High earners - how do you spend your salary?

[Citygirly]

DH and I earn just under £140k combined.

We do maximum pension payments (his is 9% as NHS) and we also give about 10% a month to charity.

Other than that, we plan to start overpaying the mortgage. We invest £1k a month (so £500 each) and save £1k for holidays. We of course do general/specific savings but then have a good chunk left over for disposable income.

AIBU to ask other high earning households how they tend to allocate their money? Just want to see if we could be using it better or this is about right for comparables.

I don't think there would necessarily be a bar as such. It wouldn't be meant to keep people out that want to read and engage in a nice manner. It would just be a space for people to be able to speak openly without being verbally attacked by a mob.

People who has done well financially, apart from privilege, most must have done something right and something for all to be learned from. It could be personal discipline, or career choice, or strategic investment...
I don't understand what the attackers gain from criticising

And you claim this is genuine and that you’re not courting negative comments? 🙄

If you post a nonsense 'question' on "Am I Being Unreasonable?" you are likely to be told you are indeed unreasonable. The clue is in the title.

@Merryclaire did you miss my last post or are you just ignoring it as you have no response?

@Citygirly

No one has been verbally attacked by a mob

@Madbamboo

I take it you missed the personal attacks from those who considered themselves better because they earn more?

I don't think there needs to be a high earners corner, the money section is fine. You get any threads from people asking how to stretch their last £10 for the week to people asking what to invest their spare £100k in.

Both are genuine questions, with genuine desire to seek opinions / insights

I don't see what this thread gains apart from people bragging.

OP, in your opening "question," you don't even give anyone the most basic of facts such as - how old you are; where you live; whether you have children / other dependents; job security etc etc etc.

Did these most basic of life circumstances not occur to you as remotely relevant to your quest for "genuine advice?" Really?

Pull the other one!

There’s not really any point responding in great detail. Enough of us have called you out but you still seem intent on claiming this is all perfectly normal and not done with the intention of stirring things up. Your post about ‘high earners’ corner’ said it all!

it may be better to have a 'high earners' corner or something similar because then people can have discussion threads such as this in that space and feel it is appropriately placed and not open to criticism

Lol. Rich people need a VIP area where they're safe from scrutiny.

Mate, you're literally describing how the entire world is organised and it's still not enough for you.

I don't understand how people who are apparently smart enough to earn big bucks can think of that as an appropriate comparison.

You didn't address my other example. Or I have more - do you go on exercise threads posting it's tone deaf to discuss your marathon training when some people struggle to walk? This is not a 'mumsnet' topic. How about topics where people discuss premium economy vs business class, when so many can't travel at all?

If it doesn't interest you, don't click on it. If you feel it is offensive and inappropriate, report to MN.

There isn't a national crisis of peoples legs not working, or women struggling to get boyfriends. There is however a cost of living crisis.

A comparative topic would be

"Those of you with working legs, what do you do with them?"

Not someone asking a question about running a marathon.

You want a ‘safe space’ for high earners? You’re being far too sensitive, especially for someone who apparently is capable of earning pretty big money compared to most - usually high earners are there because they have a lot of steel.

Isn't there a Money Matters place on here or something similar? Why not post there?

*Lol. Rich people need a VIP area where they're safe from scrutiny.

Mate, you're literally describing how the entire world is organised and it's still not enough for you.*

👏🏻

@BellePeppa how much people earn has nothing to do with their emotional temperament and statements like that are terribly naive. Many people struggle with mental health issues and have very stressful and high paid jobs. We shouldn't be creating an environment or perpetuating a narrative that you cannot be sensitive and/or be affected by things that upset you if you're a high earner. That's a very dangerous place to be and not how we want anyone to feel. Being sensitive is fine, it's not a dirty word.

So are you saying that the posters on here who are not appreciating the burdens and choices of the wealthy with a cheery smile and supportive hug are affecting your mental health and well-being?

Our take home is a bit more than you, OP. We don't live an extraordinary life really just a really lucky one.
The majority of our income comes from a self employed business and 20% from PAYE so our set up is different to those purely PAYE. Typically each tax year we leave £40k in the business account as a buffer, we recently used a huge chunk of this buffer to buy a home for my parents to live in. My mum has health issues so it was important to ensure she had a comfortable home fully adapted for her needs, something she couldn't obtain otherwise. This was purchased by the business and didn't come our of our take home pay at all.
We we're considering buying another property to rent out commercially.

A huge chunk of our salary goes on house renovations, we bought a dump and have turned it into a home over 3 years. We've just finished now so we'll use that money to chip away at our mortgage and put some towards our pension. The rest:

Mortgage payments.
Childcare (we have a second child on the way so this will double).
I have a car on PCP, OH has a car via the business so we have no personal expense for his.
Holidays, we go on two 2 week holidays a year which are abroad (we often take one of our parents and pay for them) and then 3-4 weekend breaks either in the UK or in Europe.
We eat out as a family quite a lot, once or twice a week and spend quite a bit on wine and entertaining.
Clothes are all high street brands.
We have a cleaner, gardener and our cars are valeted monthly.
Food is from Aldi or Tesco.

We do spend money on upgrades such as meet and greet at airports, or private transfers.

We're very lucky to not have to think about what we spend which is a huge contrast to my upbringing and my early 20's, there would be days where I would skip eating as I just couldn't afford it. I've no interest in anything designer or flashy. Main priority is a secure home then we'll save for our children's university fund or deposit.

@BellePeppa you said "usually high earners are there because they have a lot of steel". That statement is damaging because of what it insinuates. That's what my previous post responds to.

I’m actually beginning to question whether you are a genuine poster, who genuinely earns a lot of money, who is genuinely looking for money advice.

@Merryclaire

I also find it odd that you have been asking about the cost of private school ski trips and music lessons when you say you aren’t planning to have kids for a few years - how does this bear any relevance on what the cost will be and whether you will justify the expense of a class ski trip 15 years from now?

A private school education is going to cost per child 35-105k in prep and 84-315k secondary level. You’re probably talking another circa 5-10k per year on uniform m/extra activities at well. Op is in the wage bracket where this would definitely need to be budgeted for and the value weighed up against other things, especially if they live in an expensive area to start with.

FYI school ski trips start at about age 7, not 15. That is the age you might be offered a ski trip at a state school. The parents often go with in the early days, so the cost can be quite high. Primary kids ski to school in Nordic countries!

I think those who don’t wish to look at people discussing salary priorities and long term wealth planning/building need to scroll on. If the subject doesn’t concern you and you’re going through financial problems why upset yourself further 🤷‍♀️

Also not everyone is a MN expert! I only started posting recently as got covid and bored out of skull… no clue about all the boards available and how everyone is so sensitive over board etiquette.

Op if you want it moved to another area click report on your original post and ask Mn to do this, for the sake of peace.

In my experience, people don't really discuss how they spend their disposable income at work in any detail.

Not surprised. A lot of people do still consider it vulgar to discuss their personal finances, OP.

That is quite an important issue raised above and is part of a huge debate around cancel culture and what people can say if one person might be upset by reading something. I hope MN remains a place where we can post things even if that happens to make someone upset. We really have gone far too far in some schools and universities in having to give trigger warnings because a Shakespeare play might upset someone. What happened to the old play ground saying "sticks and stones might break my bones but words will never hurt me" ? Stick fingers in ears or don't read things that you don't like. It is the same on the trans issue - employers and others but thankfully not mumsnet trying to stop women talking about rights for women when up against trans rights.

Also it is very interesting knowing what people spend their spare money on. The fact we may not all be on the absolute breadline at present is simply a fact.