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Original poster

How do people afford nice things?

338 replies

Nocares · 27/02/2021 18:52

Looking for advice or an explanation of some sort!

Me and my DP both earn a good wage and have no kids.

We both drive very old cars and just bought our forever house (doer upper) very cheaply due to the works.

I have 0 debt . We never get anything on credit/finance we just save up for everything.

Although our monthly outgoings are low and we have spare money to save and spend, I don't understand our quality of life compared to others.

So we need a new bathroom first in our renovations which will cost about 4K all inc. We would both like newish second hand cars too at some point. To get something reliable and decent your talking about 7k each.
A new kitchen would be 10K with discount including fitting.
That there alone is 28K Shock

As we pay for everything in cash as we save, I just don't see how its possible to get those things in under a decade of us saving!

A lot of our friends drive nice cars (on finance), have new kitchens or other refurbs done on their house with average incomes.

Even if you were to put everything on credit, after your repayments on top of bills and mortgage you'd have no disposable income left for years until its paid off?

I would get that people did do that, but most people still go on holidays, take maternity leaves etc. So they must still also have disposable income after paying off new car finance, credit card, and doing home renovations?

I feel like maybe we're missing a trick? Confused
I can't imagine every single person I know is in huge debt! Especially as a lot of people have recently bought new homes due to stamp duty. So must have good credit.

I just don't see how its possible for us to do what we want to do within a reasonable time frame without it taking us a decade whilst we also live frugally.

The everyday people we know also have average jobs and income so its not like were surrounded by wealthy people either!

Am I missing something?!

OP posts:
user88899 · 27/02/2021 19:46

We are not averse to 0% finance if we want something quickly and don't want to dip into our savings for whatever reason (our savings has 2% atm so I have just bought some garden furniture on finance for 6 months as it was free and I'd rather do that than take it out of savings and lose the interest even though it's very small!) my only rule is not paying for the privilege, we have a good income and some finance now and again doesn't have much impact on our disposable income. But it's all down to income surely, your wage might be good but others will be better? Car finance is pretty standard these days.

yearinyearout · 27/02/2021 19:46

How long have you had your mortgage? When we were your age we remortgaged onto a better deal, and borrowed enough to get the windows and new kitchen done, with the repayments being no higher than before (this was a long time ago, I've not idea what mortgage deals are like at the moment)

LunaHeather · 27/02/2021 19:47

OP when you say you need a new bathroom and kitchen...a lot of people say "need" when the room is in perfectly useable condition...so curious what you mean by "need".

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General money
DeathAndTaxis · 27/02/2021 19:47

I don't see how your monthly outgoings can be £1k. I've just looked at ours for the year, and everything really adds up - mortgage, council tax, electricity and gas, water and sewerage...

Apart from that, I relate to what you've said. DH and I are similarly risk averse and against borrowing - I definitely question whether thats a good idea though.

doctorhamster · 27/02/2021 19:47

I don't recon many people are saving up and paying cash for brand new card and kitchens etc. The majority will be taking out loans or borrowing extra on their mortgage. We have a decent income but it would still take us a couple of years to save for a kitchen unless we made significant cut backs in other areas.

PenisBeakerIsMyFavouriteMuppet · 27/02/2021 19:47

@Nocares

Currently our income is: 3.7K Outgoings including food shop and petrol: 1K

Left over: 2.7K

We were saving 2K towards the new house purchase and now we've bought it were thinking of putting 2K into savings for house and having 350 each for monthly spends from the leftover 700.

What you think?

DP also gets quarterly bonuses but I don't like to add that into equations as it could change at anytime. But when he gets his next bonus it should be 2K after deductions on top which will go on bathroom.

But again I don't like to count his bonuses into the finances as their not guaranteed.

So what makes you think you can’t afford the things you want?

Seriously, OP, you can afford nice things. You’re just choosing not to buy them and whine about it instead.

doctorhamster · 27/02/2021 19:48

*cars not card

LegendDairy · 27/02/2021 19:48

You own a house and a car. You have nice things.

Unsuremover · 27/02/2021 19:48

I think finance and debt are different when your job is more secure, ie doctors and teachers who can be pretty sure of employment. I know when I got a civil service job it felt safer as I would have to fuck up to lose my job rather than it just disappearing through no fault of mine. Over simplified obviously but basically I can’t lose my job.

LunaHeather · 27/02/2021 19:49

I am also confused by the calculations, looks like no credit needed.

Ted27 · 27/02/2021 19:51

Single person so only one income. I paid for all my house renovations via home improvement loans or increasing the mortgage, I also had a lodger and used the rent to pay the loans and fund holidays

sanfranfibber · 27/02/2021 19:51

@DeathAndTaxis

I don't see how your monthly outgoings can be £1k. I've just looked at ours for the year, and everything really adds up - mortgage, council tax, electricity and gas, water and sewerage...

Apart from that, I relate to what you've said. DH and I are similarly risk averse and against borrowing - I definitely question whether thats a good idea though.

Looks right to me, mine are £1k so an extra person might only add £100 or so
Original poster
Nocares · 27/02/2021 19:52

How don't they make sense?

Bathroom and kitchen was just a generalisation of some things needing/wanting.

The house needs bottoming. New windows on the third floor, new flooring, bathroom, replastering, kitchen etc.

A lot we can do ourselves and are doing. But its the big things like kitchen, windows and bathroom that are costly.

We love the house and don't mind at all putting out money into it as we have no plans to move again.

But its when I think long term about the 'nice things like cars, holidays etc. That I just don't know how we would be able to afford the 'nice things' and do up the house whilst paying for everything in cash, if you see what I mean?

Today I kind of realised that everyone else i know seems to have the best of both worlds of having home renovations whilst not having to live frugally at the same time (having nice cars, holidays etc).

OP posts:
SchadenfreudePersonified · 27/02/2021 19:54

@idontlikealdi

Finance or different priorities to you.
They don't have three dogs and two cats eating them out of house and home.

(YES! Im looking at you, you furry gluttons! You're just lucky you're cute. you are! Yes, you are! You're sooo luvverly jubberly sweetie ickle cutie pies, yes you ARE!)

Unsure33 · 27/02/2021 19:54

Yes finance . Interest rates have been low. So if you get a fixed rate and you can afford it that’s what people do .

User594022452 · 27/02/2021 19:55

Self-employed people or business owners often take money out of their revenue, possibly peripherally writing it off as business expenses and they have access to a much bigger pot to begin with.

In my experience many normal "middle class" people who are not faking an Instagram life on credit actually have access to a lot more money than you assume. We know plenty of couples in their mid-30s with a combined disposable income of 10-20K a month, and purchases like a 28K kitchen isn't so dramatic. These are often the result of inheritance, BTL property portfolios, stocks/bonds and various other income streams not directly related to their job.

Jobs in law, medicine, IT, consulting may seem unsuspecting at graduate level but income can easily skyrocket within 10-12 years. People don't change that much within that time so they appear to be the same old friends (and you assume they are still earning what they did a few years back) but their income brackets have actually grown exponentially. These are the ones who suddenly start taking luxury holidays, paying for home improvements, buying new cars or taking up hobbies like cycling.

AgeLikeWine · 27/02/2021 19:55

As others have said, most people pay for major home improvements by remortgaging. You are borrowing to invest, which makes sense.

As for the cars, it is a relatively recent trend to see ‘normal’ houses with two shiny new German cars parked outside. Almost all of them are leased or on rented on PCPs.

LunaHeather · 27/02/2021 19:55

OP "The house needs bottoming"

I dont know what that means but it sounds rude 😂

BasinHaircut · 27/02/2021 19:55

£2.7k per month disposable income and you think that compared to others you can’t afford nice things?

Come on OP, stealth boast much?

TankGirl97 · 27/02/2021 19:55

You just need to have five year plans. You can afford to do everything you want to in the next few years, not the next few months (unless you extend your mortgage).

I'm similar to you, quite risk/debt averse and just bought a wreck of a house. It's not the first fixer-upper we've had and I know, without borrowing, it is a five to ten year project.

SchadenfreudePersonified · 27/02/2021 19:59

@LunaHeather

OP "The house needs bottoming"

I dont know what that means but it sounds rude 😂

Northern term.

Means a thorough clean from top to bottom - furniture out from walls to clean behind, cupboards scrubbed, light fittings washed - the lot.

ivykaty44 · 27/02/2021 20:01

Get a side hustle earning extra money

Get a second hand kitchen, shop around for a bathroom

Cars are a big drain on finances, how many hours each day is your car sat parked? Mine is driven for 1 hour each day and sits for 23 hours not being used, do you really need 2 cars? we have one and share, we use other modes of transport and shopping delivery

Taswama · 27/02/2021 20:01

Not getting into debt is a good strategy for all the reasons you have said.
Doing the kitchen or bathroom yourself is a lot cheaper than getting someone else to do it.

PegasusReturns · 27/02/2021 20:02

There’s a saying that most people can afford anything but not everything that would seem very apt for you: you need to prioritise what you want to spend and then if you’re going to save you need to save hard.

Original poster
Nocares · 27/02/2021 20:03

Yes I think this will certainly be a 5 - 10 year project indeed.

To be honest this thread has certainly made me consider debt differently.

My DP did say about 0% credit card to get the bathroom sorted and then just pay it off as quickly as we can so its done but my knee jerk reaction was to save instead.

But the bathroom is terrible so I may have to consider that.

The move literally wiped out our savings as we took a hit on selling the last house. So we're literally starting from scratch until next payday when we can start saving again.

OP posts: