Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

High earners - how do you spend your salary?

988 replies

Citygirly · 21/05/2022 10:03

DH and I earn just under £140k combined.

We do maximum pension payments (his is 9% as NHS) and we also give about 10% a month to charity.

Other than that, we plan to start overpaying the mortgage. We invest £1k a month (so £500 each) and save £1k for holidays. We of course do general/specific savings but then have a good chunk left over for disposable income.

AIBU to ask other high earning households how they tend to allocate their money? Just want to see if we could be using it better or this is about right for comparables.

OP posts:
lancsgirl85 · 21/05/2022 12:35

Beyond £47,845 in the NHS you jump to 12.5% pension contribution automatically.

LizzoBorden · 21/05/2022 12:35

Holidays, lots of holidays

TomatoorChips · 21/05/2022 12:34

JenniferPlantain · 21/05/2022 12:21

We buy poor people and once a month we release them into a field and hunt them for thrills.

Do you live in Wales?

lancsgirl85 · 21/05/2022 12:34

Neither do we know how the salary is split it might be 50k and 90k. I'

She states DP pays 9% NHS pension. The upper threshold for this pension bracket in the NHS (they are fixed according to salary) is currently 47,845. So his proportion of the 140k income won't be higher than this. That leaves at least £92k as OP's earnings. Minimum.

Mummumtum · 21/05/2022 12:34

@justasking111 we considered it but it was too high touch vs return. Couldn’t make the business case stack up now the tax implications are much higher

Marmight · 21/05/2022 12:33

£140k combined is irrelevant.
It's take home thats more important due to the tax treatment on incomes.
Him £130k, you £10k vs £70k each would be very different take home.
Disregarding pension, its nearly £750 per month difference
£8.1k vs £7.3k which even at those numbers, it still a significant amount.

justasking111 · 21/05/2022 12:31

No-one investing in property??

Fizbosshoes · 21/05/2022 12:28

NohoHank · 21/05/2022 12:23

@Woundabout London is one city in a vast country where £140k is hell of a lot of money. It's stupid to suggest it isn't. I have lived in London and there are plenty of boroughs where it would also be considered a high salary, or do they not count because they're not 'posh'?

Neither do we know how the salary is split it might be 50k and 90k. I'm not sure anyone (outside of MN) could pretend 90k was an average salary!!
As well as the fact that plenty of nurses, teachers, police, retail and hospitality workers will also live in London and not earn that type of money...

MinnieMountain · 21/05/2022 12:27

Mainly savings and pensions. Our mortgage is fully offset (DH is a contractor, so no job security).

Holidays, eating out.

We’re not in London.

lancsgirl85 · 21/05/2022 12:26

I wouldn’t call that particularly high earning

Christ alive.😂😂

Schools2023 · 21/05/2022 12:26

GrazingSheep · 21/05/2022 12:18

Art.

I love this

Schools2023 · 21/05/2022 12:25

Home help, holidays and activities/ lessons

BruisedPlum · 21/05/2022 12:24

What a depressing thread.

NohoHank · 21/05/2022 12:23

@Woundabout London is one city in a vast country where £140k is hell of a lot of money. It's stupid to suggest it isn't. I have lived in London and there are plenty of boroughs where it would also be considered a high salary, or do they not count because they're not 'posh'?

thecatsthecats · 21/05/2022 12:23

By and large we didn't/don't.

This enabled me to go part time when I had a mental health crisis, and will continue to be part time when we have kids - focusing on high earning skilled hours and flexibility rather than maximising earnings.

That said, I did spend a lot on fripparies when I was a high earner. Regularly spending £25-100 quid on random trinkets to try and make myself happy. But it was the 50% going to savings and ultimately giving me choices and security that ultimately made me happy.

JenniferPlantain · 21/05/2022 12:21

We buy poor people and once a month we release them into a field and hunt them for thrills.

Libertybear80 · 21/05/2022 12:21

Cocaine. Lots of it. ( joking of course. Am I though?)

Woundabout · 21/05/2022 12:20

@NohoHank i understand compared to a lot of people it is, but if living in London with a house and mortgage it doesn’t leave you with masses of cash

GrazingSheep · 21/05/2022 12:18

Art.

evtheria · 21/05/2022 12:18

I have siblings who are high earners:

  • 1 has no kids, and doesn't seem interested in buying a property, so spends a lot on traveling.
  • 1 is married with 3 teens, so the couple put a lot away in their 400k and various insurances, and into college funds for the children. Wife started as an accountant so I think that, while moneyed, they are very sensible with their lifestyle.

A friend who is married and both are high earners has saved enough to achieve a sort of low-key FIRE situation before the age of 35. They've both packed in their full time jobs in finance & tech, and have just moved to their tropical island house to pursue their dreams of running a boho retreat. They do consultation (from previous industry) on occasion.

NohoHank · 21/05/2022 12:15

I wouldn't call that particularly high earning

Bingo!

LilacPoppy · 21/05/2022 12:13

9% is not the maximum that’s incredibly low. We pay 40% which admittedly is high but you should be aiming for a minimum of 20-25%.

holdingonfordearlife · 21/05/2022 12:13

HMRC takes most of it!
The rest goes on home improvement, mortgage, business loan, school fees and holidays

roses2 · 21/05/2022 12:12

I've maxed out my pension (£40k/year).

The remainder goes on:

  • savings (maxed out ISAs for the 4 of us)
  • holidays;
  • taste the difference quality food (but not local butcher, organic range etc),
  • take away once a week and
  • lots of clothes for the 4 of us (albeit it from the charity shop as my local has designer wear on a regular basis0
Mummumtum · 21/05/2022 12:07

That was to @TomatoorChips , sorry I pressed reply but it didn’t seem to work.