Who is the poorest person in your family and why?

Technically, it’s the cat. But he lies in his bed most of the day, he comes and goes as he pleases, plus he gets fed and cuddled on demand. So I think he’s doing ok, despite the poverty.

Me. I can't work and am on UC.

Financially ...I haven't a clue but my guess is all those in the younger generation ... in terms of life as a whole possibly the person who is most money driven ...

I have a cousin who scrapes by with a lazy arse husband who has never worked a day in his life.

In terms of income? My sister, due to laziness and work dodging. In terms of disposable income after expenses? me

🐶❤️

My mum - she's disabled and can't work, so lives off PIP. I do what I can to help out but we're not a particularly well-off family all round, neither of my parents have e.g. pensions, savings, etc.

In terms of income - me. Single income household. Teacher.

But I won't be the lowest in terms of disposable income because I have no partner, no children and rent my house at 33% of market rent from my school (boarding school so we get cheap housing in return for boarding duties). They also pay the council tax. Not sure why.

I used to feel literally rich in these circumstances. Never even thought about money. But my salary has been frozen for nearly 10 years so not so much any more!

[Edited to take salary out because I posted before reading the thread and now see that nobody else has given that kind of detail!! 😳]

Send her up a chimney, quick! 😂

My aunty (she's 63 now) but I haven't seen her in decades. She got in with a very bad group of people and got into drugs and was homeless and in prison.

It's tragic because I remember her as a young woman so vibrant and beautiful. Her mental health was always fragile but it didn't have to end like this.

Actually I forgot my mom. Birth mom. She's homeless and has never had a job.

My parents are poorest - both retired but didn’t plan their pension properly at all and struggle, basically their lifestyle is heavily subsidized by me and my DB. I am probably richest in terms of assets and have a dual income thanks to DH but we have DC which means we don’t have much disposable income compared to my single DB.

You beat me to it.

Our cat only owns about 3 toys, is reliant on food subsidies and has to sleep on/in other peoples' beds. She has an outside lavvy, has to make her own clothing and has been rejected from all the paper-rounds she's applied for.😿

Who - toss up between my sisters in law - both early 70s, single, and dependent on state pensions and benefits.

Why - both left school with no qualifications and got married in their teens, worked minimum wage jobs. Divorce. Both retired as soon as they reached state pension age, even though they couldn't afford to.

Who knows?

Why would I know the ins and outs of all my families financials?

I have family members who are bank balance rich (I have seen their statements whilst helping them set up a new bank account) and yet to look at you would think they are poverty stricken. They have never worked, buy next to nothing new, live in an ancient house that still runs on coal and hoard stuff they find dumpster diving. Your classic 'Crazy cat lady', arguing with themselves and yelling at inanimate objects... but they're factually far richer than me and I only know that by accident of helping them sort a bank issue.

So people can look rich (job, nice house, new car, fancy holidays etc...) and are credit surfing cards, loans and debt trying to stay 1 step off bankruptcy and not have a single penny to their name and others look poor and destitute but might be sat on a fortune because they choose never to spend it... you just never know.

This is a great shout actually, can I change my answer? I think my uninsurable and dentally challenged elderly cat is more of a net drain than my 10 year old.

Dd because she demands to go into town every Saturday and drags me around the American sweet shop, Claires Accessories and Primark, agonising over her £5 pocket money and how to spend it.

As compared to Ds who lets it pile up in his account for years at a time and then suddenly drops a couple of hundred on a 3D printer or a million Warhammer figures.

There's a running joke where DD will ask me if DS is richer than me. About half the time, he is! Then they both laugh at me. Being a grownup sucks.

Hard to say
My parents are retired so probably have the least money coming in, but are the most asset rich (mortgage paid off etc), the money they do have coming in is guaranteed (pensions) whereas technically me and my siblings could lose our jobs, and they have no dependents

We've never actually discussed it but because we all work in the public sector, I can make an educated guess and assume my 2 siblings earn less than me (one slightly, one by quite a lot) but because they are in relationships their overall household income is more - so they probably have the most money coming in- but then they have dependent children that money has to be spent on. The number of DC and their stage of life (e.g. nursery fees) probably affects who out of the 2 has least disposable income on a year by year basis.

I probably earn the most (although nothing special at all, not a MN 'high earner') but as a single person all bills etc are on me rather than dual income. Smaller house = smaller mortgage. So a larger percentage of household income probably spent on necessities but after that everything left over is for me only.

So one household lower in income but highest in assets and disposable income, two higher in total income but probably lowest in fully disposable income, one in the middle!

How does that work? I'd say ME!

My kids hoard all their money, and live rent-free with all their clubs and hobbies and everything paid for, they're mainly too young to go out alone. They are better off than even the cats

My brother. He has autism, adhd, and fetal alcohol syndrome.

He gets disability but he also always works odd jobs around the neighbourhood. He keeps himself busy which I think does wonders for his mental health.

Well done, well done, well done! I chose family too and then dh had an op and could not work, so I am stuck with the career, but you did the right thing!

You have cats too?

My MIL. Married in her teens and quickly had 2 boys before age 20. Didn't go to college or start a career as a result. Was divorced before she was 20 as well and suddenly a single mum to two very small children and unable to work. Got given emergency council housing in a horrifically violent and crime ridden council estate, which consisted of 1 room between the 3 or them. Wasn't able to work before both kids were at school but by then was in her mid 20s with no qualifications beyond some very low end-of-school qualifications and struggled to find anything that paid more than she could get on UC (she would have to pay for wrap around childcare for most jobs, making it unsustainable). By the time the boys could be left alone as teens she had health problems which prevented her from working. She was remarried by then but her husband works nights as a delivery driver and they live pay check to pay check in a council house.

It doesn't seem like a nice way to live. She's now in her early 60s and has life threatening disease as a result of being horribly over weight and looks unlikely to live many more years. Her weight is as a consequence of spending 90% of her time at home on the sofa watching tv.

I really feel for her, one bad choice in a partner and her life and prospects completely unravelled.