O
Octopus
If that's the case you need to find a new job ...... because the rise in the tax free allowance means you must be being paid less per year now than you were 10 years ago
Bananas in 1983 were 38p a pound and today 38p a pound - moral of the story, eat more bananas!
See, bananas are a hot topic!I'm off to view a house in half an hour. It is up for offers over £160k. It last sold in 1998 for £27k
The larger Victorian houses in the area have seen a rise in the same time frame from about £80k to £250-300k
Bananas.
I sub from a company at the moment. And by the time you pay running costs for van, insurance, pay for courses, tools, test equipment and calibration, reference books and all that jazz I am thinking may as well go shelf filling at local shop. I'm based in Hertfordshire and not anywhere near on some of the figures being stated on here. And the fact i got a hernia on a job and lost money for being off I'll. Need to really start thinking about going back to cards or doing more of my own stuff. Or go shelf filling.
J
John Matrix
This is why o will always be cards in. The reward isn’t there anymore for the risk. I would rather let someone else have the headaches.
I always think Electricians are daft in my area maybe it's all over
Where I live there are a disproportionate number of Electricians/ companies for the population here which does keep prices down,
I did ok self employed for a few years then started seeing a new companies van every couple of days ,So I got out of the rat race
I've had customers say they've had 7/8 quotes! and I was too expensive sometimes undercut by 2/3rds of mine
people working for themselves quoting £20 an hour as an hourly wage in their pockets no overheads no business sense at all
I used to ask for the cheapest quote guys number and say I'll quote a job and get him to do the work!
Also lots of Plumbers here
Most firms I've worked for undercut ruthlessly to get jobs, lots of firms have closed, lots of new start ups to replace them.
All the Plumbers in similar situation put their prices up!
Hence they all seem to have nice houses and cars now!
Where I live there are a disproportionate number of Electricians/ companies for the population here which does keep prices down,
I did ok self employed for a few years then started seeing a new companies van every couple of days ,So I got out of the rat race
I've had customers say they've had 7/8 quotes! and I was too expensive sometimes undercut by 2/3rds of mine
people working for themselves quoting £20 an hour as an hourly wage in their pockets no overheads no business sense at all
I used to ask for the cheapest quote guys number and say I'll quote a job and get him to do the work!
Also lots of Plumbers here
Most firms I've worked for undercut ruthlessly to get jobs, lots of firms have closed, lots of new start ups to replace them.
All the Plumbers in similar situation put their prices up!
Hence they all seem to have nice houses and cars now!
Yes, DT1991, I ran a company with 2 others, and the 2008 crash hurt us very badly. Up til then we gave all employees a raise and a bonus every year. After then we didn't, but they took a voluntary pay cut of 10% to avoid any redundancies, and I and my fellow bosses often took no salary just so we could pay the staff and keep them in a job. We managed to revert to their usual pay after 2 years, during which time the bosses had been paid only every 2 months, and not at usual rates.
Did they thank us for keeping bread on their tables?
nope! They just moaned constantly!
Now I work only for me, no employees, no offices, nothing...I just do what I want, don't have to bother about NIC, tax, sick pay, holiday pay...
Moral: Keep it simple, keep it tight...and be creative with your accounting!
Did they thank us for keeping bread on their tables?
nope! They just moaned constantly!
Now I work only for me, no employees, no offices, nothing...I just do what I want, don't have to bother about NIC, tax, sick pay, holiday pay...
Moral: Keep it simple, keep it tight...and be creative with your accounting!
What's that as a percentage ? If you started on £1 it's not bad !
J
John Matrix
The trade is ----ed. Any spark has these options available. Work your arse off trying to set up on your own, maybe running your health into the ground as a result. Depending on what type of person you are you have to be tough and durable. It is stressful and will kill you if you let it. I do mean literally kill you. Some people are just not cut out for it and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But you have to be honest with yourself. If you stress easy don’t do it. If you have a family to support then that is a good and a bad thing depending on if it works out. there’s no way I can put the hours in required to be a proper dad and work 7 days a week, trying to run a business and be the level of Dad that I want to be. Correct me if I’m wrong but I just can’t see how you can do both. Kids are kids for a short time and you never get that time back. Don’t waste it being stuck at work 7 days a week. They will hate you for it. Next option you have is self employed which is also tough. Subbying to companies from what I know doesn’t offer much more than being direct by the time you take out fuel and van expenses etc, unless you work away all week. Price work is the way to go for subbying. But that is also hard. Do what is best for you and your family. But realise that Sparkying is not the glamorous Cat walk everyone thinks it is. Come to terms with that and make the best of it or get out of it. There’s no shame in being Cards In despite what people say. Subbying does not mean your poo smells of rosemary. At the end of it we all end up the same way. The only respect that matters is self respect. Just make sure that you can live with whatever decision you make.
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It's certainly harder to get on the property ladder now than 25 years ago... but nowhere near as hard as the media like to make it out to be.
There was a thing on the radio about it a few months back... youngsters calling in to say how they had done it... it was amusing because the show obviously wanted to make the point about how difficult it was... but many callers said they'd just had to save up really hard and work long hours to do it. That's exactly how it was when I first bought... having 2 jobs, not going out, not going on holidays etc. etc...
O
Octopus
Not sure I agree with that. As usual location matters and here (in Surrey) a 1 bed flat would be around £200K, so this has a huge impact on people wanting to buy as they need £30K to £40K deposit ........ so even if they cut out holidays, cars, nights out, new trainers and phones, they still have a lot of saving to do ....
When I joined the housing market, my studio flat cost about 4 x salary, the same flat now would be around £250K according to rightmove ...... and I don't see many people earning £60K plus in their early twenties
Know of a few people and family down here that bought in they 20’s and are now selling up and moving up north.......basically semi retirement in they late 40’s, and that purely on how much they’ve made on a house not heard from one that’s regretted it either, the prices down here are insane at the moment, I paid £80000 for a run down place in 2010 and sold it in 2016 for over £300000, I’ve no idea how people afford em but they do.....agree with @Murdoch its certainty not on 4 times they salary anymore.....
It's kind of mostly been the case that to get a foot on the property ladder compromises have to be made on location, certainly from my experience.
I'm lucky in that I've always lived in areas with reasonable property prices.
The downside of that of course is that I would not be able to move to Surrey without a mortgage. Fortunately I have absolutely no intention of moving to Surrey.
Don’t blame ya ferg, it’s bloody stunning up where you are!It's kind of mostly been the case that to get a foot on the property ladder compromises have to be made on location, certainly from my experience.
I'm lucky in that I've always lived in areas with reasonable property prices.
The downside of that of course is that I would not be able to move to Surrey without a mortgage. Fortunately I have absolutely no intention of moving to Surrey.
O
Octopus
The downside of that of course is that I would not be able to move to Surrey without a mortgage. Fortunately I have absolutely no intention of moving to Surrey.
Friends of ours relocated to just outside Inverness - and they know its a 1 way ticket ............ that said parts of Scotland are truly stunning, but whether I would want to live their is another subject!
S
Squid
If the Scots moved out then it might be worth a shot........
I reckon this thread is pointing towards the Arms with regards wages and prices!
I charge what I class to be an acceptable hourly wage. A customer recently said they'd be happy to pay me whatever I charge them as they trust me, that felt good. Another customer recently was not happy to accept my quote as they said they could get it much cheaper.
I think we place too much emphasis on what price we charge. I think price is just one factor in whether we get work or not. Also, if your rate is too low that can actually put people off as they (to a degree) equate quality/experience with price.
If you do a good job you can charge more.
If you are polite, friendly you can charge more.
If you are professional and genuinely trustworthy you can charge more.
Plus I think you need to be consistent with all of the above, not just do them at the beginning and think you have the customer for life.
I suppose if you enjoy your job you'll automatically do all of the above, so basically all we have to do is 'be happy' ..problem solved
I think we place too much emphasis on what price we charge. I think price is just one factor in whether we get work or not. Also, if your rate is too low that can actually put people off as they (to a degree) equate quality/experience with price.
If you do a good job you can charge more.
If you are polite, friendly you can charge more.
If you are professional and genuinely trustworthy you can charge more.
Plus I think you need to be consistent with all of the above, not just do them at the beginning and think you have the customer for life.
I suppose if you enjoy your job you'll automatically do all of the above, so basically all we have to do is 'be happy' ..problem solved
Yeah... but it's far cheaper these days to buy... we had almost 10% interest costs back then ! And you needed at least 10% deposit compared to 5% minimums these days... and no 'help to buy' schemes...
O
Octopus
Still don’t agree with you ....10% of £100k is less than 20% of £200k and the killer these days will be when interest rates start going up from historic lows
It’s all about disposable incomes AND if you start off in a small property with 2 incomes and no kids, what happens when you have 2 kids and 1 income?
Low interest rates mean little or no pay rises, so the ratio of mortgage to income hardly moves .... whereas back in the 80’s a few payrises meant your ratio of income to mortgage moved a lot.....
J
John Matrix
I agree with that. I saved thousands for a deposit on a house. Worked loads of hours, weekends etc, then before I bought a house I got testicular cancer and had to have 12 months off. So I had to live on all the money I saved. So now I’m still renting. It’s been a long road back to work and I’m still not right even two years later. Chemo messes you up for life. But I’m still here. I couldn’t put myself through that agin working all those hours and not having holidays. I wouldn’t be able to keep up the pace now. I’m shattered these days after a 45 hour week. I’m just glad to be alive. If I end up buying a house one day then happy days, if I don’t then it is what it is. My health is more important to me. And I don’t even know if I will make it to 65 without being morbid lol. So I’m not worrying about what happens when I get there financially. People worry about the future to much and forget to actually live. I think if your gona buy a house you need to save up while you still live with parents. And this is not taught to us at school like it should be.
S
Squid
Help to buy is a con, me on a wage in London back in 1985 bought a 4 bed semi for £48k on a sparks wages that same house in now worth £1.2M if I could earn £300k per year as a sparks I may consider taking a wage cut to do something that I enjoy............
J
John Matrix
Wages back then were more realistic in relation to house prices than now.
i agree. Help to buy is just another form of debt. And the houses they offer on help to buy are normally £200,000 plus. If you need to resort to help to buy then not in a position to buy a 200k house. In Germany 90% rent. It’s not the done thing to buy. I think it’s too far beyond a lot of people’s reaches these days. People just aren’t earning enough money to afford to buy because wages haven’t caught up
S
Squid
The ones in power and I mean the real ones in power just want us all in perpetual debt, from student loans through to mortgages and PCP loans as its a control mechanism and then when you die you get arse raped for inheritance tax where that money could really help your children/grandchildren get a foot on the ladder.
The working classes or what's left of them don't have time to demonstrate/riot like they did in the past its all the Liberal rich elite that can afford to do that nowadays the scum on lifetime benefits don't want to rock the boat as they have it far too good nicking tools from vans, shop lifting and smoking weed.........
J
John Matrix
It can be done when still at home with parents. But once you have a mrs and a kid it’s 10 times harder
S
Squid
Its a lot easier to be honest as you'd rather be at work then dealing with a couple of screaming kids and an un hinged missus, "anyone for OT", hand straight up.........
S
Squid
Lol stuck on a building site with a loads of blokes doubt it happens, working in IT in an office full of fit hotties leads to temptation.
I bought my first house for £29k back in 1995. I spent £15k doing it up plus the usual maintenance costs until I sold it in 2004 for £180k. Ive noticed its now up for sale advertised at £369k!I'm off to view a house in half an hour. It is up for offers over £160k. It last sold in 1998 for £27k
The larger Victorian houses in the area have seen a rise in the same time frame from about £80k to £250-300k
Bananas.
Back in the late 90's I tried desperately to convince my wife that we should invest money in property. I had the means and skills to do them up and we had no children so no other commitments. She already hated the fact that I was self-employed always wanted me to get a "proper" job. We ended up splitting up over our differences and I ended up broke in the process.
Hindsight eh? Now I've got the financial means to invest, I haven't got the time and property is far too expensive with profit margins to be gained smaller than ever.
S
Squid
Big mistake, if you believe in something then follow it thorough and don't rely on others, you had doubts that was your mistake.
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