To be fed up with all the threads about high earners feeling poor

This is exactly the issue.

There was a thread on here about a woman who couldn't feed her kids, but had three dogs, each with insurance, diet food and £600 a month alone in dog walking fees.

The absolute horror when people suggested she needed to get rid of the dogs to feed her children.

"Absolutely not. They are family. Different solution please."

Wtf is wrong with you?. It's the dogs or feeding your children. It is the solution. £600 on dog walkers, FFS.

Agree. Prior to first child, I was on £80k ish. 16yrs ago. Finance.

Did a bit of self employment stuff and minimal side hustle stuff for the last 16yrs whilst essentially SAHM.

I walked straight back into my first employed role in 16yrs, last September. I work part time and I'm paid £35k for my hours. Couple of years and I'll have job hopped it to more like £60k. It's no fortune. And it's not where I would be without the 16yr break. But it's hardly a pittance. However, I wouldn't really go for the highest paid roles anymore as I'm not that bothered, I'm raising my children. To be fair, I'd probably never have gone much higher than £100k without the kids, as I'm not that person who puts in every hour to shoot for the biggest bucks.

I would assume that’s more than one car, and probably used for work. But I didn’t read the link.

Monthly overheads add up, including £110 for property service charges, £550 for petrol, £240 for council tax, £300 for electricity, £200 for car insurance, £370 for dog day care, £170 for special diet dog food, £90 for mobile phone bills, and £200 for life insurance.

This is where my sympathy runs out. What the hell is he driving that costs £2,400 a year to insure and uses £550 in petrol a month? Just the dog costs £540 a month. No bloody wonder he’s up to his neck in debt, despite earning £73k.

No she didn't. You're just unwilling to acknowledge that getting A job is not the same as pausing and resuming a high paying career at will. You're being deliberately obtuse.

@Krakken I don't begrudge people who work hard and are successful financially

But they sometimes fail to acknowledge that other people work v hard in demanding roles that don't pay well eg carers

People would just go on boards that don't fit their situation and moan anyway

MN should have separate boards for high, middle and low income posters perhaps. That way no one will get triggered.

I myself should stop clicking on posts by people whining that they don't get handouts or inheritances from their 50 something parents and grudging them any kind of leisure at all.

OP do you resent middle income earners moaning about being the squeezed middle too?

Well there you go then. That's why it's pointless to talk about earnings by themselves.

See I've had my flat for 24 years so luckily only pay £450 a month. But if I was renting a room I wouldn't have council tax gas electric etc to pay on top. So probably level in that scenario.

But bills food and car prob add up to 12/1300 a month so have money spare

They're not jumping back into high paying jobs though. That's the point.

I’ve worked in tech for 2 decades and the idea that someone who last worked in this field in 2004 is able to jump back in and get a high paying role is ridiculous. Sorry but it’s impossible. Perhaps she restarted in an entry level role or ‘works in tech’ but has an administrative job.

Getting a job isn't the same as jumping back into your previous career. Honestly if these high paying jobs are so easy to jump in and out of, there's no excuse for anyone to be poor.

I really agree with your point about divide and rule. The last few years has been a master class.

But the point about it being understandable to be angry or hateful of high earners scares me. I earn well and will always support paying more tax for better public services and redistribution of wealth. I’ve got a much more in common with someone struggling than I do with Uber rich people.

I think there is a world of difference between Winchester or Eton educated, intergenerational wealth prime ministers that we’ve had in recent years. They have done everything they can to hoard wealth for people like them and they are not the same as your average professional worker who is experiencing the cost of living too.

There are no circumstances that people like that could ever experience hardship. I on the other hand am the first in my family to attend university, graduated in maths, earn very well and am a home owner. I do not have the safety net these people have even if some of them are at the edges of my social circle.

But everyone’s circumstances are different so it’s completely irrelevant that you or other people are able to do xyz on a lower income.

You went interest only on your mortgage. Great. Except mortgage costs are currently sky high so for some people, even moving to interest only will still represent a significant % of their net pay.

You mention you had savings prior to having children. Amazing. You do know that not everyone is able to do that?

I won’t ask your age but assume you didn’t have to make hefty Student London repayments.

I could go on. There are probably a dozen other things specific to your life circumstances that do not apply to other people and which mean they cannot manage on a lower take home pay than e.g. £5k a month. It doesn’t matter if you were able to do it because your life is different from theirs.

We have friends with a high household income who have a child with significant additional needs which 2 different nurseries and an experienced childminder could not meet. So they employ a nanny and pay her ££££ a month plus other employer expenses. They live in expensive London because they have access to their network of other families with disabled children, therapy and specialised help for their DC. Finding a nanny with the skills and experience to look after child took months and if they move away they will likely lose her.

The Band 5 nurse…well a close relative is a nurse. She lives in Romford with her DC, pays £1400 rent for a 1-bed and earns (I think) just under £30k a year which I think is Band 5. She sleeps on a couch. Romford is apparently one of Greater London's cheaper areas so our friends with the disabled child could move there…except it isn’t that cheap at all. They need a 3 bed house which currently rent for around £2.5k - £3k a month in what was once a very affordable area.

The simple fact is that for millions of people there are no easy, magically cheaper options available to them and the fact they earn a lot doesn’t change that fact. You seem very unsympathetic to the plight of people whose lives differ from yours.

I'm a high earner although nothing like in the hundreds of thousands. Have a small house and a 19 year old car. Only became a higher earner in later middle age however.

Still couldn't afford the house my uncle bought as a sales rep in the 1980's.

Not moaning about it, just an observation.

If you use mumsnet as a resource / entertainment rather than a social life then you can just pick and chose the threads to engage in.

Just because someone’s stresses are different to yours doesn’t mean they aren’t valid.

There is no cutting of cloth that could make that possible, it just cannot be done. Someone on that income would have to have some combination of other income (UC or a partner), social housing/live with family, no childcare costs. Which is why looking at earnings alone isn't a good measure of anything.