Buying a home now

I watched question time yesterday - (yeah I know only old farts watch question time so what I'm an old fart) my hero Bob Katter got thrown out because he raised the same question three times and was warned after the first time not to do it again but in true mad hatter Bob fashion he persisted.

The question that got him thrown out? "Why is the mining companies pulling out of mining in his area, with the loss of 3700 jobs directly and nearly double that indirectly in his electorate and is it due to the new great big tax on mining"? Remember that the government has introduced this tax in a panic to stop the Australian dollar spiraling down to the level of the Zimbaween Pound and forcing housing prices so high that Bill Gates would be flat out getting a morgage.

Hopefully Australia will never again see home loan interest rates topping 14% like it did when we first started looking at buying a house in 1975.

Aah the good old days. My regular pay packet in 1975 was $106.27 a fortnight. Beer was $3.20 a 6 pack, 10c a pot on happy hour, packet of Winny Reds was 40c, petrol was 14.8c a litre, a brand new Valliant Charger cost about $5000.00 with every option and your average house and land package in Brisbane in Ferny Grove was $25,500.00. Man we where living like kings back then with no kids.

Instead we built in 1995, house and land $118,000.00 - single income ($37,500.00 gross), 5 kids no bank in the land would touch us but a credit union did. Man did we struggle to get through the first couple of years. No movies, no big birthday parties for the kids, I didn't buy a beer for 3 years, smokes where a packet of rollies a week and eventually even they had to go, I rode a pushbike to work to save money. Had one family holiday to Brisbane in 5 years, my wife made all our kids clothes and school uniforms, no maccas, 15 year old car that just kept going thank god, I worked 2 part time jobs plus a full time job just to put food on the table and pay bills but in the end we made it. We now owe so little the bank we are now with is bombarding us with offers for loans.
Not bloody likely mate. I'm a retired pensioner now. Now way in hell could we afford a loan.