To wonder how so many people afford so much nice 'stuff'?

[EscapingBiology]

So many people, who earn seemingly average incomes just seem to have loads and loads of nice stuff; constant new clothes and shoes, kids all decked out in expensive branded clothing and shoes, kids doing every extracurricular club under the sun, having 3 different expensive prams for one child, constantly re-doing their houses and buying new furniture and accessories. The list goes on and on.

How do people afford it? We have a decent income but there is no way I could afford the nice items that some people buy. I know we all have different incomes and circumstances but I'm talking couples who live on a single income, with one partner doing an averagely paid job. I don't live in an area with very high wages, there are certainly no bankers living round here, or people who appear to work in a call centre but who actually earn 100k!

Looking at what I post on Fb, most of the stuff that is publicly available is funded by my mother.

Completely anecdotal but I find it is the people that have the least cash that seem to have the naicest stuff. Maybe they feel the need to be seen with brand names?
My hairdresser works part time and lives in a very expensive house and goes on at least 3 holidays abroad per year. She has a brand new 'urban SUV' and her husband drives a sports car. I assumed he had a very good job, but one day she very casually told me that everything is on HP and gets a loan every three years which keeps them going. At the end of the three years they get a bridging loan until the next 3 year loan is approved. She said it like it was the most normal thing ever. I couldn't sleep at night living like that.

it is just priorities. when i lived in a less than glam part of london the cars parked outside very unattractive properties were very nice. likewise the children were well dressed.

apparently debt is out of control in the UK at the moment so it is easy to guess where the money is from.

i think the house is a better indicator. cars and trinkets can be easily bought on loan, whereas a house cannot.

I know people our age who've been really lucky with parents helping out A LOT financially (e.g. Paying for a foreign holiday or a house deposit) and others who've received inheritance.

Others it's debt, others are much higher earners than you're assuming, others scrimp in other areas - might not have savings etc.

@NameChanger22 If you earn £13,000 pa then you are definitely entitled to tax credits. Do you want a link to the calculator website?

Hi BrilliantDisguise. I am entitled to tax credits, but for many reasons I want to avoid them. Plus we don't need them. We have no housing or transport costs and I'm very organised and good with money so able to save.

Now you're making me wonder why anyone would avoid having a few hundred pounds extra per month to save!

If someone painted their house three or four times a year I'd think they were barking rather than envy them.

Me and my DP are both really good at cheap shopping, especially for clothes. People probably think I'm a total spendthrift but I buy almost nothing full price and have never had credit except for a car, long paid off. We also spend very little on food - we have a set routine of cheap healthy meals we just eat every week. I know how we eat would be some people's absolute worst nightmare and totally not worth the cost saving, so I think it's about priorities a lot of the time. Also, just to reiterate - Wilko IS your friend. I have to walk quite a bit out my way to get there but it's so worth it for how cheap you can get stuff that would add a big wedge to the usual weekly shop. Going hard on the small savings really helps me with the big ones, like holidays.

Savvy shoppers
Rental or other income
Small or mortgage paid off or downsized.
Good double income before having DC so savings/ mortgage overpayments.
Early Inheritance
Money or help from rich relatives
Winnings

I thought the same last week. A friend of mine has bought a house which is a fixer upper. They have no kitchen or bathroom. It's been like this for 2 years.

They have just booked a £7k holiday and bought a £40k car.

They earn less than I do combined.

She says they have no debt and buy everything cash. I think they must be growing something in their attic...

Self-sufficiency, fear of having to pay it back, loss of privacy, feeling independent, pride, less judgement from others etc etc etc.

If I needed it I would claim it, but I don't.

I’m having a huge amount of home improvements done. An onlooker would wonder how we are doing such works on one office job wage and a sahp - it’s a grant to make my home suitable for my severely disabled daughter.

'Fiddling the benefits system'. Oh yes because benefits are so much!
It could be for any reason. For example my mortgage was paid off with an inheritance from my dad when he died, and still have some left; have a fairly nice car, holiday once a year in this country.
So while I'm a single parent working 30 hours (no tax credits) and have a DD at home and DS at uni (plus two older ones) it would seem I couldn't afford these things but can.
Plus my mum is very generous to my children.

But if you put it into a separate account, then if you had to pay it back (which would only be if they gave you the wrong amount) then you could easily repay it.

As for loss of privacy - who on earth knows you? Those working for the agency will in all likelihood be claiming it, too, anyway. As for other people - friends, etc - just don't tell them anything.

As for your pride - well, if a company is paying you a low wage it's them that should be ashamed. You shouldn't feel a loss of pride in yourself - you are working and bringing up a child on your own. That money would be really useful for you and your child in later life. You could put it into long-term savings and save for your retirement or for your child to get onto the property ladder.

They only have a lot of what you can see. You have no clue about the state of their savings or debts, nor indeed about whom they know who might get them cheap deals/presents/barely used cast offs/stolen goods/customers for their illegal business dealings.

I don't see the point of claiming money that I don't need, just to put it in a bank account in case I need to pay it back to them. I'd feel guilty about taking the money, when there are people out there that really do need it - disabled, homeless etc. I would also feel guilty spending it on luxuries for the same reason.

We have a nice lifestyle - holidays, days out, savings, new clothes. I don't need extra money. If I needed it, I would have no hesitation in claiming it.

The only answer you get posting that on here is that people are in debt, everything's on credit and are bankrolled by parents.

We do well for ourselves because we save as well as spend. I have no debt, DH has debt of a mortgage. I can't count my credit as debt as I clear it in full every month.

DH has a good wage, I have a good part time wage plus my own business and I save hard, very hard. We save for holidays, save for birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas, save for days out, seek out bargains, use rewards cards and boost points etc.

But people would assume I was in debt as we go abroad 4/5 times a year but because I work hard seeking out best prices, our total spend for holidays in 2017 has been between £6/7,000 and this has been made up of 7 nights AI Tenerife and New York in Feb (3 nights) July (3 nights) end of October for 4 nights and December for 5 nights. This has been for three of us and I got some excellent deals.

Comparing what you haven't got against someone else is never good but you can't always assume it's debt that allows it.

We enjoy our holidays so save more for those. I spend a fair bit of money on books, many of them second hand whereas a friend will only buy books brand new and she doesn't go on holiday abroad as she doesn't like heat etc.

Brittbugs do you have any tips for finding bargain holidays? Your holidays sound fantastic!

I don't smoke, I rarely drink, my only "hobby" is going abroad once or twice a year, as cheaply as possible but with as much experience as possible. We stay in instead of going out, we save a decent chunk of our wages every month and do a lot of our home improvements/DIY ourselves. We both work silly hours whenever we can and don't have a lot of luxuries (besides the odd takeaway or meal out). We probably look quite well off particularly for our age (both 24) and people do ask how we manage to have a big tv and a nice sofa etc. Debt wise we only have our mortgage - and my student debt (which I don't earn enough to pay off currently).

My cousin has amazing taste, and is a really smart shopper. Everything in her house and on her kids looks like new, good quality. It's not, she's just got a real knack. I'm frugal too, but in a "make do" way, whereas she makes it look brilliant as well. Honestly you'd think her income was three times what it actually is, and she's not in a penny of debt.

The other option is a fuck load of debt. A few friends and acquaintances have mentioned the debt they're in before, and it's really shocked me, because I just wouldn't have thought. My parents drummed it into me that credit cards and loans are the work of the devil, but plenty of people feel differently

there is a phrase I've only ever seen on mumsnet - comparison is the thief joy. Maybe they have debt. Maybe they have rich parents/grandparents. Maybe they won the lottery. The question is - are you happy with what you have? If so, then all is good OP.

Brittbugs do you have any tips for finding bargain holidays? Your holidays sound fantastic!

I always go to travel agents, find a holiday with prices, take the info home then read reviews about the hotel. I then check Expedia holidays and also email the hotel directly to ask for a price for the dates I want.

I also book flights separately which sometimes is a bit hit or miss! Our flights to Tenerife were £400 for three of us and that includes priority boarding and baggage allowance of 20kg each and hand luggage each, the hotel was booked directly with them and we paid £650 for 7 nights, £780 on Expedia and 950 with our local travel agent.

Expedia usually have their sale in January. I'd fancied New York three years ago and I'd found a holiday for 5 nights the week before Christmas for £2,000. I saved it and it went into the Expedia sale for £1800.

I then did a bit more digging and got it down to £1,000 by flying via Paris rather than direct but we still arrived at JFK at the same time, it would have been had we flown direct. It didn't add much on as it was at the airport for 6am, flight at 855am landing at 955 an hour and a half at CDG before a 6.5 hour flight to JFK.

It's hard work as in it can take a good few hours but it's worth it.

Thanks Brittbug! 👍🏻

Some people are very savvy with their money. Since DD2 got herself a little dog walking job + her allowance from us, she gets roughly £60 a month. She has a wardrobe and make-up drawer that is the envy of her (probably wealthier) friends. Her secret is DePop & e-Bay. She's just bagged some lovely red suede Superstars, only worn once for £15! She's very good at selling her clothes on too, and often even makes money of them.

She's that canny that even when I'm happy to buy her something brand new she declines, preferring to take the money and make it work harder for her on e-Bay etc.

She plans to study medicine but I actually think her skills would be wasted and she'd make a fantastic city trader

Also people have very, very different priorities. DH earns a 6 figure salary but he isn't remotely interested in fancy cars, designer clothes or flash watches. He drives an aging Audi, happily wears 5 years old polo shirts from M&S and jeans from Asda and his watch is a good one, but it was a 30th birthday pressie from his parents nearly 20 years ago.

He had friends on similar salaries who will only wear Paul Smith etc, and spend £££££s on Range Rovers. But they're always pleading poverty and stressing about their overheads.