Blaming circumstances rather than taking some responsibility?

[Ruskins]

In light of the budget today, do we think that without trying all that much harder, some of these people complaining about their circumstances could do so much better.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmx235r9wr3yo

Take Robert for example. He is 29 and earns £22k a year at Newcastle Airport. Still lives at home with his parents, and is single (no surprises there if he's still living at home). At minimum wage, on average that equates to 33 hours of work per week on average.

He says his getting to work costs for his 32 mile commute are £750 a month including car finance, and he pays his mum £250 for rent and food. His earnings after tax will be £1,613 per month.

Excluding the likely costs for fuel, insurance, tax, and a bit of maintenance, I’d estimate that his car finance is likely costing him around £500 per month. That’s nearly a third of his take home – batshit insane!

He desperately wants wants to move out too, yet seems (judging by the framing of the article) to blame circumstances for his poor predicament.

So what would I do if I was him?

Firstly I'd ditch the car finance and buy a cheap fuel efficient small car for £1,000 (ish), taking a small loan if needed to achieve that (£500 a month saved).

Move out from his parents (£250 month saved).

Rent a luxury 2 bed flat on the side of Newcastle nearer the airport (less commuting distance) and find someone to rent the 2nd room. Cost £750per person including all bills and council tax. Key here is that 2 bed flats are far cheaper per person than a 1 bed flat, and you get much more for your money.

His monthly costs would then be as follows:

Rent, bills, council tax: £750
Car & motoring expenses (assume living nearer airport): £300
Food (learn to cook): £250
Phone/internet: £50

Total of £1,350 so leaving him with £263 a month spare cash.

And after that he’s left living in a lovely flat in a lovely part of town. Much more viable a prospect as a potential partner I’d have thought without his parents cramping his style?

Once the above is established, I would then take on a small part time job, perhaps in a bar so he can socialise and meet people at work. 12 x hours per week, taking his working hours per week to 45 hours per week should be easily achievable and would bring in an additional £500 a month after tax.

This extra cash can be invested in training to further his skills so that he can bring much more value to the workforce and consequentially earn far more than the minimum wage job he currently has. Or he could use his extra money to start a business or invest for a deposit on his own place. Or he could just spend it and be happy.

It's really not that hard is it? Or am I the crazy one for suggesting that people should become more self reliant, and work harder to further themselves rather than sit moaning, blaming circumstance for their current dissatisfaction with life?

Insanely stupid suggestion

there is NO scenario that will be better financially that involves him leaving his parents where he is paying £250 for rent, bills and food 😆

I am generally the first to encourage self motivation but I read that article and only felt compassion for the people described in it.

You are forgetting that there are often prior factors and circumstances which lead someone to a particular position.
It is very easy to look at a life from the outside and only see room for improvement.

If he buys a car for a grand, the cost of Maintainence is likely to rise. He will end up without a car very soon.

The answer here is higher pay and better public transport.

Yet I have provided the exact scenario above that allows him to move out from his mums and increase his income? What do you find so stupid about this exactly?

I’m not good with figures so won’t question your analysis but it’s not that hard is it, asking him to move away from where he knows, ditch his car and getting a second job, well it sounds somewhat hard doesn’t it? Mw job to me equals a difficult, tiring job already, get a second job to exhaust him while he lives away from his family and sells the freedom he has? Also as someone in a mw job your hours change a lot, your predominant job will not facilitate you saying oh I’ll need a Friday and Thursday to work my other job.

A lot of people on mn don’t acknowledge that their scenarios take a fair amount of sacrifice which I know is required in life but is still hard.

Plenty of cheap cars around for this price that will easily keep going another year or two with minimal maintenance.

He's chucking away a guaranteed £500 a month on car finance for his new car don't forget.

Oh dear

£250 for rent AND all bills AND all food

there is no financial alternative that will be better and your proposal is, well, utterly farcical

Maintenance would rise but it would never get to anything like the 6 grand finance cost.

He is 29 years old FFS, and still living at home! I moved out of home when I was 18 and was earning far less than this guy (inflation adjusted). Yet I survived and actually really enjoyed myself. My dad got married, was a home owner and had me by the time he was 27.

Agree that he needs higher pay not that he should just be paid more. He isn’t even working full time - up his hours and try to increase earning potential. Working antisocial hours maybe? Don’t know if that would pay more. Is there any scope for improvement where he works - team leader roles are often only a small increase but can open other doors.

As for moving out- I think that is easier done when younger and you are more likely to live in a house share and have motivation to save to get some where better. Staying at home delays this but also raises expectations.

The car is expensive but disagree with getting a £1000 car. That would be a false economy. A cheaper car on finance would make more sense.

I was also surprised the 19 year old living at home got universal credit. My son took a year off so was at home when he was 19 (returned to education aged 20 as he had to miss his alevels). Didn’t even occur to us to look if he was eligible for anything. But I will admit we didn’t need the money so that puts us in a luxury position. Tough trying to find work straight from alevels. Maybe more vocational training needs to be advertised that has job specific skills.

He needs to skill up
and increase earning potential
that is what he needs to do

Let’s all applaud @Ruskins ‘s dad shall we?

I suspect he is trapped in the car finance deal for the duration of the deal but I do agree that he could pick a cheaper deal next time.

Im sure there are some at the £250 mark that might be better than buying an unreliable car.

I

Yet my proposal is fully costed and would leave him (if he decided to work part time too) with around £700-£800 spare per month. That's more disposable income than he currently has, with better prospects to boot. Must be soul destroying still living with your parents at 29.

Yes
but he probably cocked up his exams and was always set for very low earning job
in the olden days he’d have managed
not any more
he needs to skill up

Newcastle actually has great public transport. Including the metro which goes to the airport. Outskirts of Newcastle are cheap to live in. I know plenty of people who just don't bother to drive here due to the availability of public transport.

I also left home early. Lived in what we'd now call an HMO. It's doable. Particularly in the NE which is a cheap area.

I know people who moan endlessly about money and try to squeeze (bully) their parents to get cash out of them, as they have huge car loans. It’s a no brainer. You don’t need huge cars and massive loans. If you do need finance , get a car with lower payments you can afford.

£250 a month is £3,000 spending a year, guaranteed. He could buy 3, as you put it, 'unreliable' cars for £3,000, scrapping them if something unaffordable happened to go wrong.

My DH bought our eldest daughter a 12 year old Fiat Panda two years ago when she left Uni. He paid £1200 for it. Insurance is cheap, road tax is cheap, and it's good on fuel. Two years later and approx 20,000 miles more on the clock and the Panda has needed nothing but routine servicing. Nothing of any note has gone wrong with it. So it is perfectly possible.

Not for a grand.

Yet I have just given you an example above of a Fiat for £1,200 that we bought for our daughter.

Does it go all night?

A friend of mine who works at the airport often starts work at 430am or they finish at 1am. They use night tube and then a night bus to commute at those times.

We can all buy a car from someone's grandma once. The reality is that using a grand car for a commute every day will likely mean that car isnt roadworthy in no time. Then you have to find another grand to buy another crap car. You're better off with a fixed rate on a reliable car that will ensure you keep your job.

The guy is 29 and STILL living with his parents. Surely even resorting to a moped or a pushbike would be preferable to still living at home with your mum, complaining that you can't find a girlfriend or a boyfriend (probably because you still live at home with your mum).

Im mot saying it's not possible. I run a 20 year old car thats worth pretty much its petrol tank and just spent £500 replacing its suspension bush. But overall its very cheap to run..

Im saying if he wants to run a new car when his finance deal ends, he doesnt have to pick a £500 one. There are small ones at £180 even. Its just people seemed to be saying the only options for car ownership are £500 a month or an unreliable old banger. There's massess in-between that would help his finances also.

You’ve forgotten parking costs at the airport. He’ll not save anything close to £500 if he ditched his current car, because he won’t be paying anything close to that in finance.