Any 'average' Mumsnetters still lurking in the bowels of this forum?

[Armyofprawns]

I have been on MN since my ds was born 19 years ago and although it can be a vicious place at times (yes AIBU I am referring to you), in general I still love to come on here however as I find it entertaining and interesting but increasingly I am feeling like I don't belong here. More and more threads seem to be all about people's huge salaries of £100k+ which are often wfh and working just a few hours per week with talk of private education, nannies, cleaners, dog walkers, multiple luxury holidays per year, driving high-end vehicles and residing in luxury homes worth hundreds of thousands.

Can I get a shout out for those on here who live average lives like myself? GCSE educated, has a job rather than a career (never see anyone mention they work in Tesco/at the local bakers or care for a living), drives an older car, lives in a standard 3 bed semi, eats out (when they can afford it) at a Toby Carvery or Beef Eater. The people like me who know they will never earn mega bucks per year but even so, are actually quite happy with their lives as they are and am wondering if these people are no longer on MN?

And before I am slaughtered I am not meaning to be derogatory towards those who are earning well and can enjoy a luxury lifestyle in fact I am in awe that you have done so well for yourself and are reaping the fruits of your labour but I just wanted to know if there are others like me on here, you know, Ms or Mr Average?

Very much like my life including the camping (although we have a 14 year old touring caravan), dog second hand also lol. I like my average life too.

As long as I am surrounded by books and can have the odd lunch out a few times a year I am happy too.

Books and occasional lunches are our luxuries or special meals at home by buying better quality including wines and having time to cook them.
Instinct and habit still leads me to check the 'special offers' in Supermarket.

I've been on here for almost 18 years but with name changes like a lot of people. The longest running thread I was on was Chris and a horse. It petered out, I think

I'm very very ordinary. Dullest person in the village:)

I'm very ordinary. Didn't go to uni, had a job not a career, lived from payday to payday. Now I'm retired, and do have money in the bank (thanks DM/DF) but it's not enough to buy property so I will be renting forever (I did own a house, but separation just at the time house prices were going mad put paid to buying anything else). I don't even go on holidays, and haven't for years (because I don't want to really) and would rather have a burger than an expensive meal out. And I'm perfectly happy 😄

Yep ordinary here too. 4 bed house that literally takes us down to 0 every month. 3 kids and a dog. I’m a cleaner, DP works on oil and gas pipes so although he earns more than me it’s not a huge amount.
Holidays are camping, meals out are rare.

But we are happy!!

Me, hello! I'm pretty average. Nearly 40, divorced but coparent fairly well. I live in a 3 bed semi with a mortgage (that needs a lot of work) and drive an 8yr old car. I left school at 16 to work in a call centre. Have done various different entry level jobs and currently work as a receptionist. Rarely buy new clothes, don't often eat out or go on nights out, and when I do, it's somewhere cheap.

Been on here about 15 years,household income of about 40K;I work very part time (due to neuro diverse kids) in a cob job/as casual bar staff.

Three bed semi on the outskirts of a city.

Definitely very average

Not sure what posts you've been looking at....

I agree as to the number of posts from people with high salaries. It seems to be a very large chunk of the user base.

One that stood out for me recently was where the poster asked what others would define as a high salary, they thought it was above £500k...

I grew up in a very average, working class, low income family. Never ate out, never went on holiday. My parents are still now very much in that bracket and living a frugal retirement. My sister lives in a council house and I’m the only one of us who went to university. I had to work 25 hours a week during sixth form to earn my own bus fare and lunch money for school, let alone get pocket money.

Full disclosure - I now earn well- but we are still very average indeed as we went through life without any financial help from parents. I have lots of friends who are far wealthier than the salaries they earn due to huge injections of cash from their parents that funded university, weddings, first houses etc That was such an eye opener for me as I got to know more middle class folk - just so many wealthy people out there. I went to law school in London, with a huge loan and three different part time jobs to stay afloat. Even the more normal of my friends were having that year entirely bank-rolled by their parents.

I don’t know anyone who thinks working in a care home is easy. Who says this to you?

@1offnamechange People very often know mainly other people in a similar social demograph. Perfect example are the WFA threads, just because their older relatives have luxurious retirements it’s all they need to know. It’s very small thinking.

The area you live in, the work you do, the friends you went to school with, even hobby groups you join or interests influence who you meet.

@tigerdog I have had exactly this kind of lived experience. Social mobility success story here as well. But yes the inheritances of some of my mates. We are all fifties now and the inheritances of some friends are huge. Nothing for me, DH may get an inheritance from his Mum.

I think this too, I have been here on and off since 2005. Now you can rely much more on a thread about retirement and pensions or issues with teenagers or adult DC than you can the threads about babies not sleeping or which reusable nappy to use. Or maybe I'm just more drawn to the other threads now at my age 😂

I think I'm pretty average.
DP earns pretty well but no where near 6 figures and shifts so certainly not only a few hrs a week. I work 2 days a week round childcare from family as it would be more expensive to pay for childcare than what I would earn working full time.
State educated, never went to uni although probably could have done, did do a levels. Worked in retail straight from school and then care most of my adult life. Currently a PA like you.
We own but a 2 bed flat not a house. DP car is 5 years old and still paying mine off at 4 years old.
We did have a child later on than a lot of people (I'm nearly 40 with a toddler), if it wasn't for that we wouldn't have been able to buy.

I first joined on 2010 and it was a much friendlier place. Came back fairly recently and it does feel more aggressive and confrontational.
First in my family to go to uni, had a career job but have worked locally in an average job since my now teen was small for better work/life balance. Collect CB. Some years have been tough but I've been able to spend more time with my child, which is so much better than money.

I am the high earner of me and my siblings and I earn exactly average wage. I have 3 kids and live in council housing. We haven’t had a holiday since pre Covid but will be going next year, we used to manage a holiday every year but since the DC are now all teens it’s so much more expensive.

Very average here! To be fair my DH earns a decent wage and we get a few benefits but because I’m a carer for our disabled DD it works out as two adults earning a very average wage! I did have a decent job but had to give it up as child care for a disabled kid is non existent in our area and it had zero flexibility to support here. Mortgaged terrace house with 3 bedrooms and kids sharing is falling apart and no money to do any work so just living with it! We’ve had holidays but they are on a credit card and we have very little in savings and get benefits so we are very much a family mumsnet hate! But my DH and I have a good relationship, our kids everything they need and more

I know what you mean. I might have to stop reading the holidays forum as the budgets involved are usually thousands above mine.

I’m very ordinary, though not average for Mumsnet as I don’t have kids. I’m pretty sure a lot of posters these days live out their fantasies via Mumsnet. Not sure what they get out out of it but there we are.

There are several posted on a weekly basis. One currently running in which the OP says she is on £180k (think she says her dh is on similar) and she wants to go down to a 4 days week which will mean a drop down to £150k. I know of only one person who was on that kind of salary, he lived a very very different life to my family and friends.

You'd be surprised just how many people think this. I am a carer/PA for a disabled person and I also care for my mum who has dementia. Because care work is notoriously low paid many people believe those working these positions are poorly educated, slackers or put minimal effort in their work, the reality is the exact opposite. A lot is expected from these poorly paid care workers, it is often a thankless and very hard job for very little pay in environments where people quit often and numbers of staff are low.

I'd agree with that, I've experienced the same, it's usually to do with if you're living in social housing or getting benefit top ups, so some people believe that they're supporting all the slackers in these jobs because they were too lazy to get themselves a proper education and better job.
Ironically many of the people who spout that nonsense have absolutely no issues with using the services they provide to maintain/improve their lives - and moaning about the cost/service delivery.

I'm now in hospitality but worked many years in social care. Same applies really, I'm very average, paid well for what I do, but below the national average wage and it's not the stress free breeze some people seem to think it is, I'm expected to do unpaid overtime, I'm expected to take work home, because the demand is relentless. It can be mentally and physically taxing, long hours and and ever growing level of negativity from customers that wears you down. But because it's in hospitality, because it's a job where soft skills rather than education are needed, it's not valued.

I'm probably below average really, live in social housing, single parent (now 21 and at university) drive a 14 year old car and just about everything in my home is hand me down. But I muddle on and walk my dogs and go to work and occasionally have a meal out, don't have holidays really unless visiting relatives and I'm fine. Just who I am really.

I'm just starting a new job on 45k and I feel rich beyound my wildest dreams 😅

Then I come on here and it's the brink of absolute poverty!!
I do think a lot of posts are fantasy rather than realty though.

I'm here too! Went to uni.... still paying off the student loan (I'm now 44 so been paying it back for over 20 years). I have a job/career with a big company but have never progressed anywhere (1 promotion in the 20 years I've been here) - so I'm actually only earning about £12k more a year than I was when I started here in the early 2000's! And I'm only on about £32k now. Our car is 15 years old & always needs something doing on it. Our last holiday abroad was in 2006. Several years we have had no holiday at all, but it's mostly a caravan in October in somewhere like Blackpool that we end up with!