Are many people still living in the "Celtic Tiger" era?

irishvamp90

Do you think that many people are still spending and trying to keep up with the celtic tiger?i was asked on a weekend away and i politely said no,because i simply could not afford or want to spend the money on a weekend away and now im getting the feeling of oh bad form dont i dont care.I just get the feeling alot of people havent woken up yet,some of the people going on this trip dont work at all or getting hours cut in work but their attiude ah sure it will grand soon.same goes for birthdays outside of maybe family get together people going out for any reason

shenanigans1982

Yes they are....have you not seen the prices they are still expecting for their houses.

El Guapo!

Well we cant all be expected to get the rations and sit in the bunker till it all goes away. :rolleyes:

4zn76tysfajdxp

The problem wasn't people going on weekends away, it was people going on weekends away without being able to pay for them and then borrowing in a desperate effort to fund their gilded lifestyles. Just because Stephen is waving around his mighty phallic symbol of unemployment and spraying white poverty cream everywhere doesn't mean people can't enjoy themselves from time to time.

Vinta81

To be fair the recession isn't affecting everyone. It hasn't affected me, so I'm not going to cut back on my shopping, trips, nights out etc... just because the majority seem to, though I wouldn't pester people to go out every week or on trips if I knew they couldn't afford them.

EDIT: I didn't get the thread till your last post, my response is off topic. Sorry.

Biggins

I don't know if the majority is nor can't quote figures, etc but I can tell you that I have a brother in law that is borderline broke.
Yet he still manages to spend serious money on useless expensive stuff - 42 inch tv that if FAR too big for this small living room, expensive mobile phones (he bought another one just two days ago), new car, new accommodation, etc.. Now he has three kids, has split with the wife, is in serious debt. Over the last year he has a record of buying many items and having to sell them again REPEATEDLY to try and cover the costs of his previous frugal spending, then discovering that he can't afford one of the previous bought items! He is getting a basic wage from a factory. Works six days a week to pay his debts!
He just won't stop or learn! He just goes and buys again, further deepening his debt hole!

He thinks clearly by his attitude (to us and himself) that he can still afford to buy what he wants when he wants, and get loans to beat the band (he fudges the numbers when applying). He clearly has a problem that needs to be addressed.

In the meanwhile however, he still thinks he's living in the Celtic Tiger era and is constantly being chased for money for thinking that way!

mle1324

All the people who are going around driving 09 BMW 5 and 7 series,X5 and Mercedes Benz S Class and i wont name the rest of the high priced cars but anyone who i see driving one of these the title of this thread comes to mind

Rented Mule

shenanigans1982 wrote: »

Yes they are....have you not seen the prices they are still expecting for their houses.

Wait for the crash .......it's coming.

Dankoozy

Yep still living in the good old days.

Abi

I don't buy any more or any less than I used to, nor do I go out any more or less than I used to. I am getting more for my money now though. I used to spend double easily on a weekly shop, yet all the same items are in the trolley.

As much as I hate the subject, it needed to happen. You are starting to see what shops were really making from us all, not to mention on eating out, cars etc. Of course it is a shame for the people who have lost jobs and are stuck in debt. But I've always done something I've been advised to do by my parents, I live within my means. If I want something, I've saved for it.

AckwelFoley

Current Account Balance €0.11
U First Account Balance €0.14

Yes, Yes i clearly am.

Thankfully the mortgage is paid.

Captain-America

If you have a secure enough job, then there's no need to be cutting back is there? Keep the economy stimulated and all that jazz.

EDIT: Mis read the topic. My point may be a little off.

irishvamp90

Im trying to find extra work to save and it makes me sick to see people in college with part time jobs and they plan to blow what they earned for the summer on a holiday to crete

markok84

I am:

I just bought an 09 5 series completely on credit, I've no job at the moment. I also have an elaborate overdraft scam going between several banks.

I still collect my sammy stamps though.

Abi

irishvamp90 wrote: »

Im trying to find extra work to save and it makes me sick to see people in college with part time jobs and they plan to blow what they earned for the summer on a holiday to crete

Ok, well I'm not sure what way your finances are, but you are heading for begrudging waters. You have to understand that, if those who can do not spend.. well it isn't going to get much better any time soon is it?

irishvamp90

Yes but their working aprt time jobs not huge money to blow it on going to crete on the piss,i want to work to save to have money to get through college be able to afford the basics like food,bus etc

mickydoomsux

Rented Mule wrote: »

Wait for the crash .......it's coming.

You see, i don't think it is. I'm waiting for it to happen to buy a house (have been for the past 5-6 years and i openly derided people who bought at the height of the boom).

The prices are still too high though and apparently we're through the worst of the bust so they'll only stay the same or go up again i reckon.

Nolanger

No wonder we're in recession when we're told to cut spending
People with jobs should spend the same as in the Celtic Tiger. The economy won't recover if everyone stops buying things.

markok84

mickydoomsux wrote: »

...apparently we're through the worst of the bust so they'll only stay the same or go up again i reckon.

I've heard that there are up to 200,000 empty housing units around the country so I wouldn't be too sure about that.

Tchaikovsky

Thing is, the scare-mongering created by the media is making alot of people afraid to spend the money they earn, thereby hitting the economy the economy even further. If there was a bit more positivity spread around, people would actually help the local economy, rather than the North's.
Proof is in the recent figures with regards to consumer spending in other EU countries that have a more postive outlook whilst being in the same mess as ourselves.

Abi

markok84 wrote: »

I still collect my sammy teh squirrel stamps though.

Fuck, I used to do that too. As soon as I'd cashed them in I put them into my post office account. Jesus was I brain-washed :eek: Maybe not such a bad thing considering.

I knew Stephen in the 80's too, I can't complain though. We lived comfortably but kept it real iykwim. Oh I'm sooooo one post away from "During the Stephen in 19--" [/Uncle Albert]


Tragic :pac:

j1smithy

markok84 wrote: »

I've heard that there are up to 200,000 empty housing units around the country so I wouldn't be too sure about that.

The majority of those are in the wrong location though... there were far too many houses built in the back arse of no where... where no one will ever live in them.

delllat

j1smithy wrote: »

The majority of those are in the wrong location though... there were far too many houses built in the back arse of no where... where no one will ever live in them.

they will eventually when the population /refugees increse to sufficient numbers

jmbkay

markok84 wrote: »

I am:

I just bought an 09 5 series completely on credit, I've no job at the moment. I also have an elaborate overdraft scam going between several banks.

I still collect my sammy stamps though.

Are you not worried it will all catch up on you? I am really cautious about money but probably worry too much. I sort of admire you. Hope it all works out

topper75

There is no 'housing market'. There are however markets for individual houses. If there are indeed 200,000 empty units about the country, that is not much of a factor for a person looking to buy in reasonable reach of Dublin city centre. Houses are not coal or milk. They are a product of a different nature and are not generic or transferable between locations. Remember - 9/10 of the workforce is still earning, so 9/10 of the potential purchasers of a family home property are still out there waiting to snatch it if it is in a desirable location. This keeps prices up above crash level.

For houses built speculatively in out of the way areas, yes there will be a 'crash' of sorts.

BTW - it was mentioned that people are still living in the Tiger today by getting stuff on credit? I thought the Tiger died through lack of credit? :pac: Maybe we can't deride them so for still thinking they live in the Tiger years? It'll take more than 'fudging figures' to get loans off institutions today. Fair play to anyone who is still managing to borrow I say. LOL - no begrudgery here.

stovelid

irishvamp90 wrote: »

Are many people still living in the "Celtic Tiger" era?

You are - if you're sitting around all the time trying to figure out who spends how much on what.

Sam Vimes

Dean09 wrote: »

Well we cant all be expected to get the rations and sit in the bunker till it all goes away. :rolleyes:

If we all do that then it will never recover. It's amazing the number of people who see no connection between them not spending any money for fear of losing their job and the fact that people are losing their jobs.

SheroN

mle1324 wrote: »

All the people who are going around driving 09 BMW 5 and 7 series,X5 and Mercedes Benz S Class and i wont name the rest of the high priced cars but anyone who i see driving one of these the title of this thread comes to mind

I would say the opposite. I would say that the majority of people driving around in high end 09 cars can actually afford to be driving them. The banks aren't lending as easily so there's a far bigger chance they paid for them upfront with cash.

mickydoomsux

Sam Vimes wrote: »

If we all do that then it will never recover. It's amazing the number of people who see no connection between them not spending any money for fear of losing their job and the fact that people are losing their jobs.

Well, selfishness was one of the main traits of the average Celtic Tiger citizen :pac:

astrofool

There's some serious delusion going on in this thread with regard to spending money, and a serious lack of understanding of what money represents to people.

A lot of people were saving steadily, and only spending what they needed for years, this didn't mean they couldn't afford to go on a holiday, or buy a big TV, it just meant they saved for it first. Now, prices are going down, holidays are cheaper, big ticket items are turning into small ticket items, it's a good time to buy, especially as we're looking at high inflation in the next few years with all the money printing presses running at full tilt. (personally I'm putting extra into the mortgage to pay it off early).

veryangryman

I think that the odd lucky bass who drives the Merc/BMW is nto the problem.

Mr Bass is no doubt making the price of it in his job as CEO/MD/whatever

The ones with the wool over the eyes are the students who have a car, a laptop and <off topic> ZERO personality </off topic> to go with their debts. Look at any neighbourhood near a college if you want proof. 5 years on from when i myself left college, you can now not get parking anywhere near, and need to arrive in dead early just to get a space on the grounds. Too many car owners, not enough sense.

Its not natural for a country for so many people to be in such large debt with no guaranteed decent income to pay it back. Letting people that young/naive go down the financial drain so early on, especially now, is going to do alot more damage than is highlighted

mickydoomsux

veryangryman wrote: »

The ones with the wool over the eyes are the students who have a car, a laptop and <off topic> ZERO personality </off topic> to go with their debts. Look at any neighbourhood near a college if you want proof. 5 years on from when i myself left college, you can now not get parking anywhere near, and need to arrive in dead early just to get a space on the grounds. Too many car owners, not enough sense.

It's not just college students though. When i left secondary school in 2001 not a single one of the students had a car. Now i hear that there are so many of them driving in that a lot of them have to park outside of the school because the car park is full every morning. Someone has to pay for those cars and they are absolutely not needed.

delllat

I still light my cigar with a €50 note every day

am i "still living in the "Celtic Tiger" era" ?

speedboatchase

If people want to live in a Celtic Tiger era with their own earned money, that's their preorgative. If they want to live in that era on loans and money they're not sure they can repay, then they're eejits. But I wouldn't begrudge someone on spending their own money when they have it to spend

Lollipops23

irishvamp90 wrote: »

Yes but their working aprt time jobs not huge money to blow it on going to crete on the piss,i want to work to save to have money to get through college be able to afford the basics like food,bus etc

have to say i disagree with you on this one(although i agree with your OP), having just finished final year, i literally scrimped by working one day a week and believe me that was just to cover travel/lunch etc. but all along i was thinking "wait til summer when i've a few more hrs, it'll all be gravy". but nope,still nothing and still living frugally.

i think if a student works hard all year(juggling a job and college can be hard going) and they can get a cheapo holiday, then they should. they're not putting themselves in debt over it, they've learned how to save all year, so whats the prob??should they put it all in a saver sccount for when they're unemployed after college?methinks a 19 year old may have trouble taking that seriously....

bonnie1810

What very angry man said is true i know 3 girls with cars who cant afford them! one has her car left rusting outside her house(wont get insurance/ learn to drive), the other has a car courtesy of their parents and neither have a job!! another in college spent her grant money upgrading her car!! its crazy!!!

Collie D

irishvamp90 wrote: »

Im trying to find extra work to save and it makes me sick to see people in college with part time jobs and they plan to blow what they earned for the summer on a holiday to crete

They're young, they're students. Sounds very begrudging on your behalf. If they worked part time jobs and ssaved for a couple of weeks in Crete, fair play.

gazzer

I was out with a gang of friends last week. Havnt seen them in a couple of months but while talking about the recession etc they all admitted that it hasnt effected them. They are still planning their holidays, going for meals/pub etc. None of them have lost their job or have taken pay cuts and they all work in the private sector in various areas. I have no reason to believe they were fibbing. They wouldnt be the type to take out huge loans just to buy a car or go on an expensive holiday. If they have the money they spend it, if they dont they wont borrow. They all use laser and debit cards (like myself)

Their attitude was that they dont think it is as bad as people are making out because even though they see the newsreports and read the papers about people losing their jobs they cant see any evidence of people having less money or losing their jobs in their circle of friends/family.

AnonoBoy

I've started taking my lunch with me into work, y'know, just to balance out what I spend on coke and hookers at the weekend.

Spud83

AnonoBoy wrote: »

I've started taking my lunch with me into work, y'know, just to balance out what I spend on coke and hookers at the weekend.

Apparently coke and hookers come with modship so you might want to look into that.

gazzer

AnonoBoy wrote: »

I've started taking my lunch with me into work, y'know, just to balance out what I spend on coke and hookers at the weekend.

I have started taken my lunch in with me too. On my 3rd week now. Its amazing how much you save. I was paying approx €50 a week on lunch but now I have it down to around €15. On top of that I have bought tea bags and sugar (and a small milk every day) and make tea in work rather than buying one out of the shop each day. That have saved me another €5 a week.

I have stopped buying a paper every day and instead surf the web at lunchtime and when I am at home and read the news that way.

The combination of those 3 things is saving me in the region of €45 a week.

Spud83

gazzer wrote: »

I was out with a gang of friends last week. Havnt seen them in a couple of months but while talking about the recession etc they all admitted that it hasnt effected them. They are still planning their holidays, going for meals/pub etc. None of them have lost their job or have taken pay cuts and they all work in the private sector in various areas. I have no reason to believe they were fibbing. They wouldnt be the type to take out huge loans just to buy a car or go on an expensive holiday. If they have the money they spend it, if they dont they wont borrow. They all use laser and debit cards (like myself)

Their attitude was that they dont think it is as bad as people are making out because even though they see the newsreports and read the papers about people losing their jobs they cant see any evidence of people having less money or losing their jobs in their circle of friends/family.

They are lying one way or another they have taken a paycut. However this does not mean they have less disposable income as their mortgages repayments may also have dropped, as well as there being a rumored cost of living decrease.

As for them not think the recession is as bad as people are making out. Tell them to take a trip to the dole office on sign on day. Sure it hasn't effected everybody to the same level, but it is bad real bad, nearly everyone one of my friends of been hit fairly hard by it.

mickydoomsux

gazzer wrote: »

Their attitude was that they dont think it is as bad as people are making out because even though they see the newsreports and read the papers about people losing their jobs they cant see any evidence of people having less money or losing their jobs in their circle of friends/family.

They must not come into contact with many people associated with the building trade. That's where the big losses have been and rightfully so. I was ridiculously blinkered of that industry to think the could continue the way they were going forever.

Fianancial industries are taking a hit as well but not as badly as they're letting on i think. They just love to have an excuse to downsize.

Chocoholic84

Yep I reckon many are...tbh, I still spend around the same as I would have before the recession hit. Got a slight discount on rent, that's about it.

Me and my OH still go out somewhere for dinner at least once every fortnight, we're heading abroad in September for 2 weeks, and again in March for a week.

I don't believe we squander our monrey though - I reckon why not enjoy yourself, it's not like money's any good to you when you're dead.

Aidric

alanmurphy83 wrote: »

as well as there being a rumored cost of living decrease.

I haven't seen much evidence of this.

Spud83

Aidric wrote: »

I haven't seen much evidence of this.

thats why I said rumored. The consumer price index has been falling since the start of the year, however that takes into account stuff like mortgage rates where the majority of the fall can be accounted for. Also fuel is still cheaper than last years rates but is creeping up again.

experiMental

Im trying to find extra work to save and it makes me sick to see people in college with part time jobs and they plan to blow what they earned for the summer on a holiday to crete

Maybe they want to learn about the mysterious Minoan civilization, and decipher the ancient texts, as they may possibly contain the fate of the world in the next century?

On a more serious note, a lot of students are doing this. They just don't want to hang around doing nothing this summer. They don't feel like this, they have self-respect.

Chocoholic84

gazzer wrote: »

I have started taken my lunch in with me too. On my 3rd week now. Its amazing how much you save. I was paying approx €50 a week on lunch but now I have it down to around €15. On top of that I have bought tea bags and sugar (and a small milk every day) and make tea in work rather than buying one out of the shop each day. That have saved me another €5 a week.

I have stopped buying a paper every day and instead surf the web at lunchtime and when I am at home and read the news that way.

The combination of those 3 things is saving me in the region of €45 a week.

I'm thankful for the lunch thing, cos we have a canteen where all the meals are subsidised, costs about €4 for a meal, so I only spend about 20 quid a week on food.

It's crap for small offices, cos they gotta go out and buy a roll for like a fiver or whatever or a lunch in a restaurant costs a tenner at least!

jhegarty

Living in "Celtic Tigter" land is when you spend lots on credit , not when you spend lots of money you actually have.

t-ha

jhegarty wrote: »

Living in "Celtic Tigter" land is when you spend lots on credit , not when you spend lots of money you actually have.

+1

People with alot of debt should be working at clearing it, not spending more. But people who save up and take a holiday to Crete? Fair play to them - sounds like it'll be a good laugh.

Latchy

Abiegayle- I live within my means. If I want something, I've saved for it.

Always being my mantra to .Like gambling you should only bet what you can afford to lose .

jhegarty wrote: »

Living in "Celtic Tigter" land is when you spend lots on credit , not when you spend lots of money you actually have.

Indeed as somebody who had 3 credit cards ( now one ) I know to well .Credit was never so easy to get , regardless of your income before the recession .