£100000 a year but too poor to be able to afford a third child

[emkana]

I might be mad to get into this again, after that money thread I started the other week, but I just feel like I'm on a completely different planet again, after reading this article. It raises some good points comparing Britain and France, but the first example used is just ludicrous IMO.

article here

I think we're just returning to the norm in living on debt actually. In the thirties, every high street had a pawn shop and in some areas, there were four or five pawn shops in the street. They always did a roaring trade.

Credit cards are just the modern pawn-shop.

TBH, we put so much into pension schemes because DH doesn't want to be working when he is 70 (I know some people don't have that option and i'm aware of how fortunate we are to be able to make these plans). We are investing so much because we want to have a very good standard of living when we are in our saga years and also be able to help the kids onto the property ladder etc.

NDP - You're only about 15 though.... Saga years a long way off!

Ah, but DH is almost 37. Plus I'll be working long hours for peanuts in the NHS when I qualify so we need to milk all we can out of DH's cash whilst we have it

I dont want to point out the obvious but money is easy come easy go. No-one knows what the future holds

But we do expect a lot more than our parents had. Not saying this is bad, but it is normal. We do not expect to start our married lives living in our parent's back bedroom. We expect new furniture, not auntie Jean's horrible tatty hand me downs and second-hand curtains. We expect to have a washing machine, tumble dryer, tv, playstation, dvd, car, Cath Kidston ironing board cover (OK slight exaggeration, that last one). We don't expect to mend torn clothes. We do expect holidays, to redecorate our homes fairly often, new sofas, having snacks in the house. I'm NOT saying any of this is bad, but they do cost.

Pawn shops here Caligula in leafy warwickshire and door to door debt collectors

I think there is confusion about the definition of "disposable" income...

IMO it is the money left to spend at your discretion ie net income not

your money left after rent/mortgage, school fees, etc etc all of which are choices

so this is wrong (from an earlier post)

"I did just sit down and do the sums and after tax, childcare, mortgage, council tax, utilities, food, travel etc we had about £1500 pcm disposable income and that did not cover clothes and car. "

apart from tax these are all discretionary and so the disposable income in this case would be much higher

Indeed, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't plan for as best we can.

DH is almost 37!!!! Shock horror, where's his zimmerframe?

Shuffling off now in me slippers.

Well, DP and I used to earn over £100k between us in London and never had any money left by the end of the month [boo hoo]. And we weren't even that extravagant.

We did manage to get a couple of buy-to-let flats out of it though - it was Rosie Millard-style poverty .

caligula

Aloha - My sofa and curtains genuinely are my Aunty Jean's!!!

CM - I think being able to afford to buy to flats to rent out does show a slight air of extravagance!

NDP - Good GOD I thought your DH was waayyyyyyy older than that! From the way you speak about him, poor bloke.

I disagree that a mortgage is part of a disposable income, ie choice.

It doesn't matter if you have a mortgage or rent, you have to pay for your living costs. Obviously, you have some discretion about how much your living costs are.

Flamebat - I am sure yours aren't tatty and horrible though!

All my curtains have come from one aunt!

(Not my blinds though )

Whaddaya mean, 'the way I speak about him' ?!

Caligula - Yeah but.... its your choice how much you PAY for someplace to live. I mean if you could live happily in a 3 bed semi.... but choose to live in a 5 bed detached for an extra £750 per month..... then that is a choice.

I think most of that is luxuries they have - alhtou I don't know the state schools in london - and yes why do they have a child minder pre part time work? - the child cre costs seem v high - and I suspect the morgage is also v high.

we can't afford to get on the property ladder, we do have a pension - but don't have to pay towards it as DH is militry - thank god otherwise we wouldn't have one at all, we can't afford to go out and have holidays - the only one we've had was a week away in a cottage for £250 on our honey moon. - even then we brought shopping in and cooked it as it was cheaper than eating out. perhaps the whole system needs looking at in some ways? - it seems that the country's strugglaing somewhat prices of stuff keeps rising taxes are high but wages arn't enough to cover the essentials for life after bills and morgage etc.. perhpas more benifits are the way to go - althou could we trust IR to get things right for a change?

lol NDP - Just the impression when you talk about him having to put £700 per month in a pension so he doesn't have to work until he's 70. I thought he may be only had another 10yrs left to contribute to his pension!

They are - they are meant to be cream with big flowers on em, but desperately need a wash... the corners are going into holes. The curtains are pretty bad too

but we are working on paying off credit card and loan, going with the theory that the cr*ppy furniture we can live with, and when we are debt free (or at least lower in debt) we can buy better ones without worrying about debts. Bed is second hand too...

Caligula It is a choice as we don't pay rent or mortgage dictated by the state

it's an investment, Toothache, for when we're old - then we'll finally have some cash to throw around on Cath Kidston oven gloves and fancy holidays

CM - A good investment too, but the fact you had enough money to invest in this shows you were hardly on the breadline.