AIBU - We’re struggling to get by on £200,000 a year

[BreakingDad77]

next.ft.com/content/d6f1e58e-20c9-11e6-aa98-db1e01fabc0c

Just actually gobsmacked by her comments -

“In theory, with our household income, we are in the top 5 per cent of the UK population and yet it does not feel that way,” she says. “If you’re earning millions of pounds, then you’re OK — and at the other end of the spectrum you get everything paid for. We are caught in the middle where we are paying for everything.”

Yeah because you know those on benefits get such a cushy deal...WTAF

Just all feeds into why UK is one of the mist unequal countries in Europe.

Its ironic as with the EU ref Brexiters going on about how all the other EU countries are crap and yet we have some much bigger problems closer to home.

Mrs DeVere, you bought your house about 15 years ago (you're not exactly clear). Either you're not in London - in which case your example is pretty irrelevant - or you are, in which case property prices have certainly been going up for longer than the past two years irrespective of the borough you live in.

FWIW My older child will start at a state school in September. We never even considered putting our children in independent schools. Also, we don't own and have never owned a car, even though we are in zone 3 and have two children under school age. We do travel quite a bit - including to visit family and friends - but I really don't have time for people who think a £50 return flight to somewhere in Europe where you stay with friends/family is a luxury, given that it's cheaper all in than to travel by train to the other end of England.

However, you do have the attitude that if people work longer hours they should subsidise those who don't work long hours. I don't think that's the right way a society and country should be run. Unfortunately, it's how the tax system works at the moment.

Matildathecat
You are completely right. It's all relative. My husband is a very high earner, actually more than the figure mentioned but we don't take a penny out of the country. We pay for everything. Even medical care which I don't necessarily believe in but my husband wants it this way. We spend a lot of time out of the country and don't feel particularly well off. I know it sounds crass but I feel like I live exactly the same lifestyle as someone earning half of the salary. Taxes etc are all higher when you earn more and if you want a fairly decent home - it costs. We are not lavish - just normal.

Reading this people's ideas of being squeezed and what constitutes going without is astounding.I have been a single parent for 12 years,most if that time I have earned less than 25 k ,I was forever juggling bills,if something broke we did without ,no car ,no holidays.Sometimes cereal for dinner.Worrying how to pay for school uniform,trips,Christmas everything!

I now earn about 55 k we are loaded to me,I can pay all my bills without worrying,my kids can get new clothes,We are just back from holidays.
Best off all I don't need to worry about money ,about how can feed us all for the 12 quid I have left for the week.I even bought food from Marks and Spencers the other day,something simple,but for the first 35 years of my life I couldn't have considered.

I think I am really lucky, I feel incredibly rich and priviledged,most of the time. We are on a smallish budget, but when I think about what I want to buy extra, there is not much really that would not be unhealthy anyway (takeaways, lots of takeaways) I would like to live in a house not a flat but at the moment it is doing the job and the stress of organising it all/ going out to earn more would be more than it is worth.

It is different if you have not got enough for the basics and a few luxuries like a weeks holiday, the odd takeaway, running a reasonably reliable car etc.

MrsDV I know where you live after the back garden scandal. I know you are sitting pretty right now, I owned within spitting distance of you from 1996 to 2012. HH yes? It was never a shit hole, just not middle class. Good solid working class, now hipsterville ;)

We were those neighbours that you didn't realise earned 200k. We moved over the other side of the main road and took a bigger mortgage to have better public schools for our children.

I can't cut my hours, my line of work doesn't allow it. My toddlers are in private nursery and it costs a fortune. I'm not complaining but cut me some slack, I'm paying a fair wad of tax for those who are not as 'lucky' as me. I respect your choices, and I bet you respect mine

As far as lucky goes, I'm bipolar and could claim benefits (assuming I jumped through hoops and convinced them) but choose not to even when unable to work. I was a council estate kid, also orphaned at 16, but Ho-hum. I don't moan, I just keep on keeping on.

I honestly think that I contribute a lot to this country, but I also get a lot back. The NHS saved my daughters life, priorities and all that.

I'm rich by most people's standards, but I'm not driving a BMW and haven't had a holiday since 2004.

I'd like to see the background of the person in the article. It's all relative, when you grew up not knowing if you'd be able to afford the weekly shop when you were 17 you get well grounded. My daughters think it's cruel that I won't buy them crappy magazines filled with plastic tat. They'll learn!

I may be 'rich' but I'm not spoiled and I respect others. I still regard myself as working class despite my earnings fwiw.

Maybe Ms Sharma (I think that's her name) needs to start living on a 200k budget and not on a millionaires budget which she must be if she's struggling. I don't earn a tenth of what she does and I do ok. Granted we haven't been on holiday for a few years and my car is 10 years old, but we have food in our bellies, clothes on our backs and a roof over our heads. I am a single mum with four boys and I can live on £16k pa so I am damn sure she can live on £200k.

WTAF?!

Our combined income is less than half of this Daily Mail person. We probably have a similar size mortgage to her (£180,000). We don't have any childcare costs nowadays but I have always considered us to be really fortunate and comfortably off, and am jolly grateful! I did one of those online "how well off are you" things not long ago and apparently we are in the top 5% earnings-wise in the country. I guess £200,000 pa + puts you in the top 1%.

If you haven't had a holiday since 2004 I'veBeenToMars, please don't ask anyone to believe that it is because you can't afford it!

Indeed MrsDV, but they all love it now. You've just got your retirement fund

As for the woman in the article, I really want to know her background. What exactly is squeezed? Can Tarquin not go to piano lessons or is she struggling to pay her gas bill? I think it's the former?

Perhaps a reality check is in order. Anyone remember the Conservative MP Matthew Parris who said he could live on benefits in the 80s and lasted less than a week?

Have we established what the take home pay is on £200,000? Both for sole earner and a couple earning, say, £100,000 each? Assuming paye tax?

However, you do have the attitude that if people work longer hours they should subsidise those who don't work long hours. I don't think that's the right way a society and country should be run. Unfortunately, it's how the tax system works at the moment.

I work 25 hours a week at minimum wage, as well as doing a full time degree, as well as being a single parent to 3 children. I work pretty long hours all in all. i dont get anywhere close to £200k a year.

My ex works a 60 hour week, minimum, and gets nowhere close to £200k a year.

My friend is a juniour doctor and works the ridiculous hours associated with it, and gets nowhere close to £200k a year.

Another friend works 2 jobs, one full time in a call centre, then a one in a pub part time. she routine works 8-6, then 7-12. 5 days a week. then the other 2 does 10-12 in the pub. still gets nowhere near £200k a week. the idea that only those on huge incomes work long hours is ridiculous.

I run my own consultancy, if I take a holiday I'm not paid. It's hard to take two weeks off when you know that those two weeks will cost you your wages, plus the cost of the holiday. I guess I'm a workaholic. I've promised the children an all out no expense spared trip to Disneyland when they are 6 and 7 (3 years time). I'm hoping to do Lapland for Christmas 2017. When they are so little anything other than a day trip seems pointless now.

As for how much you take home on 200k, it depends on salary sacrifice and pension contributions. As a base its about £115k. So £85k on tax and NI.

Both dh and I are self employed. No need to explain what that means in terms of holidays (ffs). But we can afford to go on holiday for at least two weeks pa, sometimes more. Don't use not going on holiday as proof that you are not well off! It's just disingenuous.

So more than £9,500 per month take-home.

That just makes me even more

Bloody hell! I wish I had that amount every month to spend

Have we established what the take home pay is on £200,000? Both for sole earner and a couple earning, say, £100,000 each? Assuming paye tax?"

If each on £100k then they each get £5400 a month assuming no student loans.
If only one person on £200k (not the case here as they both work) then at £150k you lose the single person allowance, state help with child care etc etc and it's £9713 a month (yet another reason if we really need them to ensure always both husband and wife work full time). Their childcare for one is probably about £20k a year full time. Their mortgage is probably £3500 a month.
Say they are on £10k a month net less 3500 mortgage less £1700 am onth child care leaves £4800. Out of that they may well be repaying student loans (9% tax each?) and putting a sum into a private pension. So they probably have about £1k a week for pensions, food, holidays, clothes, travel card which will be quite a bit from Croydon into London every day for two people.