@fishywaters
Ok I will bite.
Everyone is worried about “losing” out on bonuses. However, unless you have a huge mortgage Eg 5xbase salary and job security is dwindling then perhaps you should not be concerned. On the grapevine I have heard that higher earners are increasingly more worried about big raises in taxes and inflation. So those who have saved and have a pot and have worked really long hours to retire early etc.. are worried their cash won’t be as valuable. So yes, this bracket of “rich” (because let’s face it, in London you are not properly rich on 250k plus bonus especially if you are relatively young and have to pay 1.5 million plus for a house and 20k per child school fees) is also a bit worried.
@fishywaters yes exactly. Back during the 2008 then the 2011 euro crisis, this is exactly what happened. The low level millionaires were more devastatingly affected than those with larger wealth because they were marginal. For example, the people with $1,000,000 — $5,000,000 net worth. Those were the people who likely had children in some version of private school (secondary or university) and then
maybe a second house along with a third car for one of their kids, were supporting an elderly parent, etc.
When the markets crashed in 2011, a lot of personal services economies crashed as well. The marginally wealthy were the ones who stopped buying slightly expensive ($3,000+) bags, jewelry or watches, stopped doing renovations, pulled children out of schools, sent back the cars, reduced gardener and housekeeper hours, stopped going to the salons or barbers as much, didn’t rent boats or take as many vacations, etc. The millionaires worth about $10,000,000 or more were able to cushion themselves and keep things humming along.
Besides the banking economy like @dwiz8 correctly states, the actual crunch felt by everyday people in the middle and lower classes is because the marginally wealthy lost a lot of ground. This is likely where @Iprobap the OP probably is in terms of strata. Without that bonus, the ripple effect within her community and others’ becomes felt. Less cleaners, less takeaways, less dry cleaners, etc. It all matters.