How fragile is your life?

How fragile is your life?

Author
Discussion

Upinflames

Original Poster:

1,757 posts

185 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
On the back of the homeless thread really, was just thinking about my life and how fast things could go wrong.

If the company I work for went tits up tomorrow I'd need an income by 3 months from now to avoid drastic changes.

I could start selling stuff, the boat, motorbikes and a couple of cars but by 2 years that would be exhausted.

How close to the wire are you?

Martin315

331 posts

16 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
Worst “I’ve got a boat” thread ever smile

Wheel Turned Out

1,051 posts

45 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
I think we're probably all closer than we'd like to admit. Things can go from fine to fcensoredked in the blinking of an eye.

Cheerful Monday thoughts. hehe

E63eeeeee...

4,541 posts

56 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
About a year fairly comfortably, just selling the silly cars. Two years cutting fully back and keeping the lights on, but I assume I'd either find some kind of work or otherwise I'd be sick enough for benefits before it came to it.

ChocolateFrog

28,584 posts

180 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
Essentially we'd be fine indefinitely.

We've got a generous state. The only extravagance we have are holidays and those include Butlins and Mablethorpe, so not change biglaugh

monthou

4,844 posts

57 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
We'd be fine indefinitely but not particularly comfortable (57 and 53, we could manage until pensions kick in).
We've only just reached that point.

Gordon Hill

1,288 posts

22 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
ChocolateFrog said:
Essentially we'd be fine indefinitely.

We've got a generous state. The only extravagance we have are holidays and those include Butlins and Mablethorpe, so not change biglaugh


Same here but then I'm of a "certain age". As a younger man there would have been times when the kids were young that I'd have been lucky to last 3 months.

fridaypassion

9,368 posts

235 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
I could shoot the peacocks and turn the pool heating down that would give us a stay of execution!

Slow.Patrol

910 posts

21 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
Retired, so no potential issues.

Spent most of my working life fretting about work, money, mortgage payments etc. Paying off the mortgage at 52 was a game changer. I sleep a whole lot better now I am retired. The only thing that could be an issue is rampant inflation.

Sheets Tabuer

19,641 posts

222 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
9th of may 2005 I was told my son wouldn't make his teenage years, the mrs left me for a bloke she worked with emptying my bank account and clearing the house out, two days later I was told I was being made redundant and on the Friday I got a letter telling me we hadn't been paying the mortgage (Mrs again) and if I didn't make a payment and the arrears they were going to repossess the house which took all of my redundancy money.

But hey, when you're at rock bottom the only way is up right?

thebraketester

14,699 posts

145 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
Upinflames said:
On the back of the homeless thread really, was just thinking about my life and how fast things could go wrong.

If the company I work for went tits up tomorrow I'd need an income by 3 months from now to avoid drastic changes.

I could start selling stuff, the boat, motorbikes and a couple of cars but by 2 years that would be exhausted.

How close to the wire are you?
It’s sad (but not unexpected) that your main priority seems to be money. In reality, your health should be your primary concern.

Ken_Code

1,566 posts

9 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
Upinflames said:
On the back of the homeless thread really, was just thinking about my life and how fast things could go wrong.

If the company I work for went tits up tomorrow I'd need an income by 3 months from now to avoid drastic changes.

I could start selling stuff, the boat, motorbikes and a couple of cars but by 2 years that would be exhausted.

How close to the wire are you?
Not at all.

Much of this is down to choices we made. We didn’t have children until we were established in our careers, and until we had enough savings to ensure we could survive well even if one or both of us lost our jobs.

We waited until we were as sure as we we could be that we weren’t going to split up, and then we lived well within our means.

Of course some people will scoff at the idea of doing this.

Wacky Racer

38,972 posts

254 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
Someone once said:-

An Englishman's house is his castle, (Until his wife wants a divorce).

I agree money is very important, but your health (mental and physical) is far more so.

Ken_Code

1,566 posts

9 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
Wacky Racer said:
Someone once said:-

An Englishman's house is his castle, (Until his wife wants a divorce).

I agree money is very important, but your health (mental and physical) is far more so.
But it’s not either / or.

Downward

4,052 posts

110 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
Upinflames said:
On the back of the homeless thread really, was just thinking about my life and how fast things could go wrong.

If the company I work for went tits up tomorrow I'd need an income by 3 months from now to avoid drastic changes.

I could start selling stuff, the boat, motorbikes and a couple of cars but by 2 years that would be exhausted.

How close to the wire are you?
Christ. Peak PH this is.
Getting Michelle Mone vibes here.

catatemyhomework

142 posts

37 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
Provided I was prepared to make a few (quite reasonable, in the scheme of things) sacrifices and have a pretty frugal life, I would be in theory able to survive indefinitely on my current investments.

To put this into some context, I have spent quite a long time following the FIRE approach, and have now reached a point where I am FI with the above caveats. I am not yet at the point where I would feel comfortable with the RE aspect - that's about five years away.


James6112

5,392 posts

35 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
As an old person, who is still working for fun, no worries.
I could sort out my children if times were that tough for them.
That’s kind of why I still work, why chuck in a generous income into the family pot (if needed).

768

15,084 posts

103 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
Financially pretty secure, almost have the opposite problem where I see little point in working.

I'm happy enough sleeping on the ground in some far off country with low cost of living anyway. Wife and kids less so.

119

9,493 posts

43 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
Haven’t worked for over 10 years.

Monkeylegend

27,195 posts

238 months

Monday 1st July
quotequote all
[redacted]