What makes you privileged - financially

[IknoIkno]

Name changed.
I know we are in the worst pandemic since World War 2 and all.

I talked to a childhood friend earlier and she said(in a huff) I am financially privileged because I do not have a set budget for day-to-day expenses.

Is there such a thing as financial privilege?
To think it is the go-to defence for those with poor personal finances plans

@3ismylot

I hate the way that people automatically relate high wages to hard work. There are plenty of people in NMW jobs who work physically draining jobs and can barely cover their bills and then you have people earning stupidly high salaries while doing the bare minimum!

are there?

There's always that myth about (some) top earners doing nothing or next to nothing.

Hmmm. I'd say the kardashians are privedledged. As a lady of 30 with 2 kids I would say 4 holidays a year 50k in savings and never checking bank is privileged and both kids in private school.

I am def not privileged. I earn 32k per yr husband 19k and I only have at the moment around 150 left in current account no over draft with shopping money seperate. I do have a savings account though and save 430 a month and husband saves 180. So I am trying to get to a point where I dont worry etc

I think “Privilege” in this context implies something you were born with, that you’ve always had, so that you have no idea what it’s like to be any different, and you see the world in a certain way as a result.

Many of us are comfortable financially, but have plenty of awareness of how it is not to be. I grew up poor - single mum, benefits, no car, no holidays, free school dinners, we had to watch every penny. Now I have a good job and I don’t have to worry about being able to afford the basics. But I don’t think it’s fair to suggest that makes me someone who has “financial privilege “, because I can still remember having to get by on very little.

Financially privileged is getting sick and not worry about your income AND not worry about financing your medical treatments

Stone - I loathe the view that hard work and sacrifices will lead to a higher salary ... it might (for the privileged) but many people work very hard, make lots of sacrifices but still aren't able to earn a high salary

I agree - I'm sure footballers work less hard for more reward than people in jobs where they have to work in vile conditions and long anti social hours. Many TV celebs baffle us all by just how much they are paid for so little. Not all talent or skill is equally valued or rewarded in our society. The ones who may improve our lives, even save our lives or keep us safe from criminals are often the least well rewarded.

Not all hard work leads to a higher salary.
but all high salaries are gained without hard work.

Going to the supermarket and not adding it up on the way around it licking between two essential items

I gave my whole month's salary away this month to my friends who needed it more than me (anonymously). And I was so happy to do it. And able to do it. And I think that's privileged.

There's always that myth about (some) top earners doing nothing or next to nothing

Yes, I thought that once.......in my younger years, until I got to the top position. Then I realised the stress that went with 'carrying the can' wasn't worth it.

I come from a poor WC family, I trained as a teacher - I will never forget the first supermarket shop I did after my first pay packet. I could buy whatever I wanted - but the key thing is that what I wanted was not very extravagant.

When I had my own DC and they asked "are we rich" I said "yes" because we can buy the things we want without worrying. BUT, we did not go on holiday every year, we did shop in charity shops - but we could turn on the heating if it was cold and we could buy the food we wanted.

It's a complex relationship between wants / needs / expectations and income. If you can provide home, food, clothing and heating for your family without having to watch the pennies, as I can, then I think I am financially privileged - because I know what it's like to run out of money and make do until pay day.

Well i agree and disagree.

Financially priviledge people yes do not have to worry about everyday stuffs but they do spend with budgets in mind.

This is not just cash strap people who lives with budgets, it is financially savvy people.

The differences are 1) their budget is annuallised and then divided per months and 2) their buffer is annual so even if overdraft one month (pre negotiated and agreed with the bank so it is cheaper) it doesnt mean they are running into debts or problems because they are either managing cash flow or know that their annual largely covers it.

So yes everyday they might not think about the £15 for the school trip but they know that school extras and uniforms will cost something around the £500/700 per year depending if it is primary or secondary; they ll know that their holiday budget is £x thousands; that their food budget is £... etc.

It is just wise 😉

@IknoIkno

If you have worked hard and made sacrifices to earn a large salary, it's not a privilege

This is exactly the point. This is a comparison between friends with similar background but years down the line the other friend forgets different and at times poor personal choices.

I wondered when ‘I work hard’ would come to it. My dad was the hardest working man I knew, he worked 15 hours a day trying to pay off the mortgage for years as a taxi driver and we didn’t have any money for anything nice.

He was a great man and worth a hundred of privileged you, OP.

WHAT is the point of these threads? Is to obtain some kind of ‘I’m alright Jack’ type affirmation from others? For those that aren’t, and they are many, all it does is make them feel shit. Well done OP.

Sacrifice, saving, and good planning.

FFS, you're just one of those chippy idiots who automatically lashes out at any mention of the word privilege. It doesn't mean you haven't worked hard or made tough choices or been awarded your thrifty Brownie badge.

Acknowledging privilege means recognising that some choices are only really available to healthy (physically and mentally) people, to intelligent people, to people who had good role models, to "lucky" people. You seem to think that anyone who is poor is poor because they deserve to be, and that you're better than them. You're not.

I don’t know. I grew up to a single parent under Thatcher in a Scottish post industrial town, have ongoing lung problems from shit housing....however. I’m physically attractive and married an upper class English man. I own 2 properties without mortgages, never check the bank, have a job I like while paying for my degree in a career I really want. I’d say yes, I’m privileged but it’s through NOTHING I’ve done. It was pure chance that I properly fancied my DH (not knowing who he was) and he felt the same. Nothing to do with budgeting or hard work, just a random chance. Some people work hard and study and end up well off, some just end up in the situation like I have. It’s not a thing you can guarantee 🤷‍♀️.

I object to the use of the word "privileged".

Why does everything have to be framed as a "privilege" these days? That word irritates me! One person's "privileged" is another person's "worked and saved hard all my life to build a cushion so that I can weather some storms in relative security". Sometimes people don't work and save hard yet are dealt a crappy hand in life that means they're still struggling, but that term "privileged" rankles.

I don't care if that's deemed an unreasonable opinion or not, to tell the truth.

I meant to type that sometimes people DO work and save hard and still end up falling on hard times.

I think most people can achieve some sort of "financial privilege" with some form of financial planning and living within personal means.

Your ignorance and privilege is showing.

If you've worked hard for your career and money that you have earned then I say well deserved, but if you have been given money by friends and family for house deposit, by inheritance, pay for courses etc then I would say you are financially privileged.

I think most people can achieve some sort of "financial privilege" with some form of financial planning and living within personal means.

You're one of those!

@IknoIkno

If you have worked hard and made sacrifices to earn a large salary, it's not a privilege

This is exactly the point. This is a comparison between friends with similar background but years down the line the other friend forgets different and at times poor personal choices.

And what about those who work hard and make sacrifices and still struggle? Did they do something wrong or?

Op, you're privileged. In fact you're so privileged you think it's normal and have no idea what real life is like for many people.

I’m not sure ‘setting a budget’ is the yardstick to determine whether someone is financially privileged or not.

Two people can earn the same money.

Person A can save carefully and work hard, buy cheaper cars, go on cheaper holidays and fifteen years later lives in their own home in a nice part of town, etc.

Person B can buy fancy gadgets, expensive cars, tropical holidays etc, and fifteen years later have nothing to show for their money.

Person A would look financially better off, but they’ve both had the same opportunities and earnings.

Not everyone has the education, knowledge or opportunities to make them financially self-sufficient, but some people who do appear to have achieved this is through planning rather than luck.

People who are able to believe that the poverty trap is a myth, and that welfare dependence, period poverty, fuel poverty and food poverty must all be the result of poor life decisions and not bad fucking luck.

If you never have to put off a bill or purchase until pay day, you are privileged. If you never have to think about your food shopping cost, you are privileged.
If you own your own home (with no or only minimal mortgage) then you are privileged.
If you have never been hungry due to finances, you are privileged.
If you have never cancelled a social event or not made social plans due to finances, you are privileged.
If you have a car, go on holidays, have a warm home, a job, food in your belly and the fridge, all your bills paid, clean well fitting clothes on your back and a TV to watch, you are privileged. So privileged. If you can't see it, then that is because you are blinkered by your great big fucking privilege.

I would view financial privilage as having an advantage over someone else on same income.
I'm privileged because I own my own home (helped initially by DPs) so mortgage payments are a lot lower than my colleague's rent payments.
I'm privileged because location of mine and DH's jobs mean we only need one car.
I'm privileged because I don't need to worry about medical expenses.
I'm privileged because DH and I share our resources.
I'm privileged because I have a few different incomes, so when one dried up in lockdown, we were still ok.
I'm privileged because I have inherited money in the past and expect to again in the future.

Or the one hand I am privileged because we have a good income so never worry about bills, unexpected expenses etc.

However DH & I both work in industries where the vast majority come from a privately educated background. It's common for my colleagues to be given 400k etc to help them buy a bigger house, or fund holidays, school fees.