Yuppies of the 80s “come back down to earth with a bit of a bump”
November 18, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Banking
Young Urban Professionals (yuppies) who enjoyed a lavish lifestyle in the 1980s are now forced to face up to the financial concerns of modern times, said Liverpool Victoria financial company.
Lucy Pope, a spokesperson for the company explained that, today, so-called yuppies face financial hurdles that were not necessarily existent 20 years ago.
She said that on strain on purse strings today is the fact that companies do not offer pension schemes in the same way they did two decades ago, making it even more important today that consumers make alternative saving arrangements.
“They might have felt that they were protected by their employers”
“There aren’t so many pension schemes and final salaries available [now], so you may not get the comfort of your employer as you may have done in the 1980s.”
She added that many people of the 80s yuppie era are now “playing catch up” having delayed saving for the future.
Recent research carried out by YouGov on behalf of Liverpool Victoria, found that 45 per cent of yesterday’s yuppies are now finding it a struggle to live within their means.
Stamp duty is “big financial barrier”
March 23, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Mortgages
The tax man is expected to reap the rewards of Gordon Brown’s final Budget with an additional £1.4 billion expected to enter his coffers as a result of stamp duty alone.
It comes as the Chancellor failed to raise stamp duty thresholds despite the average house price soaring in recent years.
The higher thresholds have been in place since 1997 yet in that time the average house price has rocketed by 175 per cent.
It means that more and more people are now expected to pay the tax, with first-time buyers being hit hardest as they struggle to get a mortgage and take their first steps onto the property ladder.
Homebuyers are required to pay one per cent stamp duty on a property which costs up to £125,000, three per cent for a £250,000 property and four per cent for one valued at £500,000.
The problem is that an estimated 3.5 million homes in England and Wales are now valued at more than £250,000.
“Stamp duty should be indexed in line with house prices and inflation,” said the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Christopher Dean. “It is a big financial barrier.”
The Treasury has admitted that two fifths of homebuyers in the country will now be required to pay stamp duty.
