High earners - how do you spend your salary?

If you’re 2PE in the City OP and the age you’re at then I would maximise my earnings and make the step into a US firm and work your bollocks off before you have kids! Go get ‘em

The most important advice I can give you is not how to spend it but to make sure you have a decent income protection policy. I'd made partner before I had DC and had the standard partnership policy (which was designed for middle aged men having heart attacks etc). It was very generous which is just as well because I was hospitalised for 6 months with severe postnatal depression after having DD2 and have not been able to work since. That policy pays me an indexed link amount equivalent to my old drawings until I'm 60 and thank goodness it does.

This isn't a pity post as I've been able to lots of interesting charitable projects since stopping work but losing my hard won career was traumatic enough without losing the income stream on top.

I think I'm adding plenty of 'profit' to this thread (interesting choice of word, you're very money obsessed aren't you).

I've got a few decades on you, OP. I think you're going to look back when you're older and cringe your tits off that you were so keen to show off about your earnings/wealth that you literally pretended to strangers on a public forum that you don't know how to spend money.

I have a friend who is a nurse in London who earns less and bought a flat without parental help so it is possible. I imagine her outgoings are very low though - she opted to live in a house share for years to save so she spent less on rent which made a huge difference I am sure. But she had to live in just a bedroom for a long time to do it.

Yes we’re currently in a 1 bed but looking to buy 3-4 bed detached but in expensive SE location.
Forgot to mention we have £400 car payment per month to buy my car outright. When this ends in 18months time, will be DH’s turn for a new car for a similar monthly payment.

we both expect to promote again over the next 5-7 years to have an income of roughly £220k-£240k, and at that point will probably be in “dream house” territory.

to be honest as long as we stay on this income I can see us making space for £10k of holidays per year as we both love it!

‘Tone Deaf’ Bingo
Scroll on if you don’t want to read it.

What’s very very very high?

Both of us are very, very high earners but apart from people who know us well, no one would suspect it as we don't have a flashy lifestyle (no fancy cars, no holidays to the Maldives, no expensive clothes and restaurants...). Generally speaking we don't want to attract attention/jealousy and aren't interested in these things anyway. We also don't have much time for leisure these days... We spend a lot of money on private school fees and children but other than that the money goes to buying properties (for investments or secondary homes), financial investments and savings/pensions.

The only sensible way to spend your money imo.

My 27 year old son earns more than his (just retired) father was.

He has a STEM degree and a Masters (and the student debt to go with it) and works in finance in London.

Not just possible, but fairly common.

We don't earn as much as you and your DH, but we do live further north and our housing costs are next to nothing.

We try to put 1.5-2k into savings/investments each month using ISA allowances etc. Pay max into pensions (very lucky to have amazing work based pensions). We have a separate savings pot (currently use the chase 1.5pc savers) that we use to save for holidays.

As for spending money we really just spend what we like. I get a subsidised gym membership through work. I sometimes buy expensive clothes that I know will last. We spend a lot on food and wine although I have been cutting back on the latter due to poor sleep. DH spends quite a lot on tech and his computer but I don't know too much about that!

I don't know why posters are giving you a hard time or asking for this thread to be moved. Just don't read it if you are having money problems!

Blinkingbatshit
I felt the same initially, however I am open to seeing just how comfortable some people live.

Perfectly possible in finance or law or tech or something

Bearsan
How are you able to live so well on average incomes?
We are above average but not high earners in the SE.

We have one take out a week costing no more than £10.
We cannot afford one holiday/break per year. Last family holiday was five years ago - short haul too.
Mortgage will take us to retirement age in a house that is far too small.
Minimal savings - trying desperately to build up emergency fund
One decent vehicle
Pay the minimum into pension
No childcare fees
Food shop in Lidl
Bring lunch to work, no random coffees out
Buy clothes from H&M, Next, New Look, Dorothy Perkins

Most significant single outgoing is the taxman who takes four-figures a week, give as much to charity as I spent on my car. Spending habits otherwise are the same as when I earned a third of what I do now.

Pay 30% of salary into pension
€3000 childcare per month
€2000 mortgage per month (incl overpay of €400)
Save €450 per month to kids university fund (already have their school fees saved)
Save €100 per month into prize-bonds

Not much left after the above.

In my experience, people don't really discuss how they spend their disposable income at work in any detail

And you've not worked out why that is? 😄

Also on just under £140k per year combined.

Approx £15k of this comes from bonuses which get saved. Previously this has paid for our wedding and is now stacking up for a larger house deposit.

We currently live in a small house with low outgoings also so are saving up for a second deposit- the plan being to rent this house out (most likely to a family member) and buy a larger one for us. We’ve also just spent £10k on a honeymoon to the Maldives and will spend a similar amount on next years holiday to South Africa.

We have 18% pension contributions each (6% us, 12% employer) plus buy a couple of hundred worth of shares from our work scheme each month.

The plan is to have plenty of pots across multiple ways of investing/saving so we should have
pensions, shares, cash savings (Stocks and Shares ISAs) and an investment property accumulated over time and hopefully can use some of this to retire early.

we will be taking on the bigger mortgage at some point in the next 1-2 years so this will mean we calm down on the holidays a bit and work on re accumulating the cash savings etc.

basically different things at different times- the past 2 years have all been focussed towards wedding/honeymoon savings and it was amazing to be able to have whatever we wanted and also treat our family and friends (we covered accommodation for 2 nights for most people) target is the bigger house but we always keep the other pots slowly increasing as we go.

we give ourself £350 per month each as spends which covers individual socialising, hobbies, clothes, hair and beauty treatments etc. we are trying to balance enjoying having this much disposable income as it may never happen again versus securing our future.

no kids and currently no plans to have any!

Lol all you like Orwell, I’ve given some concrete examples of how threads like this one have made me reassess my own finances. I would assume others find them interesting / helpful in the same way.

Lol that people think these sorts are threads are genuine requests for help.

@Useranon1 so FA who's job it is to talk about errrr finances are strangers? Or fellow high earners who you work with are strangers? Come on now, pull a few more teeth.

Urghhh🙈 - why did I click on this!!! Sooo f-ing depressing😒