I am in the fortunate position of knowing that my outgoings are covered by my income. It was not ever thus. I can remember, in my early marriage, we had no savings at all & all income was spent on the necessities of life, food, heating & rent for example. I can remember having egg & chips several times a week because it was cheap & filling. Everything was cooked from scratch & there were no "cook chill" meals. I wouldn't have been able to afford them even if there had been. We didn't go out for coffees & meals. Having a baby after just over a year of marriage put an extra strain on the household budget. I could no longer work.
As time went on both my husband & I had professional jobs & our income increased. We got on the housing ladder & left renting. We were able to save. Mortgages were manageable. Looking back my generation were lucky. But we did work hard for it & there were costs that were not financial. I felt I was like a hamster on a wheel juggling work, a home & family & elderly parents.
We were quite frugal. We concentrated on the family, home & friends. We didn't have the many ways there are now to spend money. Life has changed substantially. There is more "stuff". Occasionally we bought big items on hire purchase, but basically we saved up for things we needed & wanted & paid cash. We didn't get into credit card debt because as far as I can remember we didn't have credit cards. The Barclaycard was introduced in 1966. The Access card came in in 1972. The 1980's & 90's started the widespread public adoption and reliance on credit cards. It also started the widespread reliance on credit card debt.
As of early 2026, outstanding credit card debt in the UK has surpassed £70 billion, figures show a steady rise from previous years. Recent data indicates a 4.5% year-on-year increase in debt, while around 2.5 million UK adults are in persistent credit card debt.I find that truly shocking. Fiscal debt has become a way of life not only for individuals, but also for countries. Why should people manage their finances effectively if politicians think that fiscal debt is fine? The example is clear to see. Spending money you don't have is fine. Who needs to budget wisely if politicians don't?
A budget is a financial plan outlining projected income and expenses over a specific period, used to track spending, increase savings, and make informed financial decisions. I used to have a Boots diary which had an accounts section in the back that I filled in every week, so I knew where the money was going. It was a habit I learnt from my mother in law. I was obsessed with not overspending. There were very few luxuries. I made clothes for me & my daughter & even made a suit for my husband. I cooked from scratch every day. We didn't pay people to work for us, we did our own maintenance on the house & the car. We managed to keep within our means & even save.
So we were able to move into better houses & profited from increasing values.
It seems to me that today people want instant gratification. They have higher expectations of what the necessities of life really are. The concept of waiting until you have the money or lowering your expectations seems to have vanished.
I'm really not sure that has made us happier.
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