Is this a CUK poster, its me,me,me enough

[Sysman]

It's easy to be sarcastic and start whining about her whining; but she does have a point. Living in London is so expensive it's a wonder anyone other than millionaires can afford it, and the same is true of most of the UK.

When I look back to my early career I was earning better money than many, but it got sunk into buying a house. My friends sur le continent didn't have to go through that and could afford 3 holidays abroad every year, drive cars that didn't need constant repairs and so on.

It does make you wonder.

[doodab]

WHS

12k on food!! Holy Moly!!

Yeah, they must be starving. I spend at least twice that.

[doodab]

Agree with simonmac and MIT, some people just want to waste money on expensive outings, new cars etc and it really isn't necessary in order for kids to have a decent life.



I find some of those figures ridiculous. £2500 on insurance? £4,500 on utilities??? Anyone here spend that sort of dosh on those?

£4500 on utilities is only £375 a month which with electricity, gas, phone / internet etc is probably about right TBH. Home and car insurance in London is expensive, especially if you have anything of value, but I don't think I spend that much, more like £1200 + whatever my missus spends on car insurance.

[minestrone]

I believe a person's income is based on their ability to make income.

If a person wants wealth then it is quite easy to make money by attaching yourself to an income generating body with a skill set that makes the entity money. Better still make an entity that makes money.

Living wage for cleaners? pah, all you are going to get from that is children who apsire to cleaning jobs "'cos that is enuff to get by"

We should starve these blighters in our society into working.

As Randy says...

They say that's money
Can't buy love in this world
But it'll get you a half-pound of cocaine And a sixteen-year old girl
And a great big long limousine
On a hot September night Now that may not be love...

Athough I notice on his more recent ablum that has been changed to a 19 year old girl.

[SueEllen]

The middle class used to be old banged up volvo in the drive but education marked them out and they were happy with their lot brigade, now it's bleating to the papers about material wealth and a sense of entitlement.

Have to agree with you- what do they need a 11K car for? In London all cars get scratched in supermarket car parks or hit by some under 21 year old who has just passed their test.

Also their mortgage even for London living isn't a lot. I've met people on a lot less who have a bigger mortgage i.e. £1000+ a month and it wasn't IO.

Their food bill is high though. They need to learn to cook from scratch, use the freezer and all take pack lunches. I use to be the envy of some of my middle class mates as I had school dinners. (I couldn't be trusted to have a decent breakfast as I was the last person to leave the house in the morning.) They didn't because their parents worked out it wasn't cost effective as they would have at least two decent meals a day at home.

[Mich the Tester]

Have to agree with you- what do they need a 11K car for?

To demonstrate their membership of the delusion that is called the 'middle class'?

Anyway, I just looked at autotrader for cars between 2000 and 4000 quid and it's obvious that there are very good cars available in that price range. I can only conclude that those people are cretins.

[Mich the Tester]

Some of those people who identify themselves as 'middle class' yet get themselves into financial difficulty might take a closer look at the lives of the 'upper class' people in their vicinity.

Contrary to what some people think, the upper classes are generally not ostentatious and don't tend to do open displays of wealth; they're happy to drive a second hand car that's properly maintained (over here in NL that's usually a well maintained, unpimped basic model Mercedes or VW that might be more than 10 years old), they wear tweed that may be handed down and wax jackets for a simple reason; it's durable and never comes into or goes out of fashion. They buy shoes from van Bommel or van Lier (in NL at least) which cost 3 or 4 hundred euros but last a lifetime if you get them repaired from time to time. They tend to live fairly parsimoniously, eating veg from their own garden or a local market grower and cheap cuts of meat from the local butcher. They go to lesser known places on holiday and don't flash their wealth. Their furniture is often hand-me-down, but when they buy something new, whatever it is, they buy the very best quality available and then keep it maintained. They don't buy a new sofa if the old one's worn out; they get it re-upholstered by a local craftsman; of course, it's worth doing that if you bought top quality to start with. They don't speculate on wierd and wonderful financial products they don't understand, but invest in agriculture, art or an industry they know well.

In fact, of course there are exceptions, but the upper classes tend to be very sensible with money; that's part of how they became upper class.

[OwlHoot]

As Randy says...

They say that's money
Can't buy love in this world
But it'll get you a half-pound of cocaine And a sixteen-year old girl
And a great big long limousine
On a hot September night Now that may not be love...

Athough I notice on his more recent ablum that has been changed to a 19 year old girl.

You must be looking at the sleeve upside down!

[Sysman]

Good.

I fecking hate that Bat out of Hell song.

Fava beans too?

I hate that song too.

Yet it seems to be one that refuses to die.

Leek rather than Fava beans.

Beer instead of Chianti.

[Sysman]

Some of those people who identify themselves as 'middle class' yet get themselves into financial difficulty might take a closer look at the lives of the 'upper class' people in their vicinity.

Agreed.

Contrary to what some people think, the upper classes are generally not ostentatious and don't tend to do open displays of wealth; they're happy to drive a second hand car that's properly maintained (over here in NL that's usually a well maintained, unpimped basic model Mercedes or VW that might be more than 10 years old), they wear tweed that may be handed down and wax jackets for a simple reason; it's durable and never comes into or goes out of fashion. They buy shoes from van Bommel or van Lier (in NL at least) which cost 3 or 4 hundred euros but last a lifetime if you get them repaired from time to time. They tend to live fairly parsimoniously, eating veg from their own garden or a local market grower and cheap cuts of meat from the local butcher. They go to lesser known places on holiday and don't flash their wealth. Their furniture is often hand-me-down, but when they buy something new, whatever it is, they buy the very best quality available and then keep it maintained. They don't buy a new sofa if the old one's worn out; they get it re-upholstered by a local craftsman; of course, it's worth doing that if you bought top quality to start with. They don't speculate on wierd and wonderful financial products they don't understand, but invest in agriculture, art or an industry they know well.

That describes the office manager in my shared offices quite well. The Swiss version of tweeds, good quality shoes, and always immaculately turned out. Before he resigned as director of a well known company here he drove a Mercedes 300 diesel. No acceleration to speak of but a car that lasted him for many years. When he got a less well paying job he swapped it for a Prius, but a year ago he did the calculations and chose to get shut in favour of an all-Switzerland rail pass, and if he needs a car he rents one when he gets to his destination.

In fact, of course there are exceptions, but the upper classes tend to be very sensible with money; that's part of how they became upper class.

Being careful with their money is also how they hang onto it.