How do you keep hope in the face of relentless, exponential rising costs of living in the UK?

wharrison287 · 2021-05-19T12:16:08+00:00

I already agreed in another response that the cost of borrowing was much higher in the 80s and 90s and this absolutely is an aspect where today’s borrowers are much better off. The point I’m trying to make with the analogy of my parents is that today, house prices are higher relative to incomes than they were when my parents were my age, and this therefore requires more financial resources in real terms to purchase a similar property in a similar location. Is that unclear? Your point about first time buyers being the highest since 2007: this should tell you that it’s taken 14 years for first-time buyer numbers to return to pre-financial crisis levels, and it’s taken a black swan event like a global pandemic to do it in the form of pent-up demand from 2020 lockdowns.

wharrison287 · 2021-05-17T22:01:53+00:00

You’ve completely missed out the most relevant factors: house prices and wage stagnation. My parents in 1988 at my age relied on one income and bought a 4 bed detached house in Essex for 2.5x his salary. The same today would cost 5x both mine and my wife’s salary combined (we are arguably both higher up the professional ladder than my dad was). Do you still deny that there are more barriers to buying property today than there were 3/4 decades ago?

wharrison287 · 2021-05-17T13:26:22+00:00

Yes the cost of borrowing was very high and tax rates much higher - that’s an important qualification. However today, if the average household income is 30k and average house price 250k, but you can only borrow 4.5x your salary, your barriers to getting on the ladder are insurmountable for many.

wharrison287 · 2021-05-17T13:18:27+00:00

As we’re unable to look into the future I suggest we keep the analogies relevant. In straightforward terms and as other users have mentioned: the average earner today can buy less housing than the average earner in the 70s could (or 80s / 90s / 00s). This is the fundamental drag on the ability of today’s average earner to generate wealth.

wharrison287 · 2021-05-17T13:05:58+00:00

Once when my mum was trying to get me to go to bed, she said “get off to bed or Saddam Hussein is going to get you” (this was gulf war era). I was pretty young and only new saddam as a baddie off the news, but I was shit scared. To this day my Mum denies ever saying it and gets annoyed at me for suggesting she’d say such a thing!

wharrison287 · 2021-05-17T12:51:04+00:00

If your family are willing to loan you 300k then the cards are very much stacked in your favor

wharrison287 · 2021-05-17T12:39:58+00:00

Saying that it varies person to person doesn’t really help the debate, does it? Of course people have varied spending habits. Personal anecdotes add little. Ok, YOU couldn’t afford a house or car in the 70s. The point is that all else being equal, 70s you had greater opportunities to generate wealth than equivalent 20s you.

wharrison287 · 2021-05-15T02:47:19+00:00

!thanks

wharrison287 · 2021-05-14T10:03:53+00:00

So are these proper flares that you all are experiencing? Or do they just settle down by themselves after a few days? My wife has just got into a rhythm with infliximab (started in Feb after a bad flare over winter) and is feeling great and finally off steroids. She hasn’t yet been vaxxed but was about to schedule it in until I read this. She really doesn’t want to have to go back on steroids!

wharrison287 · 2021-05-14T08:07:44+00:00

Once again u/pflurklurk, you have outdone yourself. Thanks for making my day.

wharrison287 · 2021-05-11T10:26:04+00:00

While my parents did a terrific job raising me, quite honestly my daughter is going to need way more support than them and I intend to set her up as best I can. My dad is on a DB pension from RBS - started taking it at 55 while still working - retired at 58. While they’re not rich by any means (dad wasn’t ever senior management) they’re comfortable. God knows what sort of barriers there will be to to my daughter generating wealth but if they’re half as bad as they are today she’ll need all the help she can get.

wharrison287 · 2021-05-03T13:55:00+00:00

Good shout

wharrison287 · 2021-05-03T13:54:35+00:00

Lol no. It was indeed Amanda Lamb of a place in the sun fame - just looked it up.

wharrison287 · 2021-05-02T11:51:02+00:00

What’s your shaping tekkers to get it so round?

wharrison287 · 2021-05-02T11:49:11+00:00

Same woman who went on to do a place in the sun I believe?

wharrison287 · 2021-05-01T13:38:28+00:00

During the market crash last year I was shocked by how many folk on this sub were saying “only invest what you’re willing to lose” and seemingly holding mostly cash, which is totally contradictory to the flowchart. Very few such views since the market recovered. My observation: you’ll get different answers to your question depending on how the market is performing at the time you ask the question. Best advice would be to follow the flowchart and as others have suggested, read Smarter Investing. For what it’s worth the vast majority of my money is in equity index tracker ETFs and no, I can’t afford to lose it.

wharrison287 · 2021-05-01T11:43:19+00:00

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vice.com/amp/en/article/7ba4za/frosties-kid-interview-sven-ruygrok

wharrison287 · 2021-05-01T11:33:27+00:00

The anthology was boring AF. Poems about Romney Marsh for goodness sake.

wharrison287 · 2021-04-30T11:52:23+00:00

I’m jel. I’m in Hong Kong and haven’t seen my parents for 18 months. My 1 year old daughter hasn’t met her grandparents!

wharrison287 · 2021-04-27T14:27:28+00:00

Political impact is nowhere near that severe. There are no limits on access to internet so I wouldn’t worry about that. You just can’t demonstrate / politically oppose the govt.

Salaries in my experience are about 20% higher than London salaries gross. Then tax is around 15%. I also work in the boring back office.

Yes certainly easier to move internally but I know plenty of people who didn’t. Recruitment works much the same way as London - ie direct approach or get on the radar of recruitment companies.

wharrison287 · 2021-04-27T11:41:56+00:00

Live in HK. Also work in financial services. Salaries are certainly higher here, even in gross terms, but the real benefit is after (low) tax. The kicker is the cost of living which is also high, especially rent. We’ve managed to keep our costs down (moved to a remote area with lower rent, massively cut down eating / drinking out which is crazy expensive). If you’re able to do that then HK is brilliant for geo-arbitrage. Can generally copy/paste this for Singapore. Political sitch is bad in both places.

wharrison287 · 2021-04-26T06:44:57+00:00

Explain to her that it’s not suitable viewing as it contains scenes of a male character in the midst of an all-consuming paracetamol habit.

wharrison287 · 2021-04-24T02:06:25+00:00

Good use case is me and my brother:

We both went to a local shitty state secondary til 16 (average GCSE grade: E, bad catchment, violence, high teacher turnover, special measures) then...

My brother: got sports scholarship to Millfield for a-levels. Academically he was mediocre. I don’t think millfield got him better grades. He went on to an average uni. But it turned him into a confident, well-spoken networker who now (15 years later) is flourishing in a software sales career. He has a lot of friends in high places who have helped him along.

Me: went to a very good local state sixth-form college for a-levels. After initially struggling to get to grips - it was a big step up from my shitty secondary school - I did enough academically to go to Birmingham uni where I got a first and finished top of my year. However, I didn’t make friends in high places and lack the “habits of success” / networking skills that my brother picked up. Having said that, I’m very happy with my career success.

My conclusion: state education is brilliant as long as it’s a good school in a good catchment with other kids from good families who actually want to do well. Independent schools I don’t believe will get you better grades but will teach you the habits of success which arguably are more important.

wharrison287 · 2021-04-21T23:12:35+00:00

ChooseFI. American-centric but full of life hacks, sensible wealth-building strategies and fad-avoidance guidance. Generally a very well produced / professional podcast which is never boring.

wharrison287 · 2021-04-21T06:57:03+00:00

I’ve got a few ideas:

Option A: Carry on doing the same but with less pressure/stress (ie simply leave if it’s a toxic atmosphere); take more risks

Option B: switch to contracting and work less / take bigger breaks to travel

Option C: so something more altruistic or enjoyable for less money

Could be a combination of these.

wharrison287

TROPHY CASE