AIBU to feel middle-class luxuries have become increasingly out of reach?

But the basic amount excluding housing & childcare is not 4.8k

The country is broke, wages compared to other countries are pitiful and the Government confiscates a shit ton in taxation. There is definitely a cost of Government problem in the UK. We are generally quite poor by international standards. Countries like Poland and Ireland are racing ahead of us.

Where have you got this from?

That’s the figure without rent and childcare. That’s just the basic figure for 2 adults, 2 kids.

What was your income when you were entitled to 4.8k and what was that based on?

@Dreamethbut why i’d your example applicable to most people. Surely rent & childcare are part of a high UC claim?

@Dreamethmost people on UC get 5.5k?

I think it’s been a pastime for a bit longer, Selfridges opened over 100 years again & was a “destination”.

I think it's less that we are wanting the same things as the very rich more that when it comes to the proceeds of growth and productivity the billionaires are hoarding it all for themselves, the selfish blighters!

Fair point. Ran it through a budget planner, and average earners with children in thier 40s probably won't be saving £2k per month. But should be saving some each month.

Additionally, some of your assumptions are high. Most people probably won't spend £800+ on commuting costs.

Additionally, OP has a top 10% household income, not median.

I had to go to the local shopping centre the other day to pick up a click and collect for my husband, new work shirts so nothing fancy! I thought why not make an afternoon of it as I rarely go shopping and I could maybe get a coffee and cake and even treat myself to a little something as my birthday is coming up.

I loved some of the clothes in places like monsoon and seasalt but it was all way too expensive dresses were £80 to £100 or more same with skirts which seemed to start at £65 and I know that isn't even considered expensive today but for me it is! I went for a look in the sephora as I love skincare but again it was all really expensive. The queue for the till was full of school girls buying things I wouldn't be able to buy for myself!

To be fair they were probably there spending birthday money and probably aren't spending money like that all the time. I suppose it just feels like the goal posts on these admittedly luxury items have been moved since I was in my teens and early 20's when I imagined that by my 40's I'd be able to at least buy some of these things or buy nice clothes now and then. My husband and I both degree and post graduate educated and work in professional jobs but we have to prioritise bills, the kids and food over luxuries. To be fair we have no debt at all and we will save for an buy large purchases cash mostly but I admit to feeling a bit personally deprived at times! When my mum was my age she worked in a call centre part time in the evenings and would go round the shops most weekend and buy herself a new top or other item of clothes and exclusively used clarins skincare, I use the ordinary, cerave or boots and superdrug own brand mostly and my clothes come from charity shops. My parents were working class made good but their disposable income seemed to go a lot further than mine does. We don't even have a large mortgage.

DH and I recently looked at taking a short trip to London as a joint birthday present to each other but the cost was so expensive we seem to have quietly shelved the idea.

In the end I had a look in waterstones but even that was expensive, since when are paperbacks routinely £14.99! I never even had a coffee or bit of cake as the selection of cakes looked dry and unappetizing but would still have cost £10 in total.

Am I being unreasonable to think the cost of a middle class lifestyle with a few luxuries has had the goalposts moved by quite some amount?

I think many who think they are middle class, or have ever been, are misguided about what it means to be middle class.

An £80 top is not middle class.

If you recall, Kate Middleton (as she was known then) came from a 'middle class' family. They lived in a large, detached home in a prestigious area and send her to an elite university.

Her tops weren't £80. Although she was labelled as 'middle class' most of us would view her family to be extremely wealthy.

I think most of Britain is, at best, lower class and there are some upper lower class. Most people are living in poverty or just the basic standard of other countries like Australia/USA etc.

You will find this to be true if you travel and see the very shocking differences in the standards of livings between Britain and other 'wealthy' countries.

Britain is not a wealthy country nor does it have a wealthy population. Once we understand that, then we probably won't feel so bad when we can't afford that 'middle class' top for £80 and just accept our Primark polyester equivalent at £20.

On the other hand, accept that inflation for substandard tops at £80 is what the going rate is now for cheap clothing.

It's not a class thing. It's inflation with stagnant wages where the poor are becoming poorer.