Balancing business and pleasure

[David Bailey]

I am really not too sure if asking parents to take responsibility for their children is the stuff of Daily Mail Legend. Work Camps for children however, may be.

"Nationwide Epidemic Of Feckless Women Getting Pregnant To Live Off The Sweat Of Our Hardworking Brows And The Incredibly Generous Welfare State" - sounds Mail-esque to me...

And before we swap anecdotes, I'm going to go crazy and introduce some facts into the debate - a quote from this article seems pertinent:

Teenage single mothers
Despite media headlines suggesting otherwise, overall, teenage pregnancies have fallen nationally by 9.4 per cent since 1999. In 1970, young women aged 15 to 19 in England and Wales were almost twice as likely to become mothers as they are today. Furthermore, the belief held in some circles that teenagers only get pregnant to get a council house is not backed by facts. Seven out of ten 15 and 16 year old mothers, and around half of 17 and 18-year-old mothers, stay in the family home.

Now, what was that about David Beckham....?

[LordOfTheFiles]

"Nationwide Epidemic Of Feckless Women Getting Pregnant To Live Off The Sweat Of Our Hardworking Brows And The Incredibly Generous Welfare State" - sounds Mail-esque to me...

My apologies, but I thought that Andy was making a point about people taking responsibility for themselves and their parenting in general. I didn't think it was associated with the single parent, living off the state, damn their hides part. Of course I may be mistaken - it happened once before

[TheTramp]

Teenage single mothers
Despite media headlines suggesting otherwise, overall, teenage pregnancies have fallen nationally by 9.4 per cent since 1999. In 1970, young women aged 15 to 19 in England and Wales were almost twice as likely to become mothers as they are today. Furthermore, the belief held in some circles that teenagers only get pregnant to get a council house is not backed by facts. Seven out of ten 15 and 16 year old mothers, and around half of 17 and 18-year-old mothers, stay in the family home.

Uh huh. Please note that I didn't say that the figures weren't falling. And my information comes from about 1999. The fact that the figures are falling, is great.

However, that doesn't mean that there aren't significant numbers of young ladies who do still do it....

And if there are (picks number out of air) 6,000 who do it nationally each year while still a teenager, that's still 1000 15-16 year olds, and over 1,500 17-18 year olds who are having babies, and not living in the parental home.

Say it costs an average £40,000 for the house, and £10,000 in benefits to support them, that's £100 million outlaid on the cost of the housing, and £25million in benefit payments each year.

Of course, these are figures picked out of the air. It'll probably be more....

[David Bailey]

Of course, these are figures picked out of the air. It'll probably be more....

God, yes, much more. You haven't even factored in loss of earnings, costs for the higher crime figures, etc. etc.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think being a lone parent is an ideal situation, it sucks. But that's the society we've got, and allowing more individual freedom (e.g. the choice to more easily get out of a bad marriage) has downsides. That'll be the "balance" thing (see, cunning attempt to get back to the topic in hand, did you notice?)

OK, the fact that some really silly girls think single parenthood is a career plan is, well, really silly. But hell. significantly greater numbers of young ladies like David Beckham, which I think we can all agree is a far more heinous crime.

The good news is, the problem seems to be under control, which is more than we can say for Beckham-mania.

[Cruella]

But hell. significantly greater numbers of young ladies like David Beckham, which I think we can all agree is a far more heinous crime.

Sounds like jealousy to me!! You just wish all those young ladies were throwing themselves in your direction!!

[David Bailey]

Sounds like jealousy to me!! You just wish all those young ladies were throwing themselves in your direction!!

So true, I never get any interesting text messages either.

[jivecat]

Great phrase, Heather.

Ta. I must admit to borrowing it from elsewhere!

[Lynn]

I chose some years ago to be time-rich and cash-poor and have never regretted it.... I was lucky to be in an occupation that was stable and well-enough paid for me to reduce my hours so that I could pursue other activities that mean a lot to me.

I suppose that's the key to the balance. No good being time rich to do all the things you want but so cash poor you can't afford to do anything that involves spending money. (And pretty much everything does involve some cost.) Working long hours for not much money in a job you hate, just to pay the basic bills must be the worst though. No time or extra cash.

[Sparkles]

So what do you think the best jobs are for making the most money whilst still having a lot of spare time in which to play with it?
(anyone would think I was looking for a career change )

[KatieR]

So what do you think the best jobs are for making the most money whilst still having a lot of spare time in which to play with it?
(anyone would think I was looking for a career change )

Lady of the night?

[Sparkles]

Lady of the night?

I don't think 10p and a packet of crisps is much to live off

[KatieR]

I don't think 10p and a packet of crisps is much to live off

You could be one of them high class ladies that gets to escort all the rich billionnaire playboys to extravagant parties..

[Lory]

So what do you think the best jobs are for making the most money whilst still having a lot of spare time in which to play with it?
(anyone would think I was looking for a career change )

A medical rep

A friend of mine, has been in this job for about 18months and she's loving every moment, she gets a lovely BMW company car, a clothes allowance, medical cover, she gets to travel all over the world to conferences, (all expenses paid p*ss ups apparently).

Basically, the main part of her job involves wining and dinning young doctors in very flash, in fact the flasher the better restaurants... nice one!

I think you need a qualification in chemistry, so it might just be the job for you!

[Feelingpink]

A medical rep

A friend of mine, has been in this job for about 18months and she's loving every moment, she gets a lovely BMW company car, a clothes allowance, medical cover, she gets to travel all over the world to conferences, (all expenses paid p*ss ups apparently).

Basically, the main part of her job involves wining and dinning young doctors in very flash, in fact the flasher the better restaurants... nice one!

I think you need a qualification in chemistry, so it might just be the job for you!

Ooh - what a great idea! I used to flat with a medical rep years ago and she eventually left the country because she was head-hunted to work in New Zealand, where she also had the most yummy model boyfriend.

[David Bailey]

A medical rep

A friend of mine, has been in this job for about 18months and she's loving every moment, she gets a lovely BMW company car, a clothes allowance, medical cover, she gets to travel all over the world to conferences, (all expenses paid p*ss ups apparently).

Basically, the main part of her job involves wining and dinning young doctors in very flash, in fact the flasher the better restaurants... nice one!

Does she work in the aspartame industry?

[Sheepman]

As many of you have said, it's all relative.
If someone is rich in some ways it is likely that they are poorer in others.
Many of us sacrifice monetary wealth for extra free time or job satisfaction, while others are wealthy and have less time with which to make the most of it and may or may not enjoy their chosen job.
I'm wondering where that balance lies...

- snip - he works from 7am till 10pm, earns a lot of money and never finished his PhD.

I think a lot of it is probably down to what you see as your role in life, choices made during childhood, and what potential you see for yourself.

Having been brought up in a single parent family, living on state benefit, I can't say I ever felt impoverished (my Mum probably did). It was just a case of "that's the way things are" but it did mean, e.g. that pocket money was for saving, not spending, until it was needed for something that would really make a difference. Thrift & budgeting were essential, habits that are hard to break. I expect it was in those years that I decided the security of a home and plenty of savings was essential.
Having achieved that, through a mixture of luck, judgement, and even some hard work (not necessarily my own!) The benefits of not working silly hours are far more attractive. Maybe I would go back to hard work, and little play, if circumstances dictated that, but I'd prefer not to, and I'm sure my health would suffer. Although most of the jobs I've done have been interesting and challenging, they have only ever been about earning a wage, rather a vocation.

Although I regularly use credit cards, provided there are funds to pay the bill off each month, I still struggle to understand the "I want it now" mentality and I procrastinate for too long when it comes to buying something that I don't really need.

Greg