Do you think £100,000 a year household income is a lot of money?

[SleepDreamThinkHuge]

I think it is a lot of money even in London where I live. When I hear people say things like "£100,000 is not enough to live on even in London" I think to myself what are they talking about. I have a family of four and we can only dream of earning that amount. The maximum I can see us earning is about £60k if we are lucky. Currently on over £40k combined income with still a relatively high rent and everything does go on bills and other necessities. But sometimes we are lucky and manage to save some money a year. Luckily no debt. I just think to myself £100,000 would be life changing even in London.

What are your thoughts? What do you consider to be average and above average in London and the city you are from?

@SunniestSunshines I don't disagree but the lifestyle provided in the past for those jobs would be quite different.

@ApplesandBunions exactly!

@aquatastics

No I'm not.

Sunshine was arguing that if you earn 100k you must have worked really hard to earn it.

I'm merely pointing out you can work really hard and not he a higher earner.

And you can sit on your arse doing nothing while your oh earns it for you or your parents gave you it.

Having a high income isn't always relative to how hard you work.

OP asked about 'household' income not individual personal income. In London - 50-60k is the median salary for someone in their 30s/40s. Therefore, basically in London assuming there are two people in a household, 100k is average. Even in the public sector - alary 50-70k in your 30s/40s is just normal. Yes, lots of people earn less but a lot also earn much more than that.

I said 40% not £40k firstly. And secondly it's a hypothetical to demonstrate that income alone isn't a good gauge of the money someone has at their disposal after essential costs. I know several people that I went to university with who have been in the fortunate position to receive such gifts and so, even while I had a higher salary, they had a lot more cash than me. I'm not saying £100k household income isn't a good income, or that big inheritances/cash deposits are something everyone gets, but I think it's reductive to suggest everyone earning less is less well off, that's not how the world works. Especially in London a significant proportion of people under 40 who own homes will have managed to do so through band of mum and dad rather than their own earnings.

We couldn't live in London on that much. We live quite comfortably on the south coast on that much.

@Runnerbeansflower what's your mortgage outgoing?

Council tax AND utilities come to £190??? How on earth is that? which London borough?

I am commuter belt and council tax is £280 a month. Utilities around £120 a month

No car? Do you never travel far? Use trains? Buses? How do you manage to go camping with no car?

Context is key here. I earn £120k, am a lone parent and do not receive any financial support from my daughter’s father. I am very lucky to be a high earner, but it doesn’t come without sacrifices, I work very long hours, and working whilst on holiday is pretty much par for the course.

This depends on so many factors.

Dh and i were saying the other day that if you were on 100k in the 90s or early 2000s you'd be able to enjoy a very good lifestyle. But now with the cost of energy, food shopping, petrol, house prices and childcare, it can mean you can only afford the basics and not much else. Remember 100k would be gross not net pay.

House prices are insane and mortgages eat up a lot of your income. Plus childcare where we are full time is at least 1k a month per child.

You don't get child benefit on that income and no subsidised childcare.

However, i do appreciate it is a far better position to be in than someone on nmw who has to decide between food or heating.

Dh is on 100k plus can potentially get an annual bonus of anything from 5k to 20k but after tax it's massively reduced. I work full time and bring in 28k before tax. No debts.

We still have to watch our energy usage and food bill, we can't just say fuck it the heating is staying on all day etc. BUT i do appreciate we still have some disposal income after bills and we get to live in a nice house etc etc. It really makes me worry for people this winter who are on far less than us when even we have to be mindful of heating bills etc.

@frazzledmess I kind of agree but not 100%. I know many teachers who struggled to buy a house in the early 1980s as they didn't earn enough to buy a house in the SE.

It sounds a lot, but in most of London you'd struggle to get a mortgage on a modest 3 bed family house (typically upwards of £750k).

I am a single parent so get 25% off. Council tax £110 per month, gas/electricity £80 per month.

Camping we use trains to the nearest station (railcard and book in advance) then bus or occasionally taxi. Choose campsites by availability of public transport. Camp at semi-wild campsites and have just the basics to carry.

We love it! No judgement to those who don't, but the more expensive the holiday the fewer you have.

Merton

I WFH, once a week in the office and take the Tube.

DD goes to school by bus

Boyfriend and I have a combined income of £109k in London. We have just begun the process of buying a flat for £550k in zone 2 to be commutable to our work (mine in the City and his in Victoria). Nice but the kitchen is teeny which was the trade-off we made for a pleasant share of freehold flat with two bedrooms close to the tube.

I am intending to start cycling to work to save a bit of cash and we eat out on average once or twice a week (yesterday we had a meal with a friend at a restaurant in Cambridge for £16 per head so not excessive, the time before that we had Franco Manca for £20 all in because I had a voucher). We're going on a holiday to Santorini next month and it will be expensive, but our last holiday just the two of us was a 2018 weekend in Dublin for £200 each and the accommodation was an utterly miserable Airbnb in the Liberties. Our car is from 2004.

It'll take another few years yet for us to be ready for children financially (we'd like 2) and given the flat is 64sqm that will mean upsizing once we do have kids - the flat is probably fine with a baby. It's a lot of money and our salary trajectories are not assured (civil service & PR agency) so we are expecting it to be pretty tight. I also don't think my work even has a maternity policy so I'm not expecting anything more than statutory unless I move jobs.

@Runnerbeansflower but dont you have a mortgage? I mean most people in London would be fine without a mortgage

@Topgub I think you are stating the obvious. Of course not all high earners work hard and neither do all hard workers earn a high salary.

BUT as I said before, many of these threads about other's wealth (or perceived wealth) are started by posters on minimum wages.

Whatever your opinions, £40K joint income in LONDON (but London is a bit city and goes right out now to places like Croydon that were Surrey) is a low income and the OP doesn't seem to 'get' that.

Many London jobs have London-weighting or a salary to reflect higher living costs.

Of course it’s a lot. People may be stretched with high childcare bills or not be able to afford long haul holidays they had before children, or to choose between meals out or holidays, but they won’t be choosing to heat or eat. They just have higher expectstions. There’s nothing wrong with that, and people still may feel stretched, but it’s not the same as managing on 13k as I am now (with a mortgage) or 9k as I have in the past when renting. It might mean compromises, but not actual sacrifices. Otherwise it wouldn’t be possible to manage on lower incomes at all.

A very quick Google at the first nursery I found in Puntey, SW London. Full time wrap around fees for one child are £2046.50 per month. Childcare can be that much in London.

www.littleforestfolk.com/putneyheath-fees

Mortgage £900.

Bought 2 years ago. Had a deposit from previous flat, but would have bought a cheaper property if hadn't been able to afford this one.

@SunniestSunshines

I thought the op was 100k not 80?

Its still a lot of money.

I dont think anyone has claimed its wealthy.

Exactly. It is about choices and priorities

And as you say, wages in London are often higher to reflect the higher col.

So I don't really have any sympathy for those on way higher than the average claiming they're skint

@Runnerbeansflower So do you rent in a housing association or a private landlord, or do you have a mortgage?

Or did you inherit and were able to buy your home with a huge deposit?

Can you really say that in Merton your council tax AND utility comes to £190? (Off to google council tax bands in Merton....)

Water rates?

House insurance?

I find that quite incredible.

Average nursery fees in London are closer to 1200 a month not over 2 k
It's