Reply to: Wage inflation

[SueEllen]

A lot of people live on far less than £30k that they can only dream of.

Average (median) income is about 24K

There is a table of figures some where for average income per region.

[AtW]

WHS. I spend over £300.mth on petrol just to get to work and back. On top of that I pay around £150/mth for leccy & gas. Then I pay £140 council tax.

There's just shy of £600/mth without housing or food. Thank God I'm a contractor, I really do feel for people on average incomes...

A lot of people live on far less than £30k that they can only dream of.

[AtW]

Well if as you say the 'typical mortgage rate of ~4 to 5%' and inflation is at least 5% (and the rest) I don't see how banks are fleecing mortgage payers.

Inflation has nothing to do with it - banks lend at as much as they can get away with, sometimes even they can't beat inflation.

[AtW]

What I recall is that you were an employee until you got your UK passport, the minute you got the passport you resingned and signed on benefits... that's what you told eveyone here and bragged about some years ago.

I did resign as soon as I got permanent residence (that's not the same as nationality/passport) and setup my current company thus becoming company director.

I never signed on benefits (as in unemployment etc - the only discounts I ever had were single occupancy 25% in council tax (still use it but I do not believe it is classed as "benefit")).

I never bragged on about it (since it never happened in the first place).

There were a couple of people on here who claimed I did so as a joke - it wasn't me.

Are we clear now as to benefits situation?

[lilelvis2000]

My impression is that the disparity between the BOE base rate of 0.5% and the typical mortgage rate of ~4 to 5% is so the banks can recover from the fiasco they created without needing loads more QE which further devalues sterling.

The banks are also currently benefitting from fleecing the savers as well as the mortgagees, with savings rates barely keeping track of official inflation never mind real inflation.

If BOE rates went up I expect the banks would have to swallow that increase until the disparity got back to the more normal BOE rate + 2%. Especially if the gen pop is complaining of high prices elsewhere (fuel, food, etc).

I thought it was to recover all the cash they lost from the investment banks falling over. Nothing to do with QE - that was to get the economy moving. No idea if that has worked - we might not know for a few years.

I really doubt the banks would be so kind to us to swallow anything as they honestly don't care tulip about the general public. They still charge quite hight fees..and those fees have increased significantly. My wife and I wanted to go on a cheaper mortgage product and the bank wanted £700 for something that was £300 previously - even at £300 it was a rip off. I have heard cases of people paying over £1000 for this "mortgage arrangement fee".

That's kinda like me charging a client a contract arrangement fee when I build a website for them. But if you can get away with it, why not eh?

[gingerjedi]

I sure made the right choice, and I am sure so did you - the only difference is that one of us will be dating prom queen and the other one will live a pathetic life with the only highlights of posting tulip on CUK

...Says the single guy posting at 01:50 from his bedsit in the midlands.

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" - John Lennon

[lilelvis2000]

You got it wrong.

What matters is working with people who you are glad to see every day - location/money is secondary to it, even though ideal scenario is working with great people in a great location whilst being paid great money

Yeah, on planet perfect. Where is that BTW and will voyager pass by it sometime soon.

[TimberWolf]

My impression is that the disparity between the BOE base rate of 0.5% and the typical mortgage rate of ~4 to 5% is so the banks can recover from the fiasco they created without needing loads more QE which further devalues sterling.

The banks are also currently benefitting from fleecing the savers as well as the mortgagees, with savings rates barely keeping track of official inflation never mind real inflation.

If BOE rates went up I expect the banks would have to swallow that increase until the disparity got back to the more normal BOE rate + 2%. Especially if the gen pop is complaining of high prices elsewhere (fuel, food, etc).

Well if as you say the 'typical mortgage rate of ~4 to 5%' and inflation is at least 5% (and the rest) I don't see how banks are fleecing mortgage payers.

[PAH]

Well in this case what stops raising BoE rate back to 5% to deal with inflation?

My impression is that the disparity between the BOE base rate of 0.5% and the typical mortgage rate of ~4 to 5% is so the banks can recover from the fiasco they created without needing loads more QE which further devalues sterling.

The banks are also currently benefitting from fleecing the savers as well as the mortgagees, with savings rates barely keeping track of official inflation never mind real inflation.

If BOE rates went up I expect the banks would have to swallow that increase until the disparity got back to the more normal BOE rate + 2%. Especially if the gen pop is complaining of high prices elsewhere (fuel, food, etc).

[zamzummim]

You got it wrong.

What matters is working with people who you are glad to see every day - location/money is secondary to it, even though ideal scenario is working with great people in a great location whilst being paid great money

I actually agree, people I work with is most important to me, cuz work is work every where, however, I am in London, so I can get to choose the teams I get to work with as there is more work around. When I was out of London, it was awfully hard to get a role within an hour's distance.

[zamzummim]

That's not true, I never used any benefits other than:
1) no council tax when I was student
2) 25% discount on council tax due to me living on my own
3) student travel card

That's it.

What I recall is that you were an employee until you got your UK passport, the minute you got the passport you resingned and signed on benefits... that's what you told eveyone here and bragged about some years ago.

[ratewhore]

How anyone on £30K p.a., or a pensioner, or a young graduate with huge debts, manages these days I can't begin to imagine. They must live on fresh air.

WHS. I spend over £300.mth on petrol just to get to work and back. On top of that I pay around £150/mth for leccy & gas. Then I pay £140 council tax.

There's just shy of £600/mth without housing or food. Thank God I'm a contractor, I really do feel for people on average incomes...

[OwlHoot]

Do you really think the only people struggling are the ones with massive debts and oversize mortgages? You are nearly as out of touch with reality as the bloody politicians mate.

WHS - AtW is on another planet.

I'm not that extravagent - I don't gamble, and rarely go on holiday, although I do smoke and drink.

But despite having been in contract almost continuously for the last several years, even I struggle a bit sometimes to pay all the bills on time.

How anyone on £30K p.a., or a pensioner, or a young graduate with huge debts, manages these days I can't begin to imagine. They must live on fresh air.

[doodab]

I sure made the right choice, and I am sure so did you - the only difference is that one of us will be dating prom queen and the other one will live a pathetic life with the only highlights of posting tulip on CUK

Which sort of proves his point really, doesn't it....

[AtW]

I long ago realised that if I wanted to return to the UK, it had to be London to find continuous work.

You got it wrong.

What matters is working with people who you are glad to see every day - location/money is secondary to it, even though ideal scenario is working with great people in a great location whilst being paid great money