What do you spend your spare cash on?

[gant]

That was one factor among many, you're over-simplifying to idiotic levels.

Until now, high house prices have been thought to make older voters happy, so the govt has lobbed massive amounts of taxpayer money into the market via various subsidies and incentives to keep the prices up.

Don't buy that, the majority of older people bought a house to live in.
The people who buy houses now are a different breed, foreign investors being one example.
We live in a global world that's something the boomers had no say in.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Until now, high house prices have been thought to make older voters happy, so the govt has lobbed massive amounts of taxpayer money into the market via various subsidies and incentives to keep the prices up.

My home, was bought as a home, somewhere to live. I suspect most people, like me, do buy their home to live in. Once bought, I have had zero inclination to sell it, so where is the profit in that? How am I better off?

Even if I did decide to sell, and move to something more up market, then as prices have risen, they have only moved further out of my financial reach - so the benefit of rising prices, is a definite minus.

The only benefit in rising house prices, is to those investing in houses, not to those living in them.

 

[securespark]

Or those downsizing.

 

[big-all]

i am off a generation [69]where you never spend all your spare cash
at my stage in life no mortgage no debts no car and around £250 a week to spend more than half about £130-140 is spare now after frustrating attempt to give to the younger generation son and family [who rightly have pride] so a sad affair with no joy in general trying to give funds to help them i spend perhaps 30-40% on battery tools from the ryobi and dewalt stable [that i really really dont need ]-- do you think around 50 battery tools with a motor is ott yes i do
if you include lighting usb power and cameras its probably 75-80

i should just correct a bit when i posted the above my brain had gone on historic thoughts off pre covid as the last time i had collated the income and outgoings and whilst my pensions have gone up a bit the costs have rocketed and instead off perhaps 55% off around £250a week going spare its actually around 50/50 but off perhaps £270 going spare so bills around 15-20% more and rising more this year as i pay around 3x the tax on a 10% pension increase as its gone from tax on around £11 a month [above 12800 rate ]to about £30 a month
--- yes i know this correction is boring and quite pointless but honesty is so important to me i feel guilty not disclosing and correcting my mistakes as i am an open book

 

[ReganAndCarter]

Ivor Windybottom reminds me of my 16 year old nephew who, when talking to my 80 year old mum said something like 'not being funny grandma, but you don't know how tough things are these days ...'

In a way he has a point. Your Mum probably had it quite tough, being born during WW2 and years of rationing after. However, as it turned out, life probably got much bettter when things stabilised. Unfortunately for your nephew, we've seen the best years and today it's as good as it's going to get for him. Things are only going to go one way in the future.

 

[ReganAndCarter]

Also once the bottom rung of the housing ladder is so way out of reach then there's no point in trying to stretch to it, young people may as well just blow the money on stuff to cheer themselves up a bit instead of trying to reach an impossible goal.

House prices reach their least affordable level in 150 years

Queen Victoria was on the throne and Benjamin Disraeli was prime minister the last time it was harder to get on the property ladder, according to analysis from Leeds Building Society.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

My home, was bought as a home, somewhere to live. I suspect most people, like me, do buy their home to live in. Once bought, I have had zero inclination to sell it, so where is the profit in that? How am I better off?

Even if I did decide to sell, and move to something more up market, then as prices have risen, they have only moved further out of my financial reach - so the benefit of rising prices, is a definite minus.

The only benefit in rising house prices, is to those investing in houses, not to those living in them.

I understand it brings a big (misplaced) "feel good" factor to many. It makes them feel rich, they brag about how much their house is worth then buy a holiday or new flashy car (on credit) because of their imaginary status in the world.

Many do extend their mortgage and/or take out additional loans to take up their new found collateral. They then spend this money on building extensions or buying other tat.

All this borrowed money being blown on pointless rubbish fuels the illusion that the UK still has a functioning economy, despite us manufacturing and exporting next to nothing.

Now that house prices are falling we'll see who's really rich. Once the tide goes out you see who's swimming naked.

 

[Brigadier]

I understand it brings a big (misplaced) "feel good" factor to many.

It also brings a sense of certainty and security.

While some do not concern themselves with such worries, others (many others?) surely have that nagging feeling of insecurity; of being at the whim of "the markets", or a landlord who wants to up the rent, or just sell up.

A paid-for house is a sense of stability.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

It also brings a sense of certainty and security.

A paid-for house is a sense of stability.

It was more than that, for us - It added an element of self-determination. We didn't need anyone else's permission to invest, improve, or change, modify what we had. Anything we did to improve the place, to make it more comfortable, would remain our investment in our property. No one could interfere with our ownership. Tenants, renting, have very limited rights.

 

[Deleted member 18243]

Tenants, renting, have very limited rights.

That's right Harry. An Englishman's home is his castle BUT we have now had communist governments for many decades and one (of the many) things commies don't like is private property. Guard your self-determination closely for it is said that we will soon be a Chinese-style society. You will be just a barcode then Harry.