Boomers - The Luckiest Generation?

The title actually referred to old people aged sixty and older, which is very insulting. We were also referred to as “these people,” which many of us found insulting.
I don't think I'll bother to go over to Mumsnet and read that.
I hope that's not the general mindset over there.

Thank goodness none of my children, nephews, nieces nor any of their friends seem to have that attitude.

I'm 70 and despite my 'gold plated' pension I struggle to make ends meet - not little enough to get pension credit, but not enough to be able to stay completely warm without the winter fuel allowance. My mortgage has over 8 years still to run. The buses where I live are pretty useless so I drive a 17 year old car which thankfully scraped through the MOT this month at a cost. I use my bus pass when I visit my family -my 4 year old grandson finds a ride on the bus quite exciting!

Younger people have much higher expectations than we had when their age. My first foreign holiday was a school trip as a teenager. I grew up in a house with no fridge, TV or telephone! When I bought my first home all my furniture was second hand, with many items coming from my great aunt who had moved in with my mum in her old age, and was living in my childhood bedroom so I had all her white goods, including a very ancient twin tub washing machine.

Thankfully I manage to live very cheaply as I learnt to make do and mend from a young age and have reasonable expectations. I volunteer at the local food bank and was shocked to hear that some of our clients regularly treat themselves at the local costa, something I can't afford to do.

I don't begrudge my adult children their standard of living. They work hard and deserve what they have. I helped them out when they needed it early in their careers, and now they subsidise me at times. Neither do they begrudge me my pension or my bus pass!

I was born in 1959 - have 2 younger brothers. My father went out to work- not earning a huge amount and my mother stayed at home to look after us. We were never taken out to a restaurant ( my parents could never have afforded it) a big treat was take away fish and chips, just one holiday a year on the Isle of Wight- I never travelled aboard until I was 21- modest presents at Xmas and birthdays- at 14 we had to find Saturday jobs and then save up for things we wanted. As a little girl I always wanted a pair of black patent party shoes- never had them as my parents could only afford school winter shoes and school summer sandals

I was born during the war and I remember a chilly childhood living with my parents in my grandmother's house above a shop. No bathroom - we washed at the sink in the scullery. The toilet was outside in a cold outhouse where spiders lurked. My parents had no money. My father had a series of low-paid jobs (window-cleaning, shop work). Later in my childhood we moved to a small house with a bathroom and indoor toilet.
I passed the 11 plus and went to grammar school and university. University fees were free then and, based on my parents' low income. I also received a full maintenance grant from my local authority for the whole of my time at university.
So there were good and bad aspects to being a war baby. I don't think it's possible to single out particular eras as being the best time to be born - swings and roundabouts.
I missed out in terms of career opportunities and pension. When I left work to have my first baby I had to resign and subsequently discovered that when I reached pension age I had not paid in enough to get a full pension. In the 1960s women were encouraged to opt to pay a lower level of national insurance (a "married women's stamp"") and that is what I had chosen to do without being made aware of the ramifications. Swings and roundabouts.
I was delighted to get my free bus pass at the earliest opportunity and have certainly had my money's worth out of it. I shall continue to use it as long as my knees/hips hold out lsufficiently to enable me to get on a bus. I'm sad that my parents didn't live long enough to witness the "bus pass" era. It would have meant the world to them as they never had a car and had only a very limited amount to spend on extras such as bus fares.

I worry for the young of today. I fear they may not be the luckiest generation.

"As a little girl I always wanted a pair of black patent party shoes- never had them"
So did I, never got them though, had to have a pair of serviceable shoes. I kicked of in the shoe shop because I wanted the patent one. My nan slapped me in the shop in front if everyone. Lesson learned.

My post war childhood would now be seen as dire poverty. We had no car, phone, hot water system, fridge, holidays, but I grew up cared for, in a friendly, quiet community in a country at peace. As a young married woman I still did not have the luxuries of a washing machine, central heating, or a car, and all that we possess today we have worked hard for. The comments that make my blood boil are those about how much my house is worth. Do I sell it, incurring removal expenses of at the very least £20,000, or do I stay here where I am happy and leave the house to my children? The people who whine about wealthy boomers in big houses are the ones who will benefit from the sale of such properties; the value of my house is an irrelevance to me, I have to live somewhere, and the rise in house prices is not the fault of today's pensioners. This loathsome attitude of carping nasty jealousy is just awful - do we all have to be poor, miserable and have had an awful life before some are content? I believe that as a Baby Boomer I have been blessed, and part of a lucky generation, enjoying the zenith of the 20th Century. Most of those feelings are not centred on money or material gains.

To be fair, my adult son and daughter are not like that l was born 1957 so a boomer.

There’s an old saying, “The harder you work the luckier you get.”

We aren’t boomers, we are members of the silent generation. It was our 60th wedding anniversary yesterday and we were sharing our memories: DH didn’t have a stag night and I didn’t have a hen night, young people now seem to have extravagant holidays with their friends. I bought my wedding dress in C & A, my parents paid for a reception for friends and family after our wedding ceremony and we left to go to London for three days. When we returned we moved into a one bedroomed flat which had mice in, we had hardly any furniture but we returned to work and saved up to get a deposit together for our first house. Our first holiday was when I returned to work eight years after our first son was born. Life wasn’t the bed of roses the younger generation seem to think it was.

rafichagran

To be fair, my adult son and daughter are not like that l was born 1957 so a boomer.

Our children and theirs are not at all displeased with their lives either. I was born around 80 yrs ago, not a boomer, our first is 62, then 61, 43, 41. I don't fancy arguments pitting people one against another - ours don't.

It is the I want everything now generation and they cannot seem to be able to save up and wait.
I was born in 1950, remember rationing and we lived in two rooms in my grandma’s house. We then had a new council house followed by a self build bungalow which took mum and dad two years to build with 25 others on the street. We had no telephone until I was 11 or a car until that age. Holidays were a no go until I was 14 . I always had a part time Saturday or holiday job and my first salary as a teacher was £70 a month. My first car was £100 which I paid for with my 21st birthday money. I have never been hungry, homeless or unemployed but I have been hard up, never overdrawn and terrified when I bought out my ex then the interest went up to 17% so I took lodgers. I am not complaining as I had no debt but life hasn’t always been easy, just got on with it. Didn’t have mums coffee mornings or my nails done every week. Bought second hand clothes and by umpiring netball I had a bit of spare cash. If I couldn’t afford it I didn’t have it. I stick to this mantra today!

Different times had different expectations and values. Some things are harder now - other things are better. Food was proportionally more expensive and basic- backin the 50/60/ 70s so leaving a table still hungry was the norm. We very rarely eat out - so much so I remember both occasions we did - Welsh rabbit on toast with my grandparents in a seaside cafe and a meal in a Berni inn about 10 years later. Getting married with very little was also the norm- no one expected a kitchen with more than a sink and something to cook on. Buying a small flat ( very high interest rates) took all of my husbands salary, most of mine and any overtime my husband could find- ( I didn’t get paid overtime) especially after the interest rates spiralled.We put off having a family because - just like todays couples- we struggled to afford it. The flat had no heating but I was able to buy an old night storage heater from a shop being demolished- and borrow a car to collect it- joy!
My sister died from a blood cancer that is now much more survivable and as her twin I would have been a perfect bone marrow donor.
However I was lucky to have a university grant so did not leave university with debt. I was able to find Saturday and holiday work from the age of 14. We were able to hold onto our little flat and once interest rates dropped a bit we bought a small house. It took many years to do it up - put in heating - some warmer windows and a washing machine ( bought second hand)

I saw a post on Mumsnet recently, and felt quite sorry for the woman posting. She had a good salary and her husband was working too, though on a lesser salary. They had one child I think. It sounded like they were struggling financially, and I think that is true of many families these days.

When I married, my husband was in training in the NHS. I was working as a secretary. We had slightly subsidised NHS accommodation. When I had an unplanned baby, I stopped working for about 2 years.

Despite the fact that our income was very low, we still managed to heat our home properly and eat good food. There was a minimal amount for clothing and non-essentials but we certainly did not suffer a cold, damp home and have to scrimp on food - as many people have to do these days.

With both parents often working full time, they are still struggling from week to week. Rents are extremely high and rental contracts are limited to one year and can then be terminated. Energy, petrol, council tax, parking charges, water bills, and huge nursery fees are much more of an issue now than they were years ago. Getting together enough money to save a mortgage deposit feels like an impossibility for more and more people.

Yes, we did not earn so much - and we did pay very high interest on mortgages for some years - but I would still argue that we were much better off.

And now - because we were able to afford to buy our own home (and I appreciate that some older people are still having to rent and are suffering similar problems to families), we do not have the worry of increasing rent and maintenance charges that are out of our control. We are financially comfortable - not because we worked any harder than the people these days but because my husband had a good final salary pension scheme (which are like gold dust these days). The older people in our road are having all sorts of major works done to their homes so they too seem very comfortable.

I can understand why young people feel trapped and resentful.

My first job. (16) paid £4.50 a week, 50p (ten shillings) on tax and N.I., £2.00 train fare a week, and £2.00 house-keeping to my mother. So leaving home for 7.30am train and return at 6.30 pm at night, meant that I didn’t have a penny left over after 55 hours, work/travel. I had to work in the evenings to buy lunch. soap, toothpaste etc.
your granddaughter should count herself lucky.

What some people don't seem to understand is that it's the difference in people's quality of life that is the issue. If most people are struggling, then we all struggle together but if some of us have wonderful lives and the rest struggle, then people feel angry and let down. That's the real issue, the disparity in people's lives.

Having read more of the responses on this subject, I have to point out that, as a child, I also lived in a cold house with no central heating. My Mum and Dad had a paraffin heater, and some sort of contraption in the kitchen to heat water. We had very little money too because only my Dad worked and he did not have a particularly well paid office job. However, most people lived like that - many of my friends lived in council houses. But we all had proper food to eat - school dinners were reasonably priced, nourishing and substantial, and my parents could afford to buy decent food and fizzy drinks from the Corona lorry. We were more or less all in the same boat. We didn't see our grandparents going on fabulous cruises or buying luxury goods. Though sometimes a little better off, they had a similar lifestyle to our own.

I am amazed that so many Gransnetters are so dismissive of the issues facing young people today. Many have enormous university loans to pay back (and, before you criticise that, many employers expect applicants to have a degree these days). And the main issue is housing costs and the insecurity of rented housing.

Please, those who are very comfortable now (not those who are struggling) don't be so self-absorbed and self-congratulatory and have a little empathy.

My son and his partner are fortunate in having their own home, but that is because they received help from both sets of parents. Not everyone has that help.

That was 1962. When I was 12, we had a bath once a week, so each morning I would put 6” of cold (iced in winter) in the bath and was in and out in less than a minute - those were the days.

We were a typical just post war family, although my mother did get a part time job to pay for a holiday every year. Just a week in the beginning, but later my father got a whole two weeks. Things got better later. I spent 4 years at art school with no fees and a grant that paid for everything I needed. Can you imagine it now? 4 years doing something for fun, because it probably wouldn't actually get me a job, and all free? When I got married (Dress £8 from Bus Stop, ring £8.50, my hen night was my friend coming round for a cup of tea and my parents paid for a nice lunch for 50 after the wedding) we saved for a year for the deposit on a house , and when I had a baby we were able to cope without me working for the next 10 years.

Move on to the 90s. My daughter went to university just as loans were starting so escaped the worst of the debt, but her husband studied as a mature student and, because he is American, she was responsible for repaying his loan. They rented a house and after 10 years were able to buy their own flat. They had two children once they had the flat, she had to go back to work while I looked after them. After another 12 years they were finally able to buy a house. Both have well paid jobs but are only ever getting by. I think we had a much easier time.

I recently read that one in six children lives below the poverty line, which I find shocking. I am sure this was not the case when I grew up in the 1950s and 60s.

Mind you, I don't think there was a poverty line as such then and if there had been it would have been a great deal lower.

Lizzie44 My FIL worked in the financial sector and he advised me to pay the lower married women's stamp as we were so hard up. Though it sort of made sense at the time, thank goodness I didn't take his advice and managed to clock up 40 years of full stamp.

Indigo8

I recently read that one in six children lives below the poverty line, which I find shocking. I am sure this was not the case when I grew up in the 1950s and 60s.

Mind you, I don't think there was a poverty line as such then and if there had been it would have been a great deal lower.

Lizzie44 My FIL worked in the financial sector and he advised me to pay the lower married women's stamp as we were so hard up. Though it sort of made sense at the time, thank goodness I didn't take his advice and managed to clock up 40 years of full stamp.

I'm sure if today's criteria for poverty were applied to the 1950s then a lot more than 1 in 6 children would be in that category.

Allira

Indigo8

I recently read that one in six children lives below the poverty line, which I find shocking. I am sure this was not the case when I grew up in the 1950s and 60s.

Mind you, I don't think there was a poverty line as such then and if there had been it would have been a great deal lower.

Lizzie44 My FIL worked in the financial sector and he advised me to pay the lower married women's stamp as we were so hard up. Though it sort of made sense at the time, thank goodness I didn't take his advice and managed to clock up 40 years of full stamp.

I'm sure if today's criteria for poverty were applied to the 1950s then a lot more than 1 in 6 children would be in that category.

Without a doubt, Allira. My family had no extra money whatsoever, and lived hand to mouth every week. My Mother lost her purse once, and it was a disaster - family chipped in with some food for the rest of the week. I have a great deal of sympathy for people struggling, but expectations and standards are so different now.

I agree Allira!
Getting rid of affordable council housing ( selling off but not replacing it) was a really bad move. There is a great shortage of affordable rental housing.

I don't think there is much in the way of affordable housing at all, now, Margiknot.
I'm horrified by some of the private rents being charged for quite ordinary houses in this area, which is not in the SE.

I have a great deal of sympathy for people struggling, but expectations and standards are so different now.
I agree, LovesBach

My friend lives in a road near me. Just an ordinary little road with terraces houses, 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, sitting room, kitchen. She says one such house is up for rent at £3,000 per month! Admittedly London is more expensive, but still.

This, plus extortionate nursery fees and high energy bills, is, I think, the major reason why so many younger people are suffering. At least the council houses of old were built properly and had plenty of space. Nowadays it seems much of the council and, more often, housing association homes are poorly built, badly maintained and poorly insulated, resulting in damp and mold. There also seem to be a lot of landlords who are constantly increasing the rent while at the same time refusing to rectify serious problems. Some of the conditions shown on the TV are truly appalling. I also think some of the houses being built for sale are similarly badly constructed.

I was born in 1948. I grew up in a tenement flat, consisting of, literally, two rooms. One was the ‘ kitchen ‘, which had a sink, and a two ring gas cooker with a very small oven. This room was also the living room, dining room and my parents’ bedroom. The other room had my father’s piano, a wardrobe
( just one for all our clothes ), and my bed and few toys. The toilet was outside, and shared with the neighbours. There was also the washing house outside, shared with the other five families. You had to take your turn, light the fire, fill the boiler with water and wait until the water was hot enough. Then the clothes etc had to be transferred to a sink to be rinsed in cold water, then wrung out in a mangle. Almost a day’s work. If only younger people could go back in time and spend a day in my mother’s life. We got a council house, eventually ( with a bathroom!) in 1964, when I was sixteen. At that time, out of the 24 families livening in the block of four tenements, only one owned a car. I was an only child, but some people brought up a few children in these circumstances. My grandparents brought up nine in their two rooms.

Yes, sadly, many people are still having a hard time, just In different ways.