How do people afford nice things?

[Nocares]

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

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?
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?!

[lockdownalli]

Your posts contradict each other so it's pretty confusing. You say it would take ten years to save up the £28k you need, meaning you would be saving £233 each month.

Then you say your income is £3.7k and your monthly disposable income is £2.7k which would mean you could save it in 10.3 months.

Which of these financial statements is true? Also Outgoings including food shop and petrol: 1K Seriously? That is very very low. Unless you live in an incredibly cheap part of the UK?

It's very common on these kinds of threads for people to satisfy themselves by saying anyone who has better things than they do must be up to their eyeballs in debt. Some might be, but many more will have independent incomes, earn more than you think, have inherited, be bankrolled by mum and dad.

[im5050]

Some car leases can be incredibly cheap to lease 1litre Fiat for under 100 a month
If you looked at me and In particular my husband we both seem to do very little work we have a brand new Mercedes and a 2 year old BMW SUV expensive dog 😂 and pre Covid would have 2-3 Long haul holidays and weekends away .
But my husband has inherited a lot of properties and cash in recent years and he has a small business that’s not been effected by Covid
we have no mortgage and our kids are grown up
But we are still in our mid 40s
But my house is my council house that I bought under right to buy and it’s lovely and in a really nice area with lovely numbers

[rawalpindithelabrador]

Our car is leased. It suits us and we have a 'nice' car we enjoy.

[im5050]

Actually I saved the money for the sofa and new shutters which was around £6000
I had the money in cash but preferred to put it on my card which is 0 interest and payed it back over 3-4 months

[Nsky]

Amazed only cat and I.
Not a big earner 1 bed house renovated 3 yrs ago via inheritance, been here 20 yrs and finally have the house I want .
Bought with settlement

[Nocares]

@lockdownalli

I've already said that it was an exaggeration! Not to be taken literally.

And I don't see why 1K is suprising? We have no kids and no debt? Surely it would be strange for our outgoings to be higher?

[coronafiona]

We couldn't afford anything nice until the last couple of years when we were clearer of childcare bills and had achieved more salary. However we would still put cars on finance and home improvements on a mortgage so we are different to you

[Spillanelle]

I don’t understand what the problem is OP, if you are putting £2k away each month then I think you can afford plenty of ‘nice things’. Based on your estimates in your OP, you can afford to buy a new kitchen and two news cars in just over a year if you save first. Or try to get them on 0% finance and pay it all off after just over a year. Seems like you’re in a pretty good position. Make sure that you have an emergency fund put to one side though before you do start spending.

[Hotelhelp]

I think sometimes the people who are massively debt averse have had this drilled into them by parents who wouldn’t have had the access to 0% finance that we have now.

Even IKEA would let you do a kitchen on finance and I just don’t see the sense of saving 4/5 years when you could get it and pay it the same way. Maybe if you’re in a volatile industry but if you’re fairly secure in your job it’s not something that would concern me.

Lots of people do themselves a disservice by being so anti-debt.

[SpeakingFranglais]

When I was younger people got those things on credit, loan, finance or remortgaging.

Now I’m middle aged we can pay for those things from bonuses as we don’t have a mortgage and kids are adults.

The fact is, in most cases it takes years and years to be financially comfortable 🤷‍♀️

[LovelyUserNames]

I think the truth is that you have a low income.

How much is your joint income?

Saving just over £50 a week is not a lot of savings.

My DS who has bought a flat recently ( he's 30) saves £500 a month- one income.

When DH and I were both working, we could manage on his income and saved mine which was anything from £1500- £2k a month.
DH also had a bonus each year of around £20K which we put towards things for the home. Some people get a bonus of £250K just to put it in persepctive!

To answer your question, sadly you need to increase your earnings, or borrow from family if they can help and pay them back, not paying interest charges, or get a bank loan.

[cupofteaplease1]

As others have said finance.

We are lucky we earn decent amounts and have healthy savings boosted by freeing up equity from our old house which helps but we are
Still going to take our new kitchen on finance with 0% interest and keep the money in the back as a nest egg. I do feel February grateful to be in that position however.

Also our cars are financed, I used to be like you and have no debt and I have enough savings to cover everything I have on finance (only car and will be new kitchen) but I think there's some sense sometimes in keeping some money freed up and I'm less risk adverse as I get older.

[SpeckledyHen]

OP didn’t you think it all through before you bought the house ?

Have you renovated a property before . I think you are in for a big shock with your estimates for costings when you come to do the work .

Also how on earth can your outgoings be £1k a month ? Did you buy your house for cash ?

[DinoHat]

You have no idea about other peoples finances. Likely flash on finance.

[Nocares]

I think I'm going to bite the bullet and get a 0% card.

I do think maybe I have sleep walked into 'no debt no matter what', without actually looking into it.

I think I'll do some further research on credit/finance as like someone else said, i might be doing a disservice to us by being uninformed.

[LunaHeather]

Schaden, thanks

So confused by OP figures.

[LovelyUserNames]

I've just read your post where you say your income is £3.7k (after tax?)

So your total spend on food, fuel, council tax, insurances, (house and cars) is £250 a week. That sounds low. Is that right?

Which leaves you with £2.7K each month.

You have 2K to spend or save.

Whats the problem? In 2 months you could sort the bathroom.

[LunaHeather]

@Nocares

I think I'm going to bite the bullet and get a 0% card.

I do think maybe I have sleep walked into 'no debt no matter what', without actually looking into it.

I think I'll do some further research on credit/finance as like someone else said, i might be doing a disservice to us by being uninformed.

When you save £2700 a month?!

[Purpleheadgirl]

@LovelyUserNames they are saving £2000 a month and also have £350 each for their own spending...

[LovelyUserNames]

Does your £1K a month include a mortgage OP?

[LovelyUserNames]

[quote Purpleheadgirl]@LovelyUserNames they are saving £2000 a month and also have £350 each for their own spending...[/quote]
Yes Ive caught up with her posts- see my other post :)

I find it hard to see how £1k outgoings covers a mortgage, council tax, fuel, food, insurance, utility bills, TV/ subscription for TV etc.

I think the OP is mistaken.

[KatharinaRosalie]

This is a bizarre thread. So you need 10 years to save 28K, but you are currently saving 2K per month?

[SexyGiraffe]

Yes OP, having debt does not mean you have bad credit - quite the opposite. I've had a ton of debt through most of my adult life and always had top credit scores because I pay back what I owe each month. I earn a good salary but have got quite used to living with debt and it has allowed me to be able to splurge every now and then and I sort of factor in the repayments to my lifestyle. Not ideal, but it's where I am and I'm on top of it and gradually bringing it down.

[Okbussitout]

I'd also say that you don't actually know how much a lot of people are earning.

It does sound like a bit of a stealth boat that you won't buy stuff on credit.

One thing I would also day is depending on age and where people live people can make a lot from house price rises. Obviously where you buy goes up too but if people have bought in an on the rise area this can give them a huge boost towards a deposit meaning lower monthly mortgage payments.

[user88899]

Has OP actually said she saves £2k? I thought she said she has £2k leftover, there's a difference between what is left over after bills and what you are actually saving. We only save about half of our disposable income, the rest we spend month to month on not exactly "necessary" things, but things we want be it activities for the kids, birthdays, clothes or takeaways etc.