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Gas and Electricity Prices

Darth Vader said:
"I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours. I love to keep it by me: the idea of getting rid of it nearly breaks my heart." Jerome K. Jerome

DV
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Ah - 'Three men in a Boat' remains a wonderful book!

The most enduring lesson it teaches though, has to be the very early prescription of his doctor:

1lb beefsteak, 1 pint beer, to be taken daily - and don't go stuffing you head up, with things you don't understand.
 
Darth Vader said:
This shows me that you have no idea.

I left sec mod school at 15 and went straight to work. I lived with my parents on a tough city council estate where I regularly got beaten up coming home from school by older and bigger gangs of boys who I never knew nor had even met. My crime? I wore glasses and that was unusual at that time. Four eyes I was called and they formed a ring and beat the hell out of me.

My parents were poor working class and my best clothes came from jumble sales if you know what that means. I never had a school badge as my parents couldn't afford one.

No guilt edged pension for me except for the few years that I was a school teacher and for that I do get a small pension. The rest I saved in money purchase schemes and its now into a SIPP where I can manage it myself. Note a Science teacher that taught to 'A' Level University entrance and became Head of Science. I worked damn hard from age 15 at work and spent 1 day and two evenings a week for 3 years to get my ONC Chemistry. I did well enough to go to Uni and get a very good degree. I had to work evenings and holidays for money. It wasn't easy.

I won't bother going over the following years except to say that I've been married twice and have two families and through sheer hard graft I managed to send my children to private school.

My youngest is now just turned 28 and lives in a very expensive flat in Islington so I understand this generation and how they live.They have iPhones and other such like permanently stuck in hand and would be lost literally without one. It really is easy come easy go to this generation. I tell them don't go out for meals and buy expensive cocktails put some away for your future but it falls on deaf ears.

When I was a child I saw how those that managed to reach retirement on our tough council estate lived. It was shocking. I vowed then never to be like that when I had to retire. So all through life I put retirement as very important. I joined every works pension scheme immediately as to me it was free money and I always put something away for the future. Although I have had new company cars I have never bought a new one for myself. Money down the drain. Instead I learned how to service and repair my s/h cars and both save and invest the money that others were happy to waste. My ex BIL was an accountant and bragged how he was about to buy his fourth new car whilst I was still driving a s/h one after 10 years. He is not bragging now in retirement!

I lost my job in the Thatcher recession and couldn't get another. 'Over qualified I was told interview after interview' . So I set up my first company and never looked back. Bloody hard work and years living away from home (4 years in Germany) allowed me to save and invest. My pals at home who couldn't be bothered to get off their ass 'I'd miss me mates' are now like you blaming others good luck rather than their own failings. There is no such thing as 'luck'. It is noticing the opportunities and getting of your backside then everyone says how lucky you were.

Everyone no matter how little they earn can put a little something away for a rainy day. I even did this with my paper round as my parents were too poor to give me pocket money.

DV
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Our tune, Simon Bates was running through my head reading this.
 
Ponty said:
Sounds like you are prudent. Many aren’t. You’re a high earner, I’d suggest others with similar income will have multiple foreign holidays, new cars, meals out every week etc. You choose not to, presumably because you don’t want to be financially exposed and don’t see a credit card limit as a spending target.

Too many have no financial resilience and are not living within their means, rather living leveraged lifestyles which assume all will be be rosy forever. I’m waiting for the sob stories of ‘we can’t afford presents for the kids this Christmas’, with a picture of a family head to foot in designer clothes and 2 leased German cars on the drive of the ‘Executive home’. 10 bob millionaires everywhere. You’ll know they’re in the 5#1t when they put £20 of diesel in the X5. When their lines of credit run dry, the piper will still need paying. Their choice, their responsibility, their problem, their consequence, not other tax payers such as you and I. As Buffett says ‘only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked’. Help those who need help and have no options, absolutely 100%, but not those who choose to swim with sharks in speedos tied to a leg of lamb.
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Well said @Ponty - I have never understood peoples desire to keep up with the Joneses, especially when you can be 'rich' in so many other ways. Don't get me wrong, I do understand the lure and desire of wanting nice things and I am no different in this regard. Unlike many others, I chose to save and pay for these when I can afford them. If I can't afford it I go without. Sometimes this can be hard and get you down, but in the end it is much more rewarding.
 
I feel quite guilty (well, only a bit) reading about others' hard graft and that. I've just stumbled along, really. I guess I went through a 'doing without' phase when saving up to buy a flat (no holiday for three years, very little booze), but living singly it's easy to do without. What I don't do is judge others, because at the back of my mind is the thought that there but for the grace of God, go I.
 
Darth Vader said:
like you blaming others good luck rather than their own failings.
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Blaming others for my failings? Not sure how you have got to that point based on what I wrote.

To be clear, I am saying that a lot of well off, older people - who may have worked hard and faced challenges throughout their life, as we all do - are out of touch with the struggles endured by the younger generations of today. I'll say again - 9 million households in fuel poverty, a figure that has more than doubled in 15 years. £30k debt after going through Uni, wages reducing, mass inflation, impenetrable housing markets, working second jobs to make ends meet and zero hours contracts. When you throw all of these things into one big, ugly equation, the answer isn't pretty for a lot of people. Instead, you retort "they never had it so good", which is what I took issue with in your original post.

You saved money from your paper round? I spent all mine on tapes from WH Smith, though I didn't have a mortgage, children, bills or any other obligations whatsoever when I was 13, as I'm sure you didn't either.
 
We’ve pretty much learned nothing since 2008 and I doubt we’ll learn from this latest mess either. Most of us on this forum have seen this coming for years. Things just don’t add up in this country.
 
Joe Hutch said:
What I don't do is judge others, because at the back of my mind is the thought that there but for the grace of God, go I.
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At least you didn't give up religion, Joe. :D Your journey very much mirrors mine, esp. the 'stumble' bit. However, possibly one exception i.r.o. hifi. Never stinted on that but there again, what with wheeling 'n' dealing, it wasn't much of a financial outlay, if any. 12 years bumbling from job to job, from cable jointer's mate to clerical to picking potatoes in Cornwall in the early sixties. However, I was a saver from the off, so never destitute or prostitute. Life was a beach in St. Ives then; budget was 2/6 per day for a nutritional balance (accom. was free under stars or canvas). I'd write a book if I was literate enough ! ;)
 
farfromthesun said:
Blaming others for my failings? Not sure how you have got to that point based on what I wrote.

To be clear, I am saying that a lot of well off, older people - who may have worked hard and faced challenges throughout their life, as we all do - are out of touch with the struggles endured by the younger generations of today. I'll say again - 9 million households in fuel poverty, a figure that has more than doubled in 15 years. £30k debt after going through Uni, wages reducing, mass inflation, impenetrable housing markets, working second jobs to make ends meet and zero hours contracts. When you throw all of these things into one big, ugly equation, the answer isn't pretty for a lot of people. Instead, you retort "they never had it so good", which is what I took issue with in your original post.

You saved money from your paper round? I spent all mine on tapes from WH Smith, though I didn't have a mortgage, children, bills or any other obligations whatsoever when I was 13, as I'm sure you didn't either.
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It’s not all doom and gloom. The young people (grads in their 20’s) I know are doing really well. Cracking on in their careers and earning good money. Some have bought their own places, others don’t want to because they don’t know where their careers will take them and want to stay flexible. They’re having a great time from all accounts.
 
ff1d1l said:
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...ter-refusing-pay-energy-bills-pledge-campaign

And you can do it here

https://dontpay.uk/
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A very dangerous strategy, especially linking it with the success of the poll tax campaign.
When people refused to pay poll tax they could only be challenged via the courts over a protracted period. Not paying an utility DD could get your electricity and gas cut off very quickly. Only pensioners, the chronically sick, the disabled or those with children under 6 have any protection from utility companies starting action against you after one missed DD.
 
Ponty said:
Sounds like you are prudent. Many aren’t. You’re a high earner, I’d suggest others with similar income will have multiple foreign holidays, new cars, meals out every week etc. You choose not to, presumably because you don’t want to be financially exposed and don’t see a credit card limit as a spending target.

Too many have no financial resilience and are not living within their means, rather living leveraged lifestyles which assume all will be be rosy forever. I’m waiting for the sob stories of ‘we can’t afford presents for the kids this Christmas’, with a picture of a family head to foot in designer clothes and 2 leased German cars on the drive of the ‘Executive home’. 10 bob millionaires everywhere. You’ll know they’re in the 5#1t when they put £20 of diesel in the X5. When their lines of credit run dry, the piper will still need paying. Their choice, their responsibility, their problem, their consequence, not other tax payers such as you and I. As Buffett says ‘only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked’. Help those who need help and have no options, absolutely 100%, but not those who choose to swim with sharks in speedos tied to a leg of lamb.
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Schadenfreud never tasted this good before. Can almost hear the lips smacking.

Ponty I’m convinced if you didn’t exist Rick Mayall would have had to invent you. Maybe not quite Alan B’stard but his less well off brother in law.
 
farfromthesun said:
Blaming others for my failings? Not sure how you have got to that point based on what I wrote.

To be clear, I am saying that a lot of well off, older people - who may have worked hard and faced challenges throughout their life, as we all do - are out of touch with the struggles endured by the younger generations of today. I'll say again - 9 million households in fuel poverty, a figure that has more than doubled in 15 years. £30k debt after going through Uni, wages reducing, mass inflation, impenetrable housing markets, working second jobs to make ends meet and zero hours contracts. When you throw all of these things into one big, ugly equation, the answer isn't pretty for a lot of people. Instead, you retort "they never had it so good", which is what I took issue with in your original post.

You saved money from your paper round? I spent all mine on tapes from WH Smith, though I didn't have a mortgage, children, bills or any other obligations whatsoever when I was 13, as I'm sure you didn't either.
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Yes, but my parents had it better than me: 5p houses, no climate change, cheap pints, free university, decent job opportunities, good wages, no Love Island, better music etc. The current direction of travel though is unsettling. The old contract between school/going to university and getting a well-paid job/career is breaking down. Housing in particular is a problem. I don't hear much about young people in the current Conservative debates (for a simple reason of course: they rarely vote Conservative) but I think it would behoove the Tories (and Labour) to address more robustly some of the struggles young people face. Amping up Gordon Brown's Minister for Young Citizens and Youth Engagement would be a good place to start.
 
Kirk said:
Yes, but my parents had it better than me: 5p houses, no climate change, cheap pints, free university, decent job opportunities, good wages, no Love Island, better music etc.
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I’d add no mobile phones and social media.
 
Joe Hutch said:
I feel quite guilty (well, only a bit) reading about others' hard graft and that. I've just stumbled along, really. I guess I went through a 'doing without' phase when saving up to buy a flat (no holiday for three years, very little booze), but living singly it's easy to do without. What I don't do is judge others, because at the back of my mind is the thought that there but for the grace of God, go I.
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Yup, it's the judgemental assholes I can't stand. There but for the grace of God go I...
 
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