Do you have secret money?

[ClassicStripe]

I saw this today posted by @Al991
"Me and my partner call it ‘secret money’. Especially common among state sector employers like yourself and us. Money from parents, partner, tenants in a house their nan used to own, large inheritance etc. I feel like MOST people who work in low paid jobs like teaching, NHS (from experience of working with these people) have secret money. Usually a partner but I’ve known other types like owning inherited property (no mortgage), owns dividends in daddy’s company etc."
It got me thinking this must explain why I can't keep up with the Joneses despite me and DP have a decent wage each. We don't have any real secret money but once could go on a holiday we could never afford using it so I guess that counts.

I’m not sure about ‘secret money’ but I do have a partner with a job. Is that secret?!

I feel like MOST people who work in low paid jobs like teaching, NHS (from experience of working with these people) have secret money.

I find it quite depressing that teaching is considered a ‘low paid’ job :(

I do (dividends from a family company and inherited house) but I earn so little that it’s clear I’m not living it up 🤦🏻‍♀️. I certainly don’t look like “the Joneses” unfortunately!

I don’t, but I’d say roughly about half of people I know do. Some they’ve come by in awful circumstances- bereavement, unexpectedly early inheritance etc. Others who married when both partners were mortgaged and kept on both houses, using one as a rental income. Partners with v well paid jobs, or they have very lucrative side hustles. People who bought in London at the perfect time and have cashed in ££££….

I wouldn’t say it’s “secret money”, but it explains why lots of people on very modest salaries, live much more affluent lifestyles than they could otherwise afford.

I feel like MOST people who work in low paid jobs like teaching, NHS (from experience of working with these people) have secret money.

I’m NHS and have no money, secret or otherwise.

I think secret money in this context presumably means tax free - ie. secret from HMRC and undeclared - otherwise why use the word 'secret'. Who is it secret from?

Had 6 figure help to get on housing ladder & recently 10k towards a car. Does that count? I don’t keep it a secret though.

I don’t, my only money is my wage.

As @FloatyBoaty says I know loads of people a little older than me who have 2nd homes, very expensive houses etc just because they bought pre crash.

It's secret from their friends. I have a secret but to let , which I pay tax on but a couple of my more jealous friends know nothing about it.
im happy to discuss tax and renovations and the new letting legislation with people in the same boat.
but some people would really get twisted up about it,

And know a fair few who have inherited 500k plus &/or have gps paying school fees and holidays.

I have an emergency fund but it is not secret, dh does know about it and he has the same put away for a rainy day.

I don't even have money money, let alone secret money.

How much rent do you get for your but?

You see that's why it's secret

It doesn’t mean secret from your spouse/partner, it means secret from friends/family beyond what they know of your day job.

No secret money but I have it sort of the other way round .

I earn around double national average but live on 2/3rds salary on my own - this is achieved by

1. Biggest one: kids grown up now they don't pay rent but I m not paying for their personal expenses clothes , phone etc
2. Not having a car
3. Having a smaller mortgage on the cheapest house we could all fit in - a bedroom each . Not upgrading when I could . Nine years later inflation has reduced the impact v salary

I do. I was only able to buy a house thanks to a large inheritance. I'm grateful every day. Family are obviously aware but I'm vague with friends/colleagues.

But the OP states, ‘usually a partner’.

Surely having a partner with a job that also pays for stuff, isn’t secret in any way?!

I have a partner who earns well, probably top 5% for our area whilst I'm on a low wage. We have a relatively small mortgage, the monthly amount has surprised people who ask what we pay. But we have prioritised paying down debt over everything else. So I think people might be surprised by how little debt we have (small mortgage is only debt) as from the outside we have "modest" lifestyles - one old car, old phones, camping holidays, charity shop clothes etc.. Not sure if that's secret money though, more the opposite of keeping up with the Joneses!

We're low paid (retail) but DH gets an annual bonus, which I guess you could class as 'secret money' as most people wouldn't realise he'd get that. It paid for new double glazing one year.

I get CDP for my eldest, which tops us up each month.

DH and I have normal day jobs but we do OnlyFans (oh the horror!) on the side. Brings in an extra 15k/pa which goes entirely into savings/investments plus a couple of nice holidays.

I get £500 a month from my parents which goes into savings and would be available to them if they ever needed it. DH and I have paid off our mortgage in full 7 years after we bought this house. We have no debt at all and £200,000 in savings, separate from the money I've had from my parents. Nobody knows any of this and we don't really flaunt it but we don't go without either.

No. We do own three properties, one has a very hefty mortgage, so we rent one out and that rent almost covers the mortgage, one we live in, the other is a summer house that we occasionally rent out on airbnb but that doesn’t even cover the yearly electric bill. So while it is income, we don’t break even, so it isn’t really income in that way, financially they’re a negative at the moment.

A friend is a teacher, he’s on just over £50k, thats hardly a low wage.

I have a low paid job (far lower than a teacher). DH earns very well (top 1%) and we never discuss how much he gets paid although I don't keep him a secret. We also have some shares investments which have done very well, which we don't mention to anyone including family. We have a house in London and 2 dc at private school. No inheritance or money from family - I hate the idea of people assuming that some of our money has been unearned (even the shares were bought with wages).

Nope. Anything we have is the result of good old fashioned hard work.