Middle & upper class more money savvy than most?

[Southerngal5]

DC in very mc school with very affluent parents... The talk non stop is about energy bills, bragging about getting free toys on Facebook groups (but they sell their stuff😉) their dc wear second hand clothes... Is this just my area? Forgot to mention they gave an obsession with Aldi & Lidl...

@Furbulousnous

Buy cheap, buy twice maybe true but there are plenty of people who can only afford the cheap.

And plenty of people that prefer cheap brand new over quality second/third hand.

@Porfre surely it should be based on percentages rather than actual amount saved. Rule of thumb is to save 20% of after tax income (though of course it's way way easier for high income people and almost impossible for poor people). I try to aim for 25% to put into mortgage overpayments.

I think as many have said it's easier to be frugal if you have resources and also if it's something of a game, ie not essential to your survival. I'm a big buyer in bulk when things are cheap and have the resources to store them. I also have a well equipped kitchen and if I experiment with something cheap to cook and it's a disaster I can still feed us.

I think the no waste mindset is a good one if you can get into it. I'm happy to spend money on things I value, but also try not to spend it on things that have little value to me.

But when you have to be relentlessly frugal to get by it's very wearing.

@Furbulousnous

There’s no-one more savvy than WC parents on a low income budget. No-one.

Agree

No idea what class I am, but we both are lucky to have reasonably paid jobs. We have a nice home, drive nice cars and go on luxury holidays. Day to day though we are very frugal, and don't "fritter" money away. My youngest wears hand me downs from my eldest, we make the most of Clubcard vouchers for days out, where we will take a picnic rather than buy food when out. Same at work, we take our own lunches and dh takes a travel mug of coffee in a morning rather than using the Costa that others do.

Yes so wc children cant "delay gratification" 🙄... wheras their drink or food out my be their little treat in the week as they arent going skiing/£250 meal /other expensive thing.

Obviously those on 60k have considerably more money than those on 20k.

Its the "oh maybe its me? Im just so good at this while they just spend" or lack of understanding that is irritating. And looking down on others that don't have their budget.

So far we have m/c frugal people buying in boden/ m and s lunches/ £250 meals out/ski trips etc. Absolutely no problem with those but is not on to then look down on how those who cant afford that spend their money

@Porcupineintherough what are you talking about buying second or third hand? White goods are not good value bought second hand. Plenty of people buy second-hand furniture on eBay or similar and plenty of working-class people buy second-hand furniture from charity shops. Or do you just mean working-class people don't tend to be at the auction houses?

I am better off than I used to be, though still working class. I take a flask of tea and picnic food when out and about.
But when I was totally skint I would treat myself to a coffee in a cafe occasionally. Not because I was stupid, but that was a big treat. I couldn't afford going out for a meal never mind holidays. So a coffee in a cafe it was.

@Whammyyammy

I loathe the class system, so don't use it. Our combined income is circa £90k, no kids. We drive a 7 year old BMW and my husband an 8 year old motor bike. Both owned, no hp etc and we're not expensive. My husbands mate has a new RR sport and his wife a new audi soft top, both on hp/pcp/never never. Both in low paid jobs, have 2 DC and always moaning they're skint 🤷‍♂️

I don't think I'm savvy, just not lavish

I like this approach. I'm opting not to use the class system too. It's bollocks and designed to keep people in their place.

I hate the white supremacy system that means racism is used to try and keep people in their place. I shall just opt out of it then?
Incredible naivety.

@Monopolyiscrap I mean quite simply that some people dont do second hand. Second hand carries a stigma with it in some people's eyes, and some people can feel judged for not buying new - and some people are judged more harshly than others for not being able to afford new stuff, in the same way they are judged for their clothes or having scruffy kids. It's really complicated actually, depends on your ethos, the ethos you were brought up with, your own social standing. And money, of course.

It’s very competitive cutting back and savings a little here and there to pay for school fees

You would be shocked how many really struggle sending their children to fee paying schools (eye roll x 1000)

Many have the time to do this ….

@Porcupineintherough I hadnt realised you meant that. Yes poverty carries a lot of stigma and shame with it and lots of people will thus avoid anything associated with poverty.

@OhWhyNot I wouldn't be shocked I used to work at a private school, but you're right it is mind blowing.

I never understand why foods that are cheap basics in their country of origin, see also hummus, falafel, anchovies or pasta dishes like spaghetti puttanesca that are eaten by everyone in their countries of origin are seen as 'aspirational' in the UK.

I suppose it's because the ingredients don't grow well here so we are not as used to them. It works both ways, I was chatting to a friend in Italy once who I'm sure knows three or four ways to cook an aubergine but she'd never tried a parsnip.

I think its not frugality in the sense of having to make ends meet, its prioritisation of spending. It's much easier to prioritise your discretionary spending when you comfortable for money. We have the mythical MN income (and school fees ) and I am frugal in some ways. We have second hand furniture and washing machine, the school has a great second hand uniform shop etc. However, it is a luxury sort of frugality - it's being able to prioritise spending to things that matter more and make a difference.

Having a new car or washing machine doesn't matter to me, they won't particularly improve my life. Paying off the mortgage a couple of years early will make a big difference so I am going to chose the latter.
However, if I lived in rented accommodation with no prospect of ever being able to buy a property and knowing that savings above a certain amount would impact my income then I might be more inclined to buy stuff because that is what would have the biggest positive impact on my life.

Luxury frugality is a bit of a game for reasonably well off people where they can challenge themselves to make sensible choices to free up cash for other things. We do it because we can and we want to so it doesn't feel painful - to have to live watching every penny because you have no other choice is anything but fun.

In a lot of ways we are quite savvy. We do our main shop at Aldi, usually cook from scratch and pad things like chilli out with loads of veg - DH often comments that he isn't sure what changes the Eat Well for Less people could actually suggest.

When it comes to second hand clothes buying, you are at an advantage living in an affluent area... where we live the charity shops contain the equivalent of Captain Vimes' $10 boots. I am sure if you live somewhere affluent it is easier to buy higher quality stuff that lasts. The same with baby goods etc.

Are you back again OP? haven’t you taken enough notes?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4446057-Middle-Class-Upper-middle-class-most-frugal-with-money-in-a-good-way

@JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon

Why hasn't Martin Lewis been knighted?

I think it is because he is saving us ordinary folk money. Certainly with this government...more money in our bank accounts = less money for their donors or to HMRC. For example, Martin Lewis publicised the working from home tax relief. Take up has been so good they are looking to close it.

"The Telegraph reported that Chancellor Rishi Sunak is to be given a report from HMRC that could see changes to eligibility criteria.

It quoted a Treasury source saying: “This is a tax relief that existed before Covid and it was there for legitimate reasons, but the take-up is now much higher so it needs to be looked at.”

People of all (so called) classes and incomes can waste money, its just easier to give the impression you are frugal by talking about saving a few £'s on an energy provider switch or selling some cloths, whilst buying a brand new Audi Q7 but forget to mention the 25k hit you took on depreciation in the first year.

@StripyHorse I live 1 station away from Highgate and the charity shop at highgate had a comptoir des cotonniers dress in perfect condition and in my size for £20! Its one of my favourite dresses. the same dress cost 125 euros RRP, 87.50 euros on sale.

StripyHorse
I thought the issue was that the scheme was altered due to covid so even if you only WFH one day you could claim the full year allowance rather than having to prove that you worked regularly from home. I don't think it's necessarily going to disappear rather than it might go back to what it was?

@ChildHeadache

I think too some qell off people like to think poorer people are just "frittering" or cant spend money wisely or its because of cigarettes/sky tv they cant buy a house or other "reasoning" that makes people feel better about not facing social inequality or poverty issues.

For sure.

[quote Titfortatfortit]Are you back again OP? haven’t you taken enough notes?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4446057-Middle-Class-Upper-middle-class-most-frugal-with-money-in-a-good-way[/quote]
Ha. Good catch.