To wonder how do people afford everything?

[JL642]

Just that. How does everyone afford everything?

Coffee shops etc packed here. Social media full of people doing expensive things.

DH and I ate high earners so I don’t get it.

This. I'm not allowed to have any more than £6k in savings or it starts getting deducted from my UC, and I could never get a mortgage on my single income of £24k. I have a housing association property anyway so I have a home for life with that. So I do spend on things like coffees out.

I really don’t get these kind of posts. People’s circumstances are different. It’s not rocket science.

I’m financially comfortable at the moment because I’ve received inheritance after my losing both of my parents in very quick succession recently.

Neither of them managed to retire so whilst I do contribute towards my pension and have admittedly been able to pay off my mortgage, I’ll be damned if I’m not treating myself to coffee, salon trips and days out/holidays with my kids.

Life is too short.

Yes of course it's a choice, that was kind of my point. Once you earn over a certain amount, things become about choice. We choose private education, holidays, food - we don't choose housing, cars, skiing beauty etc. It's not a 'sacrifice' - we just choose the things that matter to us. Of course, some people earn more than us and can choose all of it. And lots earn less, and their choices are more limited.

The fact is that a lot of people waste a lot of money. Another fact is that some people brag about everything to make it look like they have more than they have.

Because most of the uk isn't as poor as the media makes out. We are actually a very wealthy country overall. There is genuine poverty and hardship that people experience through no fault of their own obviously but there are also a lot of people who mismanage their finances and create problems that with some better planning they could avoid. I say this as a single parent of 12 years on a lower income.

I was saying you can't moan about going without if you choose to spend a lot on school fees. You didn't have to. A bit like not needing a massive house or the latest car.

The reality is that though people are more squeezed than they were thankfully there are few people actually on the breadline (not saying its okay that any are, but threads on here can sometimes make it seem that everyone is on the bones of their arse). As has been said priorities are a big part, presumably if you're on decent wages then you're paying more for something- you probably have a more expensive house and so mortgage, newer car, maybe you go on holidays, see x y and z as normal for you when it's what most would class as luxury.

There's also a trickle down, friends that may have gone out for a meal or to a bar now meeting for coffee as its still social but much cheaper, someone working overtime to keep up with their botox as its important to them, forgoing holiday to do more day trips etc.

I think all the talk of the cost of living crisis has made you think suddenly no one will be able to afford things. But that’s not the case. And you’re only seeing what people want you to see (social media) and you’re seeing people out and about, it’s not a true measure.

DH and I ate high earners so I don’t get it.

You’re high earners so you don’t understand how people can afford coffee shops?

We’re slightly high earners but nothing crazy. Our outgoings are higher than some as we’re in London but we keep our fixed outgoings as low as possible as we like to spend money on coffee shops, day trips, exhibitions, holidays and etc.

I don’t really understand the ‘how do people afford it?’
We work so we have money and we chose what to spend it on.
We save quite a bit too but we have a spacious flat rather than a house at the time being due to choosing to live in London, we chose not to run a car etc

They're not moaning they're explaining that they prioritise the fees over other stuff.

I do know of some people who spend silly money on monthly contracts for cars etc, sometimes two in one household - so much interest which is money just thrown away. I've never used any credit on principle!

Yes sometimes I think, 'What crisis' when I'm out and about too.

But then, the people really struggling aren't: -

• Taking road trips - I was at a packed service station yesterday dropping off my DDs BF and queues at eateries, in Waitrose etc. It was bombed. I struggled to find a parking space, so likely lots if people coming back from holidays.
• Shopping in M&S - my mum wanted a look round M&S on Saturday and it was very busy, in fact the whole out of town shopping area was very busy
• Eating fish and chips at an eat in chippy - we go every week, it's a treat costs about £25 for the two of us and cos it's so good, it's busy
• going for cake and coffee - the coffee shop was very busy on Friday when I had a business meeting there

I don't know how people who fall into these categories are getting on 😞

• are unable to work
• are on low income/minimum wage as the only income into a household
• have martial or other relationship breakdown and are effectively homeless
• are bankrupt irrespective of cause with no hidden money

Yet this government does nothing to help them.

COL crisis coverage makes you think everyone is struggling.
But reality is although prices may have gone up disposal income is still fairly high for lots.
So there you have it.

I don’t have any inherited wealth but I earn well and can afford to do nice things day to day! That’s not that surprising surely

Because it is all relevant to your income/outlays .

I earn £43k
I rent privately
I am a single income household.
I have one child still at Uni.

There is nothing left to 'save' and certainly nothing for holidays, skiing etc.

However, on the same salary but with a partner it would obviously be double. If home ownership had not been impossible following divorce - I would be coming up to the end of mortgage.

The private rent trap is the killer for me financially and takes my income from good to inadequate.

Thanks. @HistoryFanatic youre totally misreading what I'm saying. I'm not moaning and I'm not 'going without' anything that I actually want. I just want different things from what some want - we all do, surely?

I get what you mean OP. Everyone talks about cost of living crisis, yet where I live all the restaurant and coffee shops are rammed. Expensive kids activities booked out, I feel we're the only family with an old car.

Yes, I know everyone's budget is different and a lot of it is perception, but I think this is what OP is referring to.

The median wage isn't 33k. The average household income is about 35 K.

We can afford stuff because we both work full-time and don't have children

My DB is very sneery about people spending money on things he doesn't 'approve' of: home improvements, holidays, cars etc. He assumes they must have lots of debt.

He forgets that he spend £10+ per day on smoking. So that's £4k/year literally going up in smoke.

Sorry, that average household income is net so maybe median salary could be about 30K. Seems very high and not representative of most people?

On social media people are from all over the world. We see things through our UK lens but we are one of the few countries hung up on buying houses and therefore we often have huge repayments which eats into our spending. Most of Europe rents at reasonable rates (leases run through generations) they have longer summer holidays and retire earlier on a larger pension. So they can enjoy more of ‘the life’ on similar salaries to us.

Some people just haven't been that affected by the rise in the cost of living.

DH works in one of the industries most affected by the pandemic, we often thought he'd be made redundant. Luckily it made it through and is now going from strength to strength. That coupled with a small promotion for me means we're very comfortable with money these days.

We go out for coffee but don't go out for fancy meals.
Regularly go to the pub but the local pubs and not into town.
We have nice cars (to us!) but not with monthly finance payments.
Go on holiday but not abroad.

Etc, etc, etc. It's all relative.

People afford everything by having different incomes or outgoings to you, or by having differing levels of tolerance to debt.
DH and I earn £100k between us, have no kids and have the same monthly outgoings now that we did as students in 2005.
We own our cars outright, we've never done debt apart from our mortgage, we don't do expensive days out or 'experiences', and the things we naturally enjoy (hiking, running, cycling, mountain biking) don't cost much. We don't do things like Gousto, subscription boxes, or have gym membership. I have quite 'easy' hair, so just get a basic cut. I buy good quality, quite expensive clothes, but not many of them as I'm a bit of a minimalist. I take lunch to work when I'm in the office because I prefer it.
We renovated 3 houses in a row to climb the property ladder without increasing our mortgage. So we now live in a large 4 bed detached house. A couple of friends and neighbours have made comments in the past that suggest they think our monthly mortgage payments must be around £2k. They'd be surprised that we only pay £600.
What we do spend an ongoing fortune on is diy and house refurb jobs (double glazing, stuff for the garden, furniture, wood from the timber merchants and so on).
I've also just paid for my husband to retrain, supported him financially through the process, and bought him a van in cash.
Some people we know must think 'I wonder how they can afford it'. The answer, 'like this'!

Oh come on OP! You wrote that post in a way to communicate that you can’t afford a coffee!