To not understand how people fund their lives and feel a bit jealous?

*wonder

Op is wondering if she can't afford these things on such a high income, who can? It's fair enough to wondering about that.

Wondering about people's ability to afford very expensive things makes you nauseous? Perhaps you should have your stomach seen to...

Fuck off 🤣🤣🤣🤣

This makes me feel nauseous. You sound like you have no idea how most people in this country are living.

You’re either clueless or a bored journo. Either way this is nauseating.

You haven't hurt anyone. Posters are deliberately misunderstanding you out of spite and jealousy. You've made it clear how lucky you feel to have your income but are just wondering how there's so much more affluence about. It's a valid question.

Can't believe you can't manage on 180 K.
Do you have a really bad Coke habit?

As for other people living the good life?
That seems to be the ideal.

Some will be high earners and legit. But scratch under the surface and you may see a lot if tax dodging, trusts undisclosed snd overseas incomes
Massive debts and even criminal activitites.

Think the leafy Cheshire East Suburbs which are so beloved of status seekers and success. Fur coats and no nickers type llow life and footballers wives.

I also think, you need to get a new top dog creative accountant. You know the type where one and one equals three.

Believe me there are loads of well off people swinging the lead on this one.l

They roll up to food banks in their Jeeps and BMW's in designer clothes, a herd of pedigree dogs with gangs of kids behind them

Also if you want a nice big free car. Why don't you apply for PIP Motobility?

This is now a huge scheme and subject to massive abuse Totally out if control.

Tell the DWP you and the kids are suffering from mental health problems around stress and anxiety.

Because you can't afford a big car and that they can't go on multple annual foreign holidays and attend private schools?

You can't cope and you are at breaking point!

You sound as though you have never done a decent days work in your life

What a Marlarkey!!!

Our household income is around £35k and we’ve been on much less. I have also worked hard all my life and have a degree etc.
Its a combination of age, redundancy, SEND child with us but at your age I was on less then half of your annual income and worked 60 hours sacrificing the family I might have had otherwise. Also lots of wider family issues I’ve had to juggle over the years including serious mental health and bereavement. You are so lucky to be in this position and I assume have everyone healthy and well. You obviously live in a very wealthy bubble. I also live in one but am very much at the poorer end of that but still can count my blessings on a good day.

We earn around 70k combined per year...

We have a small house, 2 cars (10 & 6 years old), basic bills, some school costs (bus, dinners etc) and we have been on 4 holidays in the last 12m... One to Spain (3 star package bog standard), One 5 star Mauritius for 2 weeks, Dubai for a week over Xmas and new year and just came back from a 3 week trip to Australia, Bali and Singapore...

It's all about priorities...

“Packed” lunch

I know what you mean OP

i think most people live well beyond their means

I am receiving benefits? This is news to me. What benefits would those be exactly or is this just your snobbery and classism on display?

The fact is OPs take home is exceptionally high. She just is not managing her money well.

This is just one of those posts written to say “look at me earning £180k” if you do have a Just Giving Page let me know I can spare a fiver. Maybe that’ll help you fund your £15k holiday.🙄😡

This has to be a wind up surely lol. I live in the SE commuter belt too and our combined income is less than a third of yours. We don’t live a lavish lifestyle and our mortgage is hideous at the moment but we do manage to make ends meet.
If you’re seriously struggling, you need to go through your finances to see where you’re losing money.
But honestly your lifestyle sounds pretty nice so I would suggest keeping a gratitude journal. The fact that you can buy groceries and not have to total up everything as you go around or put things back before checking out is one of the biggest luxuries you can possibly ask for and should really stop taking for granted.

I earn half your income, live alone and manage to afford all of that and struggle to spend all my money. No credit cards, no debt apart from a typical mortgage on a 3 bed house.
Wtf are you doing with it all? 😅

Blimey, I live on a carers allowance of £83 a week (caring for my adult daughter) I cannot recall the last holiday we had. I ate crackers, cheese spread and tomatoes for my lunch... BUT
We sat outside and blew bubbles in the sunshine this afternoon, we laughed so much and I actually thought how lucky are we to have this precious time together and to have a pretty (little) garden to sit in..
We might not have much but when you have little, you learn appreciate little things.
I think well off folk just look around and want more, step back and look at the bigger picture, you have food to eat and a roof over your head, it's really not so bad, is it?

I would be happy to earn 180k a year to be honest. There are people out there who earn a lot less, and arent on here maoning about how they cant afford to buy things

Hi op,

it is very easy to spend…that is it really. The more you have, the more you are expected to spend and so on…

Make wiser choice in your spending. Or change your mortgage advisor. Probably both.

Good luck🌺

I understand what you're saying, OP. If 200k gets you a 3-bed house and a 10-year-old car, you're wondering what the people who live in your area must be bringing in. I wonder that kind of thing about people in the area I live too. I've decided a lot of people must have inherited their homes as they'd need to be bringing in millions per annum to afford the houses, cars and holidays.

And the kids wouldn't care whether it was the Maldives or a camp site in Devon

Is this a wind up? You are in the top 1% income bracket. Only a fool couldn't do well on that. Never forget that the minimum wage is about £11 per hour or about £21kpa if indeed you can find full time work and the median income is about £30kpa. Run everything through that filter. As for holidays, we've just booked for high season in Corfu. Will be the most expensive holiday we've had for quite some time. It will cost £2500 for flights, train fares to airport, transfers at the other end, a studio flat for 2 and all our food etc for 16 days in peak season.

It's not about how you or I would manage this budget but simply that there's an expectation that such a stonking amount of money would buy more than it does.

My heart bleeds.

It is all about choices though in fairness to OP, she did say in her post that :

I know we are lucky and can afford a good holiday every year, and a more expensive/ luxury holiday occasionally.

The Maldives holiday may be her occasional expensive/luxury holiday choice, rather than indicative of how she holidays annually. But my point remains, you'd imagine you could afford all this quite easily on her income but the sad fact is that she can't: she still has to make choices which for her is to spend the money on experiences rather than nice cars and clothing.

I googled a TUI AI holiday in Turkey for a family of 4 in the summer holidays and that came out at ~ £6k. She's looking to spend £9k more than that on her occasional luxury blowout holiday. I can completely understand why she is baffled.

She may come to make her peace with the fact that despite coming from a poor background and now netting £10k a month, she still has to budget as to where the money goes to meet their wants/needs.

@HomeTheatreSystem

The op is looking for a holiday in the Maldives, budget £15k
She could still get a very nice holiday for £10k and have £5k for clothes
It's all choices isn't it?