To ask how you would spend a salary of £300k?

[iwishiwasafish]

In a similar vein to “what would you do if you won the lottery” … how would you spend an ongoing salary of £300k per year?

That’s £25k per month before tax.
£14,180 per month after tax.

That's £14k a month or £3.3k a week. I'd clear my mortgage quick, add to my pension and buy a holiday cottage.

Use to earn that salary in my 30s. Spent it. Huge house, housekeeping, ironing service, private schools, antiques. Disaster hit us with a bereavement and a burglary. Spent last ten years living off items sold to make ends meet between consultancy which can be well paid or you are between jobs and earn nothing. Now back with a family income at this level and one dc left home. No cleaner, gardener etc. However we are buying a smaller house and will get rid of the mortgage ASAP. I don't tell anyone what I earn and I work long hours. I put my max contributions into the company pension too. I do wear designer clothes but I buy them in sales and off ebay. I have a handbag habit!

So I couldn't help myself and did some researching if this was my salary I'm assuming I'm working in a big city and full time so to cover all my basis I need a home big enough for my family 5 beds. Including mortgage and all the bills that would come with this house monthly just for this I'll be spending over 7 thousand pounds.
Secondly I'll have a car and the bills that come with that looking at around £800 for insurance, road tax and fuel.
3) being at home I'm going to watch TV so for Netflix, Prime TV, Disney+, broadband and Wi-Fi and TV licence this comes to about £200
4) Food. Weekly food shops eating out having lunches getting coffees add up so about £800 for this.
5) luxury things like a cleaner, Gardener getting hair and beauty treatments totals to about £600.
Lastly while I'm working I'm going to need to pay pay childcare which is about £1140 for full time nursery costs.
In total this is over 11 Thousands pounds so I can save the last £3000 which I can out towards savings for a holiday car repairs house mantiance and just general life things.
This is all estimate and depends on where you live but to live a busy life and still get everything done at home and work extra things need to be brought in to help take some load off which is extra so not much money left over. But does make life less stressful in some areas

N/C - DP earns twice this. We have a cleaner and a nice house (but in London, so it's not that big), a couple of very nice holidays every year and I don't have to watch what I buy at the supermarket. My salary is considerably lower than his and we keep separate finances. He never buys himself anything nice which annoys me as he deserves it! I do probably treat myself more than I ought to and probably more than I would if we I didn't have DP as a safety net.

@brunetteandgrey

I do earn around this (before tax). I:

-paid for private schools for my stepchildren
-pay (still) for university for my stepchildren, and pay them an allowance while they are at uni
-fully financially support my DH (who retired years ago to be a SAHF)
-fully financially support my parents, who have no income
-help my brothers out from time to time, such as when one was ill and could not work
-go abroad for a month every year and pay for the rest of the family (stepchildren and their other halves) to join us
-take a tutor on holiday with us for my DS (he has special needs)
-DH is building us a house (we never owned property until last year), so don't need to pay for labour but do for materials
-do have a weekly cleaner
-used to use an ironing service for my work clothes (before Covid) but don't need it now (WFH)!

I have no interest in shoes, handbags, pricey clothes etc etc. I have quite a nice car but it is 6 years old. I like nice food and wine but DH keeps any spending on that in check, he loves a 2 for 1 bargain!

I love the fact that I can look after the family, it really keeps me going.

You are incredibly generous. Your family are very lucky to have you.

Take the job. Think like a man! Which would probably mean negotiating anything needed to make it work for you, extra perks and work out the rest as you go.

Just popping back on to say thanks all, and I think I’ve decided to take the job (and get a financial advisor).

Although there is risk in moving, it makes early retirement much more achievable, so probably decreases risk overall, in all but the very short term.

In fact I consider myself lucky to have them. I don't have any interest in a lot of the things that wealthy or high earning people would traditionally spend money on, people and experiences are more important. (Not that I live an uncomfortable life, but I don't need more than one handbag etc!)

PS the flexibility/travel etc isn’t really a case for negotiation. It’s not that kind of job. It’s a case of what I would or wouldn’t need to do myself to be successful in the job … to meet the goals, achieve the outcomes etc. it’s not about them allowing me or making me do anything.

@iwishiwasafish consider joining some FIRE groups on Facebook/Reddit or doing some reading like the slow path to wealth. A salary like that could see you retire pretty quickly if you can keep your outgoings sensible.

We are only on about half that as a family and still hope to retire early!

Congratulations on the job offer. Id have thought I’d you’re at state schools you’d have a lot you could be saving for retirement although would you consider private 6th form? The more immediate thing might be to consider university costs as well. Is there anything your husband would want to do re re-training? If you’re already at full pension contributions then you need to be looking at the most tax efficient way to save. You’d both be wanting to fill your ISA allowance if you don’t already.

seems a massive amount but we live to an income of more than £300,000
5k mortgage per month
pre Covid 60k on holidays
eating out about 1,500 a month
PT's, cleaners, dog walkers, kids tutors etc
Doesn't go far

@Doodar

seems a massive amount but we live to an income of more than £300,000 5k mortgage per month pre Covid 60k on holidays eating out about 1,500 a month PT's, cleaners, dog walkers, kids tutors etc Doesn't go far

60k on holidays?! How is that even possible

@Doodar

seems a massive amount but we live to an income of more than £300,000 5k mortgage per month pre Covid 60k on holidays eating out about 1,500 a month PT's, cleaners, dog walkers, kids tutors etc Doesn't go far

Doesn't go far 😂😂😂😂😂

I'm concluding that over a certain level, whatever your income, it doesn't feel excessive. You just do more of exactly the same things you did before, just to a higher price bracket.

That's as long as you're able to spend within your income. If your spending over your income regularly, that's a whole other world of pain.

@Doodar

seems a massive amount but we live to an income of more than £300,000 5k mortgage per month pre Covid 60k on holidays eating out about 1,500 a month PT's, cleaners, dog walkers, kids tutors etc Doesn't go far

Of course it goes far, you're just choosing to spend it on luxuries. Nothing wrong with that at all but £60k on holidays and £1.5k a month on eating out are choices, they're not life necessities.

That would be £190k pa after tax, so you would need a plan. New Kitchen and bathroom. Better cars for self and spouse and kids. A landscaper to makeover garden, and a regular cleaner. Some nice clothes and things. A big skip or two for disposal of excess junk. Try to hang onto job for a while.
Travel and save.

What does a big skip have to do with an increased salary???

We're above this salary and save most of it. Live in one of the worlds most expensive countries though, but our outgoings are:

Mortgage
School fees
Full time helper/cleaner
Household bills
Extra-curricular activities/gym
Groceries/eating out

Everything else goes into savings/investments. We're not big spenders, don't run a massive home (ours is about 2600 sq ft), don't bother with designer stuff really.

DH just started up a business which is looking considerably more profitable, so chances are we'll continue to squirrel away, donate to charities and live a low key life.

I suppose you would pay a huge chunk to a good accountant to minimise your tax bill. I would have a live in cook. I loathe cooking. By the time you bought the big house, employed the staff to run it you'd probably need ten times that income.

Good luck, OP.

Based on your later posts, I would look at saving for the DC so they can do postgrad courses or have a house deposit in the future.

A cleaner, I’d get taxis on every night out, get reformer Pilates classes and a personal trainer and have some lovely holidays. The rest would go on early mortgage repayments, maximum pension contributions and then early retirement.

Earning above that.
DS in independant boarding school (huge fees)
Cleaner to help with household chores
1 holiday a yr (as difficult to take leave）
Eat out at weekends
Drives 2nd hand mini
Don't wear expensive clothes
Invest in properties