What household income supports this lifestyle ?

[Drealifegoals]

If your lifestyle looks anything like this please share with me what yearly household income you have!

please share mumsnetters, this is where I want to end up for my 40s and there are people around us living this kind of lifestyle but I can’t ask them how much they earn IRL!

dream lifestyle is:

3 holidays a year - one long haul two smaller European city breaks type
1 nice car bought outright - nothing majorly expensive around the 60k mark
coffee out for both adults x5 a week
lunch out for both adults x2 a week
dinner out every Friday - whole family two adults two kids
good Christmas every year
money for regular hair appointments for whole family
enough money for both kids to do sports and music out of school
nicely decorated house
monthly shopping treats for all family members maybe £50 each
Food shop from M&S
clothing to be mainly high street with the odd designer item thrown in for whole family.

no mortgage, no childcare fees, both children in state school.

Could the cheap second hand car and no coffee brigade please move onto another thread….

We had a £1k mortgage and wasn’t too far off that lifestyle on £85k ish joint income. So without that I think you could easily do it on £85k. Unfortunately we’ve now increased our mortgage 😂 so no extravagant holidays for a couple of years.

She can't afford it - it's a "how much would I need to have this lifestyle" post.

School fees for two children would be at least £44k per year/ over 3.5k per month, quite likely more by secondary age, paid from after tax income, and would go up over time.

Millions of people do very well from state education whilst many do shite despite having a fee paying education. I remember a colleague going on about how her parents did the best for her by sending her to a fee paying school. She did the same job than me, lived in a similar sized house than me and drove an old banger.

I would be v surprised and supportive if that happened!

Why do you ask? Do you want to know if people are wondering how much money you have? Genuine question not being cheeky!

I’m not going to advocate getting a crap car, but most people don’t buy 60k outright. We could in theory, but wouldn’t. I think you need to have a lot of savings and disposable to think 60k seems reasonable, we might be in that position in a few years, but Definitely not while kids are in nursery.

I had neither of those things and I managed it. Some people just earn well and don’t piss it up the wall.

One person’s shite is another person’s treasure.

This is us pretty much, I’m not working at the moment and until recently DH has brought home just over £4.5k a month plus a bonus, he’s just dropped his hours for a better balance.
We have a lot invested and anything that doesn’t come out of his wages, cars, holidays and the shortfall from his drop in wages is paid for from there.

I don’t know but that doesn’t seem like a particularly costly lifestyle, although I’d rather Waitrose over M&S, probably easily achievable on £100-150k a year? Also the one car?

Surely you just add up the cost of everything you want to do and gross it up to a salary?

Cars wise you’d be looking at being about to save 15k a year to replace your car every 4 years. Less if you’d keep it longer etc.

I’m shocked at the responses! Think you’d need at least £150k ish household income with no mortgage in the north - much much down South!

We are same as you although car is not outright because childcare is £2k a month 🤪

Ah yes, because the only acceptable use of disposable income is school fees. I’ll let the holidays, furniture and handbags know.

Silly me!

The £60k car doesn't match with the rest of the general aspirations. Besides, for most people that much money for a car would be majorly expensive. Silly waste of money, that.

How long ago was this?

School fees, house renovations, designer clothing and horses. You shouldn’t have to choose 😂

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of jobs pay £250k each?
Sales, finance?

I used to think I wanted a job that I enjoyed and which would bring good to others so work in the public sector.

But since having kids I just want a job that pays me really, really well.

Surely £60k is a pretty standard new car cost? We have two cars and one retailed at £60k in 2014 and the other £75k in 2023 so for 2026 surely that’s just what they cost?

I could do this (but I don't want the same things exactly, as in long haul, takeaway coffees or a £60k car).

Single parent, very small mortgage, new £40k ish car every four years bought/topped up with cash, lovely holidays, two kids at uni which I've saved for and can pay tuition fees or support their living costs for four years, one or the other, they have to get a loan for the bit I can't do.

I don't do takeaway coffee, but I do spend a lot on my hair every year, and like to use really nice beauty products which probably cost the same as your coffee habit, plus gym/spa membership for me.

My net pay is about £5k a month give or take, during kids at uni years I've been trying to add another £10k consultancy income pa, but I am a bit knackered this year so will probably have a break from it.

We don’t live like this and have a household income of approx £250k annually. I don’t live in London.

Mortgage is paid off, most I’ve spent on a car was between 20k & 30k on nearly new low mileage and the cars get driven until cost to keep them going exceeds value.

I’m guessing you have a high mortgage/live in an expensive area? It’s perfectly doable in many parts of the UK.