Morbyd
Moderator
course you aint. as if giving helpful advice like not living beyond your means, saving, cutting back on expenditure.
what on earth were you thinking man!
Recession/Credit Crunch
- Thread starter Jonny68
- Start date
Anyway im finished with this thread as the usual suspects have come on to spoil it, thanks to all those who gave advice,etc, cheers.
"chink"
and as the metre devours the last 10 cents and the monitor again blinks into oblivion and the flat is once more plunged into inky blackness jonnys options become painfully clear.......pot noodle..............or wa*k??.......he fumbles his way to the kettle...."click" nothing.............."feck" he says out loud as he reaches into his shorts...........
I work in Investment Banking so obviously this period of time is directly affecting me, its A very nervous time to be working and there is no confidence in this sector any more. It has never been one of the most secure jobs at the best of times but right now no-one knows what is going to happen. People are still reeling from the shock of Lehmans going under, then HBOS et al. Luckily the company that I work for is "fairly" ok and our share price is holding up well whilst others have been dropping. However having said that there have still been redundancies and I'm sure there will be more to come.
I'm just trying to crack on and keep my head down and get through this period. Talking to fellow people that have been working in this industry for a longer period of time than me they say they have never experienced a period like this before.
I'm just trying to crack on and keep my head down and get through this period. Talking to fellow people that have been working in this industry for a longer period of time than me they say they have never experienced a period like this before.
agentundercover
Active Member
word. my main baby at the mo is 350m of mixed use in a nw town, still going ahead - they just delayed completion of the resi element. those that can play the long game will be ok - probably better - everyone will do business on break even terms at the mo = cheap if have the readies.
to a point this was seen coming, i'm off to cyprus this month for a £m contract won there, we have a crazy amount of work in places as disparate as libya & russia.
construction in this country can be world class & with long term roots, healthy bank balances. somone like LOR can come out of this building the world, its those built on sand in trouble.
this said i updated my cv today just in case!
interesting point on the dontmentionthecreditcrunchanditwonthappen. agree....to a point...there has been an over extension of debt/future earnings expectations etc that needed a correction - its been exagerated by the crunch, but the correction was/is needed.
I'm reluctant to get involved in this thread but I have to say your being pretty harsh here and I cringed at your last sentence (I appreciate it's tongue in cheek but still not appropriate IMO). Of course we could all find some sort of work in desperate times to make ends meet but I think it's more than fair for Jonny to be getting stressed at the prospect of working for minimum wage and trying to find a new job. It's not fun searching for work and also not fun doing a job you hate just because you need the money. We all become accustomed to the life we have built, there are probably plenty of people who would give their right arm to have what I have, but equally I feel the same about others who I see as financially better off than me. I have a few debts and a life of going on regular holidays and out with friends and of course I could cut all that out, cancel my sky, gym, mobile phone, shop at aldi and only buy clothes when I really need them and yes I shouldn't borrow money (with the exception of a mortgage) and I should save up to buy things rather than have credit but it's hard as I say to have a whole lifestyle change so I think people should have more sympathy when others are really feeling the pinch. Anyway, if I spend the next few years paying off all my debts and saving all my pennies then get knocked down by a bus those savings will be worth naff all! I don't advocate getting yourself into serious debt or living way beyond your means but I think it's harder than you make out to just get any old job and make some big lifestyle changes and the advice you gave Jonny is not very helpful.
Morbyd
Moderator
Check this out, Helen. Super Pol has atoned in his own little way...
http://www.spotlight-forums.com/showthread.php?t=58384
But I will say that I disagree with you on the difficulty of making lifestyle changes. Live within your means, and put a little away for the future. It's as simple as that. Just do it.
http://www.spotlight-forums.com/showthread.php?t=58384
But I will say that I disagree with you on the difficulty of making lifestyle changes. Live within your means, and put a little away for the future. It's as simple as that. Just do it.
Gosh Well that's probably a lesson learned for anyone, I really do believe everything happens for a reason though so always look at the positive side of things, I hope you've sorted yourself SP, I know your advice Morbyd "Live within your means, and put a little away for the future" is sound and I am slowly..very slowly learning, hey I'm still in my 20's, I'm planning on joining my pension scheme in the next couple of years and I've already paid off my over draft and am only planning three holidays next year...as for the cutting down on un-needed clothes, well one step at a time
Well that's probably a lesson learned for anyone, I really do believe everything happens for a reason though so always look at the positive side of things, I hope you've sorted yourself SP, I know your advice Morbyd "Live within your means, and put a little away for the future" is sound and I am slowly..very slowly learning, hey I'm still in my 20's, I'm planning on joining my pension scheme in the next couple of years and I've already paid off my over draft and am only planning three holidays next year...as for the cutting down on un-needed clothes, well one step at a time 
puppylover
Active Member
Gosh
I wish I knew in my 20's what I know now - I just figured every time I F***ed up with cash, then my parents would bail me out, I mean lets face it everyone at a young age thinks the bank of Mum and Dad is there for that reason.
As I got older I realised that actually I cant / shouldnt rely on others to bail me out everytime my rent is due cos Ive spent all mine on beer and going on roadtrips to various raves.....
I was 35 before I realised that savings are a good thing and not just there to stop you having a good time in the present moment...
Emma_1983
Active Member
I wish I knew in my 20's what I know now - I just figured every time I F***ed up with cash, then my parents would bail me out, I mean lets face it everyone at a young age thinks the bank of Mum and Dad is there for that reason.
As I got older I realised that actually I cant / shouldnt rely on others to bail me out everytime my rent is due cos Ive spent all mine on beer and going on roadtrips to various raves.....
I was 35 before I realised that savings are a good thing and not just there to stop you having a good time in the present moment...
Agreed completely.
I wish I had saved in my 20s (and I am only 24 coming on 25) as now I find it so frustrating to be at home. I know people will say you should stay at home while you can but there is a different side to each story (grass is greener I guess).
But yes lets just say I was naive and silly in my 20s, and only just got out of debt now, my dad had to bail me out and I owe him to the end of next year
which makes it even harder to save.I will get there. Eventually................
Morbyd
Moderator
I went through 2 events a decade apart.
The first was at age 17, after my first year of university, when I'd run up huge bills with the uni department store and phone company. Totally ruined my credit rating. It took 6 years to fix it, which finally happened when I got a new car loan in '95 at a murderous 18% interest rate and then paid it on time for a year before refinancing.
The second was age 29 when I moved to Moscow, not making much money the first year, and lived beyond my means running up huge credit card debts (well, huge as I see it... somewhere around $12-15k). Luckily, a change of jobs and I was able to pay it off.
Guess I'm due another run sometime in the next 3 years
Point is, I don't think it's necessarily a thing for your 20s, 30s, etc. Fiscal discipline is something you have to work at throughout life. There's always the temptation and pressure to consume, to collect assets, to live beyond your means, to think, "I'm almost 40 so I should have X" or "I should live like that".
The first was at age 17, after my first year of university, when I'd run up huge bills with the uni department store and phone company. Totally ruined my credit rating. It took 6 years to fix it, which finally happened when I got a new car loan in '95 at a murderous 18% interest rate and then paid it on time for a year before refinancing.
The second was age 29 when I moved to Moscow, not making much money the first year, and lived beyond my means running up huge credit card debts (well, huge as I see it... somewhere around $12-15k). Luckily, a change of jobs and I was able to pay it off.
Guess I'm due another run sometime in the next 3 years
Point is, I don't think it's necessarily a thing for your 20s, 30s, etc. Fiscal discipline is something you have to work at throughout life. There's always the temptation and pressure to consume, to collect assets, to live beyond your means, to think, "I'm almost 40 so I should have X" or "I should live like that".
I think my statement was taken out of context somewhat and I certainly was not trying to atone for anything I said previously Morbo. My post was all tongue in cheek, I still stand by what I said to Jonny and what happened to me was purely coincidental, just I found I could laugh at it. I wasn't being harsh, most of us live beyond our means and in the current economic climate alot of what we do is now a bit more risky, but we are all feeling it and it's just how it is unfortunately, moaning and getting angry at others who are fortunate enough to have 'used their noddle' a little doesn't help. When you do anything, you must be aware of the risks as well as the benefits, just seems like he thinks nothing would ever go wrong for him and there are no risks to everything.
I agree, people have to learn themselves and no matter how often others say you should save for a rainy day incase you loose your job etc or you shouldn't spend so much on clothes/parties etc you still will until you learn from a few mistakes. I have only had to turn to my parents once for money and that's when I was abroad and had over spent, I was only 19 and really did learn from that as I really panicked when I was on my own in Corinth (Greece) 4 hours drive from my hotel with no money and with no return coach ticket (long story!) but nowadays my saving grace in that situaion is a credit card so still not completely sensible! I am 26 and will probably be in no position to actually have any savings whatsoever until my 30's..and then marriage and children are likely to take over and eat any money I have!