Where do people get the money?

[MrsLouisTheroux]

I understand that there are people (I thought the minority) who earn a zillion pounds and are very high earners but I just don't understand how so many people afford to eat out, shop, go to the cinema/theatre so often. The huge shopping centre near me is always literally packed with people doing just that. Not just at this time of year either.
The shops seem to be doing brilliantly but I don't know where the money comes from.
DH and I earn a good amount between us and we do nice stuff but can't afford to eat out, shop or go to the cinema more than a couple of times a month and we don't buy a lot when we do go shopping - certainly not for designer stuff.
I thought there was a recession?!
AIBU to wonder how people afford it?

If it's a huge shopping centre maybe people travel to get there? We sometimes go to centre 80 mins from here because it's got a bravissimo, so maybe it serves a very big area?

In our case, hubby works all the hours he can get. We remain in our first marital home rather than trading up to what we could afford on a mortgage so we gained a lot of equity which we then used to begin getting buy to let properties which I increased the value of.

Maybe they are window shopping? or dont spend their money on other things....my mil likes to spend thousands on brand new cars and kitchens, I am happy with old bangers and crap kitchen and prefer to spend money on "experiences" like the theatre...

You also say you go out a couple of times a months, thats quite a bit and probably what the other people you see are doing

Credit cards. We rely on them anyway.

Maybe they save up or have gone without other stuff for a once in a while treat.

I did this once last year for me & dhs anniversary and it cost a bomb so haven't repeated it !
A meal out, cinema and a trip to m&s ended up costing a lot of money

Pootles Yes, people do travel from miles around to get there so you're probably right. It's like a day out in itself I suppose. There is just so much money flying around and I'm !!

They don't have kids

If you are canny then you can do it on vouchers etc. If not, it will be on the never-never.

soverylucky Yes, you're right. It's the whole disposable income thing I suppose! We live in a lovely area, have good jobs but very very little disposable income. You're right though.

I also think there are loads more people than we think there are living in relatively small spaces. All of those people you see in the shopping centre may only go shopping as regularly as you do or less and yet the place could still be as busy. If you think about the population of your town (you can usually find it on wikipedia) and then try to imagine that many people, the amount of people in a public place at one time is a tiny proportion of that number and then you have the surrounding towns etc.

Bertie THAT is true too!!!

We sometimes go to a shopping centre just to wander round. It's free and warm and gets the kids out of the house in bad weather when the park would be horrible.

I always say this, but the cost of housing varies hugely. Within 5 miles of here there is a £550000 difference between the cheapest and most expensive 4 bed house on Rightmove. That's an enormous difference in mortgage payments.

and your second post makes lots of sense Bertie

People plan their budgets in different ways. Some spend less on money at the grocery store so they can eat out more. shrug

Also, you have no idea how many of those people are actually spending money. They could just be looking around. Or stealing.

Somebody on here once said that you only see what people do spend money on, not what they don't.

E.g. I eat out once a week (wetherspoons, nandos type places) and sometimes buy lunch at work. We own smartphones, tablets, have tivo box/cable tv (and a nice flatscreen telly).

On the other hand, I don't own a car, socialising is going round others houses, we go on big days out (zoo or other local attraction) once or twice a year, I don't drink, we only buy e.g. clothes, shoes when absolutely necessary and then the most expensive we do is supermarket. Same with household stuff. Kids don't do afterschool activities. Our outgoings tend to be low. Don't pay for haircuts.

The point is, when people say to me "oh I couldn't afford that"/"how do you afford that", i'm thinking the same about their car, the holidays they go on, regular haircuts and loads of other stuff.

You prioritise the things you think are important, and others do as well. It's just their priorities can be different to yours.

I expect they're all single mothers on benefits.

I maybe get to go to the cinema three times a year! That's not counting Kids AM. That's a good treat, tickets for £1.75. McDs happy meal for son after (he doesn't eat fries so I have them) and then to make the most of the train fare have a look in a few shops where I know they'll often have a bargain, like suddenly reducing trousers to a fiver.

Don't assume everyone you see is spending large.

If a credit cards were outlawed tomorrow the economy would collapse. It really is as simple as that. Its all being done on credit.

Well the people in Boots today weren't buying anything, they were just standing in my way looking at the gift sets.

I do often think this, though. If you take a 'typical' Tuesday, say, when most people would be at work, yet shopping centres are still really quite busy - not packed but a long way from deserted!

I do shop a fair bit as I have a high disposable income at the moment though. But I am ONE person!

I think what you're really seeing is a stark contrast between "haves" and "have nots".

I live in a city, but my parents still live in the town where I grew up, which has its nicer and not-so-nice areas - in the area my parents are, you can't move for bumping into high-end cars and designer labels. I'm talking cars which cost the equivalent of the NMW each year to run/service even without the petrol. You wouldn't think we were in a recession if you only look in that area - not at all. It's hard to generalise but most of the folks there are mid-age/older, typically bought/owned their homes before the boom years (i.e. 10+ years ago), fairly professional jobs, etc.

And yet walk 30 minutes down the main road, you're into the council housing estates where you're lucky if the average household income will be half the country average.

There's a real difference between those households, and yet if you walk into the town shopping centre it's crammed with shoppers doing just as you described.

There is plenty of money around, trust me, but amongst those crowds are the ones that can't really afford it who are mixed in too. And you're mistaking them all for the folks who really do have the disposable cash to shop like that.

A good example of this is I have a neighbour who I occasionally take in parcels for - she's very friendly but is one of those "only brands will do for my children" types. Which is great if you can afford it, but she works in Iceland, on the till, so I'm guessing at or just above NMW. How can a single mum like that afford to spend £60 on a pair of toddler shoes? (one example from last week) Either she's rolling in cash (I don't think so) or she's living beyond her means really.

Because there really is a crowd of people in the UK who can afford a lot of the luxury goods being sold, but there's even more who think they can afford it, but really can't.

Maybe i'm explaining myself badly here, but I think the crux of it is that the average Briton considers themselves far richer than they really are - many of us are living beyond our means, be that by buying brands regularly that our income levels couldn't possibly sustain, or by avoiding paying into pensions, for example, which is another ticking timebomb our generation is going to be facing in 30, 40 years time.

The booming shopping centres aren't necessarily something to be celebrated if we scratch beneath the surface - the growing income equality in this country hasn't had the airtime it really deserves.

I would say that's a gross generalization, MoreBeta.

I have a credit card. I don't use it. It's for emergencies.

I have no idea if others do the same or not.

I am a single parent and work full time. I don't have lots of disposable income, but eating out is one of our treats. I am not a shopper or into gadgets, so money that may have been spent on 'stuff' goes on me and dd going out for dinner. If we don't have the money, we don't do it.