Their milk goes off too.I've found the quality of the Coop's products doesn't really justify their heavily inflated prices either. I think their cheapest loaf of wholemeal bread in my local is £1, is pretty hard and goes mouldy quite quickly. Their veg has really slipped down over the past year as well. They've also cut the value of discount vouchers I used to get every week on my app. I only ever go there now for booze or if I'm really, really, lazy.
The CoOp is a shop I go to if desperate these days, the selection they have is usually poor, I second the bread being hard and quick to go moldy, their bagged salad always looks wilted, and they charge a premium for biscuits, cereal etc.Their milk goes off too.
I was trying to explain that life will come crashing down shortly for a lot of people living on the never never with leased cars etc. She said it was the banks fault and I disagree, just because someone is offering to loan you the money doesn't mean you should take it. It's as if no one has learnt anything since the last crash.I was chatting to a friend earlier and she was saying her mortgage has gone up by over 500 a month. Turns out she and her husband are on a moderate combined income (60k) yet their mortgage was for 300k, 5x their annual income. I find this crazy, technically yes they can afford it but there is so much "keeping up with the Jones" going on.
The thought of taking on that amount of debt terrifies me! Maybe I'm just very cautious but I've always thought just because you CAN take on a huge debt, doesn't mean you should.
just because you CAN take on a huge debt, doesn't mean you should.
I agree. If you choose wisely, use your Sparks card offers and other vouchers (sometimes they give a £5 off £45 when you do your shopping) then you can buy a decent amount of food for a reasonable amount of money.I keep saying this but M&S can be great value if you shop carefully. Their meal deals are nice quality and the family ones for £15 can stretch to 3 meals for us two. Nice quality wholemeal bread is under £1 - a week of toast - and if you shop mindfully, great ingredients and yellow sticker deals. I think everyone is shopping differently, noticing more.
300k wouldn’t even buy you a flat, let alone a house in my area in the SE. What are people supposed to do? Rent forever?I was chatting to a friend earlier and she was saying her mortgage has gone up by over 500 a month. Turns out she and her husband are on a moderate combined income (60k) yet their mortgage was for 300k, 5x their annual income. I find this crazy, technically yes they can afford it but there is so much "keeping up with the Jones" going on.
The thought of taking on that amount of debt terrifies me! Maybe I'm just very cautious but I've always thought just because you CAN take on a huge debt, doesn't mean you should. I live alone and have 60k left on my mortgage with an annual salary of 40k for reference, and the last few years I've certainly felt pressure from my social circle to upgrade. I don't have a flash detached home but it suits me just fine. It really seems like people don't want to live well within their means anymore.
I’m glad you’ve said this, the problem is with the broken housing market and not ppl having lofty aspirations above their station with their 2 bed £350k flats. People have very little choice, sadly.300k wouldn’t even buy you a flat, let alone a house in my area in the SE. What are people supposed to do? Rent forever?
I’m loving the thought of £60k a year being a ‘moderate’ income. You’d be rich beyond rubies with that sort of wonga up here in t’frozen north…,I was chatting to a friend earlier and she was saying her mortgage has gone up by over 500 a month. Turns out she and her husband are on a moderate combined income (60k) yet their mortgage was for 300k, 5x their annual income. I find this crazy, technically yes they can afford it but there is so much "keeping up with the Jones" going on.
The thought of taking on that amount of debt terrifies me! Maybe I'm just very cautious but I've always thought just because you CAN take on a huge debt, doesn't mean you should. I live alone and have 60k left on my mortgage with an annual salary of 40k for reference, and the last few years I've certainly felt pressure from my social circle to upgrade. I don't have a flash detached home but it suits me just fine. It really seems like people don't want to live well within their means anymore.
Where I live, 300k gets you a small starter two bed house. It’s what my fiancé and I will have to spend on a first house. it’s incredibly depressing.I suppose it depends on area. Where I live 300k would be a flex unless you had about 6 kids. In London it would probs get you a bedsit.
If you live in an area with high property values, you really are stuck between a rock and a hard place unless you want to turn your life upside down and move to a cheaper area.
this is crazy for me, 60k is very average where I liveI’m loving the thought of £60k a year being a ‘moderate’ income. You’d be rich beyond rubies with that sort of wonga up here in t’frozen north…,
Sorry but I think comments like this do the north a massive disservice. There are a ton of fabulous employers up here & plenty of opportunities to earn well. Even in the decade I’ve been working post uni the opportunities up north / perception of living there has changed massively for the better in that time which is brilliant as the quality of life up here is so much better, especially with/for a child. There are areas that are in line if not more expensive than London property prices, I’m not even from here have only recently moved up but feel uncomfortable with the idea that no one up here is earning like what, below the UK median wage? That’s just not true?I’m loving the thought of £60k a year being a ‘moderate’ income. You’d be rich beyond rubies with that sort of wonga up here in t’frozen north…,
Can't really speak for the situation in the SE as I don't live there. However in the case of my friend, she lives in Scotland and money does go further there. But it is just her and her husband and no kids - they chose to buy a 4 bed house which they mortgaged up to the max. That's what I mean when I say just because you can afford it, doesn't mean you necessarily need it. She could have got a 3 bed house in a decent area for 100k less, but she said herself it was all about the postcode300k wouldn’t even buy you a flat, let alone a house in my area in the SE. What are people supposed to do? Rent forever?
Absolutely agreed, I changed jobs this year and my employer has a base in Manchester and Newcastle, as do a lot of similar sized employers in the same industry. It has taken a long time to get here, and the industry is still very London centric, but they are starting to realise there's life outside of the M25Sorry but I think comments like this do the north a massive disservice. There are a ton of fabulous employers up here & plenty of opportunities to earn well. Even in the decade I’ve been working post uni the opportunities up north / perception of living there has changed massively for the better in that time which is brilliant as the quality of life up here is so much better, especially with/for a child. There are areas that are in line if not more expensive than London property prices, I’m not even from here have only recently moved up but feel uncomfortable with the idea that no one up here is earning like what, below the UK median wage? That’s just not true?
With my past experience of the housing market I would say try not to get disillusioned (like I did when house prices doubled and I spent my deposit savings on cheering myself up).300k wouldn’t even buy you a flat, let alone a house in my area in the SE. What are people supposed to do? Rent forever?
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