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.

Household income over 100k. Good education, I only started working a few years ago but I got promoted quite fast through hard work and being lucky. Moving to different companies helped too. I work in tech, learn a lot myself. The internet is full of materials that even professionals use for free. Anyone really can learn skills and get where I am if they want to. I don't say that lightly as I have interviewed many without a proper degree but they have grit and determination to learn and I've seen them flourished in a year or two.

And oh even though our household income would be considered high where we live, we live quite frugal. Still buy food, clothes only on discount and tiny house with tiny mortgage.

Maybe become a food tech teacher, or college lecturer

I wouldn’t say these jobs are that well paid. Would you be interested in anything in accounting, finance, law etc?

Rich what do you mean ?

The average salary is approx 28k per person

I think it's mostly getting a good start in life. I've had the odds stacked against me from the beginning I feel, too many problems at home to focus on education and this is where i think it begins. I've never had financial support from family and was chucked out as soon as I left school to 'stand on my own 2 feet'. Struggled ever since. However, I have a good work ethic and im weary about debt. I'm poor but in time I hope I won't be.

I have a qualification in a 'dead language'
It has had absolutely no use in any of the jobs that I have done, since I have left school
Interesting to learn the historical context & grammar

Thanks to the pp who talks about Mr money mustache. Really interesting blogs.

We ain't rich and I'm no Alan Sugar so no major advice for you really however we've managed to bulk up our joint savings a bit since the beginning of year by making a few changes, sticking to a weekly budget and being a lot more conscious of what we're spending.

Simple changes included:
Shopped around for better house & car insurance quotes (saved £80 in total per month)
Changed electricity, TV and internet provider and got cheaper rates. (Tv and internet savings of £30 per month) not sure exactly what electricity change saved us, need to compare bills from previous year

I have noticed that extra £130 per month add up 7 months in.

Moved from bill phone to pay as you go when my contract ended in Feb (often get by on £25 per month, was paying £40 previously) hasn't made a life changing impact and I could do with a new phone but £15 per month saving is still good

90% of our weekly shop is from Aldi now. Still hit tesco for certain things. We buy mostly the same crap every week so we know how much we spend
Batch cook and freeze dinners (cheaper and so convenient) not very exciting but food is good and we're getting a bit more creative

I moved a small amount money from my savings and bought all of DS's clothes for the year in the January sales. Have only had to buy him 1 pair of shoes since then.

We still eat out a good 3 times per month and are working on cutting that back to once per month and save a further £80ish. The novelty of eating out is kind of going so it'll be a win win.

Can your DH take on any extra work? Does he have any skills he could put to use? Catering seems like the kind of industry where you could start small and work your way up? If you drive could you look at a sandwich/lunch delivery service? There's a guy who delivers soup, sandwiches and salads in the business park where I work. He seems to do alright. I think the baking/ cake making side is well covered! Or look into setting up a small cleaning business, might fit in nicely around school times/kids etc?

Did a degree in the vocation I wanted to work, and got an entry level job to start off with, gained some experience, and then started looking at the person specs for job adverts that I aspired to have one day, looked at what I needed to do next to be able to meet the essential/desirable criteria.

Sometimes it’s learning a new skill in my current work place, or gaining experience of a certain area, other times it means a module at uni, and on other occasions it’s meant getting a new job to develop an additional skill set.

I guess looking at a person spec and thinking “who do they want? And how can I become that person?”

I’ve had to leave some jobs I really enjoyed and felt comfortable in, but it’s all been for the sake of developing (and climbing). I’ve spent more time outside my comfort zone, than I ever have in it. But four years after getting my degree I had doubled my newly qualified salary, and now I have to be careful about extra hours so I don’t tip the threshold into higher rate tax bracket.

I have been fortunate that I was single for the majority of that time and have no children so I was able to solely focus on work and my social life. I know it’s not as easy to be so single minded when you have little people to look after.

I didn't do or buy anything before I could afford to do so. So,
I didn't buy a car till 25. Couldn't afford one outright till then. So, I biked, walked, got the bus till then.
I shared a house/was a lodger in other people's houses until I was 28.
I didn't have kids until I was 33 as I couldn't afford them till then.
Etc etc
I'm not particularly bright, parents were working class, no help me ups at all.
Now I live a very luxurious lifestyle, lovely house and holidays, household income over £200k; I don't think I've done anything wildly out of the ordinary to get to this point by mid forties.

Studied hard. University qualified in dentistry. Gained experience and did further post graduate study. Now have my own business.
It wasn't always easy though, away from home and totally skint as a student, relying on hardship loans at times, cleaned hospital toilets to get by. But now all paying off

Worked f#%king hard, went without and climbed the career ladder when forced to move due to DH job. Stop moaning and make an effort.

I agree with pp, private catering would be a great way to earn extra money, do you have any companies/ contacts who do this so you could dip your toe in the water a bit? Think it would give you great flexibility without the need for enormous start up costs. I know you said you were nervous, but maybe at least start doing some research, depending on area, I would imagine demand would change, but near where I live, you'd be super busy. The other thing which seems popular here is fridge/ freezer fillers, so leading up to Easter/ Christmas especially local caterers will advertise their services to prepare you food ready to cook eg lasagne etc, would mean you could cook when children are in bed?

I got rich selling "I Judge and Judge hard people who ........." t-shirts to MNetters.
Best-sellers...... smoke, drink/smoke while pregnant, bikini wax.

@flyingdaisy

Wow! Helpful! Thanks! I totally haven't been doing that already!!!

To everyone else :
Thanks again for all replies. Trying to read all of them. Xx

First things first, before ppl even think about things like hard work, determination, choosing the right degree, qualifications etc etc don't have a mental health issue like social anxiety.

It has ruined my life.

Being rich has its pros and cons, most people who are at least comfortable financially often sacrifice time with family. My dad's very wealthy and we never saw him when young, never went on holiday with us and our relationship is strained because his focus is primarily on wealth not his kids or grandchildren. We all need an income that is the reality, but to be honest the balance between life and work is much more important than aspirations of being rich.

@TrickyPrickears

🤣🤣🤣🤣

That will certainly make you rich!

Our household income is 60k+ and set to rise to 100k+ next year. It might sound like an overnight success story but I am nearly 40 and DH is 35.

We’ve skrimped and saved for what feels like forever to clear student debts, credit cards and car loans. We have a strict monthly budget and it is only in DH’s last few promotions that we’ve been able to loosen our spending and also save more.

We’ve also stretched ourselves to over pay the mortgage which has meant that remortgaging this year has given us a great loan to value and put in the best rates and the lowest repayments (will still continue to over pay though).

So, with a bit of pain, our out goings have declined over time and our income has continued to go up. Next year is the year we will have money to go on holiday and actually fix up the house as we want.

So my best advice is:
Clear all debt
Budgets are permission to spend
May down the mortgage
Get more professional qualifications in your industry- everyone will help you climb the ladder.
Change jobs fairly regularly for more money- this is the best way to earn more. Sticking with one place often stagnates income.

We were fortunate to go to university in the 1980s and graduated with no debt so from the beginning we saved some money every month - basically lived off one salary and saved the other. We had children later and I stayed at home so no childcare expenses. We have never had any debts or loans.
However, the biggest factor for us was working overseas. We have been in mainland China for 11 years, but it doesn't suit everyone and the days of the fat expat package are coming to an end here.

Honestly? For us? Education, education, education was our answer. DH and I went to ordinary comprehensives and had ordinary upbringings with no family background at university. But he went to Oxford, has Phd in highly specialised and sought after area, worked hard and long hours for a good company with good benefits and retired on an amazing final salary pension with shares. I just got a degree so am comparatively thick! We can't count on a big inheritance but he's done so well with work that we can afford a good retirement. As someone else said upthread we had to move a lot with work - chase the opportunities - sometimes across continents. Although that sounds glamorous it was hard with a young family. But financially it paid off. You have to be able to say 'yes' a lot. Also in moving around I have to say we got lucky on the housing ladder - happened to buy in London at a good time and sold at a good time too. That is pure luck not judgement.
Both our children have been encouraged to get the best education they can - state educated too bc we didn't want to waste money. And they look like repeating the act we've pulled off.
Sorry if this sounds show-off. It just describes how we pulled it off and how we (hope) our children will have similar security.

Shanghaidiva I think you may be me!

I also worked hard but am academic so that definitely helps. My family are a bit difficult and I came from a low earning single parent background. That definitely was a disadvantage - I had no idea about the city or jobs there even at uni. It just wasn’t part of my world. When I did eventually work in the city, I felt a bit like a fish out of water which held me back a bit. That being said I know a few from working class backgrounds that flourished in the city, some people are just better at “playing the game” than others I suppose.

But I have done well for myself and in my family’s eyes, I am rich. But I agree with pp that most people on here are posting about working hard to achieve what they got. No one is going to post about their parents giving them money but that is how most people are “rich” or at least a big part of it.

When I was training (in a prestigious occupation so mainly mc colleagues) I was the only person in my intake who hadn’t had parents help to buy them a flat. That was at the very beginning of my career and there was already inequality (which only got worse as house prices boomed).

So I think it’s definitely worth it to work hard and well done to all those on the thread who have achieved despite the odds. But I agree with curlygirl that it does make me resentful at times that so many get things given to them that I had to work so hard for.

plugsock

Thankfully there is treatment for social anxiety! Have you sought any? Can share some links here if you like as a starting point. Plenty of people with MH issues like anxiety and depression manage to learn to live with/ameliorate them and live a successful life, there is absolutely hope 💛

Watching