To think there must be dodgy financial activity going on with this couple?

[TurkeyTeethLookAwful]

A couple that we know (but are not friends with as such) both seem to have a very extravagant lifestyle that is totally at odds with the jobs that they do.

The husband works as an assistant manager at a shop; not a superstore or anything like that, just a small branch of a chain store in the local town. The wife works two days a week as a hairdresser. They have four children aged between 16 and 2.

In the past five years they have:

Totally renovated their semi detached house to a very high standard. They have an instagram account about their home (not many followers, less than 200 so are not earning from that) and have tagged many high end products and tradesmen, such as a bespoke bed and 2k chandelier type light for the bedroom.

Taken multiple luxury foreign holidays per year; not budget holidays but five star holidays. And regular weekends away at Disney Paris, too.

They, and the kids always have very high end designer clothes; the woman wears dresses that cost £400+ when she goes on nights out, and on the holiday they are currently on she has posted on social media that she and her two daughters are all wearing matching swimsuits that cost £100+ each.

The woman has hair extensions, brow lamination, lash extensions, botox, fillers, nail extensions, and probably loads more stuff on a regular basis. All done at high end salons.

They have very regular expensive family days out and weekends away, such as travelling on the train first class to London to see a musical and then staying overnight in an expensive hotel.

In the past, I've known of a few other couples who live that kind of lifestyle and it's turned out that they are earning money drug dealing. This couple both absolutely do not have rich families; both of their families live in council housing. I feel like they probably have not had a lottery win as I feel that if they did, they'd buy a massive house, seeing as they like extravagance. I can't imagine a mortgage could be obtained or a house bought on drug money...

And yes, I know it's none of my business, but I'm curious.

AIBU to think they must surely be doing something illegal to have this lifestyle?

I'd say a lottery win and they were clever enough to keep quiet and have a nice lifestyle. Or could any of them have gotten redundancy over the past few years? DH got redundancy a while back which enabled us to pay our mortgage off and he now eats more than he previously did so it's made a big difference to us.

So I know a couple who went from being pretty poor to suddenly having a much nicer lifestyle, a new car, moved to a bigger new build house but were still working the same jobs they always had which would not supply that kind of income. I did wonder to myself how they could suddenly afford it all but I didn't think there was anything dodgy about it but it turned out that the wife who has always done a lot of volunteer work with elderly and disabled people was left a huge chunk of money by the parents whose disabled child she had looked after and visited for years, their daughter died and then when they died they left money to those who had helped them and their daughter out over the years.

Go ask them then report back to us OP

A wfh job? Most people think that I don't work, but I am in fact an author. X

The family I know who lived a lifestyle that didn’t match their jobs, it turned out to be debt.

He was paying for flash holidays etc and they were keeping up with friends who owned businesses. It all came crashing down one day when the house was repossessed and she didn’t know anything about it. He had hidden the debt from her.

I was going to guess lottery but you make a good point that they'd have probably bought a big house - unless as a op suggested, it's one of those "minted for life" ones where you get a good amount every year. They don't sound like they'd be the type to save up for a house!

All the things you've mentioned sound like the kind of thing you could pay for in cash, tradesmen etc, so it could be laundering drug money.

Or they could have a side hustle you know nothing about- an anonymous YouTube account, self-publishing novels, really dedicated matched betting, IT-based freelancing....

What is only fans?

How do you know all of this? Just by having a nose on Instagram?

I would suspect dodgy dealing too. But who knows.

Also my alcoholic mum who doesn't work inherited loads from her faraway aunt, and went on to piss every single penny away down the pub.

Lots of good suggestions.

If they are drug baron overlords there won’t be any traceable connection with the drugs trade. They will seem like a respectable well to do family but with lots of visible, sometimes industrial level, cctv cameras and high security measures all round the perimeter of the house and premises. Their kids will usually be privately educated.

YANBU drugs would be my guess,
Normally I'd say YABVVU for being judgy but they deserve it for choosing to splash their lifestyle all over social media. Want no judgement? Give no info. That's my motto.

For someone who you 'know' but aren't actually friends with you seem to know an awful lot about what exactly they spend every last penny on: the places they buy their clothes from, the salons they go to, the holidays they have; how many and where they go.

Why are you so very invested in their life style and spending habits?

As pp said, perhaps they've had a good size win on the lottery but not enough to allow for moving to a huge house and as far as drugs goes, it unlike a drug baron would need to take out a mortgage to buy a bigger house.

Can't imagine being that curious about someone else's life.

Maybe they previously got lucky with the housing market? Bought low and increased value meant the house they now own is mortgage free?

Even on modest incomes, being mortgage or rent-free would give you a good disposable income. Plus, she might not be declaring her earnings if she's self-employed.

Maybe you should just ask her how they do it 🤷

Dog/car breeding

Brilliant typo!! Not sure how you breed cars, though without doubt that really would be a money spinner ...

With all due respect none of those things sound particularly expensive, except for the car if you paid in full. B&Q does Christmas door garlands and BBQ's. I don't know what you mean by 'expensive' shoes. For me that's a couple of hundred pounds, but some people think that £50 is expensive compared to what you can get for half the price at Primark.

I know quite a few people who do similar to you, selling all this stuff adds up. They'd still never be able to afford the kinds of things OP is discussing, ALL at the same time. Heck, I'm a higher earner and can't!

Because they either tell everyone or splash it all over SM?
People tend to tag brands and stuff too, to make themselves look like 'influencers' so it's not hard. I get that some of it is fake though.

I'd be minding my own buisness

Bank robbers

This thread seems familiar.

Friends who I know like this:-

one her DH has a good company which makes a lot and his dad is well off. When my friend sold her house to move in with him she got a good chunk.

other friend her and DH rented a house with swimming pool etc. everyone thought they were loaded but they were in debt. The DW thought the house was owned (they broke up as he had an affair and left her but got back together) now they’ve bought a nice house.

Half sister, she’s married well to someone who has/had a good company (self employed) they made enough for her to be a SAHM/W and she loves designer everything. Over covid his work dried up think it’s got back to normal but she set up her own business - not saying what as it’s outing, she does well out of it, enough to send their 2 boys to private school (prep and secondary).

My auntie had a good business of her own for years and so did her DH. My other auntie was married to a dodgy small time criminal character, not saying what as very outing but he was investigated by the police (stormed his property damaging livestock and he got a compensation claim from them). When they bought a mansion it was all debt borrowed money and they ended up living in outbuildings (converted) as mansion too expensive to heat. They divorced but I think did well enough out of sale of family house.

I know someone who wears loads of designer gear but she gets it off Vinted. She’ll wear stuff once and then sell it on. I don’t think I could be arsed with that but it’s one explanation. If she’s a hairdresser she likely knows beauticians to get mate rates for brows and beauty treatments.

Their parents being in HA doesn’t necessarily mean they’re poor. In fact their parents may have saved a lot of money over the years compared to private rent or mortgage. My friend whose parents lived in a council house had a huge wedding paid by them and they gave her cash to do up her house when she bought a place.

They could also be at that stage of debt where you’re not in trouble with it, so lenders will keep increasing your credit limit. When I was working part time I had a credit card with a limit of about £500, which I kept paying off monthly, and eventually I had a credit limit of £8k. Absolute madness.

When my DM inherited a significant life changing sum most people knew. And yes you do get relatives who come begging for extra money.

Maybe they are mortgage free and had an inheritance, or a lottery win? Or made a lot of money doing up a previous property? You're right, it's none of your business!

Could be money from any inheritance gran, great uncle etc. or some sort of shady rental scam. My cousin had a rental flat which she illegally sublet for years. She made double what the landlord was charging her. Was making about £1k a month.