Why the California is a third of the price for pensioners

[DavidofHook]

As I am into my sixty's I am possibly at the right age to answer this one.
We have gone through life scrimping and saving whilst raising a family in our case 4.
We have reached the age where the mortgage is paid, bearing in mind that we paid 17%intrest rates on our loans.
Our parents taught us to save for what we want.
So we have saved up through our working life as well as paying a morgate, and then find we get nothing for our investments.
If you look at the way the Cali is going up we can have fun investing in the Cali and not losing to much money in the investment and keeping out of the hands of those gready bankers.
A win win why let the government take it we are having fun while it lasts.

We bought our first house in 1966. It was not the easy option. The mortgage was £200 a month but I was only earning £12 a week, £600 a year. It needed doing up as we could not afford new. I re-roofed it myself (exciting) I helped a bricklayer to repair the chimney which was split, it needed rewiring (thanks Dad in law), the pluming all leaked, ahh, the kitchen was a stone sink on 2 piles of bricks. My Dad built us some cupboards. After 4 years we were able to move into a newer house as it increased greatly in value. We now have a bigger house but strangely, seem to enjoy spending our lives in a lovely but small California. I am now 75, buying a house is the best savings option. Sadly they increase in value because there is a shortage. And the bank rate is awful for savers but brilliant for house buyers.
And we are starting to think about inheritance tax too!

 

[WelshGas]

Well our 5 children are not expecting anything, so anything they get is a bonus. They are all set up with their own houses, through their own endeavours, and good jobs. What we did give them over the years was a good education right through University which was no mean feat and meant a lot of sacrifice on our part to ensure they got the best we could afford.
If the modern generation concentrated a little bit more on what they want in the future rather than what they want NOW then maybe they could splash the cash in their later years.
You get what you sow. Don't sow, Don't get. Simple.

 

[Borris]

If the boot was on the other foot and it were the snowflakes who were now enjoying unexepected wealth then unlike BBs with our kids, I very much doubt if they would be offering to share that wealth with previous generations.

Life just isn't fair and there was never any guarantees that every generation would be richer than the previous one. Everyone is to some extent the captain of there own destiny. If they want a comfortable future then they are going to have to earn it. Just because they went to Uni doesn't mean things will be any easier.

Mean while us BBs will continue to help them how we can and will probably leave any residual wealth to them as well just in the same way as it has always been done.

 

[Bellcrew]

If the boot was on the other foot and it were the snowflakes who were now enjoying unexepected wealth then unlike BBs with our kids, I very much doubt if they would be offering to share that wealth with previous generations.

Life just isn't fair and there was never any guarantees that every generation would be richer than the previous one. Everyone is to some extent the captain of there own destiny. If they want a comfortable future then they are going to have to earn it. Just because they went to Uni doesn't mean things will be any easier.

Mean while us BBs will continue to help them how we can and will probably leave any residual wealth to them as well just in the same way as it has always been done.

Or they will just live for the moment, cash in their pensions, spend their kids inheritance and when they end up penniless throw themselves onto the munificence of the welfare state?

 

[WelshGas]

Or they will just live for the moment, cash in their pensions, spend their kids inheritance and when they end up penniless throw themselves onto the munificence of the welfare state?

Which they have paid into for a good few years.
Otherwise they wouldn’t have a Pension to cash in or an inheritance to spend.

 

[PhillyWilly]

The best ways to save inheritance tax......
1. Give it away.
2. Spend it.
3. Give any excess over the nil rate band to charity on death.(and of course political parties if you prefer!!)

It’s different for everyone and it’s been interesting for me reading this thread. I run a regulated financial planning firm, I offer clients real world advice and discuss spending assets as an important part of financial planning. It can also be tremendous fun for the lucky people who find themselves in the position to be told to spend their assets to save IHT.

I have encouraged people to buy the boat, campervan, motorhome etc as part of their long-term plan.

One of my favourite parts of the job!

Shameless plug......if anyone wants to discuss their position individually, feel free to ask!

Cheers.

Phil.

 

[stephen watson]

Clare took her dad to see a nursing home in Blackheath. £1500 per week ~£6,500 per month. £3-4,000 is _very_ optimistic.


Follow my blog: www.au-revoir.eu

I didn't know Brandrup ran nursing homes.

 

[Velma's Dad]

Or they will just live for the moment, cash in their pensions, spend their kids inheritance and when they end up penniless throw themselves onto the munificence of the welfare state?

Yep a few of us will do that. At least by spending the kids' inheritance we'd be recycling our stashes back into the general economy.

More of us however will cling onto most of it until we're so physically infirm or gaga that we need full time care. At that point we'll bleat "I paid my taxes for XX years, blah blah blah" and expect the Deliveroo generation to pony up to keep us watching Bargain Hunt and dribbling for years, kept alive through medical advances, until we finally cark it with our (actually mainly unearned) inheritances intact to pass on to the two or three individuals, deserving or undeserving, to whom we happen to have endowed some DNA.

Then our blessed offspring will do the same with their kids, in a few decades time. And like us they'll pat themselves on the back about how clever/smart/hard-working they've been. That's how wealth inequality has been growing since the War, and will continue to grow.

By the way, I'm completely part of that problem, I'm just not proud of it.

But looking on the bright side, suddenly £75k on a Cali upgrade sounds virtually an act of charity.

 

[DavidofHook]

Yep a few of us will do that. At least by spending the kids' inheritance we'd be recycling our stashes back into the general economy.

More of us however will cling onto most of it until we're so physically infirm or gaga that we need full time care. At that point we'll bleat "I paid my taxes for XX years, blah blah blah" and expect the Deliveroo generation to pony up to keep us watching Bargain Hunt and dribbling for years, kept alive through medical advances, until we finally cark it with our (actually mainly unearned) inheritances intact to pass on to the two or three individuals, deserving or undeserving, to whom we happen to have endowed some DNA.

Then our blessed offspring will do the same with their kids, in a few decades time. And like us they'll pat themselves on the back about how clever/smart/hard-working they've been. That's how wealth inequality has been growing since the War, and will continue to grow.

By the way, I'm completely part of that problem, I'm just not proud of it.

But looking on the bright side, suddenly £75k on a Cali upgrade sounds virtually an act of charity.

Both my mother in law and my parents ended up paying for their own care using the money from downsizing, first to sheltered accommodation and then a home. The involvement of the state was actually minimal. Mrs DoH was constantly worried that her Mum's money would run out and we would have to get state help and they would want her moved to a cheaper Home.
I think a lot of people end up going through this process so we are keeping a little bit tucked away for that eventuality.
Will we get a third Cali? Maybe..... There is still inheritance tax to think about as someone said at the beginning!

 

[motacyclist]

Will we get a third Cali? Maybe..... There is still inheritance tax to think about as someone said at the beginning!

We’re on No 3 Cali. Not a problem since they only cost ⅓ price for us

 

[pjm-84]

I can save up to 57% on my next Cali (well A class or XXL) before I retire .

 

[BikerGran]

It's a ridiculous statement anyway. A California is the same price whoever you are. The only difference is whether or not you can afford it. I'm a pensioner but I couldn't afford a new one so I bought a 9 year old one, with the money my brother left me when he died - guess which I'd rather have, the Cali or a live brother?