Are you better off in the recession ?

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capall

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It seems to me that alot of irish people are currently better off since the credit crunch
Their mortgage payments are lower ,petrol and oil is cheaper and they have been getting great value in the sales . Also if you need to hire someone for any reason tradesperson,childminder etc it is easier and more reasonable

If you haven't lost your job and you weren't exposed to the stock markets basically you are currently better off

How long before the recession kicks in for everyone or will the effects continue to be felt very unevenly ?
 
If you have not lost your job or if your income has not decreased dramatically!

Anyone working for the State or having contracts with the State has probably not been hit yet. Most self employed people and service providers have been very badly hit. Most of my colleagues confirm a 60-70% drop in income.

mf
 
I concur with MF1. For the four months to end of December, I am 40% down in revenue, which probably equates to a 75% or higher loss of income ( the overheads of a law office being relatively fixed). As the sporting goods shop said, Now is the discount of our winter tents.
 
I was thinking the same myself today. As long as you keep your job then you might find yourself with more money in your pocket as mortgage payments, fuel and food come down in price. The only thing is the value of your home and investments will more than likely have dropped too so you are not really better off.

For the majority of people I would say their biggest asset is their job so happy days as long as you keep it. .
 
One of the things about this recession compared to previous recessions is that alot of people have such high personal debt between mortgages ,credit cards,personal loans,which they didn't have say in the 80s.
So if you lose your job you are under huge pressure financially straight away. Very few people seem to have the reserves needed to survive a lenghty period of unemployment

The government is going to have to decide how banks should behave in these situations its going to become a massive issue
 
mf1 said:
Anyone working for the State or having contracts with the State has probably not been hit yet. Most self employed people and service providers have been very badly hit. Most of my colleagues confirm a 60-70% drop in income.

mf
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True, I agree. Many self-employed people I know have been partly living off savings for the past while, having worked 60 and 70 hour weeks years ago to save in the first place.
 
Defo concur with the sentiment of the OP's post. I did a rough budget a year ago about my next few years and worked out the timescale I can achieve life goals (career, car, house, wedding, own business, investments). Having recently redone this exercise things are actually more achieveable.

This all hinges on getting a trainee accountants job this summer after college. If that doesnt happen, i'm screwed. If it does, then everything else falls into place really well (houses much cheaper, commuting cost slashed etc.) and it has now become much more acceptable to be frugal (so no peer pressure to go out 2 nights a week).

It is a most unusually economic time when the divergence between the employed and unemployed widens considerably. Other curious things to happen:

> Those on minimum wage who retain job now have higher disposable income.
> Those on long term state welfare are better off (long term dole, disability, pension etc.)
> Graduates who are aiming to get into low inital salary professions (accountants, lawyers etc.) who SUCCEED in securing a job are much better off as they would have been earning very little anyways.
> So far it is often middle aged people who bought investment properties who are suffering the most rather than those in their late twenties.
 
I agree with the OP even though I feel guilty being happy with some of the effects of the recession, both myself and my partner's jobs are secure, we bought a house last year at a reasonable price and have a tracker mortgage. We have no intentions of selling for at least the next ten years so negative equity doesn't factor, energy costs are lower. On the negative side of course are the increases in tax but i think because lots of people are worse off there's an increase in cheap socialising and holidays ie nights in have replaced nights out and the plan is camping in ireland instead of a foreign holiday as saving this year is a priority. As i say i feel guilty being glad of a recession when so many people are suffereing but at the moment we're doing ok from it.
 
Don't feel guilty, it's hardly your fault. And a fair amount of the tax you're paying is going on social services, you've done your part.

I suppose one benefit is it'll be easier to get tradesmen. It used to be impossible to get anyone or some would drop you as soon as a bigger job came along.
Now I'm getting loads of flyers "no job too big or small"
And you can definitly haggle money off the final price. Yes VAT is paid before you assume what kind of haggling I'm doing :)
 
If I like most other people can keep their jobs then the recession will be a good thing. But I'm really nervous about losing my job so I'm a lot more conservative with my spending because I'm preparing to be made redundant. Finger crossed it won't happen but it's always on the back of my mind, just like everyone else I'd imagine.
 
Niallers said:
The only thing is the value of your home and investments will more than likely have dropped too so you are not really better off.

.
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This would not be true for people who bought before the boom. You watch it go up and down and you stood still, that's all.
 
micmclo said:
I suppose one benefit is it'll be easier to get tradesmen. It used to be impossible to get anyone or some would drop you as soon as a bigger job came along.
Now I'm getting loads of flyers "no job too big or small"
And you can definitly haggle money off the final price. Yes VAT is paid before you assume what kind of haggling I'm doing :)
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Earlier in the week I got a flyer in my door from a local carpetner. His company were offering to do one hour of work in people's homes free of charge for the month of January.
Sign of the times.
 
Definitely agree with the sentiments of the first post. I lost my job in July (panicked, took a job I hated for a few months) then was lucky enough to land on my feet with a handy number (for as long as it lasts)

The issue is job security - it does not exist any more and that is the big difference- if I hold onto this job, I am still playing a blinder - reasonably low mortgage, ok house, decent area, and lots of disposible income - but if I lose this job and dont get another at the same level, then I am in the poo!

Such is life
 
A girl I know was saying that she heard a few single mothers giving out about the recession but when questioned on it they all said that they were actually better off in more ways than one.
 
I think people are getting hung up on negative equity, if the house is your home and you've no intentions of moving for a long time then what does it matter if it's worth less? of course investors are in a different situation but people are worrying too much about the value of their homes.
 
I'm not concerned about negative equity as we plan to keep this house forever. Generally, I haven't seen many price decreases except with petrol which is handy as getting up North is now a bit cheaper in more ways than one!

I have found it easier to get tradespeople for properties I manage and feel somewhat guilty bartering them down but I have to get the best price for my clients. It's much easier now than it was even a year ago.

On the downside, Mr Bubbly lost his contract in the financial sector (IT) a few weeks before Christmas and things are slow enough that we're a tad concerned about how quickly he will find something again.
 
jaybird said:
What if you have or are outgrowing your home though, and you would like to or really need to move?
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More than likely the new house you want to move into would have also come down in price.
 
I think if the economic tsunami thats coming down the tracks hits us people in jobs can't assume they will be unaffected
How can that be ,massive unemployment,massive social welfare costs,a government unable to borrow except at exorbitant rate if at all
Something will have to give,there will have to be huge deterioration in public services and massive tax hikes
 
I would agree that, as long as you hang onto your job, you're more likely to be better off. Lower interest rates, supermarkets fighting for your custom, cheaper petrol etc etc.

Another possible side effect will be the reality check a lot of today's over indulged teenagers are likely to receive when they realise that designer gear, foreign holidays and such like are actually luxuries and not day to day necessities.
 
liaconn said:
I would agree that, as long as you hang onto your job, you're more likely to be better off. Lower interest rates, supermarkets fighting for your custom, cheaper petrol etc etc.
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Some fair points but lower interest rates aren't welcomed by us all.
 
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