To wonder what people actually expect and why they can’t just be happy to live simply?

[Terrazzomazzo]

So many posts on here of people saying that they are running out of money and “I have no fun money” et. Why can’t people just be happy that they have enough to pay their mortgage pay their bills and feed their family and clothe their children? When did holidays , excess “stuff” and weekends of fun days out and take away etc become a given right and expectation?

@user1473878824 😆😆😆

No, the poster means enjoy your everyday life

Gosh that’s a little puritanical op. And Really quite sad. I mean if you’re happy having just your basic necessities met, fair play to you. But most people do want fun stuff as well. It really isn’t some heinous expectation and we don’t live in dickension times.

Years ago when I left my ex, I had to manage on benefits for a while, with 2 DC.
My rent/CT was covered by benefits. The money I got was just about enough to feed us, pay utilities and set aside a small amount for other stuff. I'd take the DC to cheap showings at the cinema on a Saturday morning, we'd go to the park etc.

I studied and trained and got a good job so we would have more than that. If I was going to be content with just that, I might as well have stayed on benefits and had all the free time! Where's the motivation if people aren't gaining anything from it, or the gains are very minimal.

With no holidays,no takeaways, no stuff, no days out. Nothing. Just basic food clothes and a roof over your head. The very basics. Enjoy minions!

for me its because we have made compromises and work hard to be able to give our kids a good life, we used to be able to do a LOT more with our money each month and now we can't. Lots of the privileges we have become accustomed to are getting harder and harder to maintain whilst we are working harder than ever.

Poor old Scrooge, he was a bit misunderstood, wasn't he?
"What reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough."
"What reason have you to be miserable? You're rich enough."

Sometimes, though, when I see the extravagance and waste of Christmas, followed by everyone being broke and miserable in January, I wonder if he had a point.

Because we always want more. It’s a well known fact that people think they will be so much happier if they have 10% more pay. Most people strive to get that little bit more, then they’ll be satisfied.
Some people are just happy with their lot.

It’s not free. Most of us work to pay tax to pay for it. It is only free at the point of use. We pay handsomely for it. Ludicrous to suggest it’s all free like some magic fairy godmother pays for it. They don’t. We do. The hard working tax payer. We work we pay into a pot, and it provides healthcare, schooling, water and benefits. Our national insurance pays our pension.

free lol.

I do enjoy my every day life, I’m fortunate in many ways and settling down with a book and a cup of coffee or taking the dog out are fine ways to spend an afternoon. I also enjoy meals out, concerts, theatre and travel - I want my kids to experience the world and all it has to offer before they settle into jobs and mortgage and family, if they choose to.

Contentment is an important quality to have, but so is inquisitiveness and curiosity.

Well it depends what you call fun. My life is full of fun and enjoyment but I have always had very simple tastes.

i love country walks with friends
coffee and cake
lunch with friends (at our homes)
a good dvd
singing with my 2 choirs
my art class and time at home painting and drawing
my garden
reading
very occasional foreign travel - a treat every couple of years (no flights though)

As long as I and my family have our health I’m in heaven!

But we don’t do takeaways( they’re shit, full of shit and a complete rip off), stuff( why, who wants to waste money on cluttering landfill we don’t need). What do you mean by days out. We go out but don’t need £££££ to go out and have a good time . Doesn’t feel like we have nothing far from it.

Nearly paid off our mortgage, building a garden, slowly getting things done in the house, have holidays when we can afford it. Haven’t for 2 years as putting kids through uni but that's not a hardship. Have wine, coffee, books, meet ups with friends which costs very little, the beautiful outdoors…..

Why is that the basics?What else am I missing out on?

If you don’t appreciate what you have and always want 10% more you’ll never be happy. How sad .

This.

People just have much higher expectations these days. When I grew up in the 90s it was a reasonably middle class, well off upbringing. But we only went on a family day trip maybe once every month or two. We spent most weekends playing out in the street or helping in the house.
We went on one holiday a year, usually in the UK. We never ate out at restaurants unless it was someone's birthday. We took picnics on the rare days out, my parents wouldn't have even contemplated buying a scone /cake/coffee at a cafe somewhere. I was only allowed new toys and books for birthday, Christmas or when on holiday.
There were treats and joyful things but it wasn't constant like it seems to be today. We live in a world where people need much more instant gratification.

Because an attitude of "Exist, work, die" is not particularly enticing for most people.

How dare poor people aspire to enjoy life?

Because it’s very easy to spend time gardening, going on walks, watching films, playing board games etc. when it’s two adults in the house.

fuck that, we barely survived the lockdown, it was beyond grim, no way does any of it qualifies as a "life" in my books. I can't say it was hell, I am well aware that life in a war zone is hell, and not everyone had the "luxury" to a decent house, garden and unlimited walks in the countryside but my god I was ready to blow my brain out.

I might enjoy board games, gardening and walks when I am 105 but not now.

Holidays are not a luxury, they are just as basics as food. You can survive on gruel for years, but as soon as you up the level, it's a basic. I don't care what other people think, but for me they are.

I am glad some folks are content with a "simple life", and lower wages, but many of us want more. Even if you are highly dedicated to your career, it's not your entire life and it's not enough.

this too.

Depends what fun means. Overpriced crappy “stuff”,crappy food and crappy experiences ( consumerism tells you are “fun” and you need to be doing)really aren’t that much fun in reality.

I should really stop paying the very healthy sum to the tax man every month if it’s all free.

Part of the issue is exactly that people think healthcare, education, benefits, social care etc are all free. They forget that it comes at the cost of people working to pay tax and then get pissy when said tax payers point it out. Or when policy makers want to try and reduce the cost of all this “free” stuff by reducing the amount of “free” stuff available. It leads to an attitude of entitlement right across the board, which contributes to general dissatisfaction.

The mind boggling was in reference to using a room spray.

Holidays are a luxury.

But you can holiday on a range of budgets.

Most of us are tax payers!

I don't think the problem is expecting to be able to have fun and treats, I think the problem is that most of us equate having fun and treats with spending money and doing something that, not that long ago, would have been a huge extravagance.

You can play games at home, bake or cook something nice or different, read a good book, go for a lovely walk, spend time on a hobby, watch a film or listen to some music you've never seen or heard before and so on and so on. Most of these don't require a big financial outlay.

Days out, holidays abroad, takeaways, buying yourself new stuff for the sake of it etc is an entirely different ball game.