To wonder how they afford it?

[louloutheshamed]

Bil and sil are in their early 20s she is sahm to 2 dcs and he works in a call centre. So I imagine they are on a modest income, less so than dh and I who both work full time. But their lifestyle is just so lavish! In the last year they have had a new kitchen and two new bathrooms, the Christmas gifts they but their dcs are unbelievable, and yesterday they posted pics on fb of their new cars, an Audi tt and merc clk!?

We don't have credit cards so I am quite ignorant of how much you can get but I imagine that this is how they have done it? Or loans, other credit?? Also insurance as nil has dodgy driving record. Can anyone shed any light on how they might be affording this?

If everybody minded their own business then there would be NOTHING to talk about.

NOTHING!!

What a bore.

Loans, secret lotery win, benefits cheats. Money from relatives. Money inherited. There's lots of possibilities. Or they might just be in debt. Or maybe they just earn more than you think. Or they could be into something shady. (I'm the suspicious type!!)

I wondered about my sister for a long while, I wish I'd never found out the truth - ridiculously in debt and had turned to siphoning money from our mother's account over an 18 month period. It's all recently hit the fan.

The kitchen etc I wouldn't wonder about but the cars would trouble me (as I wouldn't want to see my nieces/nephews damaged by their credit-foolhardiness) as they are proper expensive cars.

But ultimately, as you know, it's none of your business and don't be envious - from what you've said it sounds like a lifestyle built on a house of cards.

My bro and SIL are the same, she is a SAHM and he works for a high street bank as a loan adviser.
They have 70k and a 40k cars, a lovely home, all of the top of the range gadgets and game consoles, and thinks like brand new iPhones and MacBook pro laptops each.
Just out of interest I once worked out how much that had probably spent in an average year, on holidays, and random things. And it totalled around 200k (this is going on things I know they have bought/done for the last 10 years.
I know that bro earns 28k a year as he was recently promoted and was bragging about his pay rise and bonous to anyone that would listen.

A year ago when I was drunk and sick of listening to them brag about yet another expensive gadget/holiday ect I asked how they could possibly afford to live such a luxurious lifestyle on his wage, and that I would love to know their secret for making their money go SO far.

After many arguments and hushed conversations I eventually found out, via my mother, that pretty much everything they own is bought on credit, that they are in hundreds of thousands of pounds of debt and that they are borrowing thousands of pounds a month from my parents just to get by.

Two weeks late let booked a holiday to Florida.

eventually they ended up having to sell via repossession, but we all pretend it was sold their house and they are now living with my parents.
But are still taking expensive holidays and buying rediclous gadgets and toys.

Thing is anyone can have any car if they are willing to pay.

EG a friend has an Audi on lease its about 300 a month. Likes it for show.

So looking at a car is no indicator of wealth really.

And when you lease a car you can upgrade all the time to new models.

I wonder too, about some friends and neighbours, but a couple of times when I've asked it's been either small mortgage due to parental help/bought n sold at good times, or credit cards. Sorry to be so boring! Would love to hear a spicy "ooh yes he was a secret lottery winner / she was a jewel thief" type story!!

Just read your post rosesarebetter do they have no sense of responsibility shame at all? Using the bank of mumanddad and still booking holidays and buying junk rather than attempting to get a place of their own and pay back what they owe???? How old are they? 12???

Lottery/inheritance?

I know people say "credit" - but that's a lot of credit...

YANBU at all to be curious, I'd love to fucking know too because then I might throw in the towel and get a call centre job!

I agree with Pickles; a car isn't really an indication of wealth. Our neighbours have an audi TT and a BMW 4 by 4 and they are both leased.

I knew someone like that, a mother of DS1's friend. There was no way her and her partner's salary could have supported their lavish lifestyle. I suspected that she was fiddling the books at work (finance officer for social services), DS was horrified at the suggestion.

She was later discovered to have stolen something in the region of £220,000 .

Not suggesting your in laws are at it though .

I would assume a lot of it is on credit or through finance.

Things like kitchens and bathrooms can be paid for monthly, so £15k or so can be spread over 5 yrs at an affordable rate (even if you pay back £20k after adding interest, it still only works out at £333 pcm).

Similarly if the cars are new, they can be leased for reasonable monthly costs (a quick google shows that a TT can be leased for £844 initial payment, followed by £282 pcm, an SLK (can't find a CLK) is £930 initial payment and £310 pcm)

So for the kitchen, bathrooms and cars, they may be paying a little under £1k per month, add on housing costs (if not in the SE, poss around £600 per month for a modest 3 bed house?) and general living costs (£500 say for utilities, food etc) could all be done on a salary of about £32k pa.

To each their own.

Someone's family is helping them out? Seems obvious to me.

I am very jealous of anyone whose family helps em out financially!

secret lives of crime?

DH and I deliberately keep quiet about how we fund our lifestyle as it's one of the few things we can control regarding his nosy passive aggressive family.

Some of you might be interested to read 'The Four Hour Work Week' by Tim Ferriss. The subtitle is 'Escape the 9-5, live anywhere and join the new rich.' There's a lot in it about moving away from owning stuff and instead focusing on experiences. Leasing rather than buying cars comes into it.

I think a lot of people don't know what things cost (my old sportscar was nearly 20yrs old and only worth £1,100 but it looked flashy to those that don't know anything about cars. DH drives a rare spec BMW that wasn't much but is gorgeous) and don't shop around. We're redoing our kitchen and are just having new doors put on the existing units. We're buying the new hob online and putting in a basic sink. But the finish on the doors looks like Farrow and Ball and we're spending quite a bit on some very funky lighting. The result will be stunning but it's going to cost 25% of what a fully new kitchen would. We put rental quality carpet in when we renovated, it's made from a plastic composite but we're yet to have a visitor get on their knees and examine it!

I cook everything from scratch, mostly from Lidl. I also buy half a pig at a time from my uncle. This is actually great value per kg and dinner parties where I roast a shoulder of rare breed pork for 24hrs actually costs as much as making a decent spag bol. I buy wine by the case. I often serve "champagne" cocktails which are ginger liquer I make myself (with cheap brandy) topped with prosecco I bought by the case that was £4.07 a bottle. It tastes divine but costs 80p a glass to make.

No we aren't struggling but we live a lifestyle that would have some people estimating we make at least double what we do. As MIL knows what DH makes and that my business is a start-up she assumes I'm getting him into loads of debt. Not sure how OPs family are doing it but this is how an accountant and a writer live like we just stepped out of a Sunday supplement

I also buy half a pig at a time from my uncle, I just liked that line WaitingForMe ... but I get your general gist. Re. OP I have no idea, windful, generous relative, credit, whatever ...

I'd like to clarify that he organises the slaughter and butchering! Sounded a bit like I head over with my axe then chuck him a tenner

haha

Is it just me whose first thought was that SIL's claiming as a lone parent and he's living with her on the sly while working and earning?

You can tell the kind of area I live in......

s it just me whose first thought was that SIL's claiming as a lone parent and he's living with her on the sly while working and earning?

not really maybe my 2nd thought I was just thinking finance and credit and most people can't afford cars we have a car on finance

I don't think YABU - they are family and it's obvious everything is being paid for on credit. Just don't help them out when the bailiffs come.

Nothing wrong with OP wondering, I'd be curious too.