Around where we live (Harrogate) I am sure that (despite the veneer of wealth) there is a whole shit load of crap on credit cards / PCPs / loans etc. Every other person seems to have a Range Rover or equivalent and all the parents at our kids’ school seem to have everything they could want despite only a few of them actually having careers that seem to match their spending.

My wife doesn’t understand why we never have any money compared to them but I suggest that we probably have much more…

Late to this thread as I had to check with my accountant. No

Every other person seems to have a Range Rover or equivalent and all the parents at our kids’ school seem to have everything they could want despite only a few of them actually having careers that seem to match their spending.

A freind of mine who did a lot of divorce work as a barrister said a similar thing. So many of his apparently wealthy clients had few real assets, lots of people just 1 pay cheque away from handing the Merc/RR back.

Now, I’m retired, very wealthy, but I’m 70 years old and look back on all the things we could have done when I was younger. What the hell am I going to do with all the money now?”

I have another friend (:-)) who was a financial adviser and he said so many of his clients where obsessed with security to the detriment of their current life style.

I have a few quid put away but I will be working until 61/62 but we have always gone on holidays as a family, the kids can both Ski (although we only go every 2/3 years because it is so expensive) but we have had some holidays every year. Having money when I cant get out to run/cycle etc doesnt interest me much.

If you are over the age of about 35 in 2016 (and managed to buy a house when they were more attainable), have a reasonable(not massively paid) job/household income and have managed to avoid serious illness, divorce, supporting children from a number of different women and have resisted the urge to have/borrow the lifestyle of a premier league footballer/reality TV star on a middling salary, then there aren’t really many reasons why you shouldn’t have something in the bank for a “rainy day”, even if you do owe a fair chunk on a mortgage.

Taking a loan to pay for a holiday…. that’s the kind of thing I can’t understand.

No, that has always puzzled me too. Holidays are something you do with the money you have left over from living, aren’t they?

Spending £1,000s, that you don’t have, on cars (mostly in an attempt to impress others, given that almost all cars are comfortable, brisk and well appointed these days -you just choose your price point) and short-lived holidays has always seemed daft to me.

The opposite case, where you have stacks of money, but live like a total pauper is equally peculiar.

How did you guys decide it’s best for you if Mum stopped work? My wife wanted to stay in work and it’s working out OK – just one kid though.

Basically, there was no childcare in our village and one of the benefits of being a teacher was she got pretty reasonable maternity for a while. Just were skint for the rest of it.

aren’t they?

Depends. I bought my current car and put it on my mortgage. A crazy thing you may say but I had the money in an account that was offering much more interest than my mortgage was charging me. I always had the savings to fall back on but the loan was almost interest free.
I would borrow money to go on a family holiday TBH as long as I was confident I could pay it back. Time with family, especially young children is irreplaceable. I know a guy who almost never took a family holiday but always had some top of the range car that he couldnt really afford. I know what I will remember when I am old and the kids have left home and it wont be the X5 that I bought to impress the neighbours.

@johndoh..

I think you are partially right on that observation. Harrogate does seem to be in a little bubble of its own. At the farm (near Lady Lane) we see lots of big cars, flashy cars, very expensive road bikes, horses and what not going up and down the lane outside the farm. It’s often been commented by the FIL “where’s all that bloody money come from?” And I think he’s right. But, all along that lane there are retired/semi retired ex Leeds/Bradford folk who’ve moved up here, they’ve bought a lot of the nice houses and spent quite a fair chunk of money renovating them all.. or so it seems.
Down in Beckwithshaw at the school there, every afternoon a raft of Evokes/RR’s and large Audi estates turn up driven by Mum to collect the children, never see Dad though. You get talking and find that most Dads work away, Manchester, Leeds, London, York even. It’s where the money is. I have contemplated moving up, yet work in London during the week, but can’t pull myself away from the coast.

The problem I see with all this wealth in the area is the draw for some folk the be the same, to be seen driving around in new cars and such. Clearly some can afford debt, some can’t and we can only sit by and guesstimate at the proportion of those that drive up/down the lane who are happy and comfortable in owning such large expensive vehicles.

But we could go on forever talking about social attainment and credit/debt leverage, it’s for each of us to be comfortable with a ratio of what we have and what we want.

At the farm (near Lady Lane)

Just down the road from me (I live on Whinney Lane) 🙂

Is your farm the one right on the junction? If so, what is happening with the buildings? I see there has been a grant awarded to develop some of the run down ones…

No, that has always puzzled me too. Holidays are something you do with the money you have left over from living, aren’t they?

I would much rather take out a small loan to pay to live life through travel than spend it on a ‘thing’

£1800 savings, over 10k student loan which will likely never be paid back as I never earn the threshold where you have to.
2-3k on interest-free deals for bike things and tools for my work.
No house, just a shed……on someone else’s land… 😕
I’m commissioning a hired assassin for when I’m 60-odd anyway. Take me out when I least expect it. Avoid the nursing home years, so hopefully I won’t need too much behind me. 😀

Hi johndoh, no it’s just up the road a little from that one.

We’re all getting the grants in before Brexit, he’s got plans to reroof his cow shed and build on the back of it for 15 more cattle. That muck heap he’s got on the road, he has to cover too so it’ll all be one large “shed”.

Nice place to be up there isn’t it.

If you do not have cash/savings of £100, why waste money on a MTB?

Didnt this one get done a while ago with x% of americans couldnt raise 300 dollars at short notice story?

Yep http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/could-you-find-300-in-an-emergency

Mudshark,Mrs S went part time, first two then 3 days a week after taking the maximum maternity then got made redundant at the start of this year (youngest then 2). Best thing that could have happened. She’s still got the redundancy stashed, I had some savings at the time but we blew that going on holiday ;). Have racked up about a grand since, paid half off yesterday as Mrs S is now back at work. We werent exactly frugal while she eas off thpugh as we knew shed be as orkin again next year once the youngest got his free hours. We’re both a bit unsure its the right thing right now as its full time but. Could be a bit much. Basically: screw the money, its worth a bit of debt to have a calm, clean, organized (as far as is possible with two kids) household especially for those first few years, kids were really settled while she’s was off, they’re taking a bit of time adjusting to the new regime.

£190,000 in a high interest Deutsche Bank savings account here, lovely!

Deutsche Bank

Or possibly not so lovely if the German government do a Lehmans!

I also live in Harrogate and have done all my life. It really is a bubble and the amount of people strutting around is ridiculous. Embarrassing really.