Janey Godley: Living with the enemy as cash flow rules the roost

Published on Sunday 18 May 2008 20:16

CASH flow has always been an issue in relationships, but the current credit crunch is now having a direct effect on couples and the housing market like never before.

"I really have fallen out of love with Simon," my mate Susan explained to me recently. "But we need to stay together because the rent is too expensive."

People cannot afford to leave their partner, as the chances of getting new accommodation on one wage or applying for a mortgage in the declining credit climate is incredibly difficult.

There are thousands of "Rent Relationships" in Scotland and all over the UK as property prices soar, mortgage offers fall and credit charges rise.

The UK economy is taking young people back to the dark ages of either suffering relationship problems in silence or returning home to their parents.

"I don't want to head home to Newcastle," Susan told me. "Mum and dad are happy on their own, so I will have to either stick it out with Simon or win the Lottery to rent a new flat."

Perhaps this is an underhand scheme by the government to get the nuclear family back into society: make everyone so poor and worried about independent living that they end up shacking up together, sealing this precarious deal with marriage and children.

Falling house prices have also led to a fall in the divorce rate, as couples have realised that selling their current home and splitting the proceeds is not a good option. Toughing it out seems a better one.

A recent case study of matrimonial lawsuits in the UK reveals rising numbers of couples who have divorced in the past year but are still living together in the family home, as neither can afford to move out yet.

One of my close friends in London is currently sharing her marital home with her ex-husband for this very reason. Not ideal conditions, as the reason they divorced was based on their total incompatibility. Their two kids are currently living in an emotional car-crash hell, but there seems to be no end to the situation.

Young women today are now destined to end up like the single women of the 1960s generation, who clubbed together to rent a small flat until a high-earning man came along and rescued them from their dingy bedsit.

Maybe being forced to reconcile your marriage for the sake of a mortgage will please the church and the government, but it's not a recipe for a happy life.

Therapists will be raking it in for the next 20 years as emotionally stunted young adults speak of the dark days when both their parents waged a war at home during the big credit crunch of 2008.

On the case over broken baggage

IT'S not often that I get to report nice things about airlines, but British Midland have put a big smile on my wee face.

On returning from Auckland last Tuesday, my brand-new suitcase was broken in transit. The supports at the base were ripped off. I left Glasgow Airport exhausted and resolved to fill in the paperwork in the coming week.

Within hours, I got a call from the airline apologising for the situation and asking me the cost of my suitcase. On Thursday morning, brand-new luggage was delivered to my door.

Well done, British Midland – that's service!

www.janeygodley.co.uk