Is mumsnet aimed at rich families ?

[starsparkle08]

I’ve seen quite a lot of threads on here where families seem to have a huge amount of disposable income .
Im a single parent without a huge amount and wondering if I am in the minority on here ?
I’ve noticed there seems to be more people with lower incomes on netmums ? Am I generalising or have others noticed this also

I find MN a mix of middle class and working class. Surely you must know that from the threads?

Haha then I definitely don't belong here! Our combined household income is about 38k, hardly anything compared to other posters here.

Me and DH are in our early 20s. I agree however that a lot of MN posters are well educated - I've never used netmums so I have no idea what it's like on there.

We're more comfortable now than we've ever been but certainly not rich (by anyone's standards, not just MN).

But I'm here and have been for about 100 years because on the worst day of my life this place showed up on a Google search and you swines kept me going. Mon the vipers nest

Not at all although it can be quite 'London' at times which I think is where quite a lot of the wealth comes from.

We're very average, not poor but not struggling and I absolutely love it here!

What gets me is inability to think outside a box. The number of threads with responses of 'surely you have . . . ' friends and family to provide childcare, savings, easy and quick access to money and credit, a safe place to live, etc' are legion. Don't you think the poster is intelligent enough to have accessed those things if she had them? 'Just call a taxi/book a hotel/hire a cleaner (nanny, au pair)/grow your own veg . . . '

There is an obsession with class on MN but class obsession seems to be the true unifier across social and financial divides, ironically enough. 'Is this chavvy?' 'Oh that's very lower middle class..' etc. etc.

I suppose on paper I may be more 'middle class' than many - highly educated, family with professional backgrounds, hold professional qualifications myself, well read, interested in politics etc. But I'm a broke single parent on UC who wonders what universe some posters are in occasionally when I read what people spend. I wouldn't say most posters are wealthy though, far from it - or maybe that's just the threads I read?

I don't have to shuffle off to Netmums in shame, do I? Please say not

Crap. HQ probably need to ditch me then, asap.

Can I identify as rich? Actually, just identifying purely as 'not panicking at the end of the month' would be really nice.

my kids are grown up have 13 grandkids and step grandkids me and dp work all hours god sends running our own company and i run a charity shop we only just keep a roof over our head i do feel out of it when i read about people with cleaners nice houses they are buying cars holidays etc

Its across all social classifications from the threads I’ve seen. I like to hear from the Uber rich mums about their lives and the poor mums about theirs. I think we just sit in the middle somewhere. That’s what makes it interesting.

It's a place for parents to go and get genuine (hopefully) feedback from other parents. At certain times in the year you do see more postings about money ( tax time for example) I see wealthy, average, and struggling posters here.

The thing both sides forget, I think - is that it's all relative. We're all two or three pay checks (if we're lucky) away from ruin, if you can't pay the bills or the mortgage it doesn't matter if you're in a £20k house or a £2mil one.

MN is huge, and therefore statistically likely to be fairly representative of the whole parent population, which is why it's useful to marketing people and politicians. I notice that regulars tend to stay in areas that are of active interest/importance to them. (I hang out mainly in S&B and/or education because I know relatively few people in real life who are equally obsessive about those topics, so the well-informed varied cross-examination that usually follows results in me learning lots and (often) having my views re-shaped.)

It does tend to be the turf of the educated and opinionated, which makes it fun. Basically, it's refuge from humdrum rural life. Most posters are kind and helpful, and the occasional flight of fantasy is life-affirming.

And sometimes, the torrent of sensible advice is what's needed to get a poster to the GP or A&E -- like yesterday's thread about very heavy period blood loss.

There is an obsession with class on MN

There really is, isn't there? Already this thread is half full of people declaring their class! Any excuse!

What amazes me is how most of the ones who CLAIM to have high-flying, amazing, busy careers and a £150K per year salary, are on here most of the day. If they had such busy lives and busy fulfilling careers, they would not be on here all day!

1% of working people earn over £150K per year, and around 4% earn over £100K. Very few people in the scheme of things. The vast majority of people on here who claim they are on 6 figures (and above,) per year, are fantasists. A few people who post on here probably are on 6 figures or more, but most are not.

People can say anything on the internet, and claim they are anything. Doesn't make it true.

Love this site. Great for practical advice not just for children but all sorts of things and it's nice to have a look in at others lives too. I think some posters do talk about funds and savings etc but it's usually to give context to a post or as not to drip feed when posting.

You won't be judged by your income and your lifestyle though, but by your spelling and grammar and the insightfulness of your posts.

And that's what really, really annoys me.

I live in an extremely poverty stricken borough where unemployment, obesity, child poverty, addiction and domestic violence figures are through the roof.

I know so many women who could really do with the support and wisdom found on Mumsnet. Yet some have told me they felt hounded off the forum, due to grammar and spelling pedants.

I look at the posts in my local FB group and the spelling and grammar is generally pretty bad. There is no way people want to use a 'helpful' forum when they're going to be made to feel like shit by the "IT'S COULD HAVE, NOT COULD OF" brigade.

Still MNHQ don't do enough to stop the self-righteous smug, wankers doing it imo.

@Hoppity, happy to disclose that I am pretty much retired, and just do odd jobs for the family business, the ones no one else has time or energy to get done. It's the luxury of time, not money. MN didn't exist when I was working flat out!

I always feel like I'm the average MNer until I remember that we live on an income of less than 15k, our dd is lucky to get any pocket money or allowance at all, that I am disabled, dh a musician, that on average I have to spend at least one day a week in bed resting from the exhaustion of just being alive! We live in the south west and not the affluent bit, the schools here are shit, our town is known locally either as Chav Town or Dead From the Neck Up

Clothes come from charity shops or market stalls.

We prioritise food as there is so much fresh produceround here (but it's expensive), so there is less moe left for things like socialising. We never go out for dinner for example, or spend evening in the pub. In fact the last time I went out was about 6 months ago and before that was some years ago.

Single mum here too, so if it is, I’ve gatecrashed.

Maybe a bit middle-classed but not necessarily rich.

Very true Worra I feel so bad when a poster in genuine need of help gets a kicking because she uses the word 'hubby'.

Funnily enough I think its the 'middle income' levels that are more poorly represented on here. Seem to be a lot of high rollers or single struggling mums. Maybe that's because they have more time on their hands with a few like me that work for themselves and use it for 10 minute breaks. I have found though a lot of sharp incisive women and a lot of belly laughs amongst some of the saddest stuff Ive ever read.
There is certainly a good representation of pretty well educated, regardless of income levels. You can though be a struggling/modest earner , and well educated, divorce or illness and children often sees to that --just as you can be not that sharp and yet rolling in it (hence the celeb culture).

I didn't like netmums much to be honest, it seemed very young (to me) but may work well for the younger mums. As I'm in my 50s and kids are grown up, it didn't seem to be really speaking to my demographic--but hey I guess the clue is in the word 'mums'. Also I felt there was a lot of acceptance on there of poor behaviour stuff by partners that I personally thought at least deserved more of a roll of the eyebrows, and that an older demographic would maybe be a bit less tolerant of, be it porn addictions, chronic booze habits etc. A bit too 'you ok hun' for me I guess.

I'm a single mum on benefits. I'm definitely a black sheep on mumsnet 😂

I am somewhat educated though so I suppose that is where I fit in!

A persons perceived wealth should not exclude them from posting in the event it causes 'offence' to posters who deem themselves poorer. This website consists of a wide demographic. I quite frankly could not give a toss if I was talking with someone on here on the financial bones of their arse or someone holed up in a mansion.
As for disposable income. Totally relative to your outgoings. I have half my bosses income, and a lot more disposable income than he has.

I've never heard of netmums, must go and have a nosey!