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Original poster

£100k and above earners - tell me your money worries

213 replies

SortMyHouse · 07/01/2022 23:02

Hi

Inspired by another thread!

I would like to hear from people who earn over £100k, where do you live, what do you do / sector? What qualifications do you have?

Then the reality of how far that salary goes.
What are your costs?
What are your money worries?

Thanks

OP posts:
Nightmanagerfan · 07/01/2022 23:05

Household income or individual?

Original poster
SortMyHouse · 07/01/2022 23:07

23:05Nightmanagerfan

Either

OP posts:
BookShark · 07/01/2022 23:14

Both qualified accountants and average £100k each, Oxbridge degrees plus one of us has a PhD, live just outside London in a small 3-bed. One DD at private school, could pay off mortgage now but have an offset so haven't bothered as we're not incurring interest.

Not going to lie, we don't worry about money. But we're not big spenders - no interest in moving to a bigger house as we don't need the space, pre-Covid did one big holiday per year (i.e. long haul), but haven't even done that for the last two years, and probably won't this year either - we also do an annual week in Devon and have just stuck to that. One car (both Fords) is relatively new because the old one died, the other is 9 years old and we'll run it into the ground.

But, we massively over-save. We have good pensions, and will be able to pay for all DD's uni costs if that's what she chooses, as well as giving her a deposit for her first house.

Sorry, probably not the answer you wanted as we're not very exciting. But I guess that kind of salary gives you options, and we've chosen to be boringly sensible about what we do with it!

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Jobs
ChristmasWithBellsOn · 07/01/2022 23:19

Not being able to afford a house in London where DD is settled in school.

This means we rent in town and have a buy-to-let out of town.

I know it's a first world problem, but I'd love to give DD the freedom to decorate her room.

Original poster
SortMyHouse · 07/01/2022 23:24

23:14BookShark

Our current situation
Me £125k - qualified accountant - Derby university so a former polytechnic.

Partner - 145k - IT senior role, systems, fintech etc - Grandes écoles - french eduction

Live in West Midlands - house paid off years ago as it was cheap anyway

However, we may need to move to London soon as my partner wants a more inspiring role, he wants to keep this property as an asset is an asset.
I do wonder how would we afford London lifestyle in a nice area, private schools (we are yet to have kids).
You often hear people say £100k doesn't really get you far in London of you want the trimmings too.

OP posts:
cloudtree · 07/01/2022 23:27

I do wonder how would we afford London lifestyle in a nice area, private schools (we are yet to have kids).
You often hear people say £100k doesn't really get you far in London of you want the trimmings too.

But you’re on £270 not 100

ChristmasWithBellsOn · 07/01/2022 23:29

@SortMyHouse if you have the deposit you'll be fine. We just don't have the £210k in savings we'd need for a 15% deposit for a 4 bed near here.

We're not far off.

But once we have that money, we'd need to spend it ALL and have zero savings, which would feel precarious.

Out joint income is £200k ish, heavily weighted to me.

Original poster
SortMyHouse · 07/01/2022 23:29

Forgot to add
I'm a contractor so no money once on maternity leave and would like to spend time raising my own kids as I'd rather be a mum than have a career
I could always come back to the career when the child is 5 or so

So that means the London move will have to be on my partner's salary for the next 5 years or so

OP posts:
ChristmasWithBellsOn · 07/01/2022 23:30

DD is in independent school, which seems mad given we can't afford to buy here. But it's also the best choice for her, and suits her so well.

qualitygirl · 07/01/2022 23:30

We earn 114 between us.
Honestly...we have no money worries.
We are mortgage free,
We drive older cars
No childcare as the dc are in school
We are very lucky

Original poster
SortMyHouse · 07/01/2022 23:31

23:27cloudtree

Sorry forgot to add the 'problem' my salary will vanish

OP posts:
user1455735072 · 07/01/2022 23:32

I earn about £135000 per year, medical consultant in NHS. Sounds like a good salary but I struggle. Divorced so because I kept family home, probably unwisely, I have a huge mortgage. Had to pay ex off as I was the higher earner when we split. 1 child at Uni, 1 at private school. Credit card debts from taking kids on holidays ( self catering, UK) . Paying for after school childcare as I can get stuck at work unpredictably. Came out of NHS pension as couldn't afford it (about £800 monthly contribution).
I pay nearly £50,000 per year in income tax.
I regret marrying- was only married about 4 years when he left me for another woman but he still got a chunk of the pension I had accrued over about 20 years previously.

Original poster
SortMyHouse · 07/01/2022 23:32

23:29ChristmasWithBellsOn

What value house are you looking at?

I quite like Chiswick but the houses I like are over a million pounds. The issue with that is we can't realise our French property dream as well.

OP posts:
Original poster
SortMyHouse · 07/01/2022 23:34

Totally recognise these aren't problems.
However, everyone has their own life to live and their own ideals to work towards.

OP posts:
ChannelTheCalmaLlama · 07/01/2022 23:36

I'm sorry I upset you on the other thread, @SortMyHouse. 😔

I didn't mean to upset anybody.

I earn what you're saying and I am really struggling not to go into debt just for basics. My husband left when my children were small babies. I have to do everything. I am also disabled (but no financial support from Government yet - I applied last summer and have heard nothing). I earn well but it's so relentlessly exhausting and just providing for them and looking after them. We don't do anything extravagant but by the time the tax and mortgage are paid, childcare, bills, food and commuting there is very little left. I am so worried about rising prices and taxes, I have nothing left to give. But you've seen what reception speaking about that brings.

ChannelTheCalmaLlama · 07/01/2022 23:37

I'm so sorry I misunderstood your post as yet another mean one rather than being genuine that you were starting a new thread on this.

ponypinkie · 07/01/2022 23:38

I earn £100k as a Communications Director in London. I have one DC and don't pay for private school or actually any child care because OH is sahp.

I do sometimes worry a bit about our gigantic mortgage as obviously all the bills are my responsibility. But when I don't think about the mortgage I don't worry about money and broadly we buy what we want in terms of food, holidays, clothes etc.

We have savings as a buffer and for DC university costs.

ChristmasWithBellsOn · 07/01/2022 23:39

@SortMyHouse a 4-bed with a garden and off street parking start at around £1.4m around here (South West London, but not the fanciest part (Chelsea)).

I have much the same concern, I've always been self employed, or owned businesses, which means that my earning potential is high, but it's unstable.

The reason we don't have the budget to buy is because I ran a business for two years too long in the 2010s (where I earned under 18K gross per year for two years) so we lived off our savings as we lived in this area, and had DD in childcare - it actually cost me money to work vs. being a SAHP.

Though I'm now employed 'in house' (have been since lockdown 2020), which feels a lot more reliable, I'm still making up for the dire situation in 2016 and 2017.

DH has a more standard role, middle salary, middle management - he's the glue that holds us together financially.

JanuaryPinks · 07/01/2022 23:40

Not going to put my salary but it’s above your DH’s and we live in a smallish terrace in an “up and coming” bit of London. Our childcare fees are more than our mortgage and while we’re comfortable we have a similar lifestyle to my friends and family up
North who earn a 5th of what we do but have grandparents for childcare and reasonable housing costs. Sometimes wonder what it’s all for tbh as I work v long hours.

ChannelTheCalmaLlama · 07/01/2022 23:40

@ponypinkie

I earn £100k as a Communications Director in London. I have one DC and don't pay for private school or actually any child care because OH is sahp.

I do sometimes worry a bit about our gigantic mortgage as obviously all the bills are my responsibility. But when I don't think about the mortgage I don't worry about money and broadly we buy what we want in terms of food, holidays, clothes etc.

We have savings as a buffer and for DC university costs.

So jealous of this. One person alone is taxed much more punatively than two people. But, if you have a SAHP saving you childcare costs, that is huge. Without childcare costs we'd be fine and have savings again. But it's just me, so I don't. It's scary.
JanuaryPinks · 07/01/2022 23:40

The “up and coming” is meant to convey run down and bit dodgy btw.

JanglyBeads · 07/01/2022 23:40

I'd really like to know how much you give to charity, to be honest....

liliainterfrutices · 07/01/2022 23:40

That does sound really hard channel. I mean that sincerely.

ChristmasWithBellsOn · 07/01/2022 23:41

But as I say, it's a first world problem, we eat well, we go on holiday, we buy things as we need them - we don't waste money on fripperies, but we're comfortable.

I grew up in a low income household, so I am also aware of what it feels like to actually struggle, and we're not struggling. A house around here is just something I want, but can't yet have.

Lila234 · 07/01/2022 23:41

Really interesting.

Our income is in the region of £110k jointly so not sure if I'm quite the audience for this thread but we're paying our mortgage down as much as we can, ideally before we have DC but it is a bit of a race against the biological clock at the moment!

Totally recognise even having this goal is really privileged.

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