Janet and John Buy a House
It took Janet and John eight years to save enough to buy their first house. They didn’t rush to buy because they were concerned about the financial implications of owning their own home. Their parents lived in a council house as did most of John’s work mates, they had little encouragement to take those first steps on the property ladder. The modern three bedroom semi-detached house they viewed, which was only a few miles away from their family and friends was perfect. Janet had fallen in love with it and John was thrilled that the house had a garage. The only problem was the price, it was on the market for £11,000 pounds, which was much more than they had planned to spend. Eventually they managed to secure their dream home for £10,500. Even with the most careful financial planning, John still had to do extra shifts and odd jobs to pay the bills. With inflation at 15% and mortgage interests heading the same way, Janet’s wage just about paid for their groceries. As they say ‘New house new Baby’ not that you could have an old baby, but that was exactly what happened. They hadn’t been in their new house many months when Janet fell pregnant with their son, he was a beautiful baby who was adored by his parents and spoilt by his sister. But all the struggling they had done to give themselves a better life was now threatened. It would be very difficult for them to stay in their home with only one wage coming in.