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How do ordinary people afford ...

112 replies

EbenyZebraScrooge · 22/12/2004 11:09

good quality furniture, original artwork, water softener systems, anything expensive?

This is not to criticise anybody, rich or poor, spendthrift or frugal.

DH & I are, I think, relatively very financially comfortable. No debts, own house outright, savings...But we see shops full of stuff that is more than we think we can afford -- more than we can justify spending. We will have to save up for a few years to buy some of the things we want (like good quality solid wood furniture).

Most of our current furniture was inherited/gifts, actually. Are there a lot of very wealthy people out there? Do people buy these big things mostly on installment or credit cards? I just can't imagine how most furniture shops/art galleries/whatever stay in business!

OP posts:
TheHollyAndTheTwiglett · 22/12/2004 13:19

I don't think its at all income related

I think its more to do with your attitude to money

even when I was working, when we were as a couple earning more than twice what we now live on with 2 kids (despite DH having had 3 rises since I gave up work) I still felt skint and wouldn't buy stuff

I remember how shocked I was when I went to buy a couch for the lounge of my new flat (first purchase) and realised that the department stores wanted something like £3K .. in the end I bought 2 huge, comfy sofas from what used to be The Reject Shop for half the price

Maybe I'm just destined to feel skint however much we have

nailpolish · 22/12/2004 13:19

dh and i are in the middle of applying for our residency to oz so we dont buy things such as new tellys, new suites, new bedsheets, new cars, new pots and pans no new nothing. and its lovely. we are doing this a - because we are saving, and b - because we wont be taking it with us. i see others buying all these new things and i now think 'do you really need that?'

its strange seeing things in a different light

TheHollyAndTheTwiglett · 22/12/2004 13:19

Of course we were probably feeling skint because we had direct debits into savings schemes (which I am not liquidating and spending )

wrapmefestively · 22/12/2004 13:21

But then again Gdg, I am a bit oversensitive because there is a kind of inverted snobbery sometimes. I saw on another thread several people claiming that its often those that are quite well off who are the meanest etc, etc

Gobbledigoose · 22/12/2004 13:21

wrapmefestively - you know what I mean though? You see people with things and think 'how?' - it has to be credit! We know it's true because there are programmes on about it all the time and I've heard some MNetters say they'd quite happily borrow money for christmas so their kids can have what they want.

People just don't seem to be that bothered about debt nowadays, it's just become 'normal' and 'acceptable'.

I think I'm just waffling now and moving off the actual question!

wrapmefestively · 22/12/2004 13:23

Twiglett,

I think you are right about attitude to spending. I come from a family where money was really very tight, and it took me several years to adjust to being in more comfortable circumstances....

nailpolish · 22/12/2004 13:24

the thought of debt scares me.

wrapme - i know what you mean about inverted snobbery - but dont hide the fact that you have a healthy bank account - you prob worked damn hard for it

wrapmefestively · 22/12/2004 13:24

Gdg,

Yes, lots of people do seem to flex their credit cards a bit too easily. It's worrying really as they will land themselves in the mire.

Gobbledigoose · 22/12/2004 13:25

wrapmefestively - oh, I know what you mean. I think my 'outlaws' think I'm a bit 'mean' but I'm not at all - I'm just good with money which is why I've got it!

You are right though, there is that inverted snobbery and I get it from some of the 'outlaws'. Or I sense it should I say.

Minstrel · 22/12/2004 13:25

As some-one once said to me. People with massive salaries are just the same as us - poor but on a grander scale!!

wrapmefestively · 22/12/2004 13:26

Lol minstrel - quite like that.

blossomgoodwill · 22/12/2004 13:29

My motto is you only live once.
Don't feel happy going into our personal finances on here but that's my say on it all !

Gobbledigoose · 22/12/2004 13:29

Twiglett/wrapmefestively

You are right about the attitude to money - my Mum finds it hard to spend money sometimes and she really doesn't need to think twice! She'll be in a shop saying to me 'do I really need this' and I'm just looking at her like 'why are you deliberating over £xx?'!!!

I think if you've started off where money is tight, perhaps you are more frugal with it? Maybe people with more money don't flash it about so much but that's probably the reason they are in that situation in the first place - through a combination of bloody hard work and sensible financing!!

Gobbledigoose · 22/12/2004 13:31

just read that and it sounds like my Mum is loaded or something! She's not a millionaire I assure you!

Frieda · 22/12/2004 13:34

Yes, Twiglett ? completely agree about architects and builders! We've just embarked on some ? not huge ? alterations to our house, which included one new window, knocking down and replacing two small walls, moving a door and redecorating. We told them we hoped to get it done for under about £10,000, and then kept getting letters with the phrase "in view of your limited budget..." It wasn't as though we were asking for dancing fountains or gold-plated radiators...

TheHollyAndTheTwiglett · 22/12/2004 13:44

knocking down an internal supporting wall .. 3m high by about 2m wide will be, and I quote .. somewhere between £3,000 and £5,000 ... like a 2K difference isn't a huge amount of money cos its all there or there abouts

plus engineers fees of 300 to 500

GeorginaAdventCalendar · 22/12/2004 13:46

We've tried to minimize our debt now by downsizing and I'm glad we did. Only have my student loan left (an unavoidable debt at the time, and I don't have to pay it back for the forseeable future) and a couple of car loans (we needed reliable vehicles and we can't get by without 2 cars - we treat them as part of the monthly expense of running cars though, so they don't "feel" that loany).

Yes, it is easy to get carried away with debts (hell, we did - but was never an issue until dh got made unemployed) but I don't think certain loans managed properly are the big evil.

After all, how many of you debt-adverse people have a mortgage? That's just about the biggest hire purchase agreement you can have ;) Any of the others is just semantics and personal decision on whether you need something or just want it...

wrapmefestively · 22/12/2004 13:47

having visions of Frieda's extension with dancing fountains and gold plated radiators...

wrapmefestively · 22/12/2004 13:48

very footballers wife

(Frieda, I realise you said that you weren't asking for this - just can't shake the image out of my mind0

morningpaper · 22/12/2004 13:50

Perhaps a better question would be:

what would you need to earn in order to have money 'left over' to pay for these sorts of things?

I would personally put that figure at around 60k for a family...

TheHollyAndTheTwiglett · 22/12/2004 13:50

I'd double that figure MP

ChristmasCracker · 22/12/2004 13:52

Now 60k seems too much to me, supose it depends on what you are already used to living on though.

morningpaper · 22/12/2004 13:52

Oooh controversial Twigglett!

Perhaps the answer is always "20k more than we've got now..." ;)

GeorginaAdventCalendar · 22/12/2004 13:54

Another example of cleverly managed debt: I know someone who always goes for the 0% finance deals on credit cards, uses them to offset her mortgage then repays them before the deal runs out with another 0% finance deal

She reckons she's lived rent and interest free on her property this year by doing that...

littledrummerbird · 22/12/2004 13:55

Personally, I don't think I could stand being in debt - other than a normal mortgage type loan. I've always lived within my means, but regarding what you/others can afford, I suppose it's all a case of what you're comfortable with. I think some people's desires for things is so strong (instant gratification), that they are willing to go deep into debt in order to have what they want. Suppose they think they can "afford" it if someone will extend them the credit.

I used to watch in amazement when my secretary would periodically come back from lunch break with Gucci shopping bags. She was one of the first to have the new sunglasses/handbags/shoes, etc. I don't know how she managed it on her salary, but she did.

I'm currently emerging from the largest ongoing period of expenditure ever in my life. I bought a new house 18 months ago, and it has been renovated. I have a mortgage, but paid cash for renovations, new roof, new electrical wiring, garden landscaping, new carpets/curtains and some new furniture from my savings and an inheritance.

The house is lovely inside and out, but I can't tell you how anxious it has made me feel to pay out that much cash. That money was my nest egg, and it made me feel financially "safe" to have it invested. Now, 18 months later, funds are severely depleted. I keep telling myself that I've made an alternative form of investment (a quality of life investment), and that the money is now being "lived in", rather than sitting in an account. But, to some extent, my enjoyment of getting this lovely house ready has been marred by realising I've spent more than I'm comfortable with - even though I could "afford" it! Am I daft?