To ask how you got rich

[getmeacupoftea]

We're struggling financially to put it bluntly. DH is full time in the military and I do as many hours as I can around the kids and his work schedule. I want ask what people have done to be in a comfortable position with their money. I'm driven and ready to work my ass off, just not sure which direction to go. I feel I'm still relatively young and have already got my maternity leave etc done and dusted. I know money isn't everything but I'm sick of having to skimp and save for things.

Lifecraft I think I remember that thread, your phrasing was so casual, like you thought it was a low cost holiday?

A pp mentions thrift - yes, this is vital.

Another pp mentions £100 on face cream. I don’t know what I’d have to spend that. A million a year?

Anyway OP, hope there are some useful ideas. Is food safety/hygiene any good for you, doing inspections, giving advice etc?

We're comfortable. Wouldn't say we're rich but everyone's definition of that varies.

We're both degree educated. We were both prepared to take jobs miles away from where we grew up at the start of our career. DH (before we were married) took a year's secondment to China which has hugely paid off in the long term. We waited until we were in our 30s with about 8 years of solid full time work behind us to start having children. We don't spend a huge amount on going out, clothes, beauty, nails, cars.

City/corporate law, finance/banking related roles, economists, technology/programming at a high level.
The highest earner I know does marine insurance risk calculation and management

These jobs are only found in big cities.

Medicine - the pay off is later in life, the salary before you become a consultant is not great given the hours and how much academic achievement is required. And not everyone makes it to consultant.

For more mid level earnings - auditing is worth looking at alongside accountancy.

Otherwise - founding a business is the only way but most small businesses fail within 3 years so it definitely has a lower success rate than the jobs listed above

What do you consider to be rich? I feel like we've been rich since my husband got his first job earning £28k as we were married as students and lived off his grant and my part time shop work! We both earn more than that now, combined about £75k and feel super rich. We have no children which does make a difference though.

Our routes were good grades at school - university (where we met) - work (academia for my husband, i started off temping and luckily found a career in education related things through that!). I grew up wealthy (dad worked for financial services in the city) but my husband grew up hand to mouth. We've had no financial support from either set of parents however (my parents don't want to, his can't).

We're very frugal although more relaxed than we were on our 12k combined take home income when we first married, when everything was discounted/always the cheapest options for everything. To be honest it's the living frugally which has made the difference over the years, particularly early on. My husband managed to save for a house deposit while at university with no parental financial contributions, purely by eating the cheapest food, living in the cheapest accommodation, never going out and saving as much of his student loans and then PhD grant as possible. We both worked over holidays and I got a part time job when i could.

I had no clue what I wanted to do post-university so just temped until a permanent job came up which luckily I've been able to turn into a career! Is this something you might be open to doing?

Ways to get rich(er) without having an amazing income:

1. Make a budget spreadsheet. It's boring but unless you know what your income/outgoings are you won't know your 'problem' areas that could free up some more money that could be used to help with step 2...

2. Save on interest payments and housing payments wherever you can. Pay down all your debts (except student loans, but I don't think they apply to you from what you said?) if you have them. Then overpay mortgage if you have one. Save for a housing deposit (Help to Buy ISA) if you're renting. Transfer every spare bit of money to do this. We reduced our mortgage by 20k over 3 years on my husband's £28k salary which meant our mortgage outgoings dropped every month, which gave us more money to plough back in to overpayments etc etc etc.

Don't shorten the loan if you don't need to, it'll reach a point where your overpayments do the heavy work for you. We now pay less than 50% per month of our original payments (it would be less but we took some of our overpayments back to do some home improvements).

3. Set yourselves a saving challenge when you can. There are apps that can be used to round up a few pennies from each purchase and stick it in a savings account (which at the current inflation rates should not be kept there but should be used

4. I know that living frugally might be boring but there may be things you can do (you might already do all of these of course!), such as never drinking alcohol outside the home (soft drinks/tap water only), bulk buying discounted food for the week and doing creative meal prep (as a chef I imagine you might already do this! but for example I made a bolognese sauce last week, 8 portions, not discounted but only cost about £3 in ingredients because I used quorn mince not meat, and the tomatoes/veg cost pennies, then portioned and froze it and cooked it as/when required, boiled fresh spaghetti each day for it which I bought for 50p for 1kg), using deal websites if there are things you need (cashback sites or recommended hot deals), searching voucher codes etc... choosing free activities (going to the park, free museums) rather than going to the cinema etc, basically making your own fun. Libraries are your friend!

In the longer term looking for a more lucrative and stable career might be an option. Accountancy is learnt on-the-job in most cases, and sales don't require prior experience when starting out.

Good luck!

My husband is self employed (trade) and takes home around 70k. Works extremely long hours though. I don’t work and haven’t done in the last 6 years (have 3 kids age 5 and under) I was halfway though my accountancy training when I fell pregnant. Not sure if I want to go back into that field when I go back to work (not for a while yet)
We are comfortable money wise.
In the area we live, I definitely wouldn’t class us as ‘rich’ , more average (we do live in a fairly middle class area though)

I think you need to be savvy. My DH started working for a small building company, he worked there for about 6 years, learnt the ropes and being bright and reliable started running jobs. He made friendships and contacts with directors and owners of other building g companies whilst running jobs for his own boss and eventually started his own business which has become big and successful. If you can learn the ropes of a business, a nursery, cafe etc. then run your own, I think this is the best chance for future wealth.

Property bought “ cheap” did it up, got lucky with timings etc but my husband is a marine and he made sure he was sent on courses like Electician gas certification etc which were directly needed to do property up ourselves, I fucking hated the work and dust we lived in for months but we are not rich but will be mortgage free with two homes by retirement
Childcare is a knackering but profitable job you could do ??

Lifecraft I think I remember that thread, your phrasing was so casual, like you thought it was a low cost holiday?

Nope, not me. I said someone could save £500 a year for 4 years to go on a £2K holiday, so spending £2K on a holiday didn't mean you were rich. Made no difference though. The very suggestion that someone could spend £2K on a holiday was enough to trigger the People's Socialist Republic of Mumsnet.

lifecraft apologies, def not you then!

I was quite disappointed that I wasn't stood between Roman Abromovic and the Sultan of Brunei in the queue for the toast machine at breakfast.

To be fair to @Lifecraft I don't think £2k is extravagant on a holiday. I know its more than some people have, I know some people can't afford holidays (I've been there), but I would have thought £2k was a fairly normal holiday?
I am donning a supernova level of flameproof suit here though!!!

Degree in computer science then worked like hell, pushed for pay rises and networked a lot which in turn led to being headhunted by companies who then offered higher salaries.

It's not been easy sailing and nor is it still but being in the position we are in has been down to hard work despite a few people seeming to believe we have been handed everything we have or getting lucky.

Arf life craft.
I find that surprising because on other holiday threads people spend 10 grand +. One poster used to report back from the the Seychelles? Somewhere like that....

And I don't belive she was attacked.

Rosa I think your correct re strategy.

My dp had no strategy.

We had same income and no ££ and we changed our entire strategy and started to save in small incremental bits. Literally 8 pounds a month sometimes. That's all.

Supplemented by selling on eBay etc we started to build up small funds.
Once all money was accounted for and broken down, with small teeny savings started for diff things we were able to start spending small amounts on fun and a few nights away in cheap b and b etc.

Now I'm back at work op I feel very very very rich. It's an incredible feeling.

Combined we earn less than most pp on this thread single salary. But I feel rich

Now our money gets divided up, my salary flowing into these pots has made enormous difference to our lives.

I know if chair brakes we can get a new one (probably second hand but we can replace)

Mil on the other hand is very truly wealthy and was bemoaning that she can't afford new chair (house 2 Mil + buy new expensive car etc).

So I guess my point is being rich feeling rich is a state of mind.

What kind of start ups work though? My heart says something ecologically friendly such as plastic free products or upcycling clothing...my head says this is not where the money is.

Excel... learning excel learning vba... commercially astute. Means I'm currently earning £50k and very soon about to move into a £80k a year job as a pricing manager. It's a very niche market

Slowly! I split up with my kids dad in my mid twenties and ended up homeless with two children so i am very driven. i'm now early fifty's and mortgage free. We're not rich but we are definitely comfortable. I've always thought long-term about money I'd rather pay money off my mortgage pay money into a savings account etc rather than have holidays or nice clothes or expensive cars. Luckily for me my husband is the same when we met mid/late forties I was 3 years off mortgage free he was 2 years off mortgage free. We live in my house rent his house out and like other said we learn all the skills ourselves we are both really handy we do all our properties all our decorating ourselves we now own 3 properties with no mortgage on any of them We specialise in buying completely derelict properties doing them up from scratch and turning them back into family homes. We i live in quite a small house and are not bothered about status symbols we could live in a beautiful big house have a really big car have really expensive holidays but we'd rather work less and help our dc with the now dgc.
You have to struggle in your 20s and 30s if you want to be comfortable in your 50s and 60s. Unless you inherit of course whuch we wont.

I generally follow the 10% rule I always save 10% of anything I earn and it never gets spent on anything except capital.

We're wealthy because of decisions made in younger years. Worked hard in our twenties, bought property and paid down the mortgages early. Had kids after all of that & we were established. Also a massive amount of luck - we'd saved big deposits thanks for parents lettting us live with them.

On a day to day basis now I:
Listen to Dave Ramsey
Often try to up my income
Stick to a budget
Find happiness in free and cheap things.

Investing spare money instead of spending it. I also had an inheritance from grandparents and gifts from a rich aunt. Now we have 3 properties and lots of savings. We only work part time and live in a nice house in a lovely area. We have lots of holidays, one every two months at least plus we eat out, have luxuries, go out a lot and want for nothing. Ordinary jobs.

Worked my arse off at school
Worked my arse off at uni (nobody else in my family has been and I was taken the piss out of for it)
Worked my arse off in internships

I'm lucky I've always had a determination, drive and self belief to push and push and push. But this was created during foster care and a genuine desire to never have to be in the situation again.

When I had enough experience and contacts I set up my own business.

I am so pissed off some of my privately educated friends have said I've been "lucky" to meet people I've then been a consultant for.

My business has turned over about £100k a year (which after staff wages and tax is the same wage as I'd get in an agency.) I haven't been lucky, I've worked my arse off and spoken to everyone in every room in every situation, been personable, professional and had good ideas. I've worked 12/14 hours a day and gone above and beyond.

I then had a car crash, brain damage and had to stop working for 18 months and coming back now.

I look back and am so proud of myself for relentlessly grafting for every penny I had before the crash. I recognise I was lucky that somehow Ive always had drive and quite clever but I still don't know if that was something I was born with or a result of a really fucking tough start.

It's hard because I don't know how else to encourage people other than sacrifice your social life and work life balance, graft graft graft and be able to sell yourself. Because that's what I've done but I know it isn't something everyone can do.

Yet I still have my working class chip on my shoulder and am jealous people with double barrelled names and family homes in London with no rent to pay. I'm open about the fact I need to work on my jealousy because it isn't fair of me! I want my kids to have that, but I also know I want them to recognise they are lucky to have it.

As I say though, no matter where you get to it can all fall down. And being comfortable financially is about making sacrifices you need to make to get where you want to be.

I have only ever really wanted to be a mum, so the reason I've worked so hard and sacrificed a lot is that I want my kids to not have to, to the same extend as I have.

I know I'm totally muddled in my thinking but just sharing my experience!

Also until recently I've assumed I have to earn enough for a whole household - because of my personal experience I never assume I'll share that responsibility with someone else. It's sad but I'm not sure how to rely on other people / feel secure as a team with a partner. That's my goal and what I'm working towards now (in my early thirties!)

OP Channel 4 catch up have “how to retire at 40”.

It’s the percentages that might really interest you.

Also personalised potato guy has done well from such a simple, low cost idea.

I am so pissed off some of my privately educated friends have said I've been "lucky" to meet people I've then been a consultant for.

Sorry didn't explain this - I am open to everyone, speak to everyone, tell people what I do etc and don't wait for people to approach me. I fight for my work and I think people really respond to that as it shows I'm tenacious and determined. I've also not relied on looks to get work, ever.

Side note - often I hate myself and have no self confidence in other things about me (looks, relationships etc) so I don't have all the answers, I've just always been willing to graft my arse off and make the most of any natural skills I have and learn the ones I don't.

What kind of start ups work though? My heart says something ecologically friendly such as plastic free products or upcycling clothing...my head says this is not where the money is.

It's like investing in shares. Heart says ethical investments, head says tobacco, weapons and bookmakers.

We are not rich, but are comfortable. We both work fulltime. I retrained as a nurse when I was 24 and put in many years of working for shitty pay while doing extra pieces of training. I am now quite senior and specialist and earn well for my area of the UK.

DP owns a business. We have been through many periods of living solely on my wages, which I would supplement with overtime when needed. Now he far outearns me.

We both work compressed hours around each other to minimise out childcare bill, and are lucky to have some family help too. We also love in the north east as out wages would go much less far in London.

We also chose to stay in our current property, which is big enough but not huge, but pay off the mortgage, rather than move somewhere bigger and have less "fun" money each month.

Its not just about what you earn , its also about what you spend

Not rich but pretty comfortable. Mortgage free since mid thirties etc.

Truthfully? shrugs Genetics mainly. We are both very good - bordering on gifted - in the STEM area. Add in supportive parents, not too bad schools (we are both comprehensive educated but fairly decent ones), good health and a modicum of ambition and it all feels fairly inevitable.

Don’t get me wrong - we have worked hard over the years. But probably no harder than a lot of other people who have far less money. We were fairly good at “working smart” - in that we worked hardest at the times that really mattered - A levels for example.

But in the end the fact remains that I was on a red maths book in my first week of primary school whilst everyone else was on blue or green. I didn’t work any harder at being a toddler than anyone else. My brain is just different.