AIBU to want to start my own 'working class Mumsnet'?

[shoplifteroftheworld]

I see so many topics and conversations on here that just don't relate to my own life and experiences. Lots of well off women talking about their recent purchases from Boden or Uniqlo or some other place I can't afford to shop. Chat about dinner parties and holidays abroad. I'd like a site for mums and women on lower incomes as this site can leave a lot of us feeling left out of certain conversations.

I think a northern English Mumsnet would be nice! Or maybe just a non-London/SE one. I often feel very culturally adrift when reading breads about London house prices/incomes/lifestyles. We are comfortable and have a nice enough life but so many women here are in a different stratosphere.

@ssd You have to search for a long time in charity to find something good. Primark is fast fashion. Btw my cousin's wife loves primark and when she visited london for the first time, primark is the highlight of her visit! She lives in a 3 bedroom condo in Singapore with a tennis court, a spa, a karaoke room and swimming pools and she likes to have a lot of clothes, so cheap fashionable clothes that she doesn't mind discarding is preferred.

An influencer I follow on instagram was also proudly showing off her new fingerless gloves from Primark, which she paired with a dior handbag and a balenciaga hoodie. I get it with gloves because I always seem to lose mine so would never get expensive ones.

Therefore I associate brands like primark, boohoo and shein with teens that want to constantly refresh their outfits. ASDA seems to sell more functional basics. if I could only afford the cheapest clothes, I would buy second hand clothes on facebook/ebay or at charity shops with an emphasis on brands that are known for good quality so they would last. I would also stalk freegle; i gave away some clothes to a lady for free once using that site!

Should say *threads not breads! 🤣

Fucking hell just lost post.

It said:
call it 'NoSafetyNet'
and also that i am (precarious) middle class and my entire understanding of the reality of how having no safety net changes everything has come from Mn, and that I'm very grateful as it has transformed my politics and my worldview. And that it's imposs to overstate how strong the middleclass bubble really is - I didnt know anyone other than ones like me or reasonably well off tradespeople for about 40 years. Or at least not well enough to understand fuck all.
The older I get the more I hate it all. I never joke about class now and I am so far left now that Marxist Leninists are liberals.

@coochyboochy I thought the consensus on Mumsnet was that people in the north have a better lifestyle because they don't sink all their money into property like us londoners. The difference with why londoners might seem to have a more materialistic lifestyle is the ones who stay in London tend to have kids later and being older usually means having more disposable income. I am nearly 30 and married but am more focused on overpaying the mortgage now so I can afford a bigger flat and childcare and also working to increase my pay. In the north, maybe I would have a baby at a younger age given that I married at 22...

I’m constantly amazed at how acceptable it is on MN to be rude or dismissive of any poster who appears to have money or class. So it’s OK to slag off the upper middle class, but heaven forfend we breathe a word of criticism about anyone working class.

@Alysskea

YANBU!!! Don't know why this has caused such a stir. You're right that so much of the site is aimed at well off middle class with absolutely no clue.

As making your own site sounds like a whole lot of effort we may need to settle for being more vocal on this version.

Yeah, lots of closet - or not so closet! - class snobbery here. So many people not understanding or wanting to understand what it is to struggle financially. No concept of an uneven playing field either.

@coochyboochy - london/se house prices, incomes and lifestyles vary wildly...

Thanks for the response ladies. Good to know I'm not alone in my thinking. It can be annoying when you're skint and you see a post about someone loving a particular pair of trousers from Boden soooooo much that they just HAD to buy them in every colour 😂

I think I'll start a thread about being poor and see who wins the poverty olympics 😂

I think “class” is a difficult concept.
I came from a solidly working class background but work in a Professional job which gives me a great deal of pleasure .
I don’t work full time - I am a GP and would die. Most GPs who are not partners or practice owners actually don’t earn mega bucks. My husband earns just an average wage.
We are very very fortunate but we are not wealthy - we maybe would be a bit bit wealthier if I didn’t read Style and Beauty 😁
I hold my Mum and Dads working class values close to my heart. Always vote Labour ( not in UK)

It's just life, really. There's always going to be people whose lives are different to yours. Like a PP said about pregnancy- it's not only money that makes differences.
I like differences. It's interesting. I'm working class by birth, if we're still believing in class. I've been on my arse and I've been fairly wealthy and now I'm somewhere in between. At every stage there's been people better & worse off. And now one of my wealthiest friends lives with some of the most difficult, non money related issues. Life's broader than Boden & Eufys.

Also, why the fuck have people started barking on about buying a dress then selling a dress?

I am doing ok now, but there was a quite a long period in my life where I didn’t put the heating on, where I had beans on toast a lot, where I spent a lot of time in the library, where I was threatened with eviction, where I slept in my clothes to keep warm, where I sold my treasured vinyl collection and rare CDs for literally £5-10 so I could eat.

A lot of people on here have literally no idea how much grinding poverty affects people. You are living hand to mouth. You have no extra, no safety net. If you get an unexpected bill, you have no way of dealing with it. In my worst times, I was trying to get to my job in winter. Another car approached me on the wrong side of the road and I had to swerve into a wall. They drove off but I had a £500 repair bill so I could drive to work again. I had to borrow that money.

@shoplifteroftheworld

Thanks for the response ladies. Good to know I'm not alone in my thinking. It can be annoying when you're skint and you see a post about someone loving a particular pair of trousers from Boden soooooo much that they just HAD to buy them in every colour 😂

I think I'll start a thread about being poor and see who wins the poverty olympics 😂

You just sound lovely! Having grace, being open and being yourself , having a heart for others is truly winning. Boden can sod of!

I like reading posts and replies from the rich people on here. I'm envious sometimes and exasperated at times. Different worlds.

If I read "people on here" one more time...for fucks sake, you are the people on here.

@TonytheDog

I see so many threads where an OP starts a new post and then doesn't return.

Maybe you'd find Mumsnet more suiting to you if you actually engaged in a thread of your very own making?

Class is irrelevant - post your own stuff or join in with threads that pique your interest. It's not all Boden and £1m salaries. It seems you've started a thread (which you havn't returned to) to be divisive and contrary. Inverse snobbery is a thing.

Sorry Tonythedog, I was working downt'pit. Back now and happy to join in 😊

@SawdustAndHay

A specific place on Mumsnet might be be a start. Call it Peasants’ Corner.

Nearly spat my cup of tea out when I read that 😆

[quote elbea]@BiscuitLover3678 dresses in the Boden sale are £10, I’ll be able to sell them on for the same. Got a whole load of clothes from John Lewis for £2-3 clearance, I’ll probably make money on selling them when we are done. They are the same prices of supermarket clothes, the John Lewis things are cheaper.[/quote]
Yeah, right.

John Lewis selling clothes (a whole load of them) for £2? And if there's ever been a dress in a Boden sale for £10, I'll guarantee that it's a size 4 or 22 or something else that they really can't sell. Even then I've never seen one.

@Bralessandfree

If I read "people on here" one more time...for fucks sake, you are the people on here.

Eh? I'm not the rich people on here though.

@LaChanticleer

I’m constantly amazed at how acceptable it is on MN to be rude or dismissive of any poster who appears to have money or class. So it’s OK to slag off the upper middle class, but heaven forfend we breathe a word of criticism about anyone working class.

Except this thread is full of people mocking, talking down to, and generally dismissing the OP.

So you're talking shite.

I am the cleaner lol

I used to be pretty active on netmums but they got rid of their app and their forum is totally changed now

People who are loud and boast about it are not wealthy it's just vulgar nobody is impressed 🤷🏻‍♀️ well maybe they are if they care about the same things possibly?

But I will join this thread because I'm certainly not going to any dinner parties any time soon 😂

@saraclara i only ever buy from boden on sale and the cheapest i have seen is £20 (plus an extra 10% off)- so £18. She might be referring to buying boden second hand from facebook groups, that can be very cheap. Just saw a tunic for £8.

Those who gets high-handed about reverse snobbery (or 'would you say that about black people I THOUGHT NOT') - can you not see that you are QED
honestly cunts, be less cunt.

The good thing about being on a low income is finding gems like this when you visit charity shops. Framed photos of Nicolas Cage! You can't get that in Boden 😂

And FFS, does it really need stating that living in constant poverty is not the same as enjoying finding the odd charity shop bargain?

I grew up WC (properly poor), am now comfortable, but by northern standards not London ones. I haven't forgotten what it was like to not have money for shoes, but there are lots on here that live in such a bubble, and just don't trouble themselves to think about what life might be like for the 50% of households who live on less than the median income. YANBU OP