Jam families? Sorry, I don't buy it.

[#1]

Listening to the television whilst making my usual tea and toast this morning about Jam families and immediately thought, so what's changed - other than this new definition. I 'just about managed' for years with wife, kiddies and mortgage so this was not 'new news' as far as I was concerned.

Maybe these people should just live within their means.

One school caretaker chap (God bless 'em) was on £16k a year which is no great shakes but then went on to say how he was afraid of getting unexpected vets bills. Well there's what, £40 a month straight away on food for the little furries. No mention either of those so hard to handle school holidays. The programme then turned its attention to a university admin worker on £30k a year bemoaning the fact that what came in 'surprise surprise' went out. Well there's a revelation that degree did not prepare him for. What planet are these people on!

Granted my mortgage is no more, but as pensioners on £12k a year we manage well enough to put savings aside each week, run a little car, no pets to feed, downsized our home from a four to a one and a half bedrooms (the bed just about fits in the spare/grandchildren's room) so what's the beef?

I despair, I really do.

https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/uk/jam-will-affected-autumn-statement/

[#2]

It's part of having it all instant gratification generation, sadly which I have grown up in.

I laugh to myself that people bemoan they can't afford to save for a house etc. when paying for sky / netflix and have a shiny new iPhone every year.

[#3]

@Minivanman

Fully agree with what you say and your situation was similar to mine, if we could not afford it we went without rather that building up a lot of debt. I was never good at maths but even I could roughly work out that interest on cards at 29% was a lot and just putting money down the drain.

The only people I have sympathy for are those who are in rented accommodation and work in low paid jobs so the rent takes up a good bit of their money so they are not in a position to save enough in line with the increase in house prices.

We started off in a council house for the first few years and if my memory serves me correctly the rent was far less than our mortgage on a 2 bedroom house but these days rents can be much higher that the mortgage on a modest sized property.

[#4]

Heard the opposite of JAMS - DARTS (doing all right thanks) - wonder who dreamed up that acronym.

[#5]

The Windsors? 

[#6]

I have always lived within my means, never borrowed, if I have earned less - I have had to spend less. Always I have made sure I have had some left over to save. My income has always varied quite drastically, but I have always managed. I do my best to avoid things which involve me in making regular payments - no Sky, PAYGO phone, I never rent or lease anything so as to minimise my monthly ourgoings. Its the basic economics of life. 50K a year and needing benefits - what?

[#7]

I wonder how many JAMS have one or more iPhones used in their family

[#8]

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@Minivanman wrote:

I 'just about managed' for years with wife, kiddies and mortgage

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Always the "haves" that judge the "have nots" isn't it 

[#9]

Never the other way around? We seem to be getting a lot of that lately.

[#10]

Haves - Have Nots

What comes next?

Even though I seem to manage fine I also seem to have a lot less than a lot of the so called Have Nots.