ve never in my life of nearly 40 years had any periods of NOT worrying about it and not having any, so it is inevitable that at times it will go wrong. When you haven’t had a holiday in years or you need a car for work it’s so easy to get into debt because you just want something, sometimes. I’m not hopeless with it, it is just a juggling act and sometimes I don’t get it right.
I’m working really hard to try get a promotion at the moment but as a single parent with little support it’s at times just been horrible. Most of my furniture is 2nd hand and everything we wear is from Tesco’s or

My rent is over half of my income per month alone

I have 2 weeks in a month where I don’t have hardly any money but I’m used to it, and it only takes one bad decision to make those 2 weeks even worse. Saying that we always have food and heat and School clothes and toiletries so I try not to let it depress me too much

I’m on the ball with money. We have one income which is decent, and partner doesn’t work. We have a nice house with a tiny mortgage and several nice cars. We have a budget spreadsheet that looks 2 years ahead and has everything on it, haircuts, everything and we stand on our own feet

My brother is crap with money as is his partner. They are in their 40’s and earn at least 50% more than us. Despite never having done a budget they are always buying gifts, clothes and ridiculous amounts of toys, books etc, expensive convenience food etc. And my parents are still giving them regular cash monthly to help as they’re always ‘skint’

Not knocking poor people at all as it’s often people that should be pretty comfortable
Saying oh I’m hopeless with money ha ha
As if it’s some sort of joke

I seriously feel for people having to pay out half of their income in rent as that is seriously wrong for hosing to get into such a mess in the country
Esp for families

But it’s just people hat think they have no control, they just seem to not want to act like responsible adults

I get what you mean, I know plenty of people on more money than me but generally speaking almost all of them have holidays, if not one but 2 per year and they must at some point think it’s worth the debt. They also seem to get cars on finance. I’m too afraid to commit to a holiday out or fear I wouldn’t be able to actually afford one because I choose to run a little car, and usually that is my yearly outlay in money terms, and that is variable cost. I cant get finance as I have such crap credit. I used to honestly just think it’s fine, I will pay it off... but I got pregnant unplanned and hadn’t factored in how crap maternity pay was. Up till then I didn’t think twice about credit cards or store cards, I just lived for the moment I was in. I don’t think it’s until something bad happens like you lose your home that you learn to appreciate it, iyswim? Some people don’t have much money but don’t let it hold them back taking financial risks, and always think ‘it won’t happen to me’. When it does happen you tend to grow up a bit

My ex was/is openly ‘rubbish with money ‘. Had ( probably still has) masses of debt ‘no idea where the money goes’ and an unwillingness to learn money management - apparently he can’t be expected to create and stick to a budget !
The truth is that he is lazy and irresponsible assuming that his bank account is a never ending stream of money and failing that there’s the credit card
There’s lots of people like that out there but some change with maturity/ circumstance and some have their head firmly buried in the sand

I think what I really meant to say was some people are hopeless with money either because they don’t really worry, because maybe they never really had to face something dreadful, debt is just something we come accustomed to and see as part of life.

I went shopping once with an aquaintence. It was not an expensive shop we went to (the one that is generally cheap as chips!) and I know she doesn’t earn that much more than me, as she told me. I stuck to spending about £30, some of it was for kids.
I watched her at the till put £200+ stuff on the counter, get out 7 credit cards and open an excel spreadsheet on her phone. She was working out which cards she could spread it over. I asked her if this was wise... she said she just gets what she wants when she wants. She drives some crazy expensive car on lease, just because she likes it. Some people just like this way of life!

I'm not "good" with money, some people I know stress over every penny they spend. I pay all my bills on time, save some, and spend the rest. I don't buy second hand usually, like nice things, and treat myself to hair, nails etc. I'm not rich by any means, but get by.

Poor people are generally very good with money, because they have to be!
The people this thread is about are not those robbing Peter to pay Paul to keep their heads above water. It's about the people who spend their last £20 on getting their nails done then desperately scrabble around borrowing money because they don't have shopping for the kids lunches or similar. People who cannot prioritise and spend money impulsively in the surety that someone will sort it out when they get in trouble.

I agree but even poor people make bad choices from time to time, most of us are guilty of it. Some people seem to make constant bad choices over and over that’s all

I think schools need separate budget topics from primary, let's face it managing money is huge key to our happiness and lives.

We need separate topic away from maths.. Follows through to secondary.

Basic stuff... And choice in supermarket through to sky bills, haggling.. My goodness savvy kids can get older parents sorted out.. Wake everyone up and companies will stop pulling this crap... Gas bills etc.. As well as recipes. Healthy eating.

Re robbing Peter to pay Paul. We swung this for years until I stated tiny Paul fund.. Literally two pounds a week, over a year my Paul fund of say 50 quid I split onto Xmas fund and holidays fund. Sold some old toys.. Clothes ebay, got 100 big bday money from parents... Split that into holiday, Christmas and birthday. That first year acted like fund wasn't there and by year 2..had actually got much better savings ready for. Christmas, birthday and holiday! Once that structure was in place it steadied us, so when dh got tiny pay rise. M instead of being lost it went onto those savings and a new one for children's daily needs like 🆕 shoes... Each kitty now has a few 100 in. We still go over sometimes.. But that's our base we know roughly what's what

Money doesn't really go far these days and I think a lot of our parents grew up in times where the average wage would have comfortably kept a family going for the month. So there's a whole generation growing up totally lost about money and spending.

There is certainly an element of status in life isn’t there too. Where I work, in my type of job I have to look smart and doing that on a budget is Hard. Where I live is one of the top 10 affluent naice areas in the U.K., but I stand out as I have less than others and it’s obvious. If I lived in a more deprived area then it might be me who appears better off. It is your perception of wealth and poorness too isn’t it, and trying to maintain a way of living. DC dad doesn’t want the kids to ‘look poor’ I mean, who does?! But he has 3 holidays a year and gives me pittance in maintenance so apparently the kids not looking poor all falls to me!
I have good kids who I HOPE know some value of money. The youngest isn’t bothered by anything material and never has been. Doesn’t care for clothes or things, has always found it hard to spend birthday money as just doesn’t have any desire for ‘stuff’. dD1 on the other hand wants all the stuff other people have, so I’m teaching her about working for things and earning them, instilling that Work ethic in her.
There is a scary new Instagram generation about to become adults and it worries me

ETA I’ve lived in this affluent place all my life and was a council house kid.

My other half is odd with money in that he doesn't really keep track of how much he's got and know how much and how little, but OTOH, he is a sensible spender, so that's generally not an issue. I like to be very aware of what I've got.

A lot of people who say they are rubbish with money are just people who are OK for it but run out sometimes, but it's not really a problem.

I do worry about how normalised debt is, especially with student debt - people often just laugh about 'Oh, you're £30k in debt, well I'm £50k in debt, LOL!' and that is not a healthy attitude. Because, hey, wh not get another couple of k in debt anyway, you'll never pay it all off.

Honestly I might advise my kids to just get a job and not bother with uni if everyone's just finishing up with 6-figure debt by then.