Things I have learnt since becoming rich (a.k.a. fuck you: Nigella and Jamie)

[TheAutumnHere]

1. Having an oven that holds temperature stops cakes falling
2. A stand mixer simplifies baking by a factor of at least 4, and improves the results
3. Branded vacuum cleaners actually remove dirt from the floor
4. Le Creuset pans don't stick, and just wipe clean
5. Baking with children is delightful japes, when timed the morning before the cleaner comes
6. Corn fed chicken is the bomb

Just leaving a note to my past self - who never cut herself any slack and thought she was a slattern and a crap cook.

sam, the point is that it's far harder when you have a small kitchen, crap oven, no car to get to the supermarket etc

OP, some of your random ramblings don't make any sense.

You say you can buy ANYTHING you wanted? Like a Lear Jet, a Scottish Golf Course or a Picasso, but you talk about blowing the huge £60 weekly slush fund on a crepe pan? Wow, so extravagant for such a rich person.

If I had those sort of riches, I'd have a full time chef at home make all my crepes!

Makes no sense. And a bit batshit.

But then I think you are just comfortable financially. Like most families with higher rate taxpayers. And it feels "rich" compared to when you lived in a poky flat.

OP, this was our kitchen until 2014. Note the oven door is missing the outer piece of glass. We re-did it when the oven door fell off completely. Prior to that, I made plenty of cakes in that oven (mostly Nigella), and they all came out fine. No mixer either, did it all by hand with a fork.

Oh I always dream about having a cleaner but now I'm wondering what the point would be if I'm not allowed to leave any mess for them.
Is cleaning before the cleaner gets there a real thing???

AlexaAmbidextra - is that what you wish logged as your most insightful contribution?

Well yes. It makes more sense than most of yours.

I have a mixture of crap and high end devices. I use cheapo saucepans as I cannot lift heavy weights and non stick rubbish doesn’t weigh a ton. However, I am in ecstasies with my pistachio Kitchen Aid and my half a grand Dyson (bought after a year of saving birthday and Christmas John Lewis vouchers). I recently spent £50 on having a beloved tatty old kitchen knife rehoned and rehandled by a Sheffield cutler. Horses for courses. But you do get what you pay for.

What I have learned about being comparatively not badly off after being absolutely broke all the time is that money does make you happy. It does this not by providing extra or better stuff but by giving a cushion of security should things go wrong. This in turn alleviates anxiety and promotes confidence, autonomy and freedom. Being poor first is incredibly useful as it provides an understanding of what will happen if things go wrong, offers a sense of reality and ensures one is empathetic towards others.

Interested to read some PPs saying kitchenaid mixers are overpriced. I think they’re an obscene amount - you could buy an okay second hand car for the money. But dd (16) goes to JL and Lakeland to lust over them. Are they worth it, or is it just a brand thing? She’s saved up her birthday and forthcoming Christmas present allowance to get one.

I also want to know about the wipe clean le creuset that the OP has. My (second-hand, v. cheap) le creuset is filthy. My Tesco le creuset dupes, otoh, wash rather better. I still prefer the LC for its snob value. .

Oh, and I’m thrilled to discover that I’m rich. I bought my Miele washing machine for cash. Didn’t go for one last time, as reviews have plummeted.

@ Matildatoldsuchdreadfullies KitchenAid mixers are very pretty but honestly my Kenwood Chef was so much better. When I did my kitchen I sold my Chef and bought a KitchenAid (raspberry pink - it’s beautiful) and I wish I hadn’t. My Chef was a workhorse and coped with anything I chucked at it; my KA is a bloody princess and needs stopping for scraping down and doesn’t like large quantities of dough or heavy cake mix 🙄.

However, I did get a stunning deal on the KA from the EBay official outlet as it had a damaged box. When eBay have one of their 10% or 20% off codes, KA is usually included. It’s worth your daughter keeping any eye on there, especially if she’s happy with one of the less popular colours.

@Matildatoldsuchdreadfullies just to add to my post above, the KAs on the outlet are refurbished but you would honestly never know. They are in mint condition.

Thanks, ginger. She’d definitely be open to second hand (she watches ‘Shop well for less’ religiously). She’s actually looked at the Kenwoods too. She likes the look of the KAs, but does say that she simply wants the best mixer, as she adores baking.

She’s currently using a £45 stand mixer from Aldi which I bought for her birthday 2 years ago when she started baking, which works fine in my view. But then I don’t bake.

OP I 100% get you.

I am currently 'May' but have seen how much better I do when I'm 'June'
Am awaiting my proper permanent 'June' stage of life and all the baked goods that brings

@BendyLikeBeckham - why would I want to buy a Lear Jet, a golf course or a picasso . I don't fly or golf - and I live within easy travel to the Tate where I can enjoy 'my' Picasso without worrying about insurance.

Your definitions of rich are arbitrary same as mine are. I've explained my definition of rich a few times on the thread £60 on a crepe pan just for fun, Miele appliances and the rest. If you think that is upper-average .... maybe it is for your social circle and background. It's not for me - I don't believe it so in the wider context of Britain, let alone the world.

What is the point of this? Congratulations on being better off than the poor are OP. Pat on the back , and another one for working out that sometimes you get what you pay for and sometimes not.

Theres more to life than baking accessories, turning out a meal and the 'thrill' of buying washing machines in JL IN CASH surely though. It's nice to be comfortable but your DH hourly wage wouldn't work out as as much as you think if he's overworked like that his quality of life sounds unenviable also.

I say that as a previous high achiever who then became very ill suddenly, we can feel we made it all we want but things in life rarely go to plan. It is altogether much easier to be well off if you have a DP too, your income has at least doubled. If you split would you be well off paying everything alone? Have enough for a healthy pension and the childcare etc. That stuff far exceeds how life changing a le creuset pan is.

Yes - you're right - as a former poor person I know that I lack the security of having deep layers of assets.

More vulnerably - our families don't have circumstances like ours - so we pick up the tabs for holidays (fine) - but we would also find it hard to not pick up the tab for extra healthcare / other major life crises for them (which may be a LOT). People who were born in our income bracket have parents who are sitting on a major future inheritance for them - rather than in direct need of significant ongoing support.

So yup - you're right - it only would take one health scare and we'd be right back to being poor. Would show me right up for boasting about my nice washing machine and flaunting my superior cake.

Thanks for pointing that out - and for implying people would smirk behind my back if it happened.

@Matildatoldsuchdreadfullies I have a Kitchenaid mixer which I primarily got as it was so pretty. I don't think it's that great, I always have to scrape the sides & turn the bottom to ensure good mixing. When I was younger I had a cheap handheld one which honestly was just as good. The main benefit of the freestanding is that you do something else for some of the mixing.

People who were born in our income bracket have parents who are sitting on a major future inheritance for them - rather than in direct need of significant ongoing support.

Surely that's a sweeping statement? What is your income bracket? 1% or 2%?

What I have learned about being comparatively not badly off after being absolutely broke all the time is that money does make you happy. It does this not by providing extra or better stuff but by giving a cushion of security should things go wrong. This in turn alleviates anxiety and promotes confidence, autonomy and freedom. Being poor first is incredibly useful as it provides an understanding of what will happen if things go wrong, offers a sense of reality and ensures one is empathetic towards others.

I think the use of the word 'rich' was a distraction from the point the OP was trying to make. When you are not well off and struggling it is easy to measure yourself against other people and forget they have the benefits of home help, better equipment, etc. Having grown up in poverty and still struggling now despite working hard and having qualifications, I can relate to never feeling good enough because of where you sit in society. Some people don't experience real struggle and a fair number of those people that I've met never even think of being self critical about themselves. People forget what being poor does to your confidence.

I would say for me, being able to spend £60 on a crepe pan is rich, although I probably wouldn't buy it even if I could. I think I will always have a buy second hand and fix or make do mentality. I know a rich family and as lovely as they are, literally all they do is shop. They don't seem to have any other hobbies and have no idea how to fix anything that breaks, so just keep shopping. It's like they take the easy route in everything (even entertaining themselves) just because they can. In some ways having a gadget for everything and just being able to buy new instead of fixing or upcycling deprives you of the opportunity to learn new skills.

People who were born in our income bracket typically have parents who are sitting on a major future inheritance for them - rather than in direct need of significant ongoing support.

Not everyone, of course. Not us, for a start.

But it's a massive financial liability and responsibility. We are a major part of the financial security of the whole extended family.

(Sorry - my second are makes no sense in the context. Need more coffee).

Having now rtft, OP isn't rich by pretty much any common understanding of the word. She's comfortable.

It's all a bit attention seeky.

For context, DH earns a very big wage. I have a significant trust fund en route. We own many properties. We have no mortgages. I would not call us rich. I'd feel embarrassed and tacky insinuating it. We're fairly well off. Every other person I know seems to have invested in another property they rent out, even if it's got a massive mortgage. They're not rich either.

I've dated rich (billionaire and multi, multi millionaire) and I think it's pretty funny to have the notion that not having to buy your kitchenaid on store credit somehow "qualifies" you as rich as well. Buying a washing machine outright is normal, not what the rich do

But what is the OPs income bracket? I just think it's subjective. I buy 2nd hand uniform as well as new, plenty of 2nd hand stuff on eBay as do my peers. Jobs include surgeons, bankers, barristers, accountants so not struggling for money & plenty didn't come from money. But perhaps the OP is talking about earning millions, that's why I think the distinction is needed.

I don’t mind the op using the rich word it doesn’t really matter if someone else can buy a jet to the op it feels so because it’s relative to her.

Although I think this thread is as depressing to some as it uplifting to others as it sounds a bit you’re poor, you’re stuck there and yes it is awful.

You own many properties and a trust fund and you're not rich ...? You are directly a millionaire.

And I'm the tacky one for speaking about money . The first rule of money being that one does not speak about money ...?

Doesn't this just underline how people internalise what their surroundings as being 'normal' and 'average' - regardless of the objective reality?