To think that having a comfortable life is not the same as having a luxurious one?

[Onlyrainbows]

I understand that it's all very subjective and that the "living comfortably" is a very wide spectrum. A simple example would be: living comfortably - to have a car that works and you don't have to worry about its maintenance as you can afford it. Living luxuriously - you own a bran new (or newish) Porsche and you can definitely afford it.

I think I live in luxury, I have a lovely house and everything works in it and all the rooms are the right size and are really nicely decorated.
My DH and I are waiting for a brand new electric car to be delivered.
We go on about 6 holidays a year, have expensive hobbies.
I eat out whenever I want (usually three or four times a week)
I buy what I want which isn’t actually that much as I don’t need anything.

only child I think the Harrods food hall Vs Whole Foods is a decent comparison. I agree that shopping exclusively at Whole Foods is a step above "comfortable" (a bit like the previous point about Waitrose). You can get some amazing bargains at Harrods Food Hall after 5 BTW!

I say we are very comfortable as we can pay all bills and buy anything we want though that wouldn’t include a million quid yacht. Though we could buy a new Porsche outright.

I think the dominant attitude is your own lived experienced when young. My own childhood was poor mainly because there were six children. DH had a very wealthy childhood as did his Mother and her Mother. She was going abroad on Holiday with her parents in the 1950’s and her childhood home had extensive grounds including a tennis court. They had servants, DH grew up in a home with a Housekeeper.

@onlychildhamster has a very good definition, we are in the comfortable paragraph but do dip in to the lots of very expensive holidays.

Luxury to me is paying much more for something that you could still have at a cheaper price if you wanted to. Therefore the difference between comfortable and luxury is say, making that conscious decision to spend more on that fantastic holiday rather than have a cheap week in the uk.
One is comfortable, one is luxury. Not being able to afford a holiday at all is not even comfortable.

@CharSiu the key thing though is that luxury doesn't equate to expensive... There was a Covent Garden ex council flat that sells for £1.3 million but that is not 'luxurious' like a new built detached house up north which could sell for the same price and is catering to the footballer market. Undoubtedly, the person who lives in the covent garden flat could be quite well off, but swapping luxury for functionality/location.

In our capitalist world, there is a ton of things that is expensive but not luxurious; for example those DIY kits being sold by restaurants during lockdown for £90 per person. it is a convenience for sure and a treat, but it isn't luxury. Luxury, i think, tends to lean towards more traditional tastes and often has an element of 'service'.

To me "Comfortable" means not having to panic if the washing machine breaks down and when one of the kids needs a new pair of shoes.
In short, Can comfortably pay the monthly bills without having to worry about it.
I think we fall into this category, We go abroad each year but its saved for ie not out of current account and have some treats ie take away each weekend, but i wouldn't describe us as wealthy by any stretch of the imagination.

Luxury to me is paying much more for something that you could still have at a cheaper price if you wanted to

This is very astute.

My financial position has improved over the years. Of all the things that I’ve been able to do: get a mortgage, pay off my mortgage, pay off a relatives mortgage, the things that feels the most luxurious is not having to “shop around”.

If I see something I like in a shop, I don’t Google to see if it’s available for cheaper online. If I’m buying something online and the P&P is £10 I don’t then spend hours seeing if I can buy the same combo of goods for less. I used to do both of these things a lot.

It gives me time back and that’s a luxury.

As well as being subjective, is luxury even desirable though?

[quote Freecuthbert]@TheOriginalEmu

Having a car might be a luxury to me as I don't drive. But I don't think someone is living the life of luxury because they can afford to drive. I've known plenty of really low income people who still drive, passed their test years ago and have low insurance and cheap car etc. It is quite normal in the west and for many jobs it can be a requirement. If we're comparing things on a global scale then aren't all of us in the UK living luxuriously? Even those in poverty here can at least have the safety net of benefits and food banks etc, compared to people who don't have access to clean drinking water somewhere else. It's like comparing a bad situation to a worse one, doesn't make the other luxury.[/quote]
Yes, on a global scale most people in the U.K. are rich. We are hugely privileged even those on bare basic benefits are richer than most in the world.
That’s my entire point.

Depends what you see as luxurious.

So is a Porsche, part of a comfortable life, no.

But a comfortable life would include the odd little luxury or luxurious touch. Being able to afford a meal out or buy some nice toiletries.

@TheOriginalEmu

I understood your point, but basically you are saying that the whole of the UK are leading luxurious lives which is hugely unfair considering the many problems people in this country still face. I'm sure the many children in this country who don't have a warm home or a bed to sleep in don't feel comfortable let alone luxurious. If everyone here is living in luxury, what is comfortable then?

[quote Freecuthbert]@TheOriginalEmu

I understood your point, but basically you are saying that the whole of the UK are leading luxurious lives which is hugely unfair considering the many problems people in this country still face. I'm sure the many children in this country who don't have a warm home or a bed to sleep in don't feel comfortable let alone luxurious. If everyone here is living in luxury, what is comfortable then?[/quote]
I was homeless as a teenager. But even as a homeless child I had clothes, I had services which could help me, soup kitchens and churches who would help me. Social services helped me. I could still get medication if I was unwell, I could get hospital treatment. Compared to the situation in many many other countries I was still lucky. Am I saying that it’s right I was homeless? Of course not. Was it fun? No. Is it fun being a poor person in 2022 Britain? No. But it’s relative. On the whole most people in this country compared to other countries live a privileged life.
It’s about acknowledging our privilege and realising that if you have a house, a car and can feed your kids and heat your home that IS Luxury to most of the world.

It’s about acknowledging our privilege and realising that if you have a house, a car and can feed your kids and heat your home that IS Luxury to most of the world

Sure, to many people that’s luxury, but you’re missing a key Point on how hard achieving that can be for many people, and totally invalidating their hardships, becayse someone somewhere has it harder.

You could still attempt to empathise with those stuggling.

@Adeleskirts

It’s about acknowledging our privilege and realising that if you have a house, a car and can feed your kids and heat your home that IS Luxury to most of the world

Sure, to many people that’s luxury, but you’re missing a key Point on how hard achieving that can be for many people, and totally invalidating their hardships, becayse someone somewhere has it harder.

You could still attempt to empathise with those stuggling.

Of course I empathise with those struggling, I AM one of those struggling. My point was related to a post about the difference between running a car comfortably being comfortable and owning a Porsche being luxurious: I was saying BOTH of those are luxurious. Even owning a car which you struggle a bit with is luxurious on a global scale. This whole post was about something which to me seems to be rather the opposite of empathising with those struggling. Realising that even if sometimes we’re a bit broke but we have a house with heating STILL makes us privileged is not not empathising with people with money problems.

Even if I was rolling in it I would never go to many sit down meals or takeaways. I have never found rich foods agree with me and also find it overpriced. In the case of lower end of fast foods not even tasty. I prefer to eat home cooked as that way I know what's gone in it.

Though I was very taken with McPlant the new veggie burger at McDonalds last week when we went for half term. Even there I only go seldom as I hate eating junk foods and at ds age he can easily buy his own.