To think you are not skint on £70k, even in Central London??

[LottaLou]

Just had a ridiculous conversation with a friend who lives and works in Central London. She is in digital marketing, which is a field where salaries can vary significantly, so until now I had no idea what kind of salary she might be on. She is single and childfree, so no dependants.

She always complains that she does not have enough money to do this and do that, how skint she is at the end of the month, they should pay her more for her job and so on. I usually listen to her and sympathize, as I have had money problems in the past, and I know how tough it can be.

Well today she (accidentally) revealed to me that she is on bloody £70k, which is more than twice my salary!! I am stunned as I genuiney thought she was on some "barely above NMW" money, given how often she complains about being skint!

I love her dearly and I will always be her friend, but AIBU to tell her to STFU the next time she starts complaining about being skint?

I Googled expensive coffee and the priciest was a cup of Kopi Luwakat at around £60 a cup, a speciality weasel coffee made by collecting coffee beans eaten by wild civets.

I know someone like this. They earn 20k more than us each year and have 2 less children. They have no idea how we are going abroad this year (again) because they don’t think they will ever holiday again now their child is starting school and they can’t get the cheap term time deals. It’s so boring and repetitive. If you want a holiday, stop wasting your money on tat and buying coffee out. Having breakfast out every weekend is a luxury and would be a very easy way to cut back on £80 a month! Really annoys me and I spend less time with her because of it. It’s nothing about actually being skint and more to do with what you prioritise and I prioritise my holiday above meals out and takeaway coffee each day.

These threads make me fume. After rent, tax, and pension I have around £600 left a month to pay for everything for me, DH, and our guinea pig - so that's electric bill, council tax, food, and anything else, and we aren't entitled to any benefits. We manage just fine. Obviously not in London so I'd expect you'd need more than that to live like we do if you were in London, but not so much that 70K would mean you were 'skint' FFS.

£8 on a pastry and coffee is perfectly possible. So is £12 on sushi.

Honestly, she must be pretty shit at budgeting. But I know plenty like her on a whole range of incomes and am generally shocked at how many people don't understand their outgoings.

DH and I earned that together and lived in a nice part of zone 2 with rent in excess of £1k a month. We lived modestly (shopping at Lidl, cooking from scratch, cycling to work, charity shops etc) but still had a great lifestyle, saved £1k a month, and went on holiday a couple of times a year.

Depends on how you define skint. If it’s because her outgoings cost her £70k then she’s still not skint imho as she can reduce her outgoings. To me being skint is having no money at the end of the month after you have cut back on everything you possibly can, or when you’re relying on credit cards to get you through the month! Saying you can be skint on £200k if you’re outgoings are £200k is ridiculous. No one needs £200k of outgoings! Downsize, and don’t be skint! Simples

It's a shit load of money, even in London. In fact it's 5.3 times my salary and I never feel skint.

I don't even know how I would spend 70k a year; I suppose I'd have to get a huge house and go on 6 holidays a year.

I'm fed up of hearing rich people moan about how little money they have (because they spent it all). Even a billionaire can spend all their money and be 'skint'. Mumsnet keeps reminding me that all the money in the UK is in the wrong hands.

Another post about the parallel universe that is Mumsnet.

Skint is not a net income of £4k a month, however you spend it. Skint is for example choosing between putting the heating on or feeding yourself. Going to food banks. Watching every penny so you can afford the very basics.

For everyone saying, ooh, it's London, where you have to spend £2k on rent, spend a fortune on nails, work clothes and meals out, so yes, it's easy to feel skint ...... really? Its just ridiculous (and us, I have lived in central London as a single person).

Good luck getting a huge house for less than £300k namechanger

I remember when the newspapers revealed that Cherie Blair thought they were skint because they were mixing socially with multi millionaires.

Skint is having to think about whether you can afford to put the heating on, or plan what food you buy from the supermarket.

I think you can eat without going to the food bank and also have the heating on and still be skint. Skint isn't a £70k salary but it's also not necessarily synonymous with real poverty.

pigeon Then all you mean is having no money left at the end of the month. That can happen to people on £500k salaries, but I think it would be pretty stupid of them to say to people on much less that they are skint.

Ok so maybe the friend used the wrong phrase she isn't skint but she feels 'hard up' and her perception is her reality.

There is always someone poorer and always someone richer.

Socialising in London costs a fortune. Ok maybe she can cut back but she has probably worked bloody hard and didn't think she should need to watch every penny.

Also to the pp who said that her and her dh eaent that between them, 2 people on £35k would have about £5k net. 1 person on £70k nets about £4k.

These threads always get the socialists out waving their hammers and sickle’s

Yes 70k is definitely not synonymous with real poverty, whatever angle you look at it!

Skint just means Having no funds, no money in your pocket. It doesn't mean poor. I would have little time for someone moaning on about it as pay day approaches because they've spent their paycheck though.

Maybe she has a raving coke habit. That's expensive shit.

Having worked in marketing I can safely say cocaine is rife in advertising and marketing. It also has the unfortunate side effect of making people quite self absorbed and skint.

Socialising anywhere can cost a fortune, but it depends what you do.

To clarify when I said socialising I meant going out drinking in London costs a fortune. Easily £10 a glass of wine or £15 a cocktail (at least).

A couple of nights out after work, out at the weekend and it would easily add up.

Yep, that was precisely my point. You FEEL skint. You're NOT skint. You're the exact opposite of skint. You've made choices that spend your money, that's all. And chances are if you earn £70k, you're surrounded by people on a lot more than that, which further entrenches the totally incorrect feeling that you're skint.

(Replying to PPs, I never understand people who say "why have a car in London" - I bloody loved zipping along the embankment with the roof down. But driving 300 miles to see family cost a lot in petrol and took far longer than the train!)

Tell her to STFU from me too.

Depends on her outgoings.

Everything is relative. Your £35k would make you loaded in some people's eyes.

Net pay on £70k would be £4051. Assuming she pays into an employers pension and possibly is repaying a student loan then she could be taking home around £3465.

Other outgoings in Kensington might be similar to that posted before -

Rent - £2,000
Service charge - £150
Travel - £120
Council tax - £150
Electricity/gas - £50
Water - £50
Mobile - £50
Tv/phone/broadband - £100
Insurance - £100
Car loan - £250
Car insurance - £100

Total £3120

That leaves £345 for all food, toiletries, socialising, clothing, holidays, gifts, etc.

It's not a huge amount is it?

And yes, it's a lot more expensive being single. Nobody to split bills with; you end up throwing away a lot of food unless you're really well organised; you pay more tax than a couple on the same gross total, etc.

(It's even more expensive having a SAHD and kids though!!)

you dont need a car if u live in london its just not esstential esp at over 300 a month

also 50 a month on a phone?

''It depends what her outgoings are, does she have a new mortgage or a massive debt?''

I earn quite a good salary but am forever paying off past debts-you never know what outgoings are.

Happy Your scenario there is hardly an example of someone caught in some sort of hideous poverty trap with no way out. Move out of Kensington for a start and commute.

Are people saying that this woman is justified at moaning on to her friend about lack of funds? I'm struggling to feel sympathetic.