Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Disposable income - rich house, poor house

97 replies

Theukisgreatt · 01/05/2020 23:54

So I've called into a bit of a hole watching rich house, poor house. Though the name is really awful, it actually is a fairly nice show where the everyone seems to learn something.

The 'poor' house tends to have 80-200 a week and the 'rich' house seems to have about 1200. This is after all essential bills but doesn't include food, petrol or school fees (as far as I can tell).

Both are quite examples and both ends se to have problems, so I was musing what the perfect middle point would be? Or is there one?

OP posts:
Pelleas · 02/05/2020 01:04

£1200 a week, even before bills, sounds like a fortune to me.

PorpentiaScamander · 02/05/2020 01:21

@Pelleas it is a fortune! Its roughly what I have for a whole month before bills

cantory · 02/05/2020 01:22

I have watched some and enjoyed them. I like them when it is very young children going to the rich house and the parents stock up on nice clothes, toys and experiences for the kids. I did see one where older children went to the rich house and they were very sad to be going back to not having much money to do anything. I felt that was unfair to them.

Fromthebirdsnest · 02/05/2020 01:22

I've never watched it sounds utterly cringe worthy though 😂

Brogley · 02/05/2020 01:22

The £800 a month is to pay for food, petrol or bus fares, childcare and children's activities, clothing and shoes, prescriptions, non-essential bills, etc.

Depending on family size, average costs for the area they live, shopping facilities (e.g., corner shop or supermarket), ages of the children, etc then £200 a week/£800 a month isn't going to go very far.

cantory · 02/05/2020 01:24

And £1200 a week on food and daily living is a fortune. The rich families always seem to waste a lot of money.

Fromthebirdsnest · 02/05/2020 01:25

Also as they are clearly not "rich" they should rename to a bit skint and sort of well off 😂😂 x

cantory · 02/05/2020 01:28

I don't think £800 a month after bills is very poor, although obviously not well off. £1200 a week or £62400 a year after essential bills is a lot of money. Sure not celebrity level, but it makes you very well off in comparison to the rest of the country. Only someone very well off would think it does not.

Pinkandbluemcdonald5 · 02/05/2020 01:33

I have watched the show and generally the “poor” family come across as far more likeable.

But I do question the “poor” family’s income. It may be buttons to live on , which I sympathise with greatly. However, often, in this series the mum has lip fillers. Which is so expensive and not a one of cost. I think you would be spending £300 a shot.

Love2Queue · 02/05/2020 01:36

A very close friend went on this as the poor family. It was cringe worthy, yes theyre the lower income bracket.. But just before the show they removed their huge TV, 2nd car ( wasn't a posh one but would show they were better off than they made out) and other items.
I'm not sure how they did the figures however. The husband has an expensive phone contract, they have the biggest sky package etc.
They got something lovely out of it and they loved the experience so did the dcs.

Love2Queue · 02/05/2020 01:38

It was cringe worthy because c4 very much scripted much of it sorry I should have said

paininthepoinsettia · 02/05/2020 01:40

I watch it too OP and in many ways we are BU, it is entertainment TV masquerading as a programme about teaching each other how the other half lives. There was a thread on here not so long ago where the 'poor' father came on and said the programme was a farce (it was the episode where the mum supposedly goes and cleans her adult dd's homes) and very staged - the poor family don't have any control over how the money is spent and everything is done for the camera.

Increasingly in the latest series the poor family Mum doesn't work or works a fraction of the hours she could, yet they have a lovely house and complain that that living in poverty is so tough. The rich family have businesses that they are promoting and product placement of said businesses is rampant. I know this isn't what you asked, but just wanted to put a slightly different spin on things.

Brogley · 02/05/2020 01:42

I think you would be spending £300 a shot.

£80-£140 where I live although if you get them done by (supervised) trainees at the city college you can get them for around £60. My cousin pays £40 for hers but thats because a friend of hers does them for cost.

bananaskinsnomnom · 02/05/2020 01:51

I only bring home around £1100, so once my bills are out, I have around £130 a week disposable income (if I’m not hit by extras like the bi-annual water bill) - once I take food and transport out of that it ain’t much - I’m very frugal! Just realised I would be classified as the poor house though!

Bluewavescrashing · 02/05/2020 02:02

I don't think it's a nice programme at all.

PoppyAnnie · 02/05/2020 02:28

Some of the families I notice on the 'poor' end have 150/week plus and many don't run cars. I've seen quite a few 'poor' in the 180 range. And often that's a family of 3-4 and they get a takeaway weekly and a pub night etc. Also phones and lots of gadgets. I think while one can't compare to the families on thousands, some of the feeling of poor is they have nothing left b/c they spent it all but not necessarily on necessities.

I don't begrudge anyone a night out, but many would have some savings and a bit more options if they spent differently. And yes, I realize that's hard as I'm in the same boat and am definitely considered low income.

NotNowPlzz · 02/05/2020 02:30

It's just crap feel good TV with spoiled brats going OMG how could I live like this, in a perfectly normal three bed semi.

sobeyondthehills · 02/05/2020 03:07

To me a disposable income wouldn't include food. It also wouldn't include transport costs, you have to pay for this.

ChessieFL · 02/05/2020 06:08

This programme has changed since it first started. At the start it seemed genuinely about experiencing the different ways of life. The families didn’t meet originally, and you didn’t get much detail about the businesses run by the rich family. Sometimes the rich family would do something nice for the poor family but it was by no means expected and it felt more genuine. Now, I agree that the rich family is there to promote their own business interests, and now that the families meet there seems to be an expectation that the rich family does something for the poor family (I don’t know whether this is now a requirement for the rich family).

LNPW · 02/05/2020 06:16

I watch this and was amazed that the disposable income of the “rich” family is the same as what we have yet they always seem “richer” somehow.

I’m guessing it’s because we have a cheap mortgage (£500 a month) that we have the disposable income whereas truly rich folk have a massive posh house and still have the same disposable income

Magicbabywaves · 02/05/2020 06:31

I watch this occasionally, mainly because the ‘poor’ house was in my area. What I notice about it is that the ‘rich’ lot are obviously comfortable, but it’s hardly big guns. For example, they usually have a large house, but it’s normally somewhere cheap, so it looks like they’re richer than they are. Our income is matches the top end of the people, but because we live in a small house in an expensive part of the country, we wouldn’t look right. If that makes sense.

And yes, people plugging some shite business now.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 02/05/2020 06:43

£800 isn't loads when you have to buy food, clothing, activities out of it. It depends on the size of your family. A family of 2 would be fine, a family of 5 you're looking at about £100 a week on food at the absolute bare minimum so that's £400 gone.

Anyway I've watched it before and it's not a nice show. The one I watched recently the boy from the rich family had to eat toast for his tea and he said "I feel like a peasant." Great parenting there.

Reginabambina · 02/05/2020 06:52

The 1200 would presumably include things like gym memberships and clothes etc. In sone professions looking presentable would take a considerable chunk out of that, especially if you include costs related to networking events and then things like informal get together a over lunch/coffee/drinks which are increasingly difficult to charge to expenses. Then if people like going out or they have a special interest like opera or sailing then that’s quite costly. Then you have the people who just like buying stuff, scented candles, coffee table books, designer towels, completely random things. People often spend a lot on gifts as well. I can see how some couples could end up spending that much a month on extras even if I would find it a very liberal budget.

SomeoneInTheLaaaaaounge · 02/05/2020 07:00

Honestly when the kids from the poor house go and live in the rich house and then have to leave again it’s not ok.
The poor kids looked really upset and the show all feels a little exploitative and sordid.

Toomanycats99 · 02/05/2020 07:01

This series seems quite different as po said - they all seem to be promoting a business. Then offering said help the 'poor' family.

We are somewhere in the middle (lower end of middle!) and I do try and use this show as a way of teaching my daughter that although she moans we have no money and don't go on holidays abroad all the time actually her life is not that bad and she should appreciate what she has.