... to think that most MNers live in a bubble?

[frgr]

Seriously, the amount of times I read on here about "oh we earn 70k a year but we're really struggle to provide for little Jacob's polo lessons this year" (or some other such shite).

In real life, the average income of my family and friends is probably circa the national average. I know for a fact that my BIL is on around £6/hr and works 42 hours a week, I know that my best friend's total family income is about 22k because she was talking about mortgages a month ago... I'm talking about hard working people who go out come rain or shine and do their day's work, to provide for their families.... and then I log on here and find out MNers are posting trivial shit about being unable to afford XYZ and feeling hard done by on their incomes of "only" 3x the national average.

I don't know if I've become more sensitive to this crap since starting re-posting on here last year (after a break of about 3 years), but it seems to me that certain members of MN are totally and utterly oblivious as to what the average family is having to endure during this recession.

It's fucking unbelievable, it really is.

In your opinion, why are so many MNers out of touch with reality? Does this site cater to a different class than me? Are avg MNers just generally deluded - do I even belong here any more, with our 21k combined income, worrying about where the next school trip fee is coming from despite the fact that both of us work?

Christ.

So, in answer to the OP, in my very limited experience of the site - I would say - not most, but ssome. And they are annoying.

'They have a richer lifestyle, shop in more expensive shops, so when they say they are struggling what they really mean is - fuck they had to shop in Next and not Harrods!

Fuck, they had to buy the Daily Mail and not the Observer!' - Am I meant to care abou this????

Tbf we are comfortable(ish). We can just about afford holidays every two years and manage the upkeep of two dogs and a cat quite well. Our children have the expensive presents their friends have. This is despite the fact that my partner and I are both on minimum wage (or less than since he was made redundant and can only find temp work, thus part of the time we have to claim unemployment benefit)

We save well, we shop around a lot. We are sensible enough to have morgate we can afford.

I cannot imagine earning 4X what we do and 'struggling'.

It takes all sorts to make-up the World we live in and surely we want to live in that sort of diversity don't we, unless of course we're of the Communist persuasion?

The recession has hit people in different ways, if someone was earning a salary 3 or 4 times of the national average and took out a large mortgage for example, then have lost their job then it is hard for them - it is all relative surely?

OP It's so naive to say 'in real life', this is all real life, people earn £10k and people earn £100k - it's all real life but it just might not be your life at this moment in time.

I'm not sure why OP, you think you're anymore hard working if you earn the national average than if you earn more than that, and it made me LOL at the 'go out come rain or shine' comment...yes because if you earn more than the national average and it's raining, you can call work and say you're not coming in today as you don't fancy getting wet

inanswer to op,stop fashing about other folk. acept some posts you likey some you not.its not about who what class,whp said dat.is about about your ability to read posts that dont necessarily reflect your life and not feel got at.or squawk deluded if feel offended

op your average family may not be anyone else average.and on mn thats the vicarious pleasure reading another person norms and family woes and thinking fuckadoodledo

High earners aren't "blessed" they work fucking hard for it, and have often made sacrifices in the past to study in order to obtain the qualifications to earn the money. My arse was in rags when I was a student and for the 10 years of graft after that. I am not blessed to earn the fekkin money, its not luck, its choices.

I dunno, I do read on here of massive incomes and see massive houses. It's such an alien existence to me that I can't even imagine paying a bill without knowing to the penny, the balance of mine and dh's bank accounts.

The middle class to me seem like a different species, I can't imagine any circumstances where our family would be comfortably off. It depresses me, wherever we look round here people own there own houses and have lovely interiors/millions of cars.

I would rather move up north, where I was born. Would mean giving up a council house in a very sought after area though . Basically 90% of the local population seem to be rolling in it, the plebs like us, all grew up around here and have millions of friends already. I'm doomed.

dont harp back to mn of yore.£70k crew would just squawck

let nanny search the archives for you
nanny thinks we did that already
are you a newbie (on less than £70k perhaps)
nanny will get the popcorn

its not luck, its choices

yeah, only sometimes.

Loudlass we have just bought a second hand dfs sofa from the local charity shop for £60, living the dream we are.

Earning 70k doesnt mean you are rich..

That money could be paying off a hefty mortgage on a property that is in negative equity...

Also, its a high wage for one earner, but as a double income, its about average or only just above it in the South East..

sometimes it is just hard work and a bit of luck.

My bro never went to uni, hell he doesn't even have an o level but he works hard and got lucky

It's so luck, I was very bright at school, got good grades despite sink school. Got hardly any support at college. Virtually no support when got to uni, gave up.

My fault entirely, most probably, I imagine with engaged supportive parents I may have gone far. Tough shit, I'm stuck now, for the forseeable anyway.

getting het up by online bibble babble.and who earns what,said what.time to log off if thats the case

£35k is way over average income, even for south of england.

think average for SE england is around £25k

But that's not luck is it Blackletterday, unless you mean you would have been lucky to have better parents?

how people can say it's just hard work is beyond me... hard work should be rewarded but financial success relies on an enormous series of events, many of which are often beyond an individuals control.

Giving up is nothing to do with luck.

Blackletterday Do you mean financial support ? Could you not have worked whilst studying ?

blinks such as ?

crazy parents. no parents. abuse. mental health. physical health. lack of practical support. homelessness.

point taken blinks

I was born into a very wealthy family (no bragging) and then after my parents divorced and my mother became a single parent, we had to live below the poverty line for most of my adolesence. I have experienced both sides of the coin and can honestly say that (from my experience) many middle class and upper class people, if not all of them that I have met, do live in a bubble and are not in touch with reality. It is not all about choices for everyone, some recruiters pick suitable people to fill high up positions based on thier post code and race as well as other rediculous criteria; my ex used to work in recruitment in the city. But again, these things are all relative. No offence to any upper crusters intended BTW!

clichés and anecdotes abound about class/salaries

poor=worthy and earthy downtrodden
rich=snotty unappreciative twat

somewhat in-between is fact

and not all mn is gospel fact

Surely 'class' has nothing to do with attitude to money, attitude to other people, earning potential, how hard they work, race etc etc.

My DH was brought up in a family earning well below the national average, he was clearly bright but went to a crap school, flunked A Levels, never went to Uni and had massively dis-interested parents. But through sheer hard work, self belief and I guess a few lucky breaks along the way (being in the right place at the right time when the right job was recruiting) he now earns well above the national average, but he is still himself, he didn't become out of touch with reality, why would he?

Of course it does not apply to every single individual, just all the ones I have ever met. Besides, when you are out of touch with reality, you wouldn't really see it yourself.