How are people paying for their lifestyle

Hello all,
first post, so bear with me.
A question has been rattling around my brain for a while.....

I am married with no kids. My OH and I both work, with a joint income of about €110k. We have a reasonable mortgage which costs €1400 per month, and no other loans. We have two cars, both old and bought a few years ago for cash (one '94, the other '00 Punto). We save/invest roughly €850 per month, and the rest of the monthly money goes on living expenses. We aren't miserly, but don't splash out either. All in all, we are very happy (and lucky) that our outgoings meet our income, and neither of us feel the need to splash out on new cars etc. Sure, we'll replace them when we need to, but that's not yet.

So my question is this... How is everybody else surviving? We regularly see people with 2/3 kids, two '06 cars, etc. and know that they cannot be earning twice as much as us. Is it all going on the never-never? Are they up to their eyes in credit card debt? Have they remortgaged to pay for the foreign holidays?. Just the cars alone will have cost €40-50k between them.

I feel as if I am missing something here? Can anybody enlighten me?

I see your problem.................its the Punto, those yokes will clean you out.

It's likely that a lot of what you see is the result of borrowing. You, on the other hand, are a saver (although you probably should be able to salt away more than 850 a month if you've no kids. Are you making pension contributions up to your maximum limits as well?)

I don't have the figures in front of me but personal debt is very high in Ireland, propped up house equity. A lot of people who seem to have "the life" are probably making minimum payments on their credit cards.

When and if things get rougher, you're going to be the one looking like you have "the life."

1500 quid a week on living expenses??

Buddyboy,

If you are happy with what you are doing then why do you have to compare yourself with others? How do you know that the person you speak of with the 2-3 kids is not earning twice what you earn? If that person is up to there eyes in debt then it is there choice and it should not really affect you.

The other thing to understand is many Irish people have never before experienced the kind of wealth (and credit availability) we've seen over the past decade. Many people are indeed going mad with the spending, and there's a lot of peer pressure out there apparently. Those who have experienced the entire boom-bust cycle (probably while abroad) are probably a little more cautious.

Con said:

Buddyboy,

If you are happy with what you are doing then why do you have to compare yourself with others? How do you know that the person you speak of with the 2-3 kids is not earning twice what you earn? If that person is up to there eyes in debt then it is there choice and it should not really affect you.

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Con,
do you ever get the feeling that the answer is there, but it just eludes you? I am very happy with what I am doing, and other peoples choices do not affect me. It's just my insatiable curiosity.

Monstie,
Don't know where you got €1500. A our gross income gives a net income per month of roughly 6.2k, take off savings and mortgage (2250), leaving 4000. This is about 900 per week. This covers everything, petrol, groceries, holidays, clothes, dog food, car tax, insurance etc.

I'm sorry, it bugs me when people make assumptions and I saw your OP as just that

Con said:

I'm sorry, it bugs me when people make assumptions and I saw your OP as just that

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No bother Con,
I found it hard to word the post, and not have people read things into it that weren't there.

I know that people are earning twice as much as us, and I would believe that that is the answer it if it was only the odd occurence (I know we are earning a good bit above the average wage). But everywhere I look, it seems to be that there are new cars and copious consumption all over the place. On Sunday I was in Blackpool Shopping Centre in Cork, and every third car seemed to be a 05 or 06, and every second one of them was an Audi, SUV, MPY, Lexus etc.

Of course its more likely that its all on credit, but perhaps (and I'm not being being smart), but maybe they are better money managers than you.
I earn a fraction of what you do, and I mean a fraction! My mortgage and childcare is more than your mortgage, I drive a newer car, have no debts and save.

Mind you I don't have a dog, but kids are expensive!

there is only 30 thousand in ireland earning over 100k a year,
new car sales far outstrip this.

its all on the never never....
all those shiny new cars are paid for over 35 years in the form of equity release.

it may be frustrating now, but in the long run, you will be safe in the knowledge that you have a good job and decent savings, so you will have to pay alot more tax to subsidise the encumbent state machine as they bench mark us into obscurity, and don't worry, your taxes will rise as the infrastructure crumbles around us.....

all these ppl with suv's a geniuses...they can see this all ahead..they know that they will need 4x4's to negotiate their way through mountainous pot-holes, scaling precipes as they crawl along our M50, before having to climb down to pay from the air conditioned and leather clad haven to pay the 150 euro toll....


in all seriousness....we have more bmw's than germany, who makes and sells them at half the price to here...not to mention our running costs...

we have more property than all other europeans, but don't worry, most won't be able to afford to fly out to them in a few years...

we have the worst infrastructue cos we are too busy fleecing the system....

we have the smallest houses, cos its hard to put all the junkers flooring on the credit card....

we have the worst b.band pentration ratio, cos we don't need it as we are "europes technological centre"...

we have the highest mobile phone charges, and yet we have the highest per minute usership and the most handsets per person....

we will ahve spent more on tribunals than we have on the primary school building project in the last five years....


we had the highest concentration of rail-networks in the world,....ever...and we let the farmers use the rails as fencing posts....

we have the highest medical costs...and the worst service

we have the most expensive insurance and the most claims in europe...


BUT don't worry, we have our houses!!...

bitter and twisted sentiment is now expunged....

That's one of the mysteries of life isn't it. If we knew everything about everyone what would we talk about then?

swallows you might have it there!
recently i spoke to a mortgage advisor who said in the last year he could count on one hand the customers who were not releasing equity or looking to top up a mortgage. Maybe an exaggeration but i would believe there are a fair few folks who reckon 'we can pay for the wedding by extending the mortgage...sure its at a great intrest, rate 4% and all...."
I envy them the not worrying about paying it back but then sure we are all in the same boat. Aren't we?

Hi Buddyboy, Maybe there's a hole in your trousers pocket

nelly said:

sure we are all in the same boat. Aren't we?

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Nope. You guys are on your own.

Buddyboy said:

So my question is this... How is everybody else surviving?

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Lots of people "survive" by living within/below their means.

Are people paying for their lifestyle or are they creating a lifestyle first and then running themselves ragged trying to afford it?

We found ourselves in this scenario and didn't realise we were doing it.

The OH has now given up the well paid (€80k+), extremely stressful job and we have changed our lifestyle to allow him more free time to spend on hobbies, the family and whatever else he wants to do.

The trappings of wealth are not worth the anxiety that debt, long working hours, health problems and stress bring. IMHO .

Half of all property in Ireland is mortgage free apparently, is it not likely that the people with loads of disposable are living it up and the other half are digging themselves deeper and deeper to have the same lifestyle.
I'm sure there are loads of company cars on the road which is only costing a fraction of the cost that PAYE workers would have to shell out so it's not comparable.
When I see how much cash is available from private investors for people like Barry O Callaghan and Eddie O Connor there is some serious amount of equity out there.

Company cars, well off older people who don't have mortgages probably count for a lot of them.

Look at the driver of the next Merc you see - it's more likely to be some wealthy looking older silver haired guy than a couple with 2 kids in the back.

However that could be more to do with the choice of car. There are plenty of 06 SUVs which are owned by young families.

I am sure some people will manage their money very well, and that's why they can afford all this things, but please, think about it. What are people doing? Living in debt, spending the money THEY DON'T HAVE in silly and unnecessary things. People are not able to retire, to pay college for their kids, but yet, shopping centres are packed...Very sad. Go to the Square in Tallaght, just to give yoa an example, and see the kind of people that are spending fortunes that obviuosly don't have any money! I wonder, if tomorrow one of their kids or themselves got sick, or lost their jobs, how would they manage? People in this country are splashing their money on holidays, cars, and we will see the consecuences of that very soon...