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

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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?

It’s a lot of money. But I don’t think in London it would leave you feeling flush. Unless you are single and child free.

But school fees aren't an essential outgoing. That's the point. You can't claim that 'things are tight' because you choose to spend more than most people earn in a month on something that most people don't even consider because it would never be affordable.

Likewise car payments. People on lower incomes might buy an older car and keep it for longer than it takes to pay for it, so they don't always have car payments. Borrowing to buy cars when you earn 'well over £100k' is a bit ridiculous really, likewise the remortgage, which is probably due to them either rolling up debt into their mortgage or using their housing equity as a cash machine. Even their 'big mortgage because we live in London don'tcha know' is bigger than it needs to be because they don't control their spending.

DH and I take home 27k combined. We seem to do alright with 800pcm rent, 200 council tax etc. We have one toddler aged DC.
We have to be careful but I have to say I don’t have much sympathy when people say they are skint on a combined income of 60k plus and a holiday to the Maldives is out the question this year

It really depends on your circumstances. As well known London is very expensive, particularly for housing and childcare. So if you are happy to live in a house share and have no kids 100k is going to be a good salary. If you have children, rent a flat and are trying to save for a deposit to buy you would really struggle.

Our combined income is about that. We both work full time and have a small mortgage. DC are now adults, but we are still subsidising one who is studying so give him £400 per month.

I'm absolutely aware that we are in the top few per cent of household income. However, it is all relative. Most of our friends earn considerably more than us, and lead more extravagant lifestyles so we often feel like the poor relations. Our cars are both 15. years old, we don't have loads of weekends away, fancy holidays etc. We also can't afford to retire until we are 67 whereas lots of our friends have already retired in their mid 50s.

But I'm incredibly grateful that we have the income we have and can absorb price rises etc. and unexpected costs.

I think it depends.....single and child free it's probably a good income even in London, a family with 2 kids needing a family sized house probably less so. Also depends if you're already on the property ladder or a first time buyer - I bought nearly 20 years ago so my mortgage now is a relatively low proportion of my income and in relation to the value of the property or what the equivalent would be in rent.

The massive amount of tax, plus the removal of child benefit really makes it not as great as it looks on paper.

Every pound over 50K is taxed at 40%, plus NICS on top of that. So 100k salary is actually only 65k in your pocket. Which yes is a lot of money to some but it's just not what people think it is.

And it does massively matter as to where in the country you live.

Pre kids it was oK now it’s not so much

I used to think so - but lifestyle plays a bit part in where the money goes. My husband earns £120k a year and even whilst my income, we don’t live a particularly extravagant life. Mortgage, cars, savings etc. it’s nothing that exciting. I suppose the biggest difference is we don’t have any worries. We’ve got savings if needed and have a security blanket. We shop in Sainsburys without watching the budget too closely etc. it’s little things that make the biggest daily difference.

THIS!!!

Growing up, I could only dream of earning a combined salary of £100k and it would have offered an amazing lifestyle. However now as a household, we earn over this but I genuinely don't believe we have a particularly luxury lifestyle. Prior to paying a mortgage and child related costs we did enjoy a nice standard of living but now those responsibilities have set in, we are left with a rather modest income. The biggest expense we have is a mortgage, utilities and costs associated with the children. Property prices are insane and the cost of food and energy has increased massively. I know there are people in much worse situations but I really don't think £100k gets you as far as it ought to.

That pretty much sums us up too, although we still have one dc at home (pay private school fees for him). One car, one holiday a year, most of our friends much better off than us.
But like you we count our blessings.

It's all relative.

If your outgoings are £2k a month then yes it's a lot of money.

If your outgoings are £3-4K a month then not so much after tax, NI and Pension deductions.

To most of the UK, 100k would make for comfortable living.

Statistically it's high even for London. Whether it feels high probably depends primarily on whether it's more or less than others around you are earning to be honest. That will be the group of people you're subconsciously comparing yourself to. So if they all have nicer houses, newer cars, better holidays etc then you'll probably still feel a bit poor.

It would be loads of money for us, but then if I told the average Londoner what we paid three years ago for a decent sized three bed house with a nice big garden, albeit in need of a lot of cosmetic work, they'd probably cry. So I'm certainly not complaining.

I live in SW London, 15 minutes walk to a Tube station, 45 minutes to Central London (although more depending WHICH part of Central London)

3 bedroom flats for £300,000-350,000. 2 bedroom flats from £150,000.

Yes, £100,000 is a lot - over 3 times my income, and I am comfortable.

Don't need a car (good public transport), holidays are camping/ visiting friends (have a railcard and book ahead).

Perfectly doable. Get a grip and stop trying to keep up with the Joneses (Jones's?)

I’m in my 30s, from London and most of my friends are worse off than their parents - we can’t afford to live in the houses our parents bought in the 80s. My mum stayed at home when we were young and my dad was a teacher. Their house is worth around 600k now and it’s a modest 3 bed in Zone 5.

yes DH & I are from london & only could buy as had help. Our areas have changed dramatically from a bit downtrodden, high immigrant population to very middle class. It was common to have only 1 parent working in a "normal" job. Those houses are now 1m though & the people now buying have significant family wealth behind them which makes a massive difference. My neighbours were moving out of London but now can afford a bigger house due to a 200k parental gift, that's very common in our school friend circle. My sister just sold her flat to parents buying it for their dc. That's the 3rd one on her road to go like that.

It's a lot, but a mortgage/rent and childcare costs will put a big hole in it. Lots of tax and NI goes out as well.

Those are outgoings you can't help - it's different from lifestyle outgoings you could cut back on but don't want to, such as the annual ski holiday or the finance for a status symbol car.

I’m interested in how your 40k stacks up in terms of a family income in London. Do you pay childcare and both contribute to pensions?

It is a lot of money.

At the same time, because we have a very high cost of living in some parts of the country and significant generational wealth inequality in all of it, it's also a realistic possibility that it doesn't cover much other than accommodation, childcare and ordinary bills for families who aren't shielded at all from those costs by factors like childcare help from loved ones, age, social housing or having purchased property a few years back.

These things aren't mutually exclusive in a society that's set up like ours.

Meanwhile, where I live in the north of England, 100k would buy a pretty handsome lifestyle and on much less than that we are quite comfortable.

most of my friends are worse off than their parents - we can’t afford to live in the houses our parents bought in the 80s

yes in 1997 I was earning £19k and was able to buy a flat in South London for £45K! Admittedly a tiny flat but got me on the housing ladder and provided the deposit for the next house, which in turn provided the deposit for the one I live in now.

We have an income of £50k in retirement, a mortgage free house worth about £400k and savings/investments/inheritance of around £600k and feel very comfortable. However we have no children and don't have a lavish lifestyle though we do enjoy travel.

So yes £100k a year seems a lot to me.

I don't think it is a lot, for a couple living anywhere except the cheapest areas of the UK.

But it all depends on your education, qualifications and career.

You appear to be a low earner(s) if your joint income is only £40K.

The median salary is around £30K.

My DCs are in their mid 30s. One earns £50K and the other around £130k. Both science graduates/ Masters from RG unis.

Even with partners, they have a limited pool of houses to buy in the SE where a basic 3-bed semi is £500-£600K. London DC is still renting.

£100,000 a year is a lot? I know the pound has devalued, but come on now, lets be real. It's not, is it. £1m, that's more reasonable.

It’s not an insubstantial amount, but with 2 children in full time private nursery it quickly slips away.

Just to add, many professionals earn around £45-50K by the time they are mid 30s, so a joint income of £100K is far from unusual.