Page 6 | £150k salary aged 35 AMA

timeserved · 30/10/2025 01:03

Do you think you could earn more on OF?

Goldwren1923 · 30/10/2025 01:09

Frustrateddd123 · 30/10/2025 00:55

… which are also important. Why the upside down smiley?

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The upside down smiley is because that person tried criticised OP about working in private sector and displayed superiority about doing important public sector jobs.

sure they are important. But they wouldn’t exist if there weren’t private sector companies and workers who fund salaries for public sector. Meaning, private sector jobs are just as important

Frustrateddd123 · 30/10/2025 01:12

Goldwren1923 · 30/10/2025 01:09

The upside down smiley is because that person tried criticised OP about working in private sector and displayed superiority about doing important public sector jobs.

sure they are important. But they wouldn’t exist if there weren’t private sector companies and workers who fund salaries for public sector. Meaning, private sector jobs are just as important

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Ah okay. Fair enough.

Fayaway · 30/10/2025 01:14

I don’t think anyone has asked yet (which I can’t believe) - why don’t you live in London? Given both your salaries and crazy commute, why wouldn’t you?

Goldwren1923 · 30/10/2025 01:21

Nic718 · 30/10/2025 00:40

The annual limit is 60k plus you can back fill any shortfall for the last 3 years.

On top of that you can also salary sacrifice a car if needed to bring the amount under 100k.

The point is that her pay wouldn’t drop anything like 30%.

If you took 150k as entirely cash you would take home 91k each year. If you salary sacrificed 50k to your pension you would then take home 68k. So that means your 50k pension contribution has only cost you 23k cash.

You then need to factor in the loss of funded childcare which is taken away at 100k. This is worth around 8k per child, sometimes more. Add on a further 2k for the loss of tax free childcare as well and you’re looking at about 10k per child.

That means that if you have 2 nursery age children and earn 150k you can salary sacrifice 50k into your pension at almost no cost to yourself. Taking the 150k as cash is just about as bad a financial decision as you could possibly make.

Assuming your children are in nursery for 4 years that means you’re giving up 200k “free” pension contributions. That’s a huge sum to throw away particularly when you consider it will also benefit from maybe 20+ years more growth.

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That’s fair but they both earn over threshold so both have to sacrifice salaries and they will lose at least 1.5K actual cash now a month (despite gaining some free childcare hours) which is still significant part of the budget. Pension is future money so needs to be discounted to compare it to actual net present value. Plus it’s in theory very low risk but things do happen. It is not risk free to bank so much on a pension in at least 30 years from now on (likely more).
they had current debts and needed the cash to pay them off. There are current expenses and current life to live.

Goldwren1923 · 30/10/2025 01:22

Fayaway · 30/10/2025 01:14

I don’t think anyone has asked yet (which I can’t believe) - why don’t you live in London? Given both your salaries and crazy commute, why wouldn’t you?

Their mortgage will be almost double for comparable property

Fayaway · 30/10/2025 01:32

Goldwren1923 · 30/10/2025 01:22

Their mortgage will be almost double for comparable property

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Oh yes I get that but I meant a smaller place or rent?

BitterTits · 30/10/2025 01:36

You've mentioned a long commute and living in the north, but you're on the train by 7:30am, which sounds pretty ordinary. What are your working and commuting hours on a typical day?

DressOrSkirt · 30/10/2025 02:01

RaeS345 · 29/10/2025 22:30

No we don’t in honesty though this is the first year we are debt free. So this is the first year we are no longer paying off credit cards, overdrafts and student loans. It has taken us a long time to clear debts, as we paid for our wedding and house deposit with no family help (both parents don’t have a lot of money).

Household income is very high, £280k total household income between myself and my husband. Outgoings monthly split:

mortgage - £2,400
2 kids in nursery - £2230
bills - £860
savings - £4000
“fun money” per person - £550 each
joint account for kids / food / petrol / days out / weekends - £1100
car finance - £260

It has taken a while to pay off overdrafts, credit cards and our student loans

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Most people don't have family help for weddings/house deposits, and most people don't go into debt for them.

Did you have a particularly fancy wedding, and do you try to "keep up with the Jones'" more generally?

SorryExcuseMeThankYou · 30/10/2025 02:13

Well done Op! Inspiring to read your post.

Someone close to me works in marketing, but more on the comms/ external/digital marketing side of things. Currently mid-level, so lead job title, just crossed high tax rate etc.

They are looking for their next role, hopefully a big one. Do you have any ideas, tips, or even contacts, websites etc you could share?

Blushingm · 30/10/2025 02:35

Do you like feeling superior and enjoy boasting?

ForFunnyOliveEagle · 30/10/2025 02:50

I think I know the answer to this already, but are you fun at parties?
Do your friends enjoy the wealth brag?

MaggieBsBoat · 30/10/2025 03:24

I work in tech and spend much of my time watching the rise of AI and the loss of knowledge jobs daily. Marketing and advertising are in the firing line soon. What personal contingencies have you put in place for you and your family?

FourIsNewSix · 30/10/2025 03:27

Imagine you were 20 now. Do you feel that there are the same opportunities available in your industry, or is the situation significantly different? If so, why?

YouCantProveIt · 30/10/2025 03:32

What is your net worth?

Split by pensions/ ISAs / equity / savings / other

FatalCattraction · 30/10/2025 03:35

Does anything you read on here cause you to think differently about about the money you earn and the freedom it brings?

thankgoditssaturday · 30/10/2025 03:36

God people on here don’t even try to humble brag anymore- why is that so you think?

Crochetandtea · 30/10/2025 03:37

RaeS345 · 29/10/2025 23:48

I am in London most days so on the train by 7.30am. Have a mixture of in office meetings, location meetings (due to job) and lots of reviewing of materials. So I tend have most of the day in meetings but always with a lunch break at 1pm for an hour. I tend to do one long day where I accept I will miss bedtime, but then any other day I try and be out by 5. I will sometimes log on to my laptop when the kids are in bed, but most days I can get by doing a quick glance of emails and not needing to work. Fridays work from home and get the kids early.

in previous agencies where we used to pitch, some evenings we’d be in the office 9/10pm then company culture was to socialise at the pub so people were barely home! Luckily mine isn’t like that now

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What decisions do you have to make ? What are the meetings about ? Do you decide what happens and then someone else makes it happen ? What do you actually ‘do ‘?

cityanalyst678 · 30/10/2025 03:56

Are you concerned that AI could take over your job?

reversegear · 30/10/2025 04:02

Well done OP! You sound lovely and grounded get some tax advice on those pensions and get some other investments going when you can. I wish to god someone had told me this when I was 35ish.

I Know your Industry well and I’m glad to see salary’s have increased in line with the stress and pressure on marketing roles and departments.

Will you do a future MBA and a jump to CMO or stay at your current level but brand hop?

Oh and be nice to your brand agencies!! But choose the women run ones they are 100% less wanky, bald and ego lead, just saying. 😂

Lonemumallthetime · 30/10/2025 04:12

@RaeS345 I don't know why you bothered posting. As soon as people mention high salaries, loads just queue up to slate you!

Myself, I think its great to see high earning women out there!

Evaka · 30/10/2025 04:18

Divebar2021 · 29/10/2025 22:41

Coming from a family that is almost exclusively public sector workers ( Drs , Nurses, teachers and police officers ) do you do anything that is helpful to society or directly helps other people?

Yikes. What a dense remark.

LBFseBrom · 30/10/2025 04:23

Very nice, I bet you have to work hard and have a lot of responsibility but as long as you find it fulfilling, that's great.

I've no idea what to ask you apart from, do you employ a nanny? Two women with whom I worked years ago did, daily nannies, not live in, when their children were young. It all seemed to work quite well, they had very successful husbands who supported them in their careers and more than pulled their weight at home but either could have coped as single or co-parents.

Good luck to you, enjoy your life.

Friendlyfart · 30/10/2025 05:56

Very nice to earn that much! I’d make sure you’re maximising your savings. We (dh and I) are nowhere near that - I used to think we had a good income but now not so much, although our outgoings aren’t massive and we have a lot of savings. It’s all relative though really - we mainly shop Ocado and Waitrose , we got to the theatre/gigs but don’t really eat out due to food issues, we pay one YP’s uni rent but that will stop in June and nowhere near cost of nursery. I

I would also like to know whereabouts in the country you live to leave work in London at 5pm and to be back for bedtime? What’s that / 7pm for nursery aged kids at the latest.
YOu must live/work close to stations at both ends and not live further north than the midlands. I live in London so am well aware of train times as have travelled up north many times.

Elevenplusconfusion · 30/10/2025 05:59

Most important life lesson you will give each of your DD?