Your lowest point during the Bailout Years

Very Bored

Lowest point? Moving to the UK. Would rather be on the dole in Ireland than the situation I'm in now.

Wanderer78

Very Bored wrote: »

OK returning to the idea of the thread, my lowest point was the idea of moving to the UK. Why? At the time I thought it would be a really positive idea, I had no work in Ireland and I took the chance at a job in the UK. I wasn't really prepared for the change in workload. Wow. Teaching in Ireland is a job, 40 hours a week O

whats the story with teaching in uk?

lulu1

Sheep Lover wrote: »

What does then?

Having to fly business class on all your flight during the recession.

Oh woe and behold

The_Honeybadger

Lost two jobs in the space of two years with a family to provide for. Ended up relocating to find work and only now finding our feet in our new area. No regrets to be fair but it was seriously tough going for a while.

Wanderer78

lulu1 wrote: »

Having to fly business class on all your flight during the recession.

Oh woe and behold

feel your pain. cant wait to get the private jet back in action. life with commoners sucks

Greentopia

candycock wrote: »

My lowest point was living in my car in October 2008,it was a 95 ford mondoe,I put my last €5 in the car an that was so I could start it to put the heating fan on.i used to go into the bookies for the free tea n biscuits,the library n the church were a regular place to visit,eventually I picked up some part time work,which included a regular meal which meant a lot,I hid it all well from family an friends that I had nowhere to stay/live,I was'nt entitled to rent allowance an I recieved€36 a week on the social,I became very depressed n came close to taking my own life that Xmas,anyway sorry for the ramble,Things are looking up lately and I suppose if I can get through that period in my life I can do anything.

And it's stories like yours is what I meant in my last comment about some people having gone through real hardship.

Can't imagine how hard that must've been and glad things are picking up for you.
Must've been a frightening thing to go through and thank god for yourself and your family you didn't go through with the suicidal thoughts.

shuffles88

My lowest point was when I managed to get a part-time job after being out of work and ended up worse off as a result. It was one of the bad winters we had and I couldn't afford to heat my house. I had to go to bed with gloves, a hat, a hoody and two duvets on the bed to keep warm.

osarusan

Sea level.

To be honest the recession didn't really appear to hit myself, family or friends very hard at all. None of my extended family even were out of work, friends were all working bar one or two who emigrated (by choice as much as anything), that's out of a group of friends of maybe 15+ people.

IvaBigWun

Very Bored wrote: »

There are those who have made it, but they are few and far between. Fortunately, I am a heavy drinker (we're talking 45 - 80 units a week) so hopefully I'll be gone soon and my wife, my long suffering wife, will have found a decent man to be her (new) husband.

...

You need to get to get some help for yourself. Personal Issues has lots of links and people on hand with advice.

uch

IvaBigWun wrote: »

You need to get to get some help for yourself. Personal Issues has lots of links and people on hand with advice.

I seldom agree with what you post but you're bang here my friend.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Bailout years? Bailout years?!


Not watching one of the 300 news channels for a day or two and having to chat to your mate on Skype instead of over a latte down the local Starbuck's does not constitute hardship OP.

Did you even read the OP?

semionova

A lot of people went through real hardship.

IvaBigWun

uch wrote: »

I seldom agree with what you post but you're bang here my friend.

Thats just as well because I seldom post on AH these days

uch

candycock wrote: »

My lowest point was living in my car in October 2008,it was a 95 ford mondoe,I put my last €5 in the car an that was so I could start it to put the heating fan on.i used to go into the bookies for the free tea n biscuits,the library n the church were a regular place to visit,eventually I picked up some part time work,which included a regular meal which meant a lot,I hid it all well from family an friends that I had nowhere to stay/live,I was'nt entitled to rent allowance an I recieved€36 a week on the social,I became very depressed n came close to taking my own life that Xmas,anyway sorry for the ramble,Things are looking up lately and I suppose if I can get through that period in my life I can do anything.

Candy, I was homeless in Amsterdam in the late 80's early 90's,I slept in a bus shelter for 6 months, I had my trouble with a drug problem too, spent some of the 90's in London and things didnt get any better, but I managed to get home to Dublin, and while I've had my problems with drugs since, I'm now in a good place, so my advice to you is to not give up, things will get better, always look up, not down

semionova

uch wrote: »

Candy, I was homeless in Amsterdam in the late 80's early 90's,I slept in a bus shelter for 6 months, I had my trouble with a drug problem too, spent some of the 90's in London and things didnt get any better, but I managed to get home to Dublin, and while I've had my problems with drugs since, I'm now in a good place, so my advice to you is to not give up, things will get better, always look up, not down

Well done respect dude! Glad for you!

semionova

Candycock sometimes posts on here really amaze me. You are still here and we are glad. You keep the faith!

Pinch Flat

pablo128 wrote: »

2008 I was made redundant. Our daughter was 4 months old. Herself had a decent job so I decided to be a 'stay-at-home' dad for a while. 2 months later she was made redundant. Our rent was 1200 a month. They were nervous times.

Same here - wife had fallen ill on the birth of our son so was on illness benefit from about 2008. Ironically we always knew her job (nurse) would get us through anything, but there you go.

Watched my company shed job by Job from late 2008 until I lost my job in early 2009 - third of the company let go in one day. Was out of work for six months. €1200 per month mortgage and two of us getting €1600 from sw.

My own nadir was having a €2 coin to my name knowing dole day was a few days away. Fun times.

JustTheOne

tayto lover wrote: »

Will we have anything left after Denis is done?

Ah would you kop on blaming everyone else in life for you're shortcomings, get out and make things happen for yourself instead of constant whinging behind a keyboard.

Plates

JustTheOne wrote: »

Ah would you kop on blaming everyone else in life for you're shortcomings, get out and make things happen for yourself instead of constant whinging behind a keyboard.

The victim mentality is alive and well unfortunately.

OneOfThem

DareGod wrote: »

I'm going through it at the moment.

We've all made a total mess of this world. It should be taken away from us.

"... and with those ominous words echoing across the Internet... a simple carpenter from Fermanagh, began the long descent into supervillainy! Paddy Murphy ceased to exist... and DareGod was born!!"

Bubbaclaus

Didn't really notice anything, my family were always good with money (never spent beyond their means in the Tiger) and life carried on as normal. Being good with money appears to be genetic if you look at my family.

leinsterdude

they were tough, my salary got cut by 12k, and it was not huge before ! still not clawed it all back, but getting there, auld mortgage a killer.

_Brian

I think it was 2009 or maybe 2010, anyway, our lowest was only managing one holiday. Really, when I think about it now how did we survive that year.

Thankfully we manage to get away 5-6 times a year again like normal people do.

leinsterdude

Brian u are a lucky man

JustTheOne

leinsterdude wrote: »

Brian u are a lucky man

Iseedeadpixels

2008 went from 40,000 a year to the dole, big loan, overdraft was huge, meteor wouldnt cancel my contract etc ended up jobless for 6 months took a job in a call centre out of desperation, sold my dream car for a crap banger AND had found out I had a kid on the way 2 weeks after being let go! Happy to say Im debt free in a good stable job saving for a mortgage now. One thing Im proud of is I paid all debts off myself sacrificed loads and never sought help from mabs etc I really hope this country never goes through this again.

Pinch Flat

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

Didn't really notice anything, my family were always good with money (never spent beyond their means in the Tiger) and life carried on as normal. Being good with money appears to be genetic if you look at my family.

That's what saved us. Yeah we had a mortgage which we negotiated downwards with the bank for a few months but other than that zero debt - no car loan, credit card debt, overdraft, personal loans.

We were meticulous with our utility bills and living expenses which helped us ride it out. It's amazing what you can survive on when your back is against the wall.

nxbyveromdwjpg

Positively effected me. Salary stayed the same, everything else got cheaper, so that was grand.

JustTheOne

What I take from this thread is some people are better off now than back then, finding jobs again etc.

It's refreshing from the usual doom and gloom merchants telling us how things are still as bad and the recovery is all a lie.

Suppose listening to Paul Murphy and Mary Lou will have that effect.

No time for negativity.

_Brian

leinsterdude wrote: »

Brian u are a lucky man

We make our own luck, I married a good woman

ISOP

Plates wrote: »

What exciting part of the world did you end up in?

I ended up in London after attempting to kill myself after a prolonged period of depression, due to financial stress, thankfully I am in a great place now, with a good job and a life. It makes me sick to see people sneering at people who had no option but to leave, makes me glad I am gone out of the place now to be honest

Streetwalker

Some people never felt the Celtic tiger years in a positive way so the "bailout years" made little or no difference.

Streetwalker

lizzyman wrote: »

Generally speaking, doing the exact opposite of what Sinn Fein want is usually a pretty good idea. The amount of populist drivel that comes out of Adams and Mary Lou McFúckFace is shocking.

Yes because putting FF/FG/Labour in time and again has worked out well for us

galljga1

_Brian wrote: »

I think it was 2009 or maybe 2010, anyway, our lowest was only managing one holiday. Really, when I think about it now how did we survive that year.

Thankfully we manage to get away 5-6 times a year again like normal people do.

The life of Brian.

Losing my job in 2009 wasn't great at the time, but it led me to a different job with much better pay.

Took the opportunity to learn how to do things myself during the recession to save money like servicing a car.

Despite that, the one thing I miss from Celtic tiger days are those foxes mints that you used to get with the bill in restaurants.

c_man

There were a few months where I was drinking nothing but Germania (very cheap lager from Dunnes) and a knock-off of Baileys, Irish Knights. Tear the stomach of ya.

AndonHandon

Had to work in a pub.

conorh91

I was in school and college, parents kept their jobs; it didn't affect me. In fact renting was dirt cheap back then. I miss it.

Boring username

soap1978 wrote: »

having to shop in aldi

Same here. It's the best thing that ever happened to me.

candycock

Wanderer78 wrote: »

id second that. fair play to you. yes sadly they have

Thank you for your reply,I've learnt a lot since then,I've been helping out charity's for suicide victims ever since,sometimes it can be difficult to understand someone's situation unless u've been through it,one thing I've learnt is that money an status can ruin an distort our thinking,I've had some interesting nights in that car wen it snowed heavy that Xmas an I promised myself after that to help anyone out if I could,I'm slowing clawing my life back together an mite I add my situation was'nt caused by addiction,just a bad ruin of luck an a business that wen south rapidly.thanks again for all your replays I'm keeping the faith.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Mongfinder General wrote: »

Locking into a fixed rate mortgage at 5.59% in 2008. ****ing painful

Oh poor you. 13.8% in 1986!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Dónal wrote: »

Despite that, the one thing I miss from Celtic tiger days are those foxes mints that you used to get with the bill in restaurants.

Then cheer up. I got some with a restaurant bill only last week.

Come to think of it, they never stopped giving them.

conorh91

Ford Howling Knapsack wrote: »

Oh poor you. 13.8% in 1986!

I'm pretty sure his point is the disparity from the tracker rate, not that his mortgage is the highest in history ffs. He could have saved himself a good chunk of money on the tracker.

Also what was inflation in the late 1980s? 3-5% every year or something? Mortgage holders today would love the burden of their mortgages to fall at that rate.

Grayson

Just after the beginning of the recession the company I worked for made me redundant. I had 6 weeks notice. The entire company, about 150 of us, was let go. The company's offices was next to a social welfare office. There were queues of a hundred people snaking out of the dole office and around the building. It was the middle of winter and we'd look down from the offices and see people standing there in the freezing cold and pissing rain. And we knew that in 6 weeks it would be us.
I was very lucky. Another comp[any in the same building advertised 7 positions. about 80 of us applied for it and I got one of the jobs. I finished up on a Thursday and started a new job on the following Monday.

Wanderer78

candycock wrote: »

Thank you for your reply,I've learnt a lot since then,I've been helping out charity's for suicide victims ever since,sometimes it can be difficult to understand someone's situation unless u've been through it,one thing I've learnt is that money an status can ruin an distort our thinking,I've had some interesting nights in that car wen it snowed heavy that Xmas an I promised myself after that to help anyone out if I could,I'm slowing clawing my life back together an mite I add my situation was'nt caused by addiction,just a bad ruin of luck an a business that wen south rapidly.thanks again for all your replays I'm keeping the faith.

your story is a very important one to tell so please do tell it to as many as possible. no matter how bad life gets, theres is always hope. i know people that have committed suicide and those that have come close, some family members, some friends. even though your story has brought some sadness it has mainly made me angry. im extremely angry to watch this whole recession take place. it has exposed the vulnerable in our society and its simple not their fault. im worried we ve learned very little from this experience as a country and its a case of rinse repeat. im sure this event with be a major turning point in your life, be thankful that you some how made the right choices and you re still here. your family and friends need you, the world needs you. im aware there are still many families in severe trouble out there and things aint changing too quickly for them if at all. be aware of this and thoughtful of their problems. pat yourself on the back and best of luck with things

Wanderer2010

Ironically enough it wasnt anything to do with money. I had and have a stable job, but my personal life was in ruins with crippling anxiety and a toxic family that meant i felt guilty about being myself, i had a father who ignored me for years and a brother who hated me and I just took it all on my shoulders until one day I rang a counseller and booked an appointment almost on autopilot, and before i knew it, less than 2 minutes into my first session, I erupted in tears and cried for a solid half an hour before I could get any words out. Thankfully she was absolutely brilliant and talked me into uploading the whole story over the course of a few sessions and taught me to take care of me first. My soul was lifted from the help and Im doing much better these days thank God.

Wanderer78

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Ironically enough it wasnt anything to do with money. I had and have a stable job, but my personal life was in ruins with crippling anxiety and a toxic family that meant i felt guilty about being myself, i had a father who ignored me for years and a brother who hated me and I just took it all on my shoulders until one day I rang a counseller and booked an appointment almost on autopilot, and before i knew it, less than 2 minutes into my first session, I erupted in tears and cried for a solid half an hour before I could get any words out. Thankfully she was absolutely brilliant and talked me into uploading the whole story over the course of a few sessions and taught me to take care of me first. My soul was lifted from the help and Im doing much better these days thank God.

ive had a simliarish experience

candycock

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Ironically enough it wasnt anything to do with money. I had and have a stable job, but my personal life was in ruins with crippling anxiety and a toxic family that meant i felt guilty about being myself, i had a father who ignored me for years and a brother who hated me and I just took it all on my shoulders until one day I rang a counseller and booked an appointment almost on autopilot, and before i knew it, less than 2 minutes into my first session, I erupted in tears and cried for a solid half an hour before I could get any words out. Thankfully she was absolutely brilliant and talked me into uploading the whole story over the course of a few sessions and taught me to take care of me first. My soul was lifted from the help and Im doing much better these days thank God.

Thank you for sharing ur experience.

Youngblood.III

After really cutting back everything for years and using savings to also get by...its really only starting to bite in badly now.
Next on the cards is not fully paying the mortgage.