What are you all up to

Plenty of criticism of young people here again. 

That's going to make this club attractive isn't it?

Well they're encouraged by the  Gov't to go to Uni as it helps keep the unemployment figures down, (many school leavers used to go into the services or take apprenticeships), and given huge grants which I understand 40% never pay back. That's where an ambivalent attitude to debt sets in. My nieces, both nearing 30, both with two degrees, are still at Uni now doing Masters and have no idea at what or when they will start earning a living. Glad they're not my kids!

The prolific degrees achieved these days do far less in enabling them to earn 'high' salaries.

The Guardian:

Government forecasts suggest write-off costs have reached 45% of the £10bn in student loans made each year,

Youngsters certainly aren't all bad but a few on here seem to lump good with bad all the time. 

Not all baby boomers brought their children up badly either but an awful lot arent the paragons of wisdom they like to think they are. 

There's good and bad in every generation. I'm generation X. We were lucky to get high interest rates when we had no savings and a mortgage, low interest rates now we need to make our savings work and up to 8 years longer before we get our pensions. 

Don't tar all we baby boomers with the same Brush Jay. A wide range from 1945 to 1965 (thereabouts). I was born in 1952. My two daughters were brought up to manage. My eldest (44) put a deposit on a semi ex-council house with her partner at the age of 23. Partner turned out to be an abuser and was bought out and kicked out 3 years later. By the age of 35 she had paid the house off. Not a great wage but not a bad one either at the time although to earn it working for a travel company she was on call at all sorts of times including early morning to sort out problems with missed coaches, passenger deaths, coach breakdowns et al. The house that was chosen needed totally gutting and was therefore both cheap and in need of hard graft. She did the hard graft with help from me whilst her partner did sweet Fanny Adams. She has had some hard times since but has the roof over her head.

My youngest was left in rented accommodation with two kids who are now 4 and 5. No support from their father and other than child benefit, family tax credit, council tax rebate and anything she can wangle in the way of free offers and the veg that she grows nowt. Her savings from money left by her grandfather are probably about £230k which she has invested for the future. She knows how to cook good food from cheap ingredients and is in a rented terrace house in Leigh. I managed to knock the renter down to £390 per month. She knows that I am here if needed but is self reliant. 

I initially taught my kids about money by getting them a debit card when they were 14 whereby they could not take more money out of their account than was in. I paid money into the account every month. At some time or another they both overspent and ran out of money which made them realise the importance of shelling out within your means. 

The man I sleep with cut the grass yesterday

Insomniac is he? Or was it because you were you giving him the Lysistrata treatment?

You are correct Tammy. My mistake in the typing. She does not get family tax credit but she gets child tax credit which is not means tested. Council tax rebate is based on income and not on savings also. For the child tax credit she probably receives £6,100 for the two lads. If she moved to a new area (maybe a new home?) she would be subject to new rules and I suspect she believes may not get that money which probably covers rent and rates. 

She is not able to work due to the young children at present. 

As to rented accommodation she has had the extra funds for about two years and will most likely buy a place in due course when she decides where. She initially tied the money up in bonds etc and so would be at least about 12 months before she got access. The sensible thing would be near to me and eldest where £150k would buy a reasonable bungalow and there would be family support. However, despite no real contribution from the children's father I think that she wants the children to have access to him (on rare occasions). 

I have lost track over the last couple of years Brue. I think that you may be correct. However I do know that Child Tax Credit ignores savings which I also find strange. 

As I said earlier I suspect that the Child Tax Credit probably covers daughters rates and rent but little else. 

She also used to make/save money by wombling and presume she still does.

The youngest does not start school proper until around October this year. Although I doubt that it will be easy to get a job to fit around school when that happens. Dunno - we will wait and see. With the older child she did do some telephone work until the birth of the second. 

Neither of my two have made good choices with regards to fellas sadly. 

I have thought about it Tammy. It is only in the last 4 years when the arthritis has been a real problem. Seems to go in phases as well. 

7 years ago I suffered badly over winter. Then for the next few years not too bad. 

It is something that I might consider in the future though. Presently I am not too bad although it is only about 4 weeks ago that I had to resort to a walking stick for a few days. That was in hot weather! 

Today I was actually preparing meals ahead and was working in the kitchen for almost 4 hours. Sometimes I would have to rest my spine after 20 mins at most if doing prep work. 

After last night at the theatre with friends I felt very fortunate. A good friend of mine with mobility problems told me that he had just received a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. 

My OH loves holidays but hates car journeys of any length and particularly on motorways. If I could persuade her I would be off with the caravan abroad for some of the colder months. The other factor is that we have a number of good friends that we only see regularly during Winter and Spring.