If you are minted....

[FeralBeryl]

*What is your/ partner's career or job?
*
Not a TAAT more a TIBAT (inspired by a thread)

Someone has a monthly take home pay of £11k
Not going to lie, I fully intend to suddenly obtain the necessary qualifications overnight for whatever it is. sure there'll be an online course....

I know there will have been a great deal of sacrifice, no work home balance etc. I'm not wanting to judge at all-I'm enthralled

Please.

That's so sad.
My Dhs very rich aunt and uncle have lived a very insular life. Their choice. Drove their only child away, he has lived abroad since he was 18, will never come home.
Now of course they are both old and frail and have massive regrets...
all the things they never did and places they never went.
Sad :(

I've thought of something else too. I earnt a lot in my 20s/early 30s. Not particularly clever but got a job in financial services and worked hard and got promoted. For about 12/13 years I was out of the house at 6.45am, home at 8ish. It was hard hard work, physically and mentally draining. I was in bed at 9.45 Sunday through Thursday. Most of the people who said "you're so lucky" were also the people who said "I wouldn't do that", "you're not having a life" "your employers are unreasonable".

When the children were at a state primary similar people said similar things about DH's commitment and my commitment to DH.

I must admit I am fortunate. I for the money I earn I work about 38 hrs a week over 4 days and I live 5 mins drive from work. I have a good work life ballance (very important when you are a single parent). I wouldn't want any more work in exchange for more pay as I earn enough (always offer overtime and all ways refuse it). I am 32 and feel like I have made it in life. Hopefully I can ride this job out for the next 30 years and retire. To be fair being a single parent work sometimes feels like a break.

MerryMarigold, whilst those from richer backgrounds may be more represented amongst those who become minted, not everyone from a rich background becomes minted......there is a subtle difference.

So, whilst it certainly helps and is ONE of the contributing factors, it certainly doesn't fully explain it. Many of those from rich backgrounds DONT go on to become minted themselves - so they are lacking the 'something' or more likely 'somethings' which lead to people becoming mega rich. I feel like I'm writing an essay here - showing the variety of causes and showing how they interlink and weighing their relative importance.

From all the info on this thread, the following questions occur to me, whose answers perhaps indicate if you are or are likely to become minted. Note that the answer to any one individual question won't provide the answer (before anyone starts saying they can answer 'yes' to a specific question, but aren't minted)

• can you do a job to a high level that very few people can do?
• can you do a job which to this level which is in significant demand?
• do you provide a product or service which has very high monetary value?
• do you actively seek change and new opportunities?
• when new opportunities present themselves are you highly likely to consider and then leap at the chance, even if there are significant risks?
• do you hold the status quo in your life very lightly?
• if things go wrong, are you able to see it as an opportunity to learn and get back up and move forward in a more determined way?
• do you believe that there is always a way forward and you just have to find it?
• are you prepared to move, go abroad, leave friends/family, miss out on social life and leisure for your work?
• are you prepared to work hugely significant numbers of hours for extended periods of time?

-are you prepared to be involved in things where the reward might not come for very many years and isn't guaranteed?

I think that being able to answer 'yes' to almost all of these questions is likely in those that are minted. They aren't the only things, but seem pretty key. Minted people may also be very clever and have top qualifications, they may be from richer backgrounds and they have probably had some luck (as well as bad luck) along the way - but lots of other people have the things in this last list and aren't minted, so I think it's the first list that makes the biggest difference. End of essay.

Totally agree with Chocolate about seizing and making opportunities.
I read Chocolate's post about the type of individual who becomes 'rich'.
My dh displays some of those characteristics. Namely, taking risks, not giving up.
Both of dh and I are highly educated. However, dh is prepared to take risks in order to become successful while I am more likely to tread with caution . In fact we have had numerous disagreements about the fact that he takes far too many risks , which can be of concern bearing in mind that we have dc.
It only takes the loss of a contract or job for someone to become 'poor' thus I think it is wise to be prudent with money which is why I would not put my dcs in private school.

Oh and by the way.....I'm not minted! I simply don't possess those character traits and am too cautious, risk averse and wedded to the status quo to become minted. As a family, in a hard-headed way, we have weighed up what we are and aren't prepared to do regarding work and lifestyle, against how much money we need, and we have come up with an approach which works for us. DH does a job he loves, which pays a decent public sector wage, which means he is able to work very flexibly, often from home and is around at teatime and weekends, and I work part time, again earning reasonable money. Together our income is what we need to find the lifestyle we choose. We won't ever be minted, because we aren't working in the areas where the product or service is so highly valued to make us such, and we aren't the driven personalities that will take the risks and put in the work and sacrifice necessary.....that's all fine, because we are happy with our choices and lifestyle.

I at home today and i'll do some work later, probably. DH has already done about 4 hours work today, around the children, they're older and entertain themselves and will do some more tonight. . Next weekend he will get on 3 planes to give a 30 minute talk at a university half way across the world. He'll then get on 2 more planes to spend 2 days in another far flung city and then fly home. He'll arrive home on the saturday morning completely jet lagged. Sleep for a couple of hours and then spend some time with the children. This is far from unusual.

I have my own business, and it does ok but the only way that he can manage like this is because yes, I do pick up the pieces. Working like this is a lifestyle choice, and i don't mean that just financially. It means that I pick up ALL the slack. There are occasions where he'll do the odd pick up from an after school activity but only if it's after 8pm. There's no sharing drop offs and pick ups, there's no sharing washing or household chores on a regular basis, he doesn't do bedtime in the week. He has never been to a sports day, he has been to 1 parents evening ever. If I want him to arrange to come to a school event he needs to know weeks and weeks in advance so that it can be booked in and I don't even ask him to come to about 80% of them. He doesn't answer calls or texts during the day because he doesn't have the time or capacity in his day to respond to them. That's the reality of life. I deal with everything financial, I book every holiday, deal with every doctors appointment, dentist appointment, car repair, MOT, family birthday, playdate, christmas, birthday party and he works.

I'm not complaining, we've chosen this and we've a very strong and happy marriage. He's brilliant with the kids and very hands-on for most of the weekend and they're very close and we carve out time to spend together but he's not around during the week. He moved on to this level of work about 10 years ago and for a long time I resented it and it caused a strain on our relationship. However, about 6 years ago i realised that this was the way it was going to be and therefore i had a choice to accept it or to carry on resenting it so I readjusted my expectations and it has meant that he has been able to focus 100% on his career.

Interestingly, the career decisions he has made have been prompted by me, I'll encourage him to make much more risky career decisions such as moving into a new sector he knows nothing about or moving from a blue chip company to a more specialist more niche boutique or taking a promotion which will take him out of his comfort zone. Having always kept our mortgage relatively small, until recently, it means that we've been able to do these things knowing that if it goes pear shaped i can always up my hours to cover the costs.

Re DH, yes to all those things with the caveat that risks are very calculated. But he never set out to be rich, just the best!

DH would answer yes to the first three of Chocolate's questions - he has a niche skill in high demand, and he's very lucky that it happens to pay well. I wouldn't say he has taken great risks or seeks out changes though - he has been employed with the same company for over a decade and we've sometimes discussed him going self-employed (which would definitely increase his income) but he likes the perks with his job and the reliability of it. He doesn't work massively long hours (typically 50), is always home for dinner and doesn't miss out on family or a social life. We aren't nearly as 'minted' as some PP and he probably doesn't have the drive to achieve that - he likes a decent night's sleep and being able to relax all weekend. But just having the niche skills has been enough to bring in a decent six figure salary and we'd rather have the work/life balance than push for even more.

Husband's in investment banking IT in the City. Calls himself a Business Analyst. Gets paid as a consultant on an hourly rate so pay varies but we average about £15k net a month. Sounds great but, with an ex-wife, two kids in private school (our DD at the local primary!) parents who are financially dependent, and a wife with a penchant for expensive handbags, it honestly doesn't go far!

vghifcqueen I could have written your post exactly re spousal roles. It is a choice with identified end game: creating a 6 figure early retirement income. DH will be able to stop working this way in 5 years.

This thread is fascinating. Chocolate your posts sum it up quite well.
Do you think there's a sliding scale of that list of attributes needed to be minted vs the level of minted one can become? For example, what if we (dh and I ) tick all but one or two boxes on your list? Do you think each point has the same weighting?

Dh and I aren't minted but we could be if we wanted to someday. I am self employed (with scope to employ others and turn it into a bigger business, but I don't want to as we have young dc) and dh works in financial services. We do want work life balance though.

IME "minted" and "work life balance" doesn't often go hand in hand.

I did once think dh would slow down at 55 and to be fair he has a bit but I think it's temporary. Sometimes I worry he'll just keep going and then have a massive heart attack.

Work LIfe Balance. hmm. Dh works, I balance, the dc have a life. Except for August.

DH is head of health and safety for a construction company and earns 98k plus bonuses around £15k and shadow share dividend worth around £30k due next year. He leaves home at 6am and gets back about 12 hours later where he spends the next hour on the phone, email etc. He has a relatively easy job, IMO. He left school at 16 and has a one year diploma worth 60 credits.

I'm a senior teacher and have a Masters in Education and an MA in Special and Inclusive Education. I earn less than half his basic. I'm out from 7am until 6pm on average and have more to do at home. DH says I work much harder than him.

We don't consider ourselves 'minted' but we are certainly very comfortably off compared to average incomes. I still shop in Primark though!

The sliding scale of what you need to do is very dependant on the type of industry/sector. I earn good money and luckily I work less that 40 hrs a week, I have no drive or willingness to take risks. There is no need. The job is very secure and I am at the top of the tree so there is not really anywhere else to clime up the ladder. When the end of the working day is done you go home and the work don't follow you. No targets, no deadline, no one to answer to on a daily basis and no one to be the boss of. Work alone, do your job and get paid. I am fairly smart but a lot of my colleagues are uneducated and been in the game from leaving school. That doesn't mean they are thick. We have a skill set you can't really teach, you either have it or you don't. Plus to be fair we have hundreds of the publics life in our hands on a daily basis. It is a very working class skilled manal job but pays very well. That's probably why I had to fight off over 1000 applicants for the job. It's an anomalie really. No education requier as nothing can train you for it.

I will never be a millionaire because I am sort of top on the ladder but then I only yes to the top three really. But depending on the sector your in you could answer yes to them all and still not see the big bucks.

Of course are we looking at minted in terms of total earnings or wealth we are accumulating? I am fairly frugal and accumulating wealth and property. Some people I work with (paid the same) have the fancy houses, expensive cars etc and have debts. To be living to your means on a high wage doesn't make you any better off than lower earners living to there means. Just means you go home a sit on a fancier chair in a bigger house in a more expensive area. To me there is not a huge difference. Personally I enjoy earning enough to live a comfortable life without debts, I can live without the flashy things. Plus I know I am in a good position to ride out any hard financial times. Suppose it's a material of outlook but to me how you spend your money affects your wealth.

I think again Chocolatewombats post is spot on. My opinion is that in my world you pretty much need all of those things and it helps if genetically you don't need more than 5/6 hours sleep to end up with this level of financial reward.

1DAD would love to know if the job you speak of puts you in the bracket of £11k take home pay per month, that somehow lots of people on this thread have used to measure 'minted'. If so, what is it? Of course you might not want to say.

I don't think it's quite true that you could answer 'yes' to all of my questions, but your sector would prevent you having the chance to become minted. One of the key Qs is whether you work in an industry that produces a product or service which has extremely high monetary value - this effectively cuts out lots of sectors.

I know people who work at top jobs within the public sector. They do have the drive, determination, business acumen and calculated risk taking mindset.....and they do earn well.....probably around £100k mark and are certainly well off. But they recognise that they aren't minted by the definition here of 11k per month, which someone up thread has said needs £250k pa. These very able guys have often worked in the private sector previously and could have gone on to earn the mega bucks, but chose to step into the public sector and focus their energies and skills there - often because of political or other value systems that made them do this. The same could be said of some very able people who could have gone on to earn mega bucks, but side stepped into top roles within charities, which whilst paying well, won't pay what's private sector role might. It's likely that these roles do deliver a clearer/better (question of perception) work life balance too, but I think often these people would have been prepared to work the necessary hours and focus 100% on work sacrificing work life balance, IF they hadn't had these other pulls in their life, such as political, social, religious, philanthropic motives too, which directed their energies into paths which don't pay quite so well.

Its very much the private sector that allows that higher earning, because the product produced can have such a high monetary value.

I remember seeing a saying once

Talent gets you into the game
Drive takes you to the top

I think that probably describes how some people have ended up minted. You need the aptitude, but that's not enough. It goes hand in hand with a real determination to succeed.

Wow 11k a month I wish. I earn about half of that. But according to salarygraph.co.uk/ that puts me still puts me in the top 10% in terms of annual take home. That to be honest is scary because I don't feel hugely wealthy. It also really brings home to me how much wealth in this country is owned by so few. Even if you earn 46k according to that site your in the top 10% yet you have to earn in the millions a year to in the top 5% (according to the site, correct me if this is untrue). And of course I am single so don't benefit from joint earnings with a partner. I work in the private sectort. I don't want to go into my profession as we like to keep our exact earnings low key. But we tend to buck the trend and that's what I love about my job. That is probably why so many people apply for so very few jobs.

Plus 40% tax really cuts deep but I think it's fair. I suppose some that make it big time are also good at dogging a bit of that or creative with their books at least..

I really really did not know people earn this much in RL!!! £11k a month is eyewatering amounts to me! About to go to uni to study teaching and will nnot be able to afford to buy a house / will be living with parents for the next 5-6 years so essentially not moving until just shy of 30. Sad that teachers ect are so poorly paid and people are pushing 11k a month! Good luck to you all though I'm glad people are thriving in this world. :)

I earn a lot more than 11k take-home a month. I understand why people gasped at Bobochic's comment about 11k not being that much, and whilst I think it's a lot, I agree with her comment that it's all relative.

Do I feel wealthy? Yes, definitely. Are we the wealthiest people I know? Not by a long way - there are many families in DD's school who are an awful lot wealthier than we are. Conversely, there are an awful lot of people who are nowhere near as wealthy. And it's not always possible to tell the difference between the two. New money and old money tends to behave in very different ways.

Do I have work-life balance? Sometimes not, but mostly yes - one of the joys of being very senior is you manage your own schedule, bar a few instances.

Did I work bloody hard to get here? Yes, absolutely. I was fortunate to be born academically gifted, and into a household that knew how to nurture those gifts, plus give me the cultural capital and emotional intelligence to succeed. So hard work on its own isn't enough - luck plays a part.

Do I feel very, very grateful? Every single day.

That is very true queenjuggler. The nature of labour is complex. I am friends of a lot of teachers and nurses. All work a lot more than me, a lot more educates than me and provide an important service to our society but earn a lot less. In my job the you get the full pay in the first 2 years. I served 11 years in the Forces, served around the world, was cold/wet/stupidly hot, been shoot at, rocket attacked and missed out on most of the first 2 years of my daughters life in service to the country for only half of what I earn now (and I had to work hard over the years to get that wage). I am 32 and that's me now sticking with this for life as I don't want/need any more