to wonder how the heck this guy manages to afford all this stuff?!

[FedupofbeingtoldIcantusemyname]

I know a guy who posts a lot on FB.

He often posts about the things he has bought, and there are a lot of things! Such as:

He is a bit of a movie buff so often buys expensive blu ray movie memorabilia/collectable box sets of films and TV series', as well as movie props, signed photos etc.

Super huge swanky TVs and sound systems to watch them on (he has a 50in in the living room and has just bought another for his bedroom - in a 1 bed flat).

Lots of new clothes/shoes.

He goes out quite a lot too, trips to the cinema, out drinking, dinners out etc.

Thing is..the works part time as a cleaner in a school! He can't be earning much above MW, how the bloody hell does he afford it all and can he give me some tips on how to make my money go further

I know its none of my business and he can spend his money on what he likes but AIBU to just be curious how he does it? Any suggestions?

Fwiw he is single at lives in his own flat.

[Wauden]

He is selling drugs to the school children!
Something strange going on, one way or another.

[Voteforpedr0]

How do you know he doesn't have an online business ? However he can afford it has little to do with you, bet its bloody hard work cleaning a school so good on him in say.

[Voteforpedr0]

*I say

[igglepiggleisanarsehole]

Inheritance perhaps?

[Akire]

Single people cant get tax credits if he's working part time may qualify help top up rent. Tv paid off weekly DVD etc eBay bargains. Hardly sounds extra gated to have 2 tV however big

[YourHandInMyHand]

I know a very similar guy. He never ever mentions that he lives with his parents.

He also has no kids, no partner, no bubbling social life, he is constantly buying things (mainly gadgets and comic type collectables) and really doesn't seem too happy when you scratch the surface.

Debt is also another likely possibility.

[Potatoface2]

didnt know single young men could get council flats

[Thebrowntrout]

Anyone, technically, can.

[Frostycake]

Could be gambling profits. Trading of some sort. Cashed in a life policy. Anything really.

[AskBasil]

Credit cards

[bettyberry]

my earnings are min wage-ish but I make it go much much further by

Selling on bargain charity finds. I'm in them to buy our clothes so its daft not to look. My 'thing' is ceramics. I buy for pennies and sell for pounds. This week I bought 4 cornishware mugs for £8 in a discontinued but pop colour. Sold them for £40 on ebay. Finding just one item and selling it on for 2-3x the original cost pays for me and DS to go out for a meal or pay for a couple of extra rounds of bus fare to places!

I buy DVD and games in charity shops and trade them into games shops. Have an app on my phone to scan the barcode and find out its trade in value. I've picked up recent DVD's for 50p and blurays for £2 and made £3-6 on each one just by trading them in to be able to get a game I want.

Chances are he could be doing similar.

He could be finding the bargains.

He could be in a shop with other people and photographing their stuff. Faking an online life or making it look more impressive is pretty common.

He could be buying the meals via groupon. They do fab deals for popular restaurants on quiet days for £10 for a 3 course meal. I've taken advantage of them.

He could be using coupons/vouchers.

He may have won the meals. He could be one of those who enters every competition and doing quite well but not shouting about winning it.

A friend could be paying for the meals.

He could be one of those who buys expensive stuff to get the thrill of buying it but returns it all the next day.

He could be earning more in his cleaning job than you think. I've earned min wage up to £20 an hour in diff cleaning jobs. He might have another job he doesn't tell you about.

He could earn his real money online. Buying/selling. Doing reviews. He could be a mystery shopper and getting those meals and goods as payment for his work. Web cam porn is another hidden but lucrative area. People pay silly amounts to watch others masturbate

Or he could just get the majority of the stuff from ebay and isn't being open about where he bought it from.

[lovescake83]

I don't think charity shops are for that Betty. It just seems so wrong to be in there scanning things for how much you can resell them. Surely you'd alert the attendant that they had underpriced something or give at least some of the money you make back to the charity. It just seems like taking money away from charities...

[Voteforpedr0]

Loves cake, whatever someone does with goods purchased from a charity shop is up to them, I'm sure charity shops are glad to be selling things full stop.

[Atenco]

None of your business, some people are just good at administering their money. If he is teetotal, for example, he would have a lot more spending money than your average joe.

[Helloitsme88]

What's the saying... 'I wish my life was as perfect as you make yours out to be on Facebook' don't believe everything you see. TK maxx designer clothes. eBay. Payment plans.
Inheritance
Lottery win
Secret gigolo
Escort worker
Professional gambler
Oh the possibilities are endless.

[lovescake83]

Charity shops raise money for good causes, ie curing disease. Not for people to go in and capitalise on a shop assistants mistake. If things can be sold on at such a profit, they haven't been priced correctly. Personally I morally couldn't take advantage of that.

[pinkspideruk]

lovecakes - most charity shops offer first dibs on items to the volunteers anyways!

[Crispbutty]

It makes no difference to the charity shop who buys the item. They are selling it at the same price to whoever buys it.

[bettyberry]

lovescake83 So what are charity shops for if not to buy things? What I do with the items I purchase has bugger all to do with the charity. I buy things that have been donated giving the charity 100% profit on them. I pay the price they stick on the item. I don't haggle.

just to make it clear. I do NOT take money from a charity. The stock I am buying was donated for free. There is not theft, no taking away at all. You wouldn't say that if a shop had a sale and items were 70% off. I could snap up stock and sell it at a higher price.

I buy small pieces of furniture too and do them up. Bought a footstool last month for £3. Recovered it with a nice piece of 60s style upholstery fabric. Sold it on for £25. Should I give the charity the difference in that because from where I'm standing the money I make from any of these things is because I used my skills, my own effort to turn a profit.

and just so you know, the local charity shop knows I sell on the DVD's. There is nothing stopping the manager from doing the same herself. Nothing to stop her getting the same app, scanning the DVDs and taking them to trade in but she wont get anywhere near as much to cash out as you do to part-ex on a new game or get an in store voucher which is what I do. Just look at screen grab. That webuy voucher is useless to a charity. Cashing out would give the charity the exact same as what I paid for it.

[Voteforpedr0]

Loves cake - you may be fortunate enough that you don't have to shop in charity shops out of necessity and the people who do won't be in any position to think about ones moral compass.

[fakenamefornow]

Well there's definitely something fishy going on here op. Good job you've sniffed this out. I reckon he must be some sort of secret agent, his cleaning job in the school must be his cover. Didn't James Bond go undercover as a school cleaner once?

[RubbishMantra]

I reckon it's impossible unlikely he's a male escort. More likely to make a living knitting fog.

Women don't pay for sex. Rent-boy on the otherhand...

[gingerboy1912]

Inheritance? And he's single.

[lovescake83]

I do shop in charity shops out of necessity, please don't make assumptions. I don't however go in there to see what I can make a bit of money on. Improving an item and selling it on for a profit is different, people are paying for your time and effort. Taking advantage of charity shops is literally that, taking advantage.

I once found a Mulberry bag in a charity shop for £5. I didn't gleefully rub my hands together and start taking pics for eBay. I told the shop assistant and he sent it to one of the more higher end shops in central london (I know he did this, I worked for the charity myself)

You may be able to justify it, but I can't. Sorry.

[anaiis]

I suspect either he's churning (great term!) as someone said upthread, or maybe it's that he's been really frugal when younger/ living with parents and so has a lot of savings. I do know people who lived at home til mid 20s and (because their parents never really asked for board/keep) had a nestegg of £15-20k, even from really low paid jobs.

It's possible he's had a win on a scratchcard or lottery, or that he's a master criminal, but I suspect it's probably just he's either making extra money somehow, or that he's been really frugal when he was growing up.

On the council flat point, anyone can get one. It depends on your area. I know several single people living in 2/3 bed council flats in areas outside major cities, where there is low(er) demand for council properties. And of course council rents are usually much lower than the private rental market.

And as for what's it to do with the OP, well I think it's quite natural just to wonder. I do the same with acquaintances who have recently bought new cars for their DC's 18th birthdays. I can't afford to do that and nor can my friends, so I think how do others, especially when only one parent works in their families? And not just that, how on earth do they manage the insurance? I keep thinking maybe I'm missing a trick. Possibly they just had an endowment that matured or something, I'd just like to know!