10 years, 10 whole years.

joe stodge

I was just talking to my neighbour today and he was telling me about a couple who work with his wife.

They are Lithuanian and moved here in 2003. They were already married with no kids, they set themselves up with jobs in a nursing home and rented a box room in a house from one of the nurses who worked there.

They worked every hour under the sun and For 10 years they saved, they spent nothing.

Not for food, they ate in breakfast, lunch and dinner in the nursing home for free, walked to work instead of paying for the bus. no holidays, no luxuries, spending only on the essentials.

10 years of no social life, 10 years of work all to buy a house cash up front.

They bought a house a few months ago with cash, credit where credit is due. Fair play to them.

I couldn't do it, could any of you put yourselves through that for 10 years just to be mortgage free??

antodeco

im mortgage free anyway, but have to live with my wife as a consequence! :pac:

Pinch Flat

joe stodge wrote: »

I was just talking to my neighbour today and he was telling me about a couple who work with his wife.

They are Lithuanian and moved here in 2003. They were already married with no kids, they set themselves up with jobs in a nursing home and rented a box room in a house from one of the nurses who worked there.

They worked every hour under the sun and For 10 years they saved, they spent nothing.

Not for food, they ate in breakfast, lunch and dinner in the nursing home for free, walked to work instead of paying for the bus. no holidays, no luxuries, spending only on the essentials.

10 years of no social life, 10 years of work all to buy a house cash up front.

They bought a house a few months ago with cash, credit where credit is due. Fair play to them.

I couldn't do it, could any of you put yourselves through that for 10 years just to be mortgage free??

Be a bummer if you dropped dead 9 odd years into it.

Spring Onion

No, you wont get those 10 years back. I would rather work hard when I am middle aged and the kids have grown up.
But you have to hand it to Eastern Europeans, they are hard workers and they are often treated badly by Irish employers.

Spring Onion

Pinch Flat wrote: »

Be a bummer if you dropped dead 9 odd years into it.

Or 10 years + 1 day

Chucken

Now they can relax and enjoy themselves however they choose to.
They wont ever have to worry about someone taking their home.
Fair play to them for having a plan and sticking to it.

Chucken

Spring Onion wrote: »

No, you wont get those 10 years back. I would rather work hard when I am middle aged and the kids have grown up.
But you have to hand it to Eastern Europeans, they are hard workers and they are often treated badly by Irish employers.

That's presuming you have a job when you're middle aged

deseil

I wish I had of done it 10 years ago....but im not starting now.

super_furry

A decade of existing rather than living? No thanks.

ElleEm

I don't know that I would ever be able to think that far ahead to the future.

Phoebas

joe stodge wrote: »

They bought a house a few months ago with cash, credit where credit is due.

:pac:

131spanner

I wouldn't have the perseverance to save money for 10 years without spending a single cent to be honest. I'd have to be spending some little bit on my interests to keep me trundling along

Sir Osis of Liver.

Bet the property tax wiped the smile off their smug foreign faces.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I was mortgage free in 17 years and could live reasonably normally in my own home during the time.

The One Doctor

Fair play, they had a single vision and they stuck to it. In 18 months I've only managed to save €10k, so €200k (or whatever) would be some way down the road.

Mr McBoatface

I've done something similar, my wife and I worked very hard, we wanted to be mortgage free by end of this year. The plan was to then spend as much time with our kids, take them on super family holidays, do nice things knowing we had our home secure.

She died in February, when I came home from the funeral the annual mortgage statement had arrived in the post. We had 7 thousand more in savings than owed on the mortgage. All that effort and hard work .......it was all meaningless, memories and moments that would be treasured today where never made.

Chucken

jobyrne30 wrote: »

I've done something similar, my wife and I worked very hard, we wanted to be mortgage free by end of this year. The plan was to then spend as much time with our kids, take them on super family holidays, do nice things knowing we had our home secure.

She died in February, when I came home from the funeral the annual mortgage statement had arrived in the post. We had 7 thousand more in savings than owed on the mortgage. All that effort and hard work .......it was all meaningless, memories and moments that would be treasured today where never made.

Aw Jesus, I'm so sorry to hear that
I hope you're doing ok.

Push Pop

No, fluck that, live your life now. Enjoy money when you are young if you are lucky enough. Owning a property isn't as amazing as you'd think.

wow sierra

joe stodge wrote: »

I was just talking to my neighbour today and he was telling me about a couple who work with his wife.

They are Lithuanian and moved here in 2003. They were already married with no kids, they set themselves up with jobs in a nursing home and rented a box room in a house from one of the nurses who worked there.

They worked every hour under the sun and For 10 years they saved, they spent nothing.

Not for food, they ate in breakfast, lunch and dinner in the nursing home for free, walked to work instead of paying for the bus. no holidays, no luxuries, spending only on the essentials.

10 years of no social life, 10 years of work all to buy a house cash up front.

They bought a house a few months ago with cash, credit where credit is due. Fair play to them.

I couldn't do it, could any of you put yourselves through that for 10 years just to be mortgage free??

Fair play to them. This thread is just one more sign of how we are still thinking in our Celtic Tiger attitudes. Walking to work and taking advantage of free food rather than paying for something a bit nicer?? Not exactly drastic to me.
Mind you if they haven't spent the money to visit their family and friends at home in Lithuania even once in ten years that is a bit drastic. Maybe spend a bit more and get a mortgage for part of the purchase price.

Banjo String

The One Doctor wrote: »

Fair play, they had a single vision and they stuck to it. In 18 months I've only managed to save €10k ", so €200k (or whatever) would be some way down the road.

"ONLY"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOlbOZ9w84I

Mr McBoatface

Chucken wrote: »

Aw Jesus, I'm so sorry to hear that
I hope you're doing ok.

Doing Ok, it ain't easy but doing ok.

Push Pop wrote: »

No, fluck that, live your life now. Enjoy money when you are young if you are lucky enough. Owning a property isn't as amazing as you'd think.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This is now my plan

jubella

I could live like those people for a year at a push. But there's no way I could spend a decade of my life scrimping and saving every cent just to own a house. There are far more important things in life, it just wouldn't be worth it to me. And it's not about not working hard enough or anything like that, it's about living!!

jobyrne30 wrote: »

I've done something similar, my wife and I worked very hard, we wanted to be mortgage free by end of this year. The plan was to then spend as much time with our kids, take them on super family holidays, do nice things knowing we had our home secure.

She died in February, when I came home from the funeral the annual mortgage statement had arrived in the post. We had 7 thousand more in savings than owed on the mortgage. All that effort and hard work .......it was all meaningless, memories and moments that would be treasured today where never made.

So sorry to hear that

Of all the things to save for, I have zero interest in buying a house

yosser hughes

Where's the house? You could buy a house for cash in some parts of the country for €50k.
I wouldn't want to live there though.

joe stodge

yosser hughes wrote: »

Where's the house? You could buy a house for cash in some parts of the country for €50k.
I wouldn't want to live there though.

It's an apartment in north Dublin.

professore

jobyrne30 wrote: »

I've done something similar, my wife and I worked very hard, we wanted to be mortgage free by end of this year. The plan was to then spend as much time with our kids, take them on super family holidays, do nice things knowing we had our home secure.

She died in February, when I came home from the funeral the annual mortgage statement had arrived in the post. We had 7 thousand more in savings than owed on the mortgage. All that effort and hard work .......it was all meaningless, memories and moments that would be treasured today where never made.

This. My son died of a brain tumour in 2010 9 months after coming back from a 3 week holiday in France. Those 9 months we spent a lot of money to do everything we could with him and got ourselves in significant debt as a result.

Do I regret the 3 week holiday or the debt? No way.

Cona

Not sure why someone wouldnt just do it for 5 years and get a mortgage for half the house price. You can still lead a good life even paying a mortgage

Right Turn Clyde

Sir Osis of Liver. wrote: »

Bet the property tax wiped the smile off their smug foreign faces.

As opposed to their smug faces.

Boombastic

10 years, that's almost a decade! no way, not for me

cabledude

This seems like a sensible plan.

But........

They started saving in 2003. From 1997 right up until 2008 there was exponential growth in the price of houses. Now, put yourselves in their shoes. By 2008 they had been saving for 5 years. In this time the amount they were saving was decreasing in terms of the average price of a house. In other words, the goalposts were constantly moving away from them.They must have thought that their mission was never going to be a success. No matter how much they saved, they were never going to be able to get to the level of being able to buy a house for cash.

But.......

We all know that the bottom fell out of the market. They were lucky. Had the prices stayed going the way they had been up to 2008, they never would have made the top of the mountain.

Fair play to them. They got a rub of the green.

LeinsterDub

Why not just get a mortgage and pay it off early?

tomwaterford

LeinsterDub wrote: »

Why not just get a mortgage and pay it off early?

didn't want to pay the interest on top of the principal???

SimonLynch

Can't really admire them, if they were Irish this would be in the 'stingiest' thread. No benefit to the local/national economy* but they have a flat in Ireland. Sorry for being miserable, not usual for me :-)

Edit: *Yes they pay income taxes, VAT is what I meant.

LeinsterDub

tomwaterford wrote: »

didn't want to pay the interest on top of the principal???

I'd rather live and pay some interest. Also unless they where smart and had there money invested it sitting in a bank isn't exactly working for them

tomwaterford

LeinsterDub wrote: »

I'd rather live and pay some interest. Also unless they where smart and had there money invested it sitting in a bank isn't exactly working for them

I cant understand...working 10 years and then buying apartment after ten years misery
I know a good many EE that do similar but are buying/building houses out home

Sam Kade

SimonLynch wrote: »

Can't really admire them, if they were Irish this would be in the 'stingiest' thread. No benefit to the local/national economy but they have a flat in Ireland. Sorry for being miserable, not usual for me :-)

They contributed when they paid for the house.

Dtp1979

The problem is that they have brainwashed themselves into living that kinda lifestyle now and they will probably continue to live like that

jester77

10 whole years of self-inflicted impoverishment, what a very sad existence and for what? And the worst thing is, they were 10 of the better years of their lives. As you get older and have a family you don't get the freedom that you had earlier. I lived it up during my 20s and 30s, got to travel and live in various parts of the world before starting a family and buying a house. I may not be mortgage free, but it's just another bill and I can still go on holidays and enjoy life.

Bit of a crazy sacrifice to make, but I also work with a lad Poland who is like that. Doesn't want to take out a mortgage, had built a house back in Poland and travels back regularly to keep tabs on it. Has no life at all, works, brings cheese sandwiches every day and his health is taking a beating. He's the same age as me but looks 15 years older. Wants to retire early and move back. But he'll put himself in an early grave before he can enjoy it if he keeps going the way he is.

whupdedo

Ten years a slave

Arthur Beesley

Where did they keep the cash as it built up over the 10 years? In a shoebox under the bed?

December2012

I'm all for saving and preparing for a rainy day, but I have to enjoy my life now. I have kids and I would not have put off my wish to have them when I did. I got my kids in my life when I wanted them (now that suits me, maybe not this couple).

My husband would be like that couple in ways. I'm trying to stop his tendencies like that - we have to stop and smell the roses when the roses are in bloom.

Mortgage free life is great, but not worth having no life.

THall04

For somebody working full time , with no mortgage and mabey no car....saving 100 euro a week shouldn't be a big deal.

If two people could save 200 per week that would add up to 104000 Euro over 10 years.....enough to buy an apartment in north Dublin(late 2013...probably not much longer.....).

If they didn't drink or smoke much they may have had a fairly comfortable life since 2003.

The hard part is not blowing your savings on expensive crap ye don't really need like brand new cars or expensive cameras you'll never use ( what I usually do )

Arthur Beesley

Arthur Beesley wrote: »

Where did they keep the cash as it built up over the 10 years? In a shoebox under the bed?

Bank?

Gyalist

I bought a house in '94 and for the first four years paid the regular monthly mortgage payment. By '98 the economy had taken off and my business was doing extremely well so decided to pay off the mortgage. I still clearly remember the feeling of walking in to the bank in 2001 to make the final payment.

In 2002, having become fed up with creches and childminders, we decided to employ someone to mind our son in our home. She was Polish and had originally come to Ireland on a 90 days visitor's visa so we had to jump through a few hoops to be able to employ her legally. She was brilliant. Even though she had only been employed to mind my son she'd have the house spick and span, laundry done and ironed. Our neighbour noticed how hardworking she was and in the mornings when my son was at school she'd do a few hours a week cleaning for her. In just over year she was in so much demand for house cleaning that when Poland joined the EU in '04 and she was no longer under work permit restrictions, she set up her own house cleaning business. Her husband came over to join her and even though he spoke not a word of English he too became in great demand doing house maintenance work that builders were turning down at the time. They went back to Poland in early '08 having saved enough money to buy an old hunting lodge there that they converted into a nice little hotel.

padd b1975

super_furry wrote: »

A decade of existing rather than living? No thanks.

You don't have to spend money to be happy or 'live'.

For all you know they could have lots of hobbies that are free.

Walking, cycling, mountain climbing, swimming, reading, listening to music, visiting museums, volunteering etc etc


There was a thread on here recently about vacancies in hotel work (similar pay scale I would imagine).

Every poster on that thread who turned their noses up at such low paid work should be ashamed of themselves when you see what this couple have achieved.

Arthur Beesley

rarnes1 wrote: »

Bank?

So they must have withdrawn the full amount in cash. Nice.

IvyTheTerrible

My in-laws scrimped and saved for years so that they could buy a site and build their own house without needing a loan. It's great that they are not in debt to anyone but the mindset of spending nothing is a habit now even though they have plenty of money in the bank.

AlanS181824

That's a crazy way to live. What's the point in living if you're not gonna live to the full!

FullblownRose

There are plenty of people living in a similarly frugal basic way just to pay the normal monthly repayments, or PART pay them, nevermind to save enough to buy outright.

Gyalist

AlanS181824 wrote: »

That's a crazy way to live. What's the point in living if you're not gonna live to the full!

Have you ever heard of the concept of delayed/deferred gratification? In an economy predicated on relatively easy credit it seems like an old-fashioned idea but it would be unwise to scoff at it.

enda1

Arthur Beesley wrote: »

So they must have withdrawn the full amount in cash. Nice.

"Buying in cash" doesn't mean arriving at the estate agents with two bags of loot with dollar signs on the side. It's just an expression for buying without credit.