SO how do these people afford new cars/flash holidays etc etc

[twinkerbell]

I am always on a tight budget living week by week and I am sick of it, we seem to have the oldest crappiest cars and go on holiday in UK every year and I don't know HOW these people (a LOT of our friends and dd friends parents) afford the lifestyle they seem to be leading???? whats their secret?
dh says theyre all lving in credit?

when you find out please let me know. no hols for us this year.

Its all about what you choose to spend money on... you see the flash things but do you see what they don't have... we don't have nice holidays, we have a battered car which we are lucky not to need to drive to often...but then we(i) spend money on extra-curricula stuff for the girls

mind you holidaying in the UK is not a cheap option is it?

lol exaclty, I feel like I am behind everyone, my sister and most of our friends are driving round in brand new Nissan 4x4's and taling about their wonderful time in thailand or florida and were driving round in a 9 year old mondeo and going to wales lol. We never seem to have any cahs and granted our income is quite low at the moment but other people seem to be on similar and have so much more?? Can't even afford to take dd ice skating because its almost £20 a go!

sorry for typos

credit/inheritance/gambling - winning streak permitting/lottery win.

Maybe it's just purely down to housing costs, even if you earn the same it can make a big difference.

we have a niceish house and eat well and healthily, my dd goes to 2 regular out of school activities which don't cost much but we really struggle to make ends meet sometimes, we go away in a week and I had saved £200 for some extra spending money but car MOT and half term child care bill later and thats gone its hard work!

My dh wanted to go for a drink last night and couldnt because we cant draw any money out the bank! we do have over £1000 in there but almost all of that comes out 1st of the month to cover bills. Its rubbish

I agree with Claire, housing costs can make a huge difference. In my street, some people may be paying £800 more each month for their mortgage than others, depending on when bought. That's a lot of holidays!

If it's any consolation, I dream of 9 year old mondeos and foreign holidays are always more trouble than they're worth.

Most of the parents at my children's school are either 10 years older and bought houses at a good time or they live on credit, it's been an interesting 12 months seeing who's all fur coat and no knickers

yeah Im not so bothered about the foreign holidays tbh, Its just the fact that we couldnt afford one if we were!
I guess we have about £3000 in debt altogether which is pretty low as far I can tell from reading papers, and mortgage is only 50% of house value so a good bit of equity and cars are ours, not our employers of finance companies?

mamatomany I agree, it has been a tough 12 months for many of us, I have come accross people through my work who have literally thousands of debt and its scary.

I know a few people who are only a couple of years older than DH and I, but who bought their houses a good 5-10 years before we did. These couples have a mortgage half of what ours is, sometimes on a bigger house. The difference between their mortgage and ours is their holiday/4x4/Manolo money.

Having good bank savings (several and with stocks and shares) letting it lie and earn interest.

Buying cheaper food and goods, using charity shops, using vouvhers and coupons. Generally saving money as and where you can.

Freecycle.

When you add it up you can save an absolute fortune.

No, we are not living on credit, dh earns well.

How would you know that other people "seem to be on similar" income but have much more - it isn't something they are likely to discuss for fear of being a braggart / insensitive

Im sick of living week to week too.

I have NO savings. I have to spend almost every penny just to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. (and we are in social housing)

I know things will start to pick up for us towards the end of the year because I will have hopefully (emergencies dependant) have paid off the credit cards (4 cards totalling £1100 over all 4) and paid off a lot of the other "credit" I had to run up while things were REALLY tight. (Littlewoods/SimplyBe/Next accounts)

I think the key is to try and put x amount away each week/month but I just cant seem to find the extra to do it.

I really need a new cooker, but it will have to wait. The one I have works, it may constantly mean clearing up a puddle after each use, but it works. (Seal gone and cant get replacement for the model we have)

My holiday this year is 4 nights in a caravan in OCTOBER! Using Tesco vouchers for the main bulk of the payment, meaning it is costing me £38.00 Thats fine, but it will cost us a good £300 in fuel for the trip there and back. (visiting my dad for a few days too so Scotland to Suffolk and back) We had wanted to take the kids to Butlins again but at £400 for 4 nights, the caravan park was the more sensible option!

I am thankful for what I have, and remember that my family is more important than materialistic shite!

it depends what you spend your money on really. there's no point being jealous. I could get jealous of all the families who live in huge detached 4 bed houses near where I live but what's the point??? Yes they have a lovely house but I bet they are paying through the nose for their mortgage and I am pretty sure they probably cannot afford to enjoy a nice lifesytle. Everyone wants different things out of life.

We live frugally but we're happy with our choice. You should learn to just be happy with your lot OP - it's not a good idea to be so bitter about others around you. It eats away at you!

Yeah I try to splash them with the car as we drive past in the rain or better still cut the benefits bill by running them over obviously.

I would be over the moon with a car that was less than 15 years old, and my holiday this year is in Brean and that is crippling me finacially.

the 'seem to be similar' is the problem - two people with same job titles can have very different wages. i know an accountant who earns £35k a year, and another one who's on over £150k.

Also, just because someone had a similar wage 10 years ago, doesn't mean they are in anyway close now. My old housemate works in dull banking regulation stuff. (not even a banker, far more dull sounding stuff) When i was living at that house our wage difference was about £10k or less. 7 years on, he's on more than £100k more than me.

Feel I should name change, as I'm likely to get flamed. It's about spending well and also financial literacy. (This really should be taught in school, so please support the Mumsnet/MSE campaign on this).

I cook from scratch, mainly veggie, buy from greengrocers, don't have takeaways.

All our clothes etc. come from eBay or charity shops - often virtually new. I never buy me or DD books but get everything from the library. We go to the cinema regualry, but the £1 show on a weekend morning.

Sorry to sound smug, but things like this really do save money. They are also environmentally more friendly. Echo LilQueenie (must be a name thing) - freecycle, vouchers, moneysavingexpert newsletter.

A car gets you from A to B, holidaying in the UK is expensive - going to SE Asia can actually be cheaper (seriously).

Also, if you are £3000 in debt, you would be better extending your mortgage by £3k and overpaying as you will save money.

I dont think you sound smug, and I cant see why you would get flamed for giving some advice. Truth is, I know damn well I waste alot of money, and could do most things a cheaper way, am always saying to myself, well, it's only £3, well it's only a tenner, but it all adds up.