Has contracting made you lose perspective on money?

[PurpleGorilla]

There is a free market but it's propped up by 0% interest rates. Once they return to historic levels a lot of people are going to be utterly screwed especially landlords

That's at least 5 years away, maybe 10.

[SpontaneousOrder]

Allowed to fall. That suggests there is something beyond a free market going on. Surely not?!?

But prices are high due to a) demand (remember the hundreds of thousands of migrants living on village greens), and b) mortgages are cheap, cheap! Ok so the government has HTB, HTB2, HTB3; but that isn't interfering in a free market is it?

Prices falling would be (impossible) terrible news for the banks, stamp duty, and BTL landlords. Why do we want young people to have money to spend on beyond housing. It will just get wasted on iPads. Although We could lower the threshold they have to start paying their student debt; or even tax them more to pay off the national debt. Seems fair; the minimum wage is lower for under 21s so why not increase tax for under 21s too. They just would waste it on clubbing if they were allowed to keep more.

Planning permission too. It's nowhere near anything like a free market.

[unixman]

...We have a house bigger than the majority of our friends (and my Brother in law). we are wealthy (I have to work) but not rich.

You don't know somebody's wealth unless you have access to the figures and their overall net value of assets. Having a bigger house than your friends means little (unless it is Blenheim Palace). Your small house friends might have no liabilities/mortgage, plus other assets you aren't aware of. One person I know appears to have little cash, but this is in fact because they are financing 3 or 4 properties including a holiday villa in Spain and buy-to-let here.

[vetran]

You don't know somebody's wealth unless you have access to the figures and their overall net value of assets. Having a bigger house than your friends means little (unless it is Blenheim Palace). Your small house friends might have no liabilities/mortgage, plus other assets you aren't aware of. One person I know appears to have little cash, but this is in fact because they are financing 3 or 4 properties including a holiday villa in Spain and buy-to-let here.

Indeed but as we know their jobs and liabilities in the majority of cases I doubt I am far wrong. The point was I and my family are in a very privileged position and we should be thankful.

There may be one or two squirreling their wealth away but most are overgrowing their houses and desperate to move but have failed to do so quoting finance as the issue.

If you look at it at a world level we are in one of the richest countries in the world which puts us in the top 1% of the world, then in the top 10-20% puts s even higher we are very lucky!

[Platypus]

I tell myself almost every day how lucky I am.

But then GFP says, "no, you work for it, it's not luck"

Depends on your POV I suppose.

Last month when I went to the US, ClientCo paid for cattle class and this time MyCo decided to splash an extra $2k on upgrades. Yes, I'm lucky I can do that.

I think that sometimes, yes, I do lose sight of the value of money, as I occasionally buy expensive tulip just because I can, whereas I always turn the shampoo bottle upsidedown to squeeze the last out of it. Then I go to the pub and spend £50. It's weird I guess.

[Avalonia]

Marvellous! Another ' shut your mouth and look at my wad ' thread .

[MarillionFan]

Marvellous! Another ' shut your mouth and look at my wad ' thread .

Spot the small wad man.

[Avalonia]

Maybe... But you don't know for sure

[WordIsBond]

Providing value to the consumer of your services over and above what they cost them is the key here.

This.

We tend to be "me" focused, how hard I have to work, how much it cost me (money, time, effort) to get my skills, etc. But the key is the value differential.

[PurpleGorilla]

My thoughts exactly sir, damn this Chateaux Lafitte.