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

I’d say that we are very fortunate. We earn enough to have savings, live comfortably, have treats like meals out, and don’t need to budget too strictly for food and bills.

Having a financial buffer means we have a larger home, with storage for bulk buying from Costco, which brings down the individual price of toilet rolls and kitchen paper, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, all the essentials.

This is definitely something I could never have done 2 decades ago when I was a struggling single living month to month.

After growing up with 4 siblings and a single mum, and scraping by when I first left home, I really really appreciate just how fortunate we are. We are a foster family, and donate to food shelters and charities we care about, I’ve never forgotten how hard my dear Mum had it.

So you think everyone who struggles financially is just down to poor financial planning ? 🥴

Not read the thread, I feel immensely privileged right now.
We absolutely budget all the time, everyday has a budget! But, if our boiler breaks, we can repair it, that was a major worry some winters ago, it did go and we didn't even have a hot water bottle!
Now we do and electric blankets.
If the car goes, we could replace it (cheap second hand car under 5 grand)

Not enough money to replace the utterly decrepit kitchen though.. But certainly enough now to get help in when we need it.

I also feel incredibly privileged to be able to buy in targeted help for the dc.
Comparered to a few years ago.. I really do feel very rich and yet I know on our combined salaries we do earn less than many one wages on here.
I guess it's because our living costs are so low, dh isn't into fancy watches or tech, I don't care about bags and shoes.. No hair cuts...

What's wrong with being privileged? I would
Consider myself privileged in many aspects of my life and have gratitude for it. For some bits it's as a result of work, some is circumstance and some is luck. But I'm financially very comfortable - even if I still aspire to more, my family have their health, I have a good support system of friends and family and I have a partner and children whom I adore. I would consider all of that a privilege and be grateful for it regardless of whether I earned it or it's handed to me on a plate.

Misfit...

That's the irony isn't it, you really do need money to be able to save it. I too have only recently been able to join Costco and enjoy the benefits! Although our house is small so we can't go wild but it's so much easier to be able to save when one has space to store, perhaps another chest freezer etc... Access to buying in bulk...

Going back to read the thread but frankly if you have to ask does financial privilege exists then you have no clue and you’re not trying to have one either. Your friend probably thinks you’re a smug entitled twat.

If you choose an essential career that helps people is it your own bloody fault if you’re struggling with bills? Different industries pay different amounts.

We were broke earlier in the year and spending a minimum (still financially privileged to be clear in asset base, family safety net to fall back on, dh well paid) . We bought a super cheap rice cooker. It broke meal one. We bought another cheap one. It broke a week or two ago. My dh bought one this week and I’m earning now so I have no idea what he paid for it but a lot more than the cheap ones, and it will cost less over it’s lifetime. Poverty tax is real. Cheap shoes wear out faster. Cheap equipment breaks faster. People who can only just buy food can’t bulk buy and get deals. They can’t afford to shop around because they work two jobs and just trying to keep meals on the table and clean clothes for their dc is wearing them out.

Don’t forget the stress. Constant mental stress of how will I feed my dc. Constant awareness of if the washing machine breaks I’m screwed. This constant stress really impacts cognitive function and health.

*noIkno

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

You dont live on NMW trying to balance expensive childcare and rent do you?

@NullcovoidNovember

Misfit...

That's the irony isn't it, you really do need money to be able to save it. I too have only recently been able to join Costco and enjoy the benefits! Although our house is small so we can't go wild but it's so much easier to be able to save when one has space to store, perhaps another chest freezer etc... Access to buying in bulk...

Yes, it really is the irony of the situation. I couldn’t have even afforded the membership for Costco years ago, never mind being able to bulk buy everything. I had a countertop high little fridge, and couldn’t swing a cat in my tiny 1 bed flat. I remember have to go to the grocers every few days.

It’s a relief to be comfortable, I’ll never take it for granted.and I feel for everyone on here who is struggling, life can be so unfair.

30 years ago, as a struggling "single" mother (i.e. I had a parasitic ex who refused to leave the house that I bought to escape him-long story-and who brought in no money, did nothing around the house and was a true liability), I was literally on the bones of my bum. I was working 60 hours a week, raising 3 kids, one chronically ill and requiring frequent emergency hospital dashes, and had no money for anything. Like, I sold my clothes and special treasures, scraped together coins from behind the sofa to buy a loaf, sold my DD's school uniform to give them a Christmas. I was earning a good salary, but back then, mortgage interest was running at 15%+, and teenage boys cost a bomb to feed. I know what it is to go without, and really feel for the young, whose struggle to get on the housing ladder must be truly soul-destroying. I have now worked for 45 years, have at last retired (aged 70) and my mean-minded mother has finally gone to her Great Reward. She has left me rich. Really rich, despite always threatening to leave her money to the Cats' Home. I am very lucky, and definitely financially privileged. But I am now able to help others, and am doing my best to make some of my assets make a difference to others. Mother's inheritance aside, I felt financially privileged in my modest little house by the sea, with my work pension and national superannuation. Just enough not to panic if the car needed new tyres, and sufficient to contribute a little to the needy in our community. It's amazing how little you really need when you have no children to feed, clothe and educate.

@pollyglot What a lovely person you are .

When I was a child my parents were poor. My mother would buy us new shoes with the family allowance and we would all have to wait in turn. There were four of us.
She would repair our shoes with cardboard until she could buy new ones
My only decent coat was my school uniform gabardine and I had to wear it to church. We had no luxuries at all. My parents were always in debt and could not afford the bills. It was awful and they rowed all the time over money

When my children were little I could afford to buy them new shoes and coats and go to Macdonald's afterwards. We always paid the bills instantly and had no money worries but that was because we were careful with money, not because we were well off - we were not. That's how I measured success - that and having savings I did not need to dib into.

These days I would say that having financial privilege would be to be able to afford anything I wanted but not necessarily feel the need to buy it - just to know I could would be enough. Pie in the sky though !

To me, financial privilege isn't about not having to worry about bills.

Financial privilege is when you don't have to worry about bills because you've had a financial advantage handed to you. Being born into a wealthy family, being gifted money for a house deposit, wedding or education, inheriting money - basically, when you've come into money without having to work for it.

I would call a self-made millionaire fortunate/comfortable, but I wouldn't say privileged if they had got to that position without any financial help.

I acknowledge with some careers if you work hard, you will never have lots of money because those careers have a very low cap on earnings potential. (Whether or not that is fair is a separate discussion.) However, many people have chosen to go into certain careers because if you work hard you can earn a lot of money, and they've worked hard to achieve what they have. I think if you actively make that choice for the financial reward and succeed, you're very fortunate, but you're not privileged.

There's also a difference between privilege and being in the right place at the right time - people who bought houses when prices were dirt cheap are bloody lucky, but I wouldn't say they're privileged, just fortunate. No one handed them cheaper prices - the market just happened to be priced more affordably at the time.

@IknoIkno

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

For fucks sake.

@IknoIkno....I was talking about similar to OH the other day. How only people who have enough money (or more) are the ones saying “money can’t buy you happiness” - people who think limited money is the same as no money.

People who are down to their last aubergine and do not understand what it is like to have literally NO MONEY - you sound like one of those people OP.

Op, ignore your friend. Some people have good fiscal control and some don't. It isn't privilege, it's a mix of instinct, fear, personal discipline and upbringing.

Someone once told me 'it's ok for you because you have money' ! But I hadn't. At the time I was unemployed, on job seekers, not turning the heating on in December for fear of the bill and with less than two mortgage payments in the bank. No partner or family to help. But because I wasn't in hysterics and making a fuss, that apparently meant I had a trust fund or something tucked away. People get weird ideas.

There's no point in having the conversation so just say "err, I don't think so' roll your eyes and forget it. Don't take it personally.

We are financially privileged because we don’t worry about finances, I would say that is the fundamental meaning of ‘privilege’ in this context.

We have no debt, savings and don’t have to budget. Our quality of life is good because of this. We buy all we need and often, all we want. So yes, we are privileged financially. We have worked very hard to be in this position though.

We are retired, our income is fairly low, but we own our home, and still have a small amount of savings. We were first generation homeowners who scraped by in the 80s when interest rates were through the roof. Then in the 90s DH had major health problems, and his earnings virtually disappeared. I went from a reasonable job to a lower paid one because of redundancy. We both had part time work past our state retirement age (my state pension is a pittance) but our expenses are modest. New clothes are rare, we run an old, low mileage car, and we cook mainly from scratch. But our house is warm, we can replace necessary items when necessary, and treat the grandchildren!

I feel privileged because we are guaranteed an income every month. I feel privileged because our adult DC have good incomes, and have no need to rely on us. I count my blessings.

@ArcheryAnnie
rwalker
I would say we're comfortable house paid for but the only reason I'm in this postion is I bought a house when I was 18 had 4 jobs to pay for it

when friends were at the bar getting pissed I was behind it working. They had flash cars I didn't went aboard once when I was 25 missed out on loads as I was working .kept mortgage term over same length when moved high mortgage payments over short term .

Pisses me off when they say I'm lucky I don't have a mortgage nobody gave me anything and find it fucking rude .
This is ludicrous. I was working outside the family home from the age of 11 (babysitting, paper rounds), then from about 14 worked at the weekend at a burger joint, worked after school at an office, did a paper round on Sunday morning and a free paper one evening a week all through my teens. During the school holidays I was a cleaner in an old people's home. I could not afford to "get pissed" or buy a flash car or any of those things, never mind a mortgage.

If you can buy a house at 18 from your own four jobs, then you must have pretty fucking excellent connections to get the kind of jobs that would enable you to do so. To present this as pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps, I find fucking rude.

Wow proves my point really MASSIVE assumptions . it was just under 30 years ago I paid £11,500(need huge amount of work) for my 1st house put down 15% which I had and due to working in a hotel evenings and weekends since I was 14. I think my mortgage was about £77 (all relative as didn't even clear £100 a week from full-time job)and P/T jobs
to pay the bills.

It really depends what is meant by privileged. I am very appreciative that I am in a position to spend without having to check my bank account first for anything I might decide I want on a particular day (within reason of course). I know what a nice position it is to be in.

But I don't feel privileged as in being lucky to be where I am in that it's not luck that put my there but the choices I've made in my life so far, choices that others in a similar position didn't want to make then because of the sacrifices it involves. I feel that I deserve to be in this position.

@NancysDream

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 am in the latter position. I have enough for all my needs plus money in the bank for emergencies, but I've also been in all the situations you talk about prior to that.

People handle money and risk very differently, I have 2 siblings, one, I'm pretty sure, would leave a fortune if they went under a bus, never married, doesn't have a passport, has never left the uk. Like me has had a professional job. The other has ALWAYS spent up to their limit, never has reserves, has borrowed from dparents, me, other sibling, always pays us back but lives on the edge. Has at least two holidays a year (cruises and world travel). Works incredibly hard, two jobs (receptionist type roll). Works to fund the fun.

We were brought up by WC parents who lived within their means. No catalogue clothes, nothing on HP, you saved up to buy what you wanted, you paid every bill on time, when it arrived. Two of us are like that, the fun lover isn't. The fun lover is smart, could have done well at school but hated it and left at 16 and got a job in a shop.

We're all happy with our lives, I don't think any of us would want the life the others have, but none of us is privileged, we've all worked hard, but treat money very differently.

My family has always said (and they're fairly OK financially) that you'll always worry whether for a penny or a million.

@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

Yes YABFU.

Jesus christ. The lack of empathy is staggering. What a bitchy attitude.

Hubby earn well and fill your purse every month, does he?

@Fressia123

My family has always said (and they're fairly OK financially) that you'll always worry whether for a penny or a million.

Ah, see I was going to say that my form of financial privilege is an ability to live vastly within my means and not worry about money.

When I started out, I was on a very low wage living alone. It wasn't rock bottom, but I did have to be very careful with day to day expenses. I set up an ISA for £200/month and lived off the rest (about £800/month).

I lived in a cheap part of the country (cocktail hour was 2 for £3.50...), but all the same, I had plenty of friends who'd have simply spent all or most of it.

I earn almost four times as much now but my habits are the same - save away huge chunks of money before I spend anything.

My privilege is low needs, a dislike of flashy expensive things, cheap hobbies and a squirrel's instincts for saving. My husband is the same. It puts us in a very safe position if anything bad did happen to our finances.

'Privilege' means different things to different people

As a previous poster said.

Financial privilege is often passed down. So you're set up before you even start.
School fees, monetary gifts, house deposits or house bought, driving lessons, first car, inheritance etc.
My parents had massive monetary help and a large inheritance but chose to spend it not to pass it on, however I and my siblings inherited from another relative, our dc have also inherited. They all own their own homes. They all have jobs but would be a long way from home owners without this help. I know several people who have had houses or huge amounts of money given to them.