Household Debt | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Household Debt

Disco08 said:
I never read the papers. I'm good mates with at least 6 painters, 2 plumbers, 2 electricians and 1 bricky (that I can think of) who are all subbies and are all pretty happy with the way things are going for them right now. Most of them make yearly in the pocket wages considerably more than another good mate of mine who is a consultant at executive level to government departments and also does pretty well for himself.
never said i wasnt happy,its good but tough game..try and listen to an owner/builder explain why they cant/wont pay you for a months work. i will never vote on a federal level for labor cause the industry has always fallen over when theyve held the reins .true fact.. but my proffession hasnt got us to where we are,its just frugal economics and a big fear of work not being there. however,our new investment is costing lots and it aint our cash{tho we've spent 5 figures of cold hard getting the house ready 4 sale) getting us their but our good economic mangement..and thats something mr and mrs stone are proud of..
 
Michael said:
you paid cash for a house?

We didn't borrow money for our house, which we've lived in for 25 years now. We were very fortunate the land was given to us but we lived in a caravan in the hay shed while we built our house bit by bit as we saved the cash for it. Once we'd built the shell and had the water works installed we lived in the caravan outside our back door. It took a year or so to completely finish the house to the point we had painted concrete floors, then we got floor coversings a few months later. Neither of us had much building experience but we sure learned quickly. We bought factory made wall frames and trusses. We had a brickie to do the walls and fireplaces and a plumber to do the roof and waterworks and a plasterer. We did the labouring for them. The rest we did ourselves. The MOTH did the carpentry stuff and I did all the painting. We had a lot of furniture given to us and bought what we needed rather than what we wanted. As we saved we gradually bought the new things we wanted. We certainly roughed it for a bit but wouldn't wish for it to have been any other way.

I agree with Tiger74's post. So many kids starting out pay a fortune for a flash house that takes forever to pay off, and they wouldn't save money furnishing it with stuff from the op shop or rello's cast offs. Good luck to them but I hope later in life they don't look back on the experience in a light that's cost them valuable family and social time. I've got to admit the kids today are in a better position to go in that direction than we ever were. They can make massive money at an early age.

Another thing that gets me is the first cars a lot of kids have. Flash, brand new, shiny and incredibly expensive. Our 3 kids all worked through high school and saved to buy their own first cars. We paid the on-road costs, rego, insurance, services etc while they were at uni but it was a good life lesson for them to save for their cars. I'm sure they all appreciated them more because they did it themselves.

It will be interesting to see how they go about purchasing their first homes in the next few years. I hope the basic values instilled in them and their willingness to seek advice will hold them in good stead in the long run.
 
rosy23 said:
and they wouldn't save money furnishing it with stuff from the op shop or rello's cast offs.

:rofl reminds me of when I first moved out on my own. Fully furnished with old stuff from my parents, stuff thrown out from their offices, and a few garage sale bits I picked up. Not quick Harvey Norman :)
 
tradies can just about name their price at the moment..there is such a shortage of good tradesmen. any tradey that is struggling at the moment is either no good or lookimg in the wrong places...my husband is a builder of commercial swimming pools and they have a backlog of work cos they cant find decent tradesmen...ie tilers, steelfixers, carpenters etc. this has been going on for a long long time....so to all you young people out there..get a trade!!! a labourer on a building site is bringing in a thousand bucks a week with all the site allowances etc.

as for household debt...this is just something i do with my bills...i have my internet banking set up to take out money each week for all my bills..including water, council rates, gas , electricity, phone, internet, ..insurance..just about every thing can be paid off weekly....or fortnightly...whenever your pay day is. it makes everything so much easier to manage..i never get a big bill anymore...when i have rego due which is around 500 bucks..you get about two months notice...so i also then start transferring automatically 50 dollars a week into a separate internet account and by the time its due i have the money. it is a great way to stop the worrying about bills...try it..it takes a couple of months to get it all to a point where you have put enough on each bill to cover it.
 
Tiger74 said:
Okay, just chilling with a nice glass of single malt after being in the garden all day and losing my cash on the Purple Bugger. Listening to 3AW, and just had to say one thing on this debt/interest rate debate:

If you borrow to your limit and default.....so be it

I realize this is majorly harsh for some people, but if you borrow 100-110% for your mortgage, or have a house filled with Harvey Norman 2 years interest free plasmas and fridges, you are asking for trouble.

People are saying that the Govt (whoever has the gig in 3 weeks) should intervene and regulate the sale of these loans. Others are even saying interest rates should not go up because of the exposure of people to these loans. This makes no sense though.

People who sign up to this debt do so knowing they are borrowing against tomorrow because they want today. They could save and wait 6 months or 2 years, but no, we cannot wait these days. Granted the penalties and rates on the Harvey Norman type loans are ugly, but if you cannot manage to pay off the Plasma in 2 years, again you should have seen this problem coming.

On home loans, a very simple solution:

1) SAVE
2) LOWER YOUR STANDARDS

The current debt crisis has come about because we all want 6 bedrooms, media rooms, double garages, spas, etc. I am in my 30's (so I am not living back in the 60's), and we currently live in a unit because it was what we could afford whilst still being able to save (and absorb rate rises as they may come). We had the option of bigger places, but this meant living further away from the city than we wanted, so we lowered our expectations.

Too many people today expect to move into a house like their parents when they move out. This is just crazy UNLESS you have done the hard yards and saved up a big enough deposit to manage this financially.

I realize many in debt crisis are outside this rant (i.e. those with small business failure, personal injury or medical bills, family situations, divorce, etc), but to be honest I don't think people in this bracket make up the majority facing debt issues today.

Curious to hear if I am the only one thinking like this, or am I out of touch with most?

Good post T74. I'm still renting and I have no intention of getting caught in a bidding war for property with idiots fuelled by unsustainable debt. I may be a selfish point of view, but I'd be perfectly happy to see interest rates go up to the extent needed to curb inflation fuelled by people spending more than they can cover.
 
ronnit said:
tradies can just about name their price at the moment..there is such a shortage of good tradesmen. any tradey that is struggling at the moment is either no good or lookimg in the wrong places...my husband is a builder of commercial swimming pools and they have a backlog of work cos they cant find decent tradesmen...ie tilers, steelfixers, carpenters etc. this has been going on for a long long time....so to all you young people out there..get a trade!!! a labourer on a building site is bringing in a thousand bucks a week with all the site allowances etc.

as for household debt...this is just something i do with my bills...i have my internet banking set up to take out money each week for all my bills..including water, council rates, gas , electricity, phone, internet, ..insurance..just about every thing can be paid off weekly....or fortnightly...whenever your pay day is. it makes everything so much easier to manage..i never get a big bill anymore...when i have rego due which is around 500 bucks..you get about two months notice...so i also then start transferring automatically 50 dollars a week into a separate internet account and by the time its due i have the money. it is a great way to stop the worrying about bills...try it..it takes a couple of months to get it all to a point where you have put enough on each bill to cover it.
ronnit your opinion on household bills is spot on.. :clap :clap however,only union sites pay allowances,doesnt work out in the burbs..thou i do nicely and apart from having to chase monies every week its a good life.. :)
 
ronnit said:
....so to all you young people out there..get a trade!!!

There's a lot to be said about doing an apprenticeship. There was a real push to get 100% uni enrolement from year 12's here but that's changing now and trades are encouraged and worked towards in school too now. 2 of my kids went/go to uni and one did a tafe sport management course before starting an apprenticeship. Pretty amazing when a 2nd-3rd year apprentice can take home $800 a week (inc union site allowances) and also have a chance at top $$$ on weekend odd jobs.
 
ssstone/.///my husband was like you for years and years..i had to go pick up the cheques all over the place!!! but now i am loving that fact the he is on a wage...being self employed you can bring in some major dollars some weeks...but i love the fact he now has RDOs!!! annual leave and sick leave!! it is beautiful after years of no holidays and no days off..no pay when it rains etc etc....he took a bout ayear to get used to having a boss but he sure loves the RDOS! and the pay appearing in the bank each week....its like magic!! ;D
 
We are at it again....

People complaining about housing pricing being too high for average Australians.

As a Gen X'er, big tip my Gen Y brothers and sisters.

1) buy a unit

or

2) live in the outer burbs like Cranbourne or the West instead of trying to live in Glen Waverley

or

3) give up on buying a McMansion, and learn to live without an ensuite, without a study, and in a cr@ppy house you will sell and move out of in 3-5 years.

People have no patience these days and expect to live the same way as their parents 2 years after getting a job.

Get real, save money, move out of home (yes it costs money but grow up for god's sake), and lower your overzealous expectations

Rant over ;D
 
Tiger74 said:
We are at it again....
People complaining about housing pricing being too high for average Australians.
As a Gen X'er, big tip my Gen Y brothers and sisters.
1) buy a unit
or
2) live in the outer burbs like Cranbourne or the West instead of trying to live in Glen Waverley
or
3) give up on buying a McMansion, and learn to live without an ensuite, without a study, and in a cr@ppy house you will sell and move out of in 3-5 years.
People have no patience these days and expect to live the same way as their parents 2 years after getting a job.
Get real, save money, move out of home (yes it costs money but grow up for god's sake), and lower your overzealous expectations
Rant over ;D


Agree! :clap
Too much importance placed on status (competing with the Jones') instead of affordability and some financial sense.
 
Tiger74 said:
We are at it again....

People complaining about housing pricing being too high for average Australians.

As a Gen X'er, big tip my Gen Y brothers and sisters.

1) buy a unit

or

2) live in the outer burbs like Cranbourne or the West instead of trying to live in Glen Waverley

or

3) give up on buying a McMansion, and learn to live without an ensuite, without a study, and in a cr@ppy house you will sell and move out of in 3-5 years.

People have no patience these days and expect to live the same way as their parents 2 years after getting a job.

Get real, save money, move out of home (yes it costs money but grow up for god's sake), and lower your overzealous expectations

Rant over ;D

Are you kiddin?
I am also an X'er, from working class, and bought a house at 24, 10 square wood job. It would be impossible for me to do so these days.
I bought the place for 118k, and sold it 3 yrs later for 180k, God nows what its worth now.
Are we not know one of the most expensive cities to live. No more than ever, our income is being chewed up by debt.

Get rid of Stamp Duty for first home buyers at least.
 
Just get rid of stamp duty full stop
And as for that stupid horse that's running this state
Lying, no good bozo
 
dukeos said:
Are you kiddin?
I am also an X'er, from working class, and bought a house at 24, 10 square wood job. It would be impossible for me to do so these days.
I bought the place for 118k, and sold it 3 yrs later for 180k, God nows what its worth now.
Are we not know one of the most expensive cities to live. No more than ever, our income is being chewed up by debt.

Get rid of Stamp Duty for first home buyers at least.

On the rising house price, save longer and you will get the deposit you need.

As for stamp duty, you are aware if this goes you will simply pay higher taxes, most likely on GST. Taxes are not a magic pudding which create value indefinitely. If you remove a big chunk of it you then either have to remove a big chunk of spending, or increase taxes.

And before you raise the issue of surpluses, these are being fueled by a strong corporate economy, which results in good revenues in payroll taxes and company taxes. if the economy declines, these revenues fall rapidly (which is a key reason to maintain a surplus now, as its politically impossible to allow a deficit now outside of a full blow depression).
 
State governments won't let go of stamp duty. Given the vertical fiscal imbalance of our federation, this is one of the few remaining sources of revenue for states that doesn't involve going cap in hand to the federal government or pillaging pokie machines.
 
Michael said:
Just get rid of stamp duty full stop
And as for that stupid horse that's running this state
Lying, no good bozo

mikey mate, what addles yr paddle?
 
Saw a curious bit on the box about this the other night. While foreclosures are on the rise, two odd outcomes are having bigger influences:

1) Banks are helping "renegotiate" loans to avoid people defaulting, which basically means your monthly repayment goes down today, but you either cop higher fees, a longer loan, or a steep rate rise in xxx months. This is an issue because some suspect it may be delaying rather than fixing the problem.

2) Renters are being kicked out more often than not, because a big number (apparently) of the foreclosures are on peoples investment properties. This is a big problem for renters, because with the tight rental market they are struggling to find alternative arrangements.

Thankfully no-one here is as stupid as the States with the 100%+ loans, but it looks like it will be a pretty nasty 2008 for a lot of mortgage holders.
 
dukeos said:
Are you kiddin?
I am also an X'er, from working class, and bought a house at 24, 10 square wood job. It would be impossible for me to do so these days.
I bought the place for 118k, and sold it 3 yrs later for 180k, God nows what its worth now.
Are we not know one of the most expensive cities to live. No more than ever, our income is being chewed up by debt.

Get rid of Stamp Duty for first home buyers at least.

Last week the abc reported that since 1980 or thereabouts, the average wage had risen by about 100%, the median house price by about 400%.

Regardless of what structural changes have occurred to a ‘median priced house’ since the early 80’s, if your spending power is less buying a house (without being check mated by a bank for the next 25) - can’t be getting easier.