Are we classed as "poor" or average

Try living on 33k combined household income

Quite honestly you'd be classed as lacking intelligence for not knowing the answer to your own question.

I'm late to the party but where I live, you'd be poor and your kids would be on bursaries to the school. I imagine that there are areas in which you'd be considered very well off.

Where on earth do people have huge houses with cinema room, plus disposable income at £50k !!

lol I think the average salary in the UK is £27k so I certainly wouldnt be describing you as poor

This! 😂
I’m sorry OP but I think the answer is to stop comparing yourself to other people who choose to waste their money on meaningless stuff !!
You do you… and live to your own means.
If you want to retrain so you can earn more then make a plan! It’s never too late to change your path….

If the only thing that differentiates you from these higher earning women is Botox, lip fillers and Turkey teeth then you should be breathing a sigh of relief! I find these women with duck mouths, frozen faces and fluorescent fake teeth look utterly ridiculous!
Seriously though, they are spending money feel better about themselves whereas perhaps you are getting more satisfaction/validation from your job?
Just a thought x

Yes….I’m talking about people who earn nowhere near £70k. Like myself. One earner earning £70k before tax is still a household earning significantly more than my household is earning. And according to the link above my household earns more than 49% of the households in the uk. Meaning regardless of whether it’s one or two earners getting the household to 70k before tax…they’re earning significantly more than the majority of the people in this country and in fact on this thread.
and it’s insulting and quite frankly deluded to think otherwise.

@saffy2 But still very much more than two people earning less than 70k between them! 😂
Yes but one or two people earning £70k may have more disposable income depending on where they live. For people in some areas house ownership may be impossible. Rent and commuting takes up the majority of their income. For people in other areas, they may have a tiny mortgage and soon be mortgage free in their late 30s and be able to afford a holiday abroad every year

But still very much more than two people earning less than 70k between them! 😂

It totally depends on where you live. London and the South East and you be in a totally different situation from Hill or Preston.

Op this calculation has put us on £50k as earning higher than 49% of the population of the uk….😂😂😂😂 so you can see that you are exceptionally well off.

Our income usually is around 50k from both of us. I am currently low on work, and we are instead around 40k, we have cut back on things in preparation.
but yeah, £85k household 😂 it’s ludicrous that you would even be suggesting that poor or average is any where near what you are living.

I think you’re exceptionally well off, and a high earning household.
I would say we are average and we earn less than just one of you earns, as a couple. We live a good life, we own a house in the south east (with mortgage) and we eat well, we have two cars and our kids have nice clothes, and we just holidayed for 2 weeks in Italy in the summer.
I can’t even comprehend how amazing and free our life would be if we had your money. And we are not poor. By any means. We are average earners and we do well.
You are a high earning family.

Personally I think you need to open your eyes, maybe watch the news and take a long hard think! There are people in the world dealing with natural disasters, people in the UK who are homeless, on the breadline, visiting foodbanks, unable to eat or heat their homes, clothe their children and you're worried about the lack of botox!?*

Please stop being so materialistic - you are clearly comfortably off.

I personally like to measure my wealth in other ways like; love, friendships, health, happiness, children, good marriage, having a roof over my head, etc. Maybe give that a try.

🙄

OP, there appear to be two distinct situations at hand: one related to feeling inferior to your husband's friends' partners due to income disparities, and the other regarding the perception of financial hardship despite your combined income of around £93K annually if you both work full time.

It's worth noting that the affordability of houses with amenities like cinema rooms and home bars can vary significantly depending on your geographical location. Therefore, the perception of wealth or poverty can indeed hinge on where you reside. In any case, it's essential to recognise that with an annual income of £70,000 or £93,000, you are not in the category of low income earners, even though the cost of living can greatly impact your perceived financial standing. You aren't poor even though it feels like it around others with more than you.

I earn just over 60k but my friends who live in a cheaper part of the U.K are in a better position than me. Own their own home instead of renting (my rent is £1500), I can get a mortgage for a 2 bed flat (so means I’m on the sofa bed when both my teens stay) and it would be half my salary with current rates. I’m definitely not poor and am fortunate to be able to eat out, go to the theatre quite often etc but I’m far from rich. If I was in a 2 person household I’d be in a better position. As it stands I’m just going to move to a cheaper part of the U.K. in 3yrs time when youngest child goes to Uni. It is relative to the area you live in. I found a house for 60k in County Durham which means I’d only need a mortgage for 20k instead of well over 200k here

Apologies re the stats, I genuinely thought the £32k was disposable household income which would have been significantly different. I love statistics, it's literally my job 😂 (nothing to do with household income statistics luckily)

I think the issue is you went to statistics - saying the household income would not be top 12% in some regions. That’s why people are arguing with you.

but yes agree to differ. I do love a good statistic!

I think the issue is that wages have long stagnated or grown at much slower rates than house prices, and more recently, the cost of living, so even those on above average wages might feel the pinch depending on essential outgoings.
What was expected or affordable on a higher than average salary 10, 20 or 30 years ago is no longer achievable, particularly in areas where housing expensive.
....But that still doesn't equate to being poor. It can be quite possible to struggle to pay bills (particularly mortgage) and childcare despite having, on paper, a reasonable salary. But the OP is talking about completely optional non essential items like botox and cinema rooms. Ideally you'd expect to be able to have some luxuries on a household income that size, but not having them does nor mean you are poor.

No one is disputing its a good income, everyone on this thread has said its above average household income or we'll off but I just do not think its rich. I am surprised 85k is in top 10%. I thought that 32k median was disposable income, not total income but I could well be remembering wrong.

IMO, it is irrelevant, I would define rich as someone who can afford a large mortgage, expensive cars, private school and expensive holidays. If living in the South of England then £85k a year household income is not getting close to those things.

We are allowed different opinions, you don't have to agree with me you know 🤷‍♀️

No one (other than OP) has said its poor though, pretty much every has said its well above above.

My ex earns the same as your dh, I earn similar to you are we were pretty well off, (he's less well off now as he decided he "wanted different things" and left me so had to split assets and pay maintenance but still has been able to buy a nice new house!) I calculated we were top 10% of incomes then.

I now live with dp and we are better off as he earns more and no mortgage, but only because we are older and have paid it off

Median household income is lower than median full time salary - so yes I would say it’s still top 10%.

median weekly household income in the south east is £622

Uk median household income is 35k before taxes and benefits - 38k after taxes and benefits

So 85 is not average or poor