What changed

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

todays life of luxury is a far cry from my childhood and I must say the amount of unhappiness I see now around me (friends, family, customers, social bloody media) makes me yearn for a simpler life - aspiring to have 'everything' is clearly not working for people.

 

In a oner.

[Lazurus]

Those who have replied to this post seem to be of a certain vintage, myself included (1964 for me). I agree I look back and can see all those things that have been so eloquently described. I am still of the mindset that if you aint got it you don't spend it, so I do still save and appreciate the effort that goes in to buying the item.

 

When you look at the younger generation I think they have never learned this philosophy and buy now pay as and when is their gambit, hence the spirals of debt and lack of a working ethic in many.

 

As for wages, in real terms |I have not had more than a 1% pay rise in 10 years, so I just have to save harder and wait longer when |I want that extra item, no credit, no mortgage (cant get one) but most importantly no debt. Just my 10 cents worth.

 

S.

[eggsarascal]

Those who have replied to this post seem to be of a certain vintage, myself included (1964 for me). I agree I look back and can see all those things that have been so eloquently described. I am still of the mindset that if you aint got it you don't spend it, so I do still save and appreciate the effort that goes in to buying the item.

 

When you look at the younger generation I think they have never learned this philosophy and buy now pay as and when is their gambit, hence the spirals of debt and lack of a working ethic in many.

 

As for wages, in real terms |I have not had more than a 1% pay rise in 10 years, so I just have to save harder and wait longer when |I want that extra item, no credit, no mortgage (cant get one) but most importantly no debt. Just my 10 cents worth.

 

S.

 

In real terms you probably haven't had a pay rise in many years.

[Stubby]

We use to DREAM of living in a shoe box ! Used to get half an hour before before we went to bed , lick road clean with tongue , pay mill owner for permission to come to work and when we got home our Dad would thrash us to sleep with a broken bottle .....If we were lucky .

[Mick Dempsey]

Nothing wrong with credit. Used properly, both in business and ones personal life, it can be a great way of moving forward in your life.

 

Of course, many people go too far.

[Vespasian]

My thoughts on the subject...

 

Banks and housing, ex 3.5% of income to buy a house turned to 4 then five and even more in the modern age..

Why?.. because these shysters figured that the more money a house was worth, the more banks had on their balance sheet..

 

Which is to say, the financial services industry welcomes house price inflation, it makes em look like they have more in the bank increasing their stock... more to pay bonus's an stuff like that...

 

 

Now the real interesting point of the thread, why do people feel worse off when they might well be better off all things considered...

 

Simple, a scientific study found that people who have many choices to make are less happy than people with only one choice...

Thus, the simpler the life, the happier one is....

 

If someone has to make a choice out of five things to do/get, then after making said choice they are then haunted by the fear they might have made the wrong choice after all.... thus their lives might be made miserable...

 

Now if you want to make your life a happier affair all round, then its better to keep things simple and only get what you need..

[jomoco]

Nothing wrong with credit. Used properly, both in business and ones personal life, it can be a great way of moving forward in your life.

 

Of course, many people go too far.

 

But what about clever amoral billionaires who go too far with it Mick?

 

You say blaming PNAC, GWB, Blair n the lads is off topic n irrelevant.

 

How so my friend?

 

Blame the populace for lettin Machiavelli's eff them over, eh?

 

As a father I feel guilty n embarrassed for passing on such a sorry state of affairs to my kids.

 

Jomoco

[eggsarascal]

Nothing wrong with credit. Used properly, both in business and ones personal life, it can be a great way of moving forward in your life.

 

Of course, many people go too far.

 

I find myself agreeing with you, which is a bit worrying.

 

Everything I have is bought and paid for.

 

Mrs Egg on the other hand has a few assets that are on the never, never. They do turn a profit mind.

[Mick Dempsey]

But what about clever amoral billionaires who go too far with it Mick?

 

You say blaming PNAC, GWB, Blair n the lads is off topic n irrelevant.

 

How so my friend?

 

Blame the populace for lettin Machiavelli's eff them over, eh?

 

As a father I feel guilty n embarrassed for passing on such a sorry state of affairs to my kids.

 

Jomoco

 

What I'm saying Jomo is that your style of writing, ie. a series of unconnected sentences, often just a series of rhetorical questions, comes across as more like the lyrics of a protest song than a post relevant to the "feel" of the thread.

[jomoco]

This thread's comprised of old farts blaming kids for the sorry state of the world.

 

What principles of ours are worth emulating given the state of the world today?

 

Jomoco