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Old 07-10-2010, 22:35   #25
Stuart
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Re: The 'hidden hunger' in British families

Quote:
Originally Posted by danielf View Post
I have to say that Flyboy does have a point. Ideally, one would make sure that the savings one has are sufficient to tie one over for a reasonable time so you can take action like selling the car and house if needed. The fact they couldn't suggests they were spending a bit more than they should. The fact that they don't smoke or drink is neither here nor there. Perhaps their mortgage was a bit higher than they could really afford.
Perhaps it was, and perhaps thats what caused them to burn through their savings..

As noted above, Savings have a finite limit.

It's easy to say they were spending more than they should, but what should they do? Sell the house and car at a massively reduced price, take a (potentially large) loss and still have to make up the difference in terms of the mortgage? Wait until (hopefully) the market picks up again and they can sell the house? A few years ago, my parents were in a situation where those were the choices, thanks to a failed business. My dad took the decision to keep the house, and through a lot of hard work, together, my mum and dad were able to reduce the debt we had built.

Now, I know the decision was not an easy one (he could have just decided to sell the house, use that to pay the debt and rent somewhere), but I believe in the long run, it was the right one.
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