How much cash y'all got ?

mr_eddy

Again I refer to my post - You can still WORK in London but LIVE outside of London and get a better deal financially.

rick_chasey

Plenty of us HATE commuting by train.

It's beyond horrendous.

And places outside London that are commutable aren't much cheaper anyway.

okgo

And the places that are cheaper and are commutable are revolting, like just about everything north of St Albans

mr_eddy

Forgot that all the glamour is in the south - Compared to Tottenham the Derbyshire dales seem like a dump lol

Fair enough I suppose - I am thankful because I have a job that only requires a high speed internet link so technically I could work from anywhere. In fact the missus and I are thinking of starting a family next year and I will work from home for a few years (£60 a day for nursery - erm no thanks).

mr_eddy

I commend London commuters tho - You could not pay me enough to stand on the hateful disgusting tube for several hours a week or sitting on some hateful bus or sucking up diesel fumes on my bike for that matter. I think I would go mad after only a few months.

my_grandadʹs_bike

mr_eddy wrote:

I live south Nottingham - 2 hours in the car has been achieved in the past but that estimate was a bit of stretch maybe closer to 2.5 hrs, My house to MK station is 1.15 but I have done it in 52 mins.

The fast train from Nottingham station takes 1.50 but often its a bit early - I think the driver puts his foot down a bit!

116k for house, south Nottingham, country park - only place that fits the bill in my mind is Cotgrave? Could be Ruddington but how you managed to get a house for that amount tends to rule that one out for me.

okgo

If you're that happy, I do wonder as to why you started a thread asking about everyone else's situation The dales are lovely, but there are plenty of parts of Surrey/Kent/Hants/Essex etc that are stunning and within an easy ride of London.

Many people also live in London because of other reasons, there's a lot to do, see, many interesting people and cultures etc, there is more to it than work, its one of the greatest cities on the planet, that just so happens to be the centre of many industries, law, banking, media etc.

You are looking at it based on your earnings, which is a touch silly, its priced at what the market will pay. Nobody in Luton will pay £60 a day, so its not £60 a day, its basic supply/demand.

fenix

A lot of people live in London and don't actually take advantage of the area. I used to work down there and was in town at least one night per week. Spoke to a colleague there who'd never even seen Buckingham Palace and he'd lived in London all his life.

rick_chasey

Rick Chasey wrote:

Plenty of us HATE commuting by train.

It's beyond horrendous.

And places outside London that are commutable aren't much cheaper anyway.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... il-strikes

Grim.

Just not worth it.

Frank Wilson

Returning to the "getting on the ladder" part of this thread we were at a few pages back this is an actual conversation I had in the local the other night.

Me: New phone mate?
Mate: Yeah, Iphone 7 unlimited minutes, texts, data, £70.00 a month
Mate: See the match last night?
Me: No mate I don't have Sky
Mate: I have the full package, sports, movies, multi room etc £100.00 quid a month
Me: Still looking at buying your own place?
Mate: What chance have I got of saving for a deposit!

okgo

£170, one of those things you need anyway, the other is really quite a cheap form of entertainment when you think about it. Can't really see the issue. Unless of course he's got a £500 car payment, likes designer clobber, blah blah blah, then really a phone and sky are far from the most frivolous things you can have.

daniel_b

okgo wrote:

£170, one of those things you need anyway, the other is really quite a cheap form of entertainment when you think about it. Can't really see the issue. Unless of course he's got a £500 car payment, likes designer clobber, blah blah blah, then really a phone and sky are far from the most frivolous things you can have.

You need a phone agreed, but £70 a month, is a huge whack of cash, and if you are trying to save for a deposit, it shows you are not really committed to getting there.

I have a £215 smart phone, which will last me 4 years easily, same as my last one, so that's £4.48 per month, plus a sim only deal with unlimited texts, and 1GB of data, which costs me £13 per month, so I'm already £650 up a year on Mr iphone.
I also do not have Sky, I barely have the time to watch TV as it is, and there is plenty for me on Terrestrial, and via iplayer and all the freeview channels, although admittedly have just splurged on a 12 month Eurosport player subscription for a whopping £1.67 a month :shock: , so that's another £1180 - so there in a heartbeat you have a potential saving for him of the best part of 2K, map that out over 5 years, and you have the makings of a deposit.

I think a lot of people see the luxuries and extravagances as the essentials, ie cutting edge phones, fibre connections (Yes I have one, but I work from home 2 days a week), TV Packages, and most of all, a new car - never fails to amaze me how many people are happy to splurge 20K upwards on a run of the mill family hatchback, or horrific SUV thing, and don't bat an eye when they trade it in 3 years later for a fraction of the original value.

dinyull

okgo wrote:

£170, one of those things you need anyway, the other is really quite a cheap form of entertainment when you think about it. Can't really see the issue. Unless of course he's got a £500 car payment, likes designer clobber, blah blah blah, then really a phone and sky are far from the most frivolous things you can have.

Dunno where frank is based, where his mate is looking at buying or how much he earns but £170 a month isn't throwaway money outside of London (or six figure salary).

We've just pied off Sky because it was £70 a month and despite not having all of the channels you still couldn't watch everything you pay extra for.

I mentioned brother in law earlier in this thread, he's the same as franks mate. Whinges and moans at being priced out of the market yet he, his wife and baby daughter are clad head to toe in designer gear, have all the latest phones and gadgets, full sky subscription, going on a lads holiday and a family holiday this year, out on the pi$$ each weekend and his wife has just given up work to be a stay at home mum.

All fine, if they could afford it. But he's always, without fail knocking on his dad's door a couple of weeks after pay day asking for money to feed the kid.

kingstongraham

Daniel B wrote:

a sim only deal with unlimited texts, and 1GB of data, which costs me £13 per month, so I'm already £650 up a year on Mr iphone.

You're overpaying by at least £3 a month.

rick_chasey

Mate, you also gotta live.

I have friends who move back in with their parents aged 29 to 'save for a deposit' and they are almost universally miserable.

Sometimes it's just not worth it.

In theory I could live with my parents and commute, but a) it'd be a miserable commute, b) I would start falling out with them and regressing and c) it'd be awful on my wife

My generation's gonna be working till we're in our mid 70s realistically, so a few years here and there not owning isn't the end of the world.

It's a balance, but spending your 20s living like a hermit to eek out an extra £700 for a deposit seems a bit extreme to me.

dinyull

Having a cheaper Sky package/mobile isn't living like a hermit. Or am I missing something?

In London I know it's pocket money but £700 is almost 1/10th of a mortgage deposit up here.

okgo

Sky is one of the cheapest forms of entertainment out there - so you get internet, sport, movies etc for the price of 10 pints of beer. Seems like a good use of cash to me if its going to stop you going out 3 times a week.

Let me tell you now that very very very few people are splurging £20k on a hatchback. In fact almost all cars on the road are leased, mainly as people in this country have no concept of money and cannot control themselves. Over 70% of all cars are leased or rented through some scheme or other. My neighbour has £100k of Audi on his drive (2 cars) - I should imagine he'll be giving them back soon enough and scraping together another deposit so he can pay out whatever monthly he's got.

Ben6899

Surrey Commuter wrote:

The non stop train gets you to King Cross in 1h 40mins (not far off what some people on the outskirts of London take), I can drive to somewhere like Milton Keynes in 50 mins and then catch a train to central London in around 30 mins or I could drive direct into the capital and park in about 2 hours. Yes there is £12 CC and another £10 for parking.

This is like the ultimate Xmas quiz - where does Mr Eddy live?
His local station is 1:40 non-stop from Kings X is (Doncaster ish)
He can drive to MK station in 50 mins (assume heading North then Leicester)
He can drive into Central London in 2 hours (Northampton?)

Mr Eddy lives in Retford. Donny is 1h49 to Kings Cross and Retford is ~10mins further south.

Frank Wilson

Dinyull wrote:

okgo wrote:

£170, one of those things you need anyway, the other is really quite a cheap form of entertainment when you think about it. Can't really see the issue. Unless of course he's got a £500 car payment, likes designer clobber, blah blah blah, then really a phone and sky are far from the most frivolous things you can have.

Dunno where frank is based, where his mate is looking at buying or how much he earns but £170 a month isn't throwaway money outside of London (or six figure salary).

We've just pied off Sky because it was £70 a month and despite not having all of the channels you still couldn't watch everything you pay extra for.

I mentioned brother in law earlier in this thread, he's the same as franks mate. Whinges and moans at being priced out of the market yet he, his wife and baby daughter are clad head to toe in designer gear, have all the latest phones and gadgets, full sky subscription, going on a lads holiday and a family holiday this year, out on the pi$$ each weekend and his wife has just given up work to be a stay at home mum.

All fine, if they could afford it. But he's always, without fail knocking on his dad's door a couple of weeks after pay day asking for money to feed the kid.

Dinyull, I am based in an area where a three bed semi costs about 130k, ex council stock circa 100k so as you say £170 a month over a few years would secure a deposit. Maybe peoples outlook on life has changed since I was young but getting on the housing ladder was a priority for me which I did by 19 and my first house was fully paid off by 28. During this time I also lived my life, got out regularly etc, but being a person who enjoys doing things as opposed to having the best material possessions maybe I was quite content to take peoples hand me down three piece suites etc

Being a bit prudent in those early years (when let us not forget the mortgage rate was 15% plus at times) has really reaped dividends later whereby for the ensuing three decades of my life no mortgage / rent has meant a nice lifestyle.

rolf_f

Dinyull wrote:

We've just pied off Sky because it was £70 a month and despite not having all of the channels you still couldn't watch everything you pay extra for.

There's limitless free sh1te TV available on Freeview so why pay £70 a month for more of it!

iPete

Seems a bit nuts when you consider Netflix is 1/10th price and arguably has better content.

Garry H

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Garry H wrote:

I have shedfs full of money that I'm eager to give away, only thing is it's tied up and you'll need to first give me 10,000.00 GBP in order to release it. I guarantee that you'll at least quadruple your investment, honest. Any takers?

I took money off you in the past...

You did indeed. In return for the finest set of wheels I've owned. Still going strong btw.

Ben6899

Everyone's priorities for spending vary. It's as simple as that. We don't have a TV (because most stuff on there is sh1te), we watch the odd thing on the laptop and I have a Eurosport Player subscription which is less than the price of a pint of Guinness, once a month.

I try to save about 10% of my income every month and Miss6899 aims for similar. It's an aim and not set in stone - sometimes we save less and sometimes we save more.

Spending shedloads on a phone and a Sky subscription are not my thing, but if others choose to do that... to each their own.

briantrumpet

Rolf F wrote:

Dinyull wrote:

We've just pied off Sky because it was £70 a month and despite not having all of the channels you still couldn't watch everything you pay extra for.

There's limitless free sh1te TV available on Freeview so why pay £70 a month for more of it!

Even the limitless free shite isn't worth the money. I've just passed my 20th anniversary of not having a TV

slowmart

My wife and I gave up a tv for a few years when we were starting out together. I was on the road a lot which meant early nights and starts.

Family and friends were amazed we didn't miss the tv or content with the only thing of interest was Euro 96 which I caught at the local.

I do remember catching some news one day to learn we had missed an oil crisis which I found amusing as I was totally oblivious to this and many world events which I have to say was rather good, despite having a need for fuel oil.

briantrumpet

Slowmart wrote:

I do remember catching some news one day to learn we had missed an oil crisis which I found amusing as I was totally oblivious to this and many world events which I have to say was rather good, despite having a need for fuel oil.

TV news is one of the most insidious things I know. It's pure entertainment that feeds on misery. Chris Morris and The Day Today cured me of the misapprehension that it was anything else other than that.

voodooman

5 years left on the mortgage though the overpaying (only an extra £100 / month) on top of the £1000ish it costs has payed massive dividends.

Only got the house we have due to working offshore mind back in the mid 90s, and saving everything meant we got the house, married and payed for me to retrain as a teacher for a year.

Tough at times, but now I'm a head teacher and my wife back to work full-time (and middle teen kids) suddenly we have some substantial savings but...

No Sky, standard smartphones on cheap tariffs, buy 3 yr old cars for peanuts and drive them into the ground using 0% finance deals (buy a car for 8k, pay off in three and you'll get another 4 yrs cheap motoring), one biggish holiday a year but no need to keep up with the Jones (we don't do statement holidays).

Now looking at a potential mortgage on 10 acres nr Lyme as we've seriously considered moving or retiring that way in a decade or so, and the land backs onto an area we would like to live in (need 7 acres minimum for a woodburner / heating for a modest house)