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?!

@JackieWeaverFever we'd get on so well 🤣 I'm currently designing my German kitchen that everyone will assume is expensive and buying from DIY kitchens, but I'll spend on the worktops. I have two pieces of Neptune furniture, the rest is eBay up cycled and wayfair.

@PigletJohn just had to google the Micawber principle. It’s all very true. It’s what I’m currently heading my finances to within the next year, it’s taken me until about 40 to get on an even keel enough to be able to do it though! But it will be worth it.

I think you are probably assuming people have your level of responsibility around money when they don't.

A lot of people live happily with vast debts.

A lot of people put everything on long term finance, so will be paying off cars and kitchens in instalments forever.

But also, are you sure you're not comparing the two of you to 'everyone else' It's so easy to see couple a with a new kitchen and a weekend in Paris, couple b with a new car, couple c with designer bags and think 'everyone else can afford all these things, when actually each individual has chosen to spend on one of them.

Also, people might have money from parents or legacies, or earn way more than you think. And others may shop around for massive discounts on things like holidays.

@Whooptydooperbounce

My rent on a one bed flat is £450! Lol

£300 mortgage on a house (how many bedrooms?) is eyewatering low to me (city dweller).

Where in the heck do you live?

Obviously I have no idea where OP lives, but I though it sounded unbelievable too, so did some quick research.

Turns out I was totally wrong! That works out to a £75000 mortgage, and looking on Rightmove there are lots of places in Scotland and NE England where you can buy a three bedroom house for £75k. Shows how big the north/south divide is I suppose.

[quote Nocares]@LovelyUserNames we do save 2k a month..

@SpeckledyHen I don't see why our outgoings would be any higher? Its just us 2 with no kids and 0 debt. How would it be more?

Yes we've renovated before so have our eyes wide open. Just never taken on something so big as our previous have been small 2 beds. This is a big property with a lot of original features we want to preserve so I have 0 doubts that this house will be a money pit of sorts for a few years.

I guess I have answered my own questions. Other people have taken on different priorities and choices and are probably a lot better informed on credit and finance than myself.

I need to educate myself further on this subject.

Thank you mumsnet for giving me food for thought. Much appreciated.[/quote]
Lol.

Our rent on our 1 bed flat is £1350.

Where do you live? The 1950s?

I'm with Babdoc here. I am 60, SH two years younger. I bought my first flat in 1981 and moved in with two deckchairs and a 2nd hand baby belling.

Got married to a very skint dh 10 years later and in 1993 we extended ourselves greatly for our family home. DS came along in 1994 and because he was ill during his first 14 months I gave up work. His first Christmas we could stretch to a £2.99 and a £3.99 book (combined Xmas and Birthday). We were down to brass tacks for about 2.5 years despite being equity rich and not in debt. Literally watching every penny and being careful about using the car for sparing the petrol.

Micawber rules.

Finance or some people just earn a lot of money.

Basically OP, the reason you can't afford these things is because you can't count. If you have £2.7K disposable income a month, the £28K you need wouldn't take you a decade to save, but just over 10 months.

Immediate thoughts on your post OP:

Agree with previous posters, finance is not the devil if used responsibly. We got a small loan to get our bathroom done, other stuff like our car we paid in cash for, but it cost less than £3k.

Honestly, if you're only paying £70 per month fuel between both cars you don't need to be spending anywhere near £14k to get two "reliable, decent" second hand cars.

I'm not completely au fait with what the current income averages are, but £3.7k combined seems like a pretty average income for a working couple? Albeit with the capacity to save a significant chunk of that. What time scales would you think reasonable to get a new kitchen, bathroom and two cars for cash?

not read the full thread, but is there a way you could find a cheaper kitchen etc? You can get really nice ones cheaply if you're a bit creative. I love that show "the 100k house" for ideas around cutting down on budgets and finding things for a fraction of the price others pay.

We recently had a whole new roof fitted, all walls and ceilings replaced / replastered, new main bathroom, new carpets, wood flooring, decoration throughout, rewiring, and new boiler and radiators. Also had the gardens landscaped. Cost us just over 65k. We had saved for about 3 years in order to pay for it as I am very debt averse. It's either save or get it on credit op.

Life’s short. If you can afford it and understand how to manage it, debt isn’t the worst thing in the world

Stand by this, if your house is repossessed then you definitely haven’t managed it properly. Not talking huge amounts, say £150 a month for nice car. If a change of circumstances is likely then you plan for that. Not all situations are foreseeable but it’s about weighing up the risk/having a backup.

Appreciate a lot of people fall into dire situations with debt, which is why I think education is needed. But it doesn’t have to be a bad thing to be avoided.

It’s great if you’ve never had to use credit, but for some it is a reality if they ever want a holiday, decent car, new kitchen.

You can’t compare yourselves to what others afford really, you don’t know what they earn or what is on finance.

Also, tbh, I’d say you combined salaries are ‘okay’ but certainly not on the higher side that allows the financial freedom for the things you mention.

I think most people choose between new kitchen and holiday, not many people doing up their homes are also buying new cars or expensive holidays.

I think it's normal to be flat broke when you buy a house for a few years but increased earnings and inflation mean the mortgage becomes a smaller outgoing over time.

At the moment finance is cheap and saving are depreciating, so finance makes sense, just make sure you're in control and have a budget. You're right to be wary uncontrolled debt will really damage your finances.

Err normal income of 31k. 2k after tax etc. Car 250 finance 200 loan finance mortgage etc (330 of husband for his share of bills) i save 450 per month and have 80 pound per week to spend (shopping separate

@Saviouronthreelegs ooh I understand why you would then that 1k was low with that kind of mortgage repayment!

Although if your down south then I imagine that's still cheaper than renting.

I think everyone is missing the point that the OPs list was just an example, and there is a lot more need doing in the house than 28k.

I personally don't think you should rush to put all the things on credit, especially not 1k a month worth. I would save to do one thing at a time, but have a credit card available to you if needed. So bathroom: get some quotes in, say 5k including materials. Book it in for 2 months time (prob have to wait that long for a decent plumber anyway), and save. By the time it comes round, you have 4k there to pay off, and 1k put on the credit card for materials, to pay off the next month. Do that for the next big job too.

The reason I wouldn't want to put that much on credit at once is 1) you never know 2) it will affect your credit rating doing big chunks at once 3) it halves what you can save.

However, I say this knowing I would rbe happy doing the house up over a slower time, than paying it all off for the next few years and not having as much disposable income.

We earned more by moving overseas.
However, not everyone wants to live in China for 12 years.

@Nocares

Yesss its correct. We had to go through everything with our mortgage company on an expenditure form for the affordability check.

Roughly are outgoings are:

Council tax is 125
Mortgage is £300
Utilities (so far): 45
Water: 24
Petrol for both: 70
Insurances: 120
Food: 300
Phone contracts: 29

So roughly 1K give or take a few quid.
I also buy 13 for Netflix out of my own account and DP pays for prime out of his.

We put a bigger deposit down so our mortgage repayments are small.
After we do the bulk of the house up then we'll overpay mortgage to get it paid off quicker.

In this I am not seeing anything for

Clothes and shoes
Christmas, birthdays and treats
Repairs and renewals
TV licence
Personal spends
Work related expenses

and probably life insurance.

I know we can all hunker down for a while, but this is unrealistic, before we get to your real utility bills.

£300 monthly mortgage payment for a large house that you call your forever home is outrageously low!

£70 per month on fuel for two people? Do you ever leave the house OP?