Patchworkpony
Well-Known Member
That's the word!
most expensive Christmas
- Thread starter luckyoldme
- Start date
Llanali
Well-Known Member
I'm afraid I subscribe to the idea that if you acquired your money legally and not totally immorally (drug money, human trafficking etc), and you pay your due taxes then it is up to you what and how you spend it. I work for my family, I bought my two year old a pony. I am aware that three roads over the family there are really struggling. I would have more sympathy if the mother stopped smoking mind you, but that is more to do with her children suffering in shoes too small as there is no money for new ones.
I do my bit, I donate to the food bank both food and my time. I work in an industry I consider to be improving man kind in a fashion. I give to charity both in my skills and labour and financially. Beyond that, I'm afraid, I will.enjoy the money I earned and will not be guilt tripped over it.
I do my bit, I donate to the food bank both food and my time. I work in an industry I consider to be improving man kind in a fashion. I give to charity both in my skills and labour and financially. Beyond that, I'm afraid, I will.enjoy the money I earned and will not be guilt tripped over it.
stencilface
High upon a hillside
Hello Llanali - not seen you you in a while!
I don't give time currently, but have in the past. I find it hard to not feel guilt tripped (even though I'm hardly rolling in it!) but I have given a fair bit of money this year to charities. But have friends that like to try and guilt trip everyone, still, I think more and more those guys move into the acquaintance, rather than the friend bracket.
Llanali
Well-Known Member
I've been awol ! Nice to be back now must get some catching up done. Its been an odd year, bit of an issue with bullying at work meant a big career change and move for me, and we have been trying to move to Norfolk for seven months now; sold our house three times now an fallen through at exchange every time! Anyway.
Life's too short. I have people I was once friends with who are now acquaintences for similar reasons! My own sister is on this ground right now with the tiring old line of " well its OK for you, you work and can afford all those animals, we are really struggling"; err she is a stay at home mum, her husband works and earns more than me, we are Also a single wage family as my husband is a stay at home dad!! Don't get your hair done every six weeks or buy take away coffee daily if you want to complain about money. Rant over, see you missed me really
must get some catching up done. Its been an odd year, bit of an issue with bullying at work meant a big career change and move for me, and we have been trying to move to Norfolk for seven months now; sold our house three times now an fallen through at exchange every time! Anyway. Life's too short. I have people I was once friends with who are now acquaintences for similar reasons! My own sister is on this ground right now with the tiring old line of " well its OK for you, you work and can afford all those animals, we are really struggling"; err she is a stay at home mum, her husband works and earns more than me, we are Also a single wage family as my husband is a stay at home dad!! Don't get your hair done every six weeks or buy take away coffee daily if you want to complain about money. Rant over, see you missed me really
fatpiggy
Well-Known Member
Wealth and poverty are all relative. We lived on just my dad's wages when I was little because back then mum's generally stayed home (unless they were seriously broke) and raised the kids to full time school age. Mum's earning capacity was at least double Dad's so no, we didn't have much cash. I wore hand-me-downs, jumble sale clothes and Mum made "best" wear for us. We grew just about anything and everything in the garden, ran an ancient car and our annual holiday was 10 days in a tent a couple of counties away (we didn't use commercial campsites either, just a farmers field which had a standpipe in as that saved money). The whole house was furnished and fitted with second (or third) hand or what Dad had constructed and he would rescue things and use them to make something else - we only put our bins out once a month! But we weren't short of our parents' time and attention. Of course I dreamed of having a pony for my Christmas or birthday but I never even got riding lessons, and as I didn't want anything else, I never asked for anything. I see families who are apparently poor but what they are is incapable - incapable of budgeting, incapable of realising that you can't have everything in life that you want, incapable of understanding that if they hadn't bunked off school all the time they would have been able to get a decent job, incapable of cooking from scratch and repairing, recycling items, incapable of knowing that a hot meal in your belly is actually more beneficial than a 50 inch TV bought on the never never , that guzzles electricity and incapable of learning that there is no shame in buying second-hand items. My previous TV was a lovely set, great picture and sound - cost me £10 from Ebay. But it wasn't a fancy flat screen.
Another thing to remember that today's wealthy are tomorrow's poor when they have lived recklessly, then the bubble is burst and they have lost everything. You only have to look at several Lottery winners who within 5 years are living in social housing and claiming benefits.
Another thing to remember that today's wealthy are tomorrow's poor when they have lived recklessly, then the bubble is burst and they have lost everything. You only have to look at several Lottery winners who within 5 years are living in social housing and claiming benefits.
luckyoldme
Well-Known Member
ive just strayed onto a picture of how to save yourself £615,000 (sorry must have got the price wrong) Its a picture of a Christmas tree with an empty bottle of fairy liquid on the top!
stencilface
High upon a hillside
The education thing gets it for me, for the people who had a nice stable home life, supportive of education, but just couldn't be bothered. I'm lucky to be where I am now, still studying in my early (ok, nearly mid!) thirties, but my funding now is the same as the wage I was on previously. Its not that PhD students are paid well, just that I was paid so badly as an ecologist lol (I can laugh about it now
). But then also I work pretty hard, and one day, one day! It will pay off financially. Until then I live by my means for most stuff, but big stuff the OH wages cover the discrepancy.I think the want, want, want generation really is a disease these day
fatpiggy
Well-Known Member
The education thing gets it for me, for the people who had a nice stable home life, supportive of education, but just couldn't be bothered. I'm lucky to be where I am now, still studying in my early (ok, nearly mid!) thirties, but my funding now is the same as the wage I was on previously. Its not that PhD students are paid well, just that I was paid so badly as an ecologist lol (I can laugh about it now
I think the want, want, want generation really is a disease these day
Half of the hopeless cases have parents who can barely read or write. I'm not saying a degree or higher is the way to go, but a selection of halfway decent GCSEs is essential. Not everyone is academic but they seem to have no drive at all. My G-Great grandparents and their offspring were all in service. THanks to free education, within a couple of generations we had a world-famous musician, a Master of a Cambridge College, a Harley Street dentist plus lots of lower level but decently employed relatives. I think it was probably very unusual for people in the 1850s to be able to read and write if they weren't middle class or above so my rellies were very lucky and they also had good employers who encouraged them to do better for themselves.
RunToEarth
Well-Known Member
But that is because your horse is your hobby, there are plenty of dress wearing pageant goers that would look at the cost of running a horse and think it was mindless frivolity.
Sums it up for me really, they are just very wealthy white trash, and all the money in the world won't but you class or taste.
littletrotter
Well-Known Member
I have always felt disparaging references to "new money" expose the fearful realisation of those of "old money" that they are separated from the new money by, essentially, nothing. Ridiculous tree toppers, or woodlands full of pheasants, tradition doesn't make it any less vulgar.