How We Used To Live

Married 51 yrs ago.
My mother never did have debt and that was instilled into me.
Met my husband and married. To live together without marriage was not even considered. We’d have been ostracised.
No bathroom then just indoor toilet, we couldn’t afford a flat with a bathroom. We bought a very small flat. Both working with Apprenticeship wages.
Rented TV. Cheapest of food, no car - we walked or used bus. Definitely never coffee or bought sandwiches. Everything was home made.
We had fun and only debt was the flat. No phone.
Cold was the norm. Everything 2nd hand.
Still is, although we can now afford new.
The mortgage rose to Almost 20% when we bought our next home. Now that was hard!
Employment in the 70’s was difficult. (Edward Heath) Strikes & unemployment, only electricity at specific times. No oil, sugar and bread were rationed.
There were just no jobs and because we were proud, wouldn’t apply for ‘dole’
When I hear the government just now, I do hope the youngsters don’t have to live through the horrid existence of almost 20% mortgages.
We survived, but I’m praying the youngsters don’t have my experience.

We did have, (again second hand) a black and white telly. Then we rented one, but didn't aspire to colour TV till mid 1970's. The colour wasn't very good in those days but we thought it was brilliant. We were easily pleased!!

Like you, we married in the 80s, 1985. We bought our first home in Gloucester High Street for 20,750 ask we couldn't afford my home town 12 miles away. 2 bed Victorian terrace. Came carpeted, luckily, it was dreadful brown shagpile but it covered the floor. Our suite was a hand me down from Mum, and she bought us our 1st bed. My F in L bought us a table and chairs from MFI, my Mother in law bought us a Burco boiler and spin dryer the following year, when I was pregnant with my daughter and OHs Grandparents bought us a wardrobe. Our cooker was built into a fitted kitchen...I felt very grown up!

Do get a bit annoyed when I am told I did not have to scrimp & scrape to make ends meet & that I am so well off now! Dont I wish! Married in 1968 & rented a maisonette. Second hand & some 3rd hand furniture. Altered thrown out curtains to fit windows & 2nd hand rugs to cover the cheap cold lino! No tv for first few years then inherited parents old black & white. Thought we were a lot luckier than some of our friends! No nights out, no luxuries apart from a single tub washer & 3rd hand spin drier! Swept all with a broom, what was a vacuum then? Managed to upgrade to a council house as young niece came to live with us as didnt get on with stepfather. Finally bought house then marriage broke up & been downhill from then on! Had to start private renting & had some pig stys at first. Medical retirement & moved a few times as money got less & less! Finally at 77 live in a cheap seaside bungalow that has seen better days but as with a lot of landlords, no chance of renovating! So if this is the wonderful easy life I supposedly have had would all the younger people like to have lived my life? The only good thing I achieved was having my son! Bitter am I? Sometimes on a bad day but at least I am still alive!

We married in the 80’s, and furnished our home with donations from family and friends, plus engagement and wedding gifts of such things as towels, glassware, pans, iron plus board, airer, hoover, etc.

We brought some furniture from our respective bedrooms when living at home with our parents, so that our bedroom in our own home was furnished with a mish mash of drawers and wardrobes until we could afford to replace them.

The only things we bought new were a dining table and chairs (on interest free credit, so I paid religiously every month until it was paid off), a bed, a washer and a suite.

The carpets were left by the previous owners and we made do until we could gradually change them, which was quite a few years.

Our tv was, for many months, an old black and white one which my FiL found for us. It served a purpose until we could afford a new, colour tv.

I think the desire for having everything brand new and up to date put a few couples into financial difficulties back then as it does now - but I really do think that there are still a lot of couples who make do with hand me downs until they can afford better, but they don’t make good news headlines, do they?

We used credit, but sensibly, looking for interest free deals (not sure that is available now)?

Our present home, though comfortable, is nowhere near worth millions of pounds, and I certainly don’t consider myself selfish for living in my own home - we worked hard to get it, and did without until we could afford the things we now have to make it into a comfortable home. Many, many of our things are quite old now, we don’t tend to change things every few years.

Mortgages rose to very high levels in our early days of home ownership, but we prioritised so that it was paid each month.

I do feel very sorry for people trying to buy their first property now, property prices seem astronomical and mortgages increasingly difficult to get. It’s so hard for people to save for a deposit with prices increasing weekly plus if they are renting at present, faced with ever increasing rents, saving for a deposit is even harder, and might seem unobtainable. I don’t know what’s going to happen to change this situation.

Oh yes, we also had my parents old fridge. This had been a wedding present to them when my mother remarried in 1947!!

Married in 1964, hubby in the Fleet Air arm so a furnished rented flat. A Hoover twosome washing machine provided by my parents, an ironing board which I've still got, again my mother, second hand vacuum cleaner , MIL. Kenwood Chefette , remember those? a wedding present,ditto pressure cooker. No car, hubby had a motor bike. Finally bought our own house in 1969. Two up two down, outside loo , bathtub on the kitchen floor, kids bathed in kitchen sink. Eventually with the help of a grant we were able to build on a downstairs bathroom, and another bedroom! Our small son was so excited that he couldn't wait to tell Granny about this miracle bathroom!!! We spent 5 years in this house before new daughter necessitated more space, and they were some of the happiest years of our lives. I too remember mortgages of 17%! Luckily we didn't have a very big one, but even so, not particularly happy years, but we managed with the help of a local second hand furniture shop, donated carpets, and finally a reconditioned keymanic washing machine, which again was considered a minor miracle! We did go camping for the odd holiday, but by and large, we just muddled by.

When my parents married they were able to buy a ‘Modern’
Three bed house for £100 today worth £650000. Hot water from boiler behind the living room coal fire. Washing done in a tub of hot water with a dolly. Mangle to get water out of washing. Gas cooker. Electric iron plugged into light socket.We did have a radio worked by a battery similar to a car battery. We were a well off middle class family.
When my husband and I were demobbed in 1946 we could only find an attic room. Water had to be carried up from basement. Cooked on a Primus stove. 1946/7 winter in London was one of the coldest.
A year later were evicted because her husband returned.
We had an eighth month old baby.
To cut a long story short. In 1948 when I was pregnant again we found a top floor flat no bathroom but a WC.. only hot water little boiler over kitchen sink. Towelling nappies for two babies washed with bar soap then detergents came on to the market .
1950 acquired a 10 inch black and white TV. Only one channel. And a Hoover twin tub washing machine.
In 1956 we were able to buy a 3 Bedroom semi detached house which needed renovation... no central heating. Frost on bedroom windows.
Second hand furniture and carpets. Fitted carpet wasn’t available until a few years later.
The first appliance was a fridge and then a Kenwood mixer.

Musicgirl. Don't want to minimise the pressures under the youngsters nowadays, but have had similar discussions with my son and hubby. We saved for deposit and barely went out. We rarely went for a nice meal. Occasionally to a Chinese or an early bird menu. We didn't drink much. We didn't have holidays or weekends away. Rarely went to concerts. We started life with second hand furniture. And we balanced the bank acc to the last penny. Whereas I see many youngsters doing these things and spending pretty freely on social lives. Having said that, I do see some young couples who live more frugal lives and just get by. They do have expenses we didn't have. Broadband, phone contracts. Many need 2 cars as both work. So I find it hard to compare fairly. And we do, quite reasonably, expect standards of living to rise with the following generation.

Married in 1966. It was the norm then to save hard for everything whether a new winter coat, a twin tub washing machine or a house. It wasn't easy but it was what everyone did - no credit cards then. I feel sorry for young people today hoping to buy a house. It's easy to criticise them because they spend money on eating out, entertainment, foreign holidays, buying coffees every day etc... Those temptations weren't available to us. In comparison to today we lived boring lives but it didn't seem so at the time and everyone was in the same boat. The only time I get annoyed with young people is when I hear that they are "saving up to get married" and spending zillions on wedding and honeymoon. Unnecessary and that money could be part of a house deposit pot.

Was married in 1976 and rented a flat. Previous occupant sold us all the furniture. Couple of antiques among it. In fact my son has the lovely Edwardian sideboard in his 1930s house. We never bought new except for beds. It was always 1930s/40s. My eldest has the lovely drawleaf table in her kitchen now plus other pieces me and ex bought along the way. My narrow boat home is full of vintage things. I even buy pre loved clothes...get lots of compliments on how I dress. As far as gadgets go. Yes I have a washing machine. Mother had a boiler I remember and a wringer. Those progressed through twin tub etc to an automatic. I don't think we had a fridge when I was small...there was a pantry. I don't have a microwave but I do have an airfryer. Wish I had bought a bigger one now. Don't use a vacuum....I sweep. I suppose my life is simple compared to most....hahaha My mantra...why buy new when there is gorgeous solid second hand to buy.

Married in 1987. For first few months didn't have a bed just a mattress. I bought a recliner chair recently and realised that it was the first chair I had actually bought in my life. We hae been fortunate to have been given good quality second hand chairs and sofas from relatives so never needed to. My husband died 6 years ago so never got to see it. It's only recently that I've been in a position to get what I really wanted and liked for the house, even then I'm still conscious of not overspending. We always got what we could afford and managed so I have found it hard to treat myself.

Married in 1970. Both of us recently students so no savings. Moved into a tower block flat. Local authority had a problem recruiting teachers and this was one way they solved it. CH was included in the rent which took most of DH’s salary.
We were given a wooden bed frame and I covered headboard with purple hessian. In laws gave us money for a cooker but we bought that on HP and used the cash to buy two Habitat campus armchairs. Saved up for fridge and washing machine as well as deposit for maisonette. Coffee table and shelving made by DH using his o level woodwork skills. Storage was a white wood chest of drawers painted white and purple of course. Rented tiny black and white TV
No money for outings, car or holidays.
Tough times and they felt tough too. ?

You are all so fortunate!!! As a 20 year old I moved to England and met my husband who had come from Trinidad. We got married as I became pregnant and moved into a tiny 3rd floor unfurnished flatlet, just one room with a kitchenette, and shared bathroom with 3 families who left it filthy. Our rent in 1963 was £5 a week and we thought ourselves lucky as many landlords would not rent to us - adverts used to say "no coloureds."
Nobody gave us anything. I queued for hours outside a furniture shop with a sale. Bought a bed settee for £15 and that was it. Our baby daughter slept in her cheap little pram.
I went back to work when she was 3 months and even then child care was expensive. I worked close by but hubby had to go by bus to his work and it cost 6 pence. That was hard!!!
But gradually things improved and 2 years later we had enough deposit for a small terraced house. Had to scratch around as the survey found things wrong with the roof!!!
Things improved a lot over the 54 years we were married, and we moved several times, each time to a better house, and bought lovely furniture and a car. Also went abroad for holidays! Now I buy a new car when I need one...
My two children seem to be doing well (son is a doctor, daughter a teacher) . We were able to give them the deposit for their own houses.

Alioop

I always remember my mum telling me my sister's cot was the bottom drawer out of the dressing table and there was one oil heater for the whole house for years until we got a gas Superser too.
We also had a shared phone line with the house 2 doors down, how things have moved on. Kids that are only 4 years old have better mobiles than me.

I can also remember having a shared phone line as a teenager in my parents house, and hearing the click when that neighbour listened into my phone calls...

I know this is an emotive issue and I do feel for the younger generation these days. However, I think the expectations have changed a great deal in the last 20 years or so. There has been more disposable income available to us, and we have become used to having what we want, almost when we want. Things were very different when we were starting out. I would wash bedclothes, by hand, in the bath. My husband and I would make a list of materials we needed to renovate our two up and two down, down to a bag of nails! We would await for payday and then go and get what we could afford for the month, and start again. I only decided that we would have a TV to watch the Royal wedding of Charles and Diana. We valued what we had, because we had waited for it and were proud of what we had managed. If we couldn't afford it, we didn't have it!
My friend recently told me that her daughter and husband had taken their child to America for a holiday. It was so much more expensive there than they had imagined so they had taken out a loan, via mobile phone, for 5k. It has become too easy to get into debt and not control spending, or the urge to have everything now. It annoys me when we so-called Baby Boomers are vilified for what we have achieved.

I had a twin tub when I first married-washing used to take all morning but far better than the Peggy tubs, posher and mangle my grandma had. She only had a black leaded oven and the fire balancing saucepans but the meals she produced were unbelievable. The warm oven shelf used to be wrapped in a piece of old blanket and used to warm the bed. Every day tasks were a lot harder work and she also found time to go out to work

Awesomegranny

Remember twin tubs, that was second hand from my grandmother, I literally felt tied to it boiling the washing then having to heave out the washing and rinse and spin. Couldn’t believe the luxury of an automatic washing machine when we could eventually afford one!

I adored the twin tub!! Ma used to do my washing when I first married as lived just a mile away. I could wash ALL my clothes etc in same water? whites first then coloured then darks!! Always fresh and always clean and spun almost dry!!

I always remember my mum telling me my sister's cot was the bottom drawer out of the dressing table and there was one oil heater for the whole house for years until we got a gas Superser too.
We also had a shared phone line with the house 2 doors down, how things have moved on. Kids that are only 4 years old have better mobiles than me.

I remember in particular the mortgage rate shooting up in late 70/early80. We had just moved and had spent ages working out what we could afford etc and then suddenly the double whammy of the high mortgage and no overtime . We really had to scrape by but as with many, I was very against any sort of buying on credit , so at least we didnt have big debts like that, but what a struggle it was. I walked round the house in my coat, no heating on if I was on my own. When looking at costs I think looking at cost of bread at the particular time was always one of my checks. I remember my mother , when I was a child , being scandalized by a large loaf going to 1 shilling from 10p! I remember also the winter of discontent later when the power would be off and I was pleased to have my old tilley lamp and camping gas stove to use. It feels tough to be back in this situation again, and now widowed and health problems meaning that I cannot walk briskly so yep, out with the fleece, thermal underwear , duvet etc, but at least I know that I survived the last one and hopefully will do so again.

When we got married in 1970 we had no washing machine, no central heating a second hand 3 piece suite which we had for a further 20 years a bed we cobbled together . Now the younger generation feel hard done by if they don't have 2 cars brand new furniture and Netflix my granddaughter being one of them

First married 1976 all the usual stuff. Divorced in 1995!! Start from scratch -again! Only had 12k to show for my 18year stint, so we had to get quite big mortgage with this house, a new build on small development, it cost £84k.....now worth in region of £280k after 23 years. But we've still not been daft with loans etc as DH cop and not allowed to have any defaults and me former Credit Manager so well aware of pitfalls of runaway spending! I get sick to death of younger gens. Bad mouthing us through bald JEALOUSY!! That's all it is! They're jealous that they've been stupid blowing what they had on short term hits of rubbish clothes/cheap holidays/makeup/Botox/all the other crap they fall for!! If I ever hear anyone moaning about us having "taken" all the best stuff- I have a gay old time putting them right! We"took" and we're "given" nothing and slaved for all we have, if anyone "deserves" stuff-it's us!!

Married 1963. We had saved so hard and moved straight away into a new build three bed semi with garage. The mortgage was £34 a month over 35 years !!!
We had 7 shillings and sixpence between us. Mum bought us a bedroom suite and we had odd chairs from parents with matching loose covers. Half a donated carpet, in laws tv and wedding present coffee table. Had brand new Canon gas cooker which lasted 37 years ! Friends gave us old table top fridge - very posh and had BabyBurco for washing. One day, having spent hours hand washing, the line snapped and all the washing landed in the as yet untouched garden which was a patch of clay. My new husband went out and came back with a spin dryer. We were happy as Larry and saved for new furniture over the next two years. I think we appreciated everything so much more than the must have everything straight away generation. Seven years later we moved to a three bed detached for £9,500 ! We added a granny flat over the garage and still here fifty years later.

My children also can’t believe the interest amount on our mortgage 16% at one time. All houses were do it uppers with our first deposit given by my mother. Used second hand fridges and freezers and no telephone for years. Mum only got a phone when well into their 60s - she got her first fridge then too as previously they had a meat safe when I was younger or she would buy fresh each day. In the 1980s when my children were small we all used to go to the local Laws stores to buy groceries with cash. We all used to get to the till ending up putting some things back as never enough money. That was commonplace with the till stacked high with odd packets of biscuits, bacon etc etc ! we were rigorous with our budgets.

We got married in 1970 and all we had was a bed, a wedding present from my in laws, a small old Formica kitchen table with two small chairs, and two vono swivel chairs that we saved hard for. Heating was an electric bar fire. Washing was done in the launderette, our cooker was on tick and added to our electricity bill. I was so happy, I felt like I had my very own Wendy house. I still remember the feeling of saving for something and then having enough to actually buy it.