Meet the Henry- High Earner not rich yet

Depends who you mean by "we". Because most people aren't, but high earners absolutely are.

Those of us earning over £100k are.

And it’s even worse if you’re losing out on 30 free hours and tax free childcare.

@MidnightPatrol
We really aren't paying Scandinavian levels of tax
https://taxfoundation.org/blog/scandinavian-social-programs-taxes-2023/

@waryclam
Yup.... But the howls of protest at that approach would be off the scale.
In the south east elderly home owners say on housing assets of 300k and upwards and let's face it their kids or relatives would be taking to the streets if you suggested that their assets should be used to pay for care because

1. I've paid in all my life (like they're is a pot of money they are entitled to)
2. I've worked hard and I want to leave it to my kids/it's already been taxed.
3. What's the point on working hard, saving and paying for a house if the state is only going to take it all off you to provide a service when Gladys down the rd whose never worked a day will get it paid for.

South West and one child.

If you are only left with enough money to shop at Aldi on £180k wages (even after tax) then you are spending money on other things. Gym, holidays, dinners out etc. If someone has literally nothing left after working hard enough to earn those sort of wages something has gone seriously wrong.

Read the article. It’s talking about how COL, NI and tax mean that going from £50k to £100k in salary mean the equivalent of a £6k pay rise because of marginal taxation rates etc.

Imagine what it's like for those of us who earn 100k or less to support a whole family?

I think the general public needs to stop thinking that 100k is a fantastic salary. According to HMRC a wealthy individual needs to be earning in excess of 200k.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-hmrc-collects-the-right-tax-from-wealthy-individuals/how-hmrc-collects-the-right-tax-from-wealthy-individuals

@NameChangedForThis2025 I agree on the quality of public services.

It is also extremely galling to pay Scandinavian levels of tax and be actively excluded from benefits like childcare support.

The house prices in the home counties in 2011 could facilitate that. But when I was looking in 2019 a 2 bed terraced with the same square footage in a commuter town cost the same as my 2 bed z3 london flat with no access to the faith schools we would have been able to access living in London. Not to mention commuting costs and car costs and time.

So, not rich yet

But that looks like the goal, to consider himself rich. A lifestyle that is what he wants, and with markers that show him as wealthy within a sample of people. That has earnings at the heart of it, but (as in previous posts) location, family or single status, successful or smart outlay on property, and how that is paid for, working/non-working hours, career opportunities, and possibly even age, all have quite an impact.

I think the other thing that feeds into this is that (at the same time as inflation/cost of living decreases real income) the taxes people are paying are going into ever worsening public services.

I’m a socialist and would happily pay more for a great Scandinavian style public service. But the reality is we’re ending up paying more for less.

I can’t get an NHS dentist where I live, a standard GP appointment can take 7 weeks, education is getting worse, there are awful pot holes through the main road of the town I live in, poor regulation/privatisation means I’m paying eye watering (pun intended) rises for water rates while at the same time there’s not enough water for summer... it goes on and on. This all has a knock on effect on people’s standard of living.

I do support taxation, but it’s hard not to feel disillusioned sometimes.

Living in London while working in London is not sustainable. We knew it as far back as 2011. Our rent for 1-bed flat was 700/month in a commutable town north of London. Train tickets were ca. 450/month as we were both working out of town. We soon bought a 3-bed flat which we sold 10 years later with 150k profit and bought a house in a village. 100k mortgage left to pay. Both WFH since Covid while our salaries have risen by 60%. We could have never achieved what we have in financial terms if we lived in London. Living there is illogical. BTW we still managed 2 kids and yearly holidays abroad, but didn't splurge on luxuries (not our style).

I would be fascinated to see your monthly breakdown of incomes / expenses.

I currently have to earn £35,000 before tax exclusively to cover one nursery place.

Where do you live and do you have dependent children?

Really?! We have an income of 35k and shop at Ocado. Even taking away essential spends (housing, household bills, running a mid range car/travel costs) I can't believe you HAVE to shop at Aldi.

Sorry, what significant methods are there for a PAYE employee to "minimise their tax burden"? Outside of pension sacrifice, which involves locking away a lot of money during the period of time you most need cash, potentially for a single digit tax savings in the end, there's hardly anything.

Relatively few employers provide childcare onsite and if you don't currently work for one of them no luck. (At £100k+ level it's also relatively hard to "just change jobs".)

Student loan debt is real debt at this level, not an indefinite grad tax, and interest rates lately have been extremely high - many people I know have been trying to pay them off actively since they'll have to do it anyway, with extra payments on top of the several hundred a month mandatory ones.

Mortgages - well, let's just say I'm glad my housing costs are no longer inflation-linked, but even for a very modest 2-bed ex-council property with an hour commute to work we're paying over £3k and that's only by stretching the term as high as the bank would let us, which was above retirement age.

I agree with you about the cars though!

Yes the guy I knew from Manchester was also educated privately while most London jewish children are not. Even in dh's time when it was more accessible.

For the local jewish primary school in my area, around 30% go private for secondary the rest go to jewish school or local comprehensive. So more options.

Interesting. About 1/3 of my year at school were Jewish, but if I think about the group that moved to London they're probably even more likely to be Jewish (although plenty have stayed). Starts to be small numbers though!

Imaginary Henry lives alone and spends as much on beer and eating out as he does at Aldi. I'd say that's a plenty nice lifestyle. High earner doesn't mean no budgeting necessary.

I earn £80k my DP earns £100k. We HAVE to shop at Aldi.

We are jewish and I actually know a jewish doctor (nhs) who sold a house in didsbury he owned due to inheritance to buy a flat in Willesden green so he could get a jewish girlfriend. Well they have broken up but most jewish people still live here even if there is a community in Manchester. He has a better chance here.

We have better access to jewish schools too, I have the only progressive Jewish primary school in the uk on my street. Lots of people have moved to Herts but the prices are london adjacent really.

Dh grew up really poor but cos he went to jewish school, he went to one of the top 10 comprehensive in the country (3 of the top 10 are jewish schools). If we move to Manchester or Birmingham we are sacrificing that and would have to commit 100% to private school.

I am an Henry. I won't ever be rich rich as I will never inherit. neither will my partner.
We earn a lot and pay crazy tax.

He doesn’t need to be shopping at Aldi.

I think many people just want to fume at the nerve of someone on £100k complaining - How bloody dare they! Tone deaf, etc, etc
Reading the article? Come on - why would they want to waste their time doing that!