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?

@Runnerbeansflower where in London are 2 bed flats for 150k! Maybe 30 years ago.

You are going to get a lot of people telling you its tonnes and of course its a comfortable income but it is low nowadays for a nice lifestyle. You need to be earning household income of £250 k plus I reckon and even then you might be holidaying in Cornwall whilst paying school fees and mortgage on a house in surrey whilst working a stressful long hours job.

I spent my career wanting to get to "six figures" (plus dh earns too and we inherited some money) but I still live in the house i bought in my 20s, too expensive to buy bigger in my area. I am so glad i have not had to pay for private school because my ds got into grammar because im not sure id fancy having to give out 13k per year or 26 when both kids go (Im northern). I can afford an expensive holiday or many trips away but am too financially savvy to waste money too flagrantly. I'm not sitting on a massive nest egg and plan to retire at 67 or 8 maybe. Life is expensive.

I have junior people in my team who are only on 50 or 60k in their 20s and early 30s and I always try and remind them that we are in a privileged position because we can afford the cost of living increases. We don't have to struggle.

Actually a guy i know on 60k with his wife on 40k is really being ground down under nursery, car and mortgage costs and he isnt living in a fancy house, hes got a tiny car and doesn't holiday at all or have anything Nice.

life in Britain is for lots of people a struggle and a grind. It's shit but that doesn't mean that those on middle incomes can't feel like they should have a better lifestyle too.

Full time childcare for one is NOT £2k unless you have a nanny.

Childcare is ludicrously expensive, but please don't peddle myths.

This sums it up.

Do you know how many children manage to grow up happy and healthy without a garden, and sharing a bedroom with a sibling of the same sex?

If it seems 'basic' to you then you are demonstrating how privileged your life is. And yes, you need significant money to maintain that privilege.

So those posters who are saying its well beyond what they earn. Are you both working full time in professional roles or is one part time. Do both of you have qualifications?

See, I see these sorts of sarky comments and you then find that one part of the couple dont/cannot work full time or they are a single parent or they have children with special needs.

Yes, both DH and myself earn over £100k per year but not without some decision making that worked out well for us. No previous children, no expensive hobbies, and whilst I didnt go to university DH did and I didnt give up work or become part time. We ploughed on through the high child care costs and I dont mind what others say - going part time as a women will clearly affect your earnings AND your promotion prospects.

Who said it was 2k for one child? I think nursery costs about £1600 to £1800 for a full time place. We pay £900-£1300 a month on a childminder for one child for a full time place, depending on if we have used the tax free bit.

Sorry, am the phone so can't copy. Do Rightmove search on 2 bedroom flats near Morden tube station.

@Runnerbeansflower and how many would be happier with a garden and bedroom each.

You can't honestly think children would prefer to have to share and have no outside space than the reverse?

It doesn't matter if they're happy at a basic level of living, people should want to be able to provide a life for their children that's not just getting by.

Our joint income (pre tax) was around 120k 15 years ago.

We had a lot of debts we were paying off, and lived in an affordable part of the country, and one child private school (small local, obviously not boarding). It was a lot, in retrospect.

My first Q was 100 k from one 40% tax payer or two people taxed at 20% but I see you mean two earners both on 20% totalling £100k.

I dont think it's a "rich person" household income but it's certainly better than average !

@Runnerbeansflower those flats are part ownership you doughnut

Most of the world grows up without a garden or a separate bedroom.I have DC and we don't have a garden. Oh well I guess I am a " bit shit":)

These threads never fail to make me realise how incredibly privileged most people in the UK are.

Agree. That's ludicrous.

Of course.

But many children have happy childhoods while sharing a bedroom and not having a garden.

As I said, there is a difference between NEED and WANT.

It is perfectly possible to bring up children that are happy and healthy in London on far less than £100,000.

This thread is insane. DH and I have a joint income of somewhere around £85-90k and I consider us very lucky. We are in London. Yes it gets eaten up in mortgage and childcare and we can't save much right now. We did also have some help to buy a house due to unexpected inheritance.
But most people in London have a joint income under £50k and survive just fine.
House prices rn now are awful and that needs addressing. But most in many areas of London most people don't own, they rent.
Honestly this is the most Mumsnet thread I've ever come across. I think you all need a bit of a shake. £100k even as a joint income is incredibly good; definitely within the top 10 per cent in the entire country

It is a lot of money. We earn c. 75k between us in the South East and we are comfortable enough. However, we have a very manageable mortgage; our DC are both at (state) school so no need for nursery or school fees. We do not have a particularly extravagant lifestyle and are fairly careful in general, as well as avoiding debt (other than the mortgage).
However, if someone had a large mortgage and 2x sets of nursery fees or school fees for example, then they may feel they're not particularly rich. For most, it is a very good household income.

That a really quite dismissive of people who have no choice especially those who manage to raise happy healthy children without tons of money- which is most people

Where are flats £150k - that must be shared ownership??

@Runnerbeansflower that's actually close to where I live. Looks like it's an auction starting at 150k. It'll go for at least 100k above that, probably closer to 300k.

@onlywhenidream everyone has a choice.

People choose to have children when not earning much or with no significant opportunity to earn well in the future.

That's a choice.

Day care was £90 per day ten years ago when I looked into it for DTs. Got a discount of 5% on the second child. Dread to think how much that has gone up since then. It isn't a myth AT ALL.

While this is true, it's only half the story. Millions of those people are shielded from the current insanity of housing costs, because they bought a home some time ago or are in social housing. There are people in expensive areas of London on low incomes who have considerably more disposable income and sometimes assets than their neighbours whose household incomes are several times more than theirs. There isn't much 'managing' involved there.

Of course, the people really suffering are the ones paying batshit private rents/massive mortgages and childcare without any of these props and on way less than 100k. But clearly that doesn't include everyone on a more modest income in the region.

And 2 bedroom flats start at £150,000, within 15 minutes walk of z Tube Station

where?

They're auction and shared ownership, that poster is just being dense

It's about a 30 min walk from Morden tube