Would you class this family as average, comfortable or well off?

[Greyorcream]

Curious what people would class as “well off” these days?

Couple in late 30s with 2 dc (late primary/early secondary age). Not in London.
Partner A earns £52k and Partner B earns £74k. So fairly average wage. Neither majorly stressful roles. Both work full time. Home by 5 each evening. Both can wfh 2 days a week.

Both get annual bonuses of around 8% and usually salary increases of about 4% each year.

Mortgage outstanding is £339k on a house worth around £500k (5-bedroom house).

Pension contributions (employee + employer combined):

• Partner A: 17% (this will be increasing)
• Partner B: 21%

Savings:
usually save a third of income each month.

• £130k joint savings
• £40k saved separately for the dc.

No inheritance or family help received. No loans, car finance, credit card debt or student loans.
No childcare or private school costs.
Lifestyle-wise, usually one big family holiday a year plus a couple of weekends away.

Would you consider this comfortably well off, average, affluent, or something else? Genuinely interested as perceptions seem wildly different depending on area and social circle.

This!!

But of course they're wealthy FFS - £74k a year is basically twice the average salary.

Don't understand why you or anyone else needs to give one.

I do get you. We are fairly well off but compared to most of the people we mix with we aren't!

I live in central London. That is definitely far above the “average” for me and my friends. We work in universities, museums, charities and the NHS and are in our 40s and 50s.

But comparing to others isn’t an accurate measurement. Jeff Bezos isn’t that well off if you consider Elon Musk has four times more money than him.

Read the room OP!! Many (most?) of us are really struggling…how can you possibly think you are ‘average’. This level of income and savings (outside of London) is very healthy…you’re well-off! Nothing ‘average’ (or even ‘a bit above avarage’) here. 🙄

well off!

It was my dad…he made a passive comment that implied we needed to do better his words were “You know, life doesn’t exactly get cheaper or easier while we sit still. At some point you’ve got to start building something better.” I know I could have posted his comment and explained to the beginning, but that’s not what I wanted. I didn’t want opinion on his comment. I wanted to know what others opinions were on our financials. Because he is aware of our financials, he knows where we’re at. I think he thinks because we have jobs where we’re not working day and a day out and really stressed that we’re not working hard enough.

I don’t feel like we are mega wealthy. I feel we are very comfortable. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with where we are. He seems to think we should be doing better….

I know but it can make you feel less well off if everyone around you is living in mansions and sending their kids to private school and going on skiing holidays, have second homes etc. Then there is us in our smaller house with kids going to the local comp. It can make you forget how well off you really are.

Well, I am saying that but I do know we are well off whereas the OP seems less sure!

You are very well off. This reminds me of that audience member during a 2019 BBC Question Time election special who said he earned over £80,000, yet claimed he was "nowhere near" the top 5% of earners & that he was "not even in the top 50%". He utterly beclowned himself as £80k+ salary puts someone comfortably within the top 5% of UK earners.

How can anyone possibly tell whether your financial situation is average compared to those around you?

Most people in London don’t earn anything like that amount!

Their income is £126k a year…and they have £170k in savings. So 3 x the average income with a huge savings account. I suspect the OP is humble bragging…🙄

Why does it matter what someone else thinks of your salaries or lifestyle, the need for external validation is maybe what’s making people question your earnings/savings/status. To me, yes you earn well above average and I would class you as being very well off.

I think you are winning at life. Not too stressful jobs, good working hours and flexibility. Money isn't worth more than that.

A 5 bedroom house and able to save a third of income? I'd call that well-off.

Look, it's very very much above average. 5 bedroom home? Household income of 130k ish? Very significant pension contributions? No childcare costs?

Shakes head.

If this is friends/family saying they aren't wealthy and you are sick of it, I get it - we all know people like that. If this is you, please gain some perspective outside of your bubble.

Unfortunately, my dad seems to think otherwise he is very financially oriented.

Business owners can make far more than this and they aren't counted in UK statistics for salaries. Lots handle cash as well.
I know people who own multiple houses in their late 20s, but through private limited companies. There is more wealth in the UK than the records show. Hence, this salary is really quite average and I can see what the OP's father means.

No, I know…but where we do hear about these massive salaries, they are usually ‘city salaries’. The rest of us can’t even dream of anywhere near these amounts.

It’s honestly obscene to read these ‘humble brag’ posts, when the very vast majority of us work hard and are still struggling to make ends meet. I’m a primary teacher in East Anglia…I earn just over 30k and live alone…I can’t see me ever being able to retire. It’s so disheartening. Life is hard 😢

You are definitely cream not grey

Why wouldn’t you be able to retire with a teacher’s pension?

It's affluent in the real world. Not sure about on MN though. The top 5% of earners seem to be on MN a lot when questions about salary and savings comes up.

Can I ask why you describe the wage as average? I’m a high earner, and I know what the average wage is. Are you being deliberately ignorant?

A rather self satisfied one.

Did you meet these people in part because of what they do for a living or are these people you’ve known for a long time before they chose their careers?

The reason I ask is because I don’t know a single person who works for a charity, in a museum, in a university or any similar role. I barely know anyone who works for the NHS or indeed in the public sector.

Virtually everyone I know works in the private sector or has a trade which means that typical salaries are far higher than many on here appear to experience.