On £25k but 'poor'?! Misery thread...
Discussion
Feel like I need to clarify a few things here.
We've known about my parents holiday for a long time - we were originally invited back in January. It is only in the last week that we have decided to definitely go.
My folks are not hard up by any means, they have about 12 years left to pay off their mortgage and the housekeeping / rent of £300 a month I pay them is fair when they're paying for the majority of the food etc. I'm being let-off paying this rent for the same month the holiday falls in because they want us to go away on holiday with them - they want to see their granddaughter having fun too.
The costs; all spends are being raised by my Fiancee, the £50/day budget is purely for food, she reckons she can come up with £500-600 before we go by working overtime. My costs are limited purely to the fuel getting down there. When I say we're sharing a holiday with my parents; we're only sharing the accomodation. For all intents and purposes it would be our own holiday which we would be going as a little family, just living under the same roof as mum and dad for a week (no change there then!)
As for the interview, I got positive feedback and will know more on Monday when all applicants have been interviewed (3 in total). With regards to the bike, it's like you can predict the future. I'm trying to source a pushbike as we speak. A colleague at work is going to see if a bike he has in his shed is serviceable, if it is then I can have it. To be honest, even if it isn't serviceable I'll take it and make it so.
As for the comments regarding whether or not we need a holiday - I wholeheartedly agree - but you only live once, and the happiness of my daughter and fiancee comes first. This will benefit us as a family and it is worth the financial sacrifice, which I have tried to counter as much as possible. I don't need to justify it to myself or anyone else, it is what it is.
We've known about my parents holiday for a long time - we were originally invited back in January. It is only in the last week that we have decided to definitely go.
My folks are not hard up by any means, they have about 12 years left to pay off their mortgage and the housekeeping / rent of £300 a month I pay them is fair when they're paying for the majority of the food etc. I'm being let-off paying this rent for the same month the holiday falls in because they want us to go away on holiday with them - they want to see their granddaughter having fun too.
The costs; all spends are being raised by my Fiancee, the £50/day budget is purely for food, she reckons she can come up with £500-600 before we go by working overtime. My costs are limited purely to the fuel getting down there. When I say we're sharing a holiday with my parents; we're only sharing the accomodation. For all intents and purposes it would be our own holiday which we would be going as a little family, just living under the same roof as mum and dad for a week (no change there then!)
As for the interview, I got positive feedback and will know more on Monday when all applicants have been interviewed (3 in total). With regards to the bike, it's like you can predict the future. I'm trying to source a pushbike as we speak. A colleague at work is going to see if a bike he has in his shed is serviceable, if it is then I can have it. To be honest, even if it isn't serviceable I'll take it and make it so.
As for the comments regarding whether or not we need a holiday - I wholeheartedly agree - but you only live once, and the happiness of my daughter and fiancee comes first. This will benefit us as a family and it is worth the financial sacrifice, which I have tried to counter as much as possible. I don't need to justify it to myself or anyone else, it is what it is.
C.A.R. said:
It's hardly blowing cash.
Holiday - piggybacking my parents holiday cottage, accommodation cost = £00
Spends - £50 a day, £350 (saved by my Fiancee)
Fuel - 2 tanks at £75 (paid for by me)
£500 is still £500 though.Holiday - piggybacking my parents holiday cottage, accommodation cost = £00
Spends - £50 a day, £350 (saved by my Fiancee)
Fuel - 2 tanks at £75 (paid for by me)
When i was a kid, we did not have any holidays from age 3-10. It was just it the way it had to be back then. Different times though, i suppose.
One of my cousins is reliant on benefits and she would consider £500 a huge amount of money!
C.A.R. said:
As for the interview, I got positive feedback and will know more on Monday when all applicants have been interviewed (3 in total). With regards to the bike, it's like you can predict the future. I'm trying to source a pushbike as we speak. A colleague at work is going to see if a bike he has in his shed is serviceable, if it is then I can have it. To be honest, even if it isn't serviceable I'll take it and make it so.
My wife has a decent pushbike which I bought for her at significant expense....barely used, naturally.It would be fair to say that I don't think she'd notice if it disappeared either...it's not too girly either
But equally, if the rents are helping out with the costs, and letting off rent for that month, the week away could very well lighten the load on both of them and allow them to stay at home and save more for a longer time. Just saving non-stop can make it hard to carry on for as long as required.
vescaegg said:
Wasnt trying to have a go OP I just remember you saying your other half almost gave you a 'get us out of your parents house' ultimatum a one point.
The 1 week holiday could put you back by a significant number of weeks by the sound of it was my only point.
Exactly why he should go on holiday IMHO, (other than enjoying it probably). His OH has to save for something with the reward at the end of it as he has been trying to get her to do by staying with the parents.The 1 week holiday could put you back by a significant number of weeks by the sound of it was my only point.
Brite spark said:
Exactly why he should go on holiday IMHO, (other than enjoying it probably). His OH has to save for something with the reward at the end of it as he has been trying to get her to do by staying with the parents.
Uh, the reward was supposed to be them getting out of his parents house as soon as possible....Why not let your parents go away and have the week at home to yourselves?
Your GF wanted personal space and now you are going on holiday together and will get exactly the opposite and be with your parents 24/7.
My in-laws took my family away earlier in the year. Even though we had separate accommodation it was hard being together almost all the time. And we generally get on very well.
I can understand your parents wanting to enjoy time with your daughter but can they not take her away? even on day trips. My kids love time alone with Nanny and Dada.
Your GF wanted personal space and now you are going on holiday together and will get exactly the opposite and be with your parents 24/7.
My in-laws took my family away earlier in the year. Even though we had separate accommodation it was hard being together almost all the time. And we generally get on very well.
I can understand your parents wanting to enjoy time with your daughter but can they not take her away? even on day trips. My kids love time alone with Nanny and Dada.
I feel like I need to clarify a few things which do make my personal situation slightly different to how it's being interpreted.
Yes; we had considered taking the same week off and just spending the time at home instead, because of the money situation.
However, whilst we are being invited along on holiday because we can't afford our own, there is another reason. Due to my mothers' disability it would be a massive help if we could be around in the mornings and evenings to help her into / out of bed, as my father is getting older and I'm worried about his health (he is going to put his back out at some point). He refuses to use any 'equipment' or hoists even when they are available, and insists on lifting manually. It is his wife, after all.
So there is an underlying reason why mum and dad would be grateful for us to come along. It won't be like caring for her all week, but if she has an 'off day' then it will be handy that my dad doesn't feel like he is on his own.
I didn't want to go into so much detail, but feel I needed to justify my reasons for going, as it was beginning to sound like I had forgotten about the financial side of things.
On that front; £1,680 to go
Yes; we had considered taking the same week off and just spending the time at home instead, because of the money situation.
However, whilst we are being invited along on holiday because we can't afford our own, there is another reason. Due to my mothers' disability it would be a massive help if we could be around in the mornings and evenings to help her into / out of bed, as my father is getting older and I'm worried about his health (he is going to put his back out at some point). He refuses to use any 'equipment' or hoists even when they are available, and insists on lifting manually. It is his wife, after all.
So there is an underlying reason why mum and dad would be grateful for us to come along. It won't be like caring for her all week, but if she has an 'off day' then it will be handy that my dad doesn't feel like he is on his own.
I didn't want to go into so much detail, but feel I needed to justify my reasons for going, as it was beginning to sound like I had forgotten about the financial side of things.
On that front; £1,680 to go
okgo said:
As above, does it not annoy you how easy it has been for your oh to save money now its something she wants to do?
It does a little, but at the same time I think she's starting to realise how hard it is to save.She has a target of £500 yes, but the reality is quite different. She's finding it really tough.
Hopefully this will be an eye-opener for her in seeing just how hard I try to make ends meet even on a higher income. A hard lesson basically.
If we can't get the full money together we are quite able to just go for a short duration of the holiday (3-4 days perhaps).
Long overdue an update perhaps?
Mrs C.A.R. passed her driving test in August and her father finally managed to pass on the Kia Picanto he bought for her back in 2011!
This new-found freedom has meant that she has been able to find employment further afield, which pays better. Yes, there are the inherent running costs of having a car which she is learning isn't cheap, but the car does mean that she works decent hours at a decent pay level. Juggling looking after our daughter who is now nearly 2 is the hardest part, but the mother in law has stepped in of late and been more than helpful.
So that's good news. Our combined income is now a slightly better £35kpa I reckon.
The debt- it's not all gone. There's £900 left of it, which has all been transferred to a zero percent interest card, where I have also set up a direct debit to clear it in a few months. The reason for this is that I paid out for Mrs C.A.R.s insurance cover and had just renewed my own - it was cheaper to do this than to take on another monthly DD basically.
So now we are looking to move out again. Living at home with my parents was cheap, but not as cheap as we were hoping. I was saving / paying off around £800 a month, rather than the £1000+ I had anticipated. Was this bad planning? Probably, could I have done better? Again, probably. But ultimately when it comes down to staying put and staying happy, you have to spend money. There's only so many trips to the park, bike rides and other 'free' activities you can do before you've done them all. Others may disagree - I envy your creativeness if so!
Private renting is the only real option. Since moving out in March this year local rent prices have gone up around £100 for the equivalent property - peversely we would have been better to stay put! But the debt was a major burden (or at least it felt like it) and I'm glad it has now been (virtually) cleared.
We are looking at properties with a maximum budget of £850/month.
If anyone on PH has a property they want to let to an honest family who will stay put for a good 3-5 years make yourself heard!
The demand is high and we seem to have approaced the market in a very awkward state - there is very little supply of new rental properties, and due to the rise in demand some of the prices are absurd. This is due to a few factors-
Rise in property prices = Landlords selling up rather than 'doing up' and looking for new tennants
Lack of new investors = Because of the rising house costs there are few people developing properties to let
Hopefully things will start to improve, we are at least fortunate that we have a safe place to live whilst we wait for the right property to come along.
Mrs C.A.R. passed her driving test in August and her father finally managed to pass on the Kia Picanto he bought for her back in 2011!
This new-found freedom has meant that she has been able to find employment further afield, which pays better. Yes, there are the inherent running costs of having a car which she is learning isn't cheap, but the car does mean that she works decent hours at a decent pay level. Juggling looking after our daughter who is now nearly 2 is the hardest part, but the mother in law has stepped in of late and been more than helpful.
So that's good news. Our combined income is now a slightly better £35kpa I reckon.
The debt- it's not all gone. There's £900 left of it, which has all been transferred to a zero percent interest card, where I have also set up a direct debit to clear it in a few months. The reason for this is that I paid out for Mrs C.A.R.s insurance cover and had just renewed my own - it was cheaper to do this than to take on another monthly DD basically.
So now we are looking to move out again. Living at home with my parents was cheap, but not as cheap as we were hoping. I was saving / paying off around £800 a month, rather than the £1000+ I had anticipated. Was this bad planning? Probably, could I have done better? Again, probably. But ultimately when it comes down to staying put and staying happy, you have to spend money. There's only so many trips to the park, bike rides and other 'free' activities you can do before you've done them all. Others may disagree - I envy your creativeness if so!
Private renting is the only real option. Since moving out in March this year local rent prices have gone up around £100 for the equivalent property - peversely we would have been better to stay put! But the debt was a major burden (or at least it felt like it) and I'm glad it has now been (virtually) cleared.
We are looking at properties with a maximum budget of £850/month.
If anyone on PH has a property they want to let to an honest family who will stay put for a good 3-5 years make yourself heard!
The demand is high and we seem to have approaced the market in a very awkward state - there is very little supply of new rental properties, and due to the rise in demand some of the prices are absurd. This is due to a few factors-
Rise in property prices = Landlords selling up rather than 'doing up' and looking for new tennants
Lack of new investors = Because of the rising house costs there are few people developing properties to let
Hopefully things will start to improve, we are at least fortunate that we have a safe place to live whilst we wait for the right property to come along.
Well done for clearing the debt (near enough) OP. Its not easy having to move back into home after moving out.
Do you have enough for a few months rent which is usually required up front? If you can save some extra it may put you in a better position to compete for a property if there are several tenants going for it?
Do you have enough for a few months rent which is usually required up front? If you can save some extra it may put you in a better position to compete for a property if there are several tenants going for it?
Disappointing news; the property we were very keen has gone to another couple, purely on the grounds that their joint income was higher than ours. Bit depressing, but the letting agency had already messed us around by telling us we had 'first refusal' when this was never the case. Unfortunately letting agencies aren't governed / don't seem to have any care for complaints about them, which is pretty frustrating. Just seems they will string you along regardless of the facts.
Anyway, onwards and upwards. No new properties advertised today, have the 'instant alerts' set up on Rightmove. I've tried Zoopla too but the website keeps having a bit of a java-spaz on me, so haven't managed to set that up yet - even though the majority of properies which appear on Rightmove simultaneously appear on Zoopla, so it seems kinda pointless! Is there anything I'm missing? Are there any other areas I can look (other than the local paper)?
I'd be keen to learn your thoughts if opposed to those I've been given.
Anyway, onwards and upwards. No new properties advertised today, have the 'instant alerts' set up on Rightmove. I've tried Zoopla too but the website keeps having a bit of a java-spaz on me, so haven't managed to set that up yet - even though the majority of properies which appear on Rightmove simultaneously appear on Zoopla, so it seems kinda pointless! Is there anything I'm missing? Are there any other areas I can look (other than the local paper)?
trashbat said:
hy? I'm probably one of the people you refer to. I disagree with his assessment of the reasons behind short supply though.
What reasons would you give for the lack / lull in the amount of available properties to let at present? I'm only relaying what we have been told by the letting agencies, but I'm all too aware of how good they are at selling you the 'facts' when they have a vested interest. I'd be keen to learn your thoughts if opposed to those I've been given.
It's no use to you whatsoever, but here you go, in all of its foretold buy-to-let hate fury.
There are ten imaginary houses sitting empty on an imaginary street, and there are ten people wanting to buy them. Let's say the price will pan out at about £100k each.
Then ten more people come along and join the queue to buy those houses, but they don't want to live there, they want to use the house as an investment. The supply's static and the demand has doubled, so the price goes up significantly.
You only had £100k purchasing power so now you can't afford to buy, so you have to rent, only you're paying more for that now too, in order to pay for the BTL folks' inflated cost and another layer of profit. And you're not the only one like that, so all of a sudden there are more renters, so the supply for that is thinned and the demand increased, and guess what that means? Plus now you'll never be able to save to buy, because your rental costs have taken back what you were previously putting away.
And nobody can fix it because the majority of people have a vested interest, real or perceived, in their house price.
The BTL people will be along now to say it's more complicated than that, which it is, and how hard it is to be a landlord, and how they improve the quality of accommodation, and how noone could rent without them, and whatever else, but if property ownership was more closely linked to actual need then you would find it much easier to obtain one.
There are ten imaginary houses sitting empty on an imaginary street, and there are ten people wanting to buy them. Let's say the price will pan out at about £100k each.
Then ten more people come along and join the queue to buy those houses, but they don't want to live there, they want to use the house as an investment. The supply's static and the demand has doubled, so the price goes up significantly.
You only had £100k purchasing power so now you can't afford to buy, so you have to rent, only you're paying more for that now too, in order to pay for the BTL folks' inflated cost and another layer of profit. And you're not the only one like that, so all of a sudden there are more renters, so the supply for that is thinned and the demand increased, and guess what that means? Plus now you'll never be able to save to buy, because your rental costs have taken back what you were previously putting away.
And nobody can fix it because the majority of people have a vested interest, real or perceived, in their house price.
The BTL people will be along now to say it's more complicated than that, which it is, and how hard it is to be a landlord, and how they improve the quality of accommodation, and how noone could rent without them, and whatever else, but if property ownership was more closely linked to actual need then you would find it much easier to obtain one.
Edited by trashbat on Wednesday 8th October 16:44
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