More choices for the youngsters

My niece age 31 came to stay with me this week . She told me how good life was for her and her sister . They both live life to the full , both work and earn good money . Both have had good educations, and went on to college and now have jobs they love . Plenty of money to have what they want and go where they want . They never had financial help from their mum as she always struggled , so the girls did it themselfs.

My son and daughter both earn good money , my son travels the world with his job , drives a porsch and buys expensive motorbikes , has workmen in to do decorating and other jobs so he doesn't have to do it himself. My daughter has what she and the family want and don't fret or worry about money .

My niece left this morning to pick up her brand new mini which cost 23k without a care in the world about the cost and is also paying £800 for a personalised number plate.

A far cry from the life I live and had where I shopped in charity shops and sales then cut back for a few weeks to balance the cash out .

The young certainly have charmed life's now don't you think ?

Re: More choices for the youngsters

Maybe some have but an awful lot don't. Good luck to your family though, sounds like they earned it.

Re: More choices for the youngsters

I often see twenty year olds driving brand new cars and wonder how they do it. I got as far as a two year old one once and I have a thirty five year old campervan.

Re: More choices for the youngsters

Lots of people buy cars nowadays on pcp deals, basically you are renting a car for a set period then you have the option of buying the car, handing it back and walking away or getting a new car on another pcp deal

Re: More choices for the youngsters

I wouldn't say that Susan
I have always had to count every penny, it is not an easy way to live.
My son has worked so hard to build his own business and made a success of it . I am so relived he doesn't have to struggle the way I have .

Re: More choices for the youngsters

It's a matter of opinion I guess. Personally I'd say no. The things you list are all materialistic, acquisition of possessions and spending one's life working to be able to pay for such things. It suggests they have been locked into the "system" which catches people from a young age and suggests to them that they must get a good job and a mortgage and define success as how big their house is, what car they drive and so on.

It's a fools errand because sooner or later you realise you're going to die and none of those things will matter. You will have spent your life living in someone else's carefully crafted system acquiring stuff that will be of no use to you once you move on from this existence.

I look at it this way. If there is something beyond death in this world then it is likely spiritual in nature. We are able to experience our spiritual nature in this world so it kinda makes sense to invest what time we have to improve our spiritual self so we are well equipped for the next leg of the journey. Work and the desire for possessions are distractions that will see years of life slip away when in fact you could have been growing and learning much more about life.

Don't get me wrong, I too was caught in the system, we pretty much all were because we were indoctrinated into it from youth when our parents put trust in the State and sent us to schools. After many years I started to see it for what it is. Then I unplugged myself from it.

I don't desire any fancy possessions now. My car is a beauty and is some 15 years old. I don't need a Porsche or Ferrari. My house is modest, certainly not exactly where I would like, but has enough space and I consider myself blessed to have a roof over my head, a comfortable bed, food and drink etc.
It is all paid for. No debts, no loans, no HP, nothing "on tick".
I don't use credit cards but keep one in case of emergency abroad.

I get my pleasure and satisfaction from the simplest and most natural things. Baking fresh loaves of good bread, watching the sun, being with other people, having a quiet latte in a café and reading.

Re: More choices for the youngsters

There will always be winners and losers in life, but it's certainly a fact that there is a lot more affluence around these days compared with the fifties and sixties when we were growing up. Most of us had to make our own way though and we know how hard that can be, so I have the greatest respect for those that succeed nowadays and wish them well in their lives

Re: More choices for the youngsters

I tend to agree with all youve said in your post Realist ..money cant buy lots of things in life.

Re: More choices for the youngsters

Realist I completely agree with you .

Re: More choices for the youngsters

Good for them but another aspect is that there are an awful lot of adult children who despite having been given opportunities still sponge off their parents and/or expect parents who are not that well-off to go on shelling out money for them or constantly providing free childcare or to rescue them from self-inflicted problems. I'm afraid I seem to have seen more of those than the other sort recently