Well said Maree.
Things are different now .
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Itâs up to grandparents what they do with their money and if they choose to invest in their kids and grandkids future
But âŠ
You have a point.
Young peopleâs expectations of life are so much higher now. When I was starting out two car families were not the norm ⊠God knows what the average is now ⊠designer clothes and holidays abroad every year were luxuries and had to be budgeted for. Cosmetic boob jobs or botox injections and teeth veneers costing thousands werenât common either. There wasnât social media indoctrinating us to âbe as gorgeous and beautifulâ as all the other beautiful people out there who seem to have everything and post selfies every day to compete and prove it.
A safety net is one thing ⊠and itâs true, times are hard now, for everyone ⊠and some I suppose are over generous and indulgent because they love their kids/grandkids and want them to have everything.
This does make me feel kinda sad for the grandparents who might have no surplus cash though ⊠I hope it doesnât make them feel a burden just because theyâre not a financial asset.
I detest all this grey business fullstop! It is so old fashioned now anyway.10 years ago it was current but not now.
Most builders give a choice of colours for carpets etc.
Mind you if grey had been forced on me I would have lived with it for a few years with colourful rugs etc.
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No itâs not! It is all neutrals, mochas, pale chocolates now which are warmer and have a bit more about them. Who wants to live with dreary grey?
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Quite right.
We always had old bangers when we started out but luckily my husband is very âhands onâ and was always able to keep them running. Outside our local primary school now is all very new cars, 4 x 4s, Audis, BMWs etc.
Same as buggies, some of these cost thousands.
Foreign holidays are commonplace now but I took my kids 10 miles away camping (OH stayed home to carry on earning money), then we graduated to caravans, then cottages by the time kids were in their teens. I was 40 before I ever travelled abroad, as we simply could not afford it.
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Is it? I donât really know, I like lights and brights.
Everyone seemed to have grey for a while and youâre right, it was dreary but I wouldnât like shades of brown either, reminds me of the 70s!
There are lots of reasons why the world is how it is today. There is so much high tech out there and you are isolated without it. Subscriptions for this, direct debits for that, modern society runs on credit these days, and most young people have got their priorities wrong, but its not all their fault when they are bombarded with adverts and reality shows, even soaps help to push the ideology of what life should be like if you are normal. The fact that manufacturing and industry has all but left this country means there are no more well paid jobs for the majority. In order for a country to be successful they either need mineral wealth - oil, coal, lithium etc or make stuff that somebody wants. We are no longer that country. Food, heat and a good job are not the priorities they used to be.
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I suppose if itâs a new build and not sold, they go for something neutral, or maybe someone bought up a warehouse full of it as a job lot!
Iâd have lived with it though, at least while I was doing any decorating or alteration, like you say, rugs and runners and with furniture in it wouldnât show that much
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But not only are those the priorities for a lot of people nowadays, they are also a dream beyond their reach 
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@OldGreyFox ⊠I have often wondered now apprenticeships are so few, or have they disappeared altogether ?.. and now our manufacturing industry is zilch what do the kids do who donât go onto University?
Barristas and shop work is not overly well paid and the service sector is notoriously fickle with little job security.
If theyâre not overloaded with qualifications what are their prospects?
To get where most of us oldies are today, we have had to put up with stuff in the beginning and go without. I can remember when new kitchens and bathrooms werenât a thing. no such thing as B&Q. Gardens were mainly full of veg and fruit trees where I came from. Only the local district nurse had a phone and a car.
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But young people now are putting up with stuff and going without now
The difference is that while we were able to get where we are today and better our situation by working hard and going without, they are working hard and going without just to subsist, with no hope of a better future or ever having what what the boomers have
It donât like it when our older generation hark back to how tough it was for us, as if that makes it OK for it to be tough for the youngsters now and they shouldnât complain
We had a lot more to hope for and more chance of things getting better than they do now
And surely as a generation who had it tough we should hope for a better life for the next one, is that what life is all about?
And not be indifferent to the plight of young people struggling because we once struggled too.
Surely that should make us more sympathetic to them, not less sympathetic and judgemental?
Listen carefully .
Itâs not the peripheries that matter its the buying of the place in the first place.
A deposit of about ÂŁ25k is needed how do you save up that on a low wage while paying rent and simply just living .
Then there is stamp duty solicitors fees etc etc
Without some parental help many young people canât even think of buying a house no matter how they scrimp and save .
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OK. We are all sitting comfortably.
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Life is different now, struggling today is not like struggling in years gone by. But because Mrs Fox and me struggled then, we are able to supply financial support to our kids now. Something that we didnât get from our parents. Although I hasten to add, we did get second hand furniture, beds and carpet from them. But they didnât have the money to give like we do now with the bank of Mum and DadâŠHow long has it been a thing for the common person?
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Too comfortably ,some, have forgotten what itâs like to be young and poor .
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You presume a lot yourself.
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âI will only say this onceââŠsaid with a French inflectionâŠ
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I am not congratulating myself on my acumen and luck
Nor am I down on the youngsters of today .
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