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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU To think that the vast majority of the 5% of top earners in the UK don't really post on MN

255 replies

ChristmasAlone · 05/05/2021 17:11

Top 5% of earners in the the UK earn 70k or more, but it seems that every 3rd poster on here earns way above that and beyond.

OP posts:
rarzy · 05/05/2021 18:37

I agree the high earners must skew older though as on the mortgage threads everyone has a tiny mortgage.

rarzy · 05/05/2021 18:40

Therefore £70k does seem quite achievable in a 2-adult household where one or both partners are educated/senior in their field

70k household income is very different to 2 adults earning that & having a household income of 140k though.

CaptainCorelli · 05/05/2021 18:41

Starting salary in the Civil Service isn’t £27.5k!!! That must be just your dept - I’m guessing a policy dept? AA grades can be £17 - £19k in many operational depts.

rarzy · 05/05/2021 18:42

Also worth noting that the range within this top 5% is enormous. So you can be within the top 5% but still making truly magnitudes less than the Joneses.

This is true, DH works with people who earn 1-2m a yr.

AbsentmindedWoman · 05/05/2021 18:42

Some people on Mumsnet have a laughably indulgent idea of what is 'normal living'.

Maybe some do.

But the minimum wage is a fucking disgrace. All jobs should pay enough to live on.

A single person cannot maintain any kind of 'normal living' on minimum wage or jobs that pay not much above. You know - rent, gas and electric, water, council tax, internet, groceries, transport to work, a few treats.

Living in a house share gets tedious when you're in your 30s and beyond. I don't think it's unreasonable or extravagant to want your own space. I also don't think people should be in such poverty they can't afford ANY treats comfortably, like an odd bottle of wine or a new book or a cinema ticket, or whatever.

Minimum wage does not support a basic lifestyle, let alone one that could be classed as 'indulgent' Hmm

Chicchicchicchiclana · 05/05/2021 18:42

One thing I really fislike about Mumsnet is the obsession with what people earn. There's so much more to people/ life in general.

JensonsAcolyte · 05/05/2021 18:45

Dh earns around £80k and I earn just above minimum wage so we balance out the demographic nicely.

I know loads of high earners and loads of very low income families. It’s not that rare to be a higher earner and it doesn’t make you suddenly very capable and organised Grin

Zenithbear · 05/05/2021 18:48

I'm never impressed by anyone's income. The same as I'm not impressed by big flash cars and designer handbags. it's all irrelevant to me.
What assets, investments, net worth and income streams people have managed to amass, now that gets me interested.

AuntieCorruption · 05/05/2021 18:48

This reply has been deleted

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littlepattilou · 05/05/2021 18:53

@HeyDemonsItsYaGirl

There are a lot of fantasists and trolls on here. Both ones lying about their salary and ones posting about how £70k isn't a lot of money.
This. ^

There are very few high earners (£70K+ per year) on mumsnet. The VAST majority are fantasists and daydreamers, who live in a dreamworld, where they are at the top of the career ladder, on £175K per year, with a nanny, and 13 acres of land, and a massive 1 million pound house. And they have ALWAYS been to a red brick university, and sometimes have 2 or 3 degrees, and they always cook from scratch.

In addition, their DH is always a massive earner, on THREE times more than her, and he always has a long commute, but is a demon in the sack, and always desperate to please her in bed.

In reality, the majority of these women are poorly paid people in bog standard jobs, OR stay at home mums, with very little surplus income, and they have a boring man with a boring job that only just covers the bills.

@ChristmasAlone YANBU at ALL.

This is my only post on this thread though, as a load of posters are going to come on here claiming they are rich, massively paid, highly educated professionals, with a 20-bedroom mansion, and a DH who earns £500K a year yada yada yada...... Wink And I can't be arsed to listen to the bullshit.

Oh, and it's not reverse snobbery to state a fact. The fact that the majority of posters on here who claim they're rich, highly-paid, and highly educated, are deluded fantasists. If they WERE who they say they are, like hell would they be posting on here all day!

OnceUponAThread · 05/05/2021 18:53

@TheCuddy no. Although she and I have butted heads before I think. 😬

My posting history is fairly transparent as I rarely name change. I think I have twice for specific threads but then back again.

neverenoughchelseaboots · 05/05/2021 18:54

What's with the playground pile on?

And totally agree @OnceUponAThread If you flipped round the 'high flyers are too busy for mumsnet' it suggests that lower paid people would have the time. And no one would say they don't work hard. Quite the opposite in fact.

HeyDemonsItsYaGirl · 05/05/2021 18:55

I wouldn't be happy on 70k anymore

Perfect example of the embarrassing bollocks I was talking about. Grin

warmandtoasty2day · 05/05/2021 18:59

my background is middle class and i was always told it was vulgar to discuss money and what you earn., but everyone is different.

OnceUponAThread · 05/05/2021 19:03

@neverenoughchelseaboots

What's with the playground pile on?

And totally agree @OnceUponAThread If you flipped round the 'high flyers are too busy for mumsnet' it suggests that lower paid people would have the time. And no one would say they don't work hard. Quite the opposite in fact.

Thanks! Glad you understood where I was coming from and what I was trying to say (flipping it was exactly what I was meaning).

I absolutely agree, some of my family / friends on lower incomes work easily ten times harder than me and really couldn't whip their phones out in the working day.

Equally when I started my career and was more junior I was worked to the bone and my managers would not be impressed if they saw me on my phone.

Far more latitude now, especially as I often have dead time waiting for the next of the endless Zoom meetings to start (which is perfect for sneaking in a quick AIBU thread).

Also, as I have my own business there's not really anyone to police my phone time - although I do sometimes have to have a strong word with myself if I end up procrastinating on here.

Chicchicchicchiclana · 05/05/2021 19:04

How many people are in the top 5% of earners, and how many people post on MN?

I think the first group far outnumbers the second group - on that I do agree with you OP.

Moondust001 · 05/05/2021 19:09

I would be more worried about the fact that I doubt many posters are living in the lowest quartile. Based on what so many posters think is important...

UCOinanOCG · 05/05/2021 19:12

I don't earn that but my DH is a high earner so when I post I may be reflecting his income with regards to lifestyle etc but it's not me earning it.

forinborin · 05/05/2021 19:14

I think people also have a very strange perception of how rich £70K makes you.
It is true that it is in the top 5% when it comes to nominal gross income. However, say, if you are a single parent on minimum wage with two nursery aged children in London, you are making approximately the same amount net after all subsidies and welfare. But no one in their right mind would call that rich, because it isn't.

worksleep · 05/05/2021 19:15

I earn a fair bit more time than 70k. I don't understand the obsession with what people earn on here or whether or not they are middle class. My upbringing was very working class and I am proud of it. Oh and yes I have a cleaner but I do the majority of childcare outside of working hours alone. Everyone has different struggles and I've seen both sides.

EarningHowMuch · 05/05/2021 19:19

I've changed names so probably won't be believed but 'meh'

I earn £110k + bonus as an accountant in industry. I have plenty of time to scroll MN if I want to some days and others I'm at out.

I do wish more women had aspirations of higher earnings and how possible it is. In my division I have >50% females, many in senior and technical roles earning >£70k.

Agree that we shouldn't look to race to the bottom and hope my DD's have aspirations to earn more to give them choices in life (not that it's the be all and end all)

Dh and I are separating and I can afford to buy a house and live comfortably- that choice would be removed if I'd not pursued my career. I took 5 years out with Dc (with a bit of contracting in pre school hours) and then went back 2 days a week, currently 4.5 so don't feel ive 'missed out' on parenting time

Chicchicchicchiclana · 05/05/2021 19:21

@forinborin

I think people also have a very strange perception of how rich £70K makes you. It is true that it is in the top 5% when it comes to nominal gross income. However, say, if you are a single parent on minimum wage with two nursery aged children in London, you are making approximately the same amount net after all subsidies and welfare. But no one in their right mind would call that rich, because it isn't.
Can you justify this?
TheLastLotus · 05/05/2021 19:23

@AbsentmindedWoman it really depends on which part of the country you’re in. That’s why there’s there’s also a ‘Living Wage’ ...

forinborin · 05/05/2021 19:29

Can you justify this?
Yes, of course. This is the exact calculation I've done after becoming a single parent with a newborn and a toddler several years ago. The "breakeven" gross salary for me was around £73K-£74K (assuming opting out of any pension).
It's the childcare that kills any fantastic salary here, if you are not getting state help with the fees. A run of the mill nursery in London for a preschooler is more than twice the cost of university.

Janegrey333 · 05/05/2021 19:32

@ChristmasAlone

Top 5% of earners in the the UK earn 70k or more, but it seems that every 3rd poster on here earns way above that and beyond.
Everybody knows they make it all up. Hilarious.
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