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?

A Lottery win doesn't necessarily mean a payout of millions. The second prize on the Euromillions can be pretty hefty - last night's was 85k, but it's been up to 350k on previous occasions.

Gambling !

And small cafes/sandwich shops, seaside/tourist spot gift shops, small/corner convenience stores, guest houses. Basically any business where "cash" sales wouldn't raise flags.

With the money laundering regulations causing businesses handling large amounts of cash to register and do ID checks etc, the criminals have had to launder their cash in smaller amounts via small businesses (or people pretending to run small businesses!). Prior to that, they'd buy, say, cars in cash!

I work in a finance related profession and see a lot of it unfortunately. What's worse is that formal reports of my observations/suspicions (as required by my profession) seem to be largely ignored by the authorities.

@NeedToChangeName Yes it was, well deserved, she's a lovely person.

A cousin of my husbands led this kind of lifestyle, she was a real lady of leisure. It turned out her husband was a drug dealer, the best part is she found out he had two other women on the go and he had kids with them. You couldn’t make it up, what a kuffufle 🤣

You would probably think similar of my husband and myself if we posted it on Insta / Facebook which we don’t 😂 we aren’t that stupid

Especially my husband 😂

but we have several nice holidays a year Ive had 3 this year s already Mexico Turkey and Canaries
, we have had 3 - 3 nights weekends away to London this year that probably cost around 1500 each weekend

2 new cars 3 year old Mercedes - 18 month old BMW SUV
generally around in the daytime or out and about

I can easily spend £500 a month on beauty treatments😂I have a subscription with my beauty salon I think it’s 90 a month for unlimited eyes waxes and lashes
add in 2 x pedicures and infills on my nails every week
and that’s roughly 400 - I’m sure I can spend another £100 here and there

I spent £1400 a few weeks ago on a new handbag and purse that I wanted and we went away for the weekend as it’s my birthday next week and I think that’s cost around £400 -£500 for the hotel drinks and dinner and travel

but we are older & no mortgage / no child care fees my son is grown up so we aren’t restricted by big bills for childcare and mortgages

a few years ago DH inherited from his gran & mum

( only child ) 2 houses in a posh part of the city where we live that were easily worth 750k each at the time and a house that had been converted into 3 flats plus some industrial land that had smallish self storage units on that’s are rented out to various people at different amounts depending on the size and if they have electric / water access

he also a builder and still works a little bit doing easy day jobs from word of mouth

I inherited from my gran many years ago and from another relative so paid off the mortgage and I still have a fair amount of money left

my parents also left half of their house and business to my son who is now buying his own house with his partner

He is only 30 and works as a security guard for the NHS is buying a 3 bed - 2 bath house and has 2 year old BMW 318.
no debt or credit cards debt as he paid of his debt with his inheritance

They also have regular holidays in Europe but his partner is cabin crew so they get really cheap flight and holidays

You seem very invested in them? I can't imagine being so bothered by someone else's financial situation but if I was I would just ask them.

I know a woman that lives like this, she does porn/sex work type stuff. Very open about it too. Good for her I think!

I don't think "there must be dodgy financial activity going on" but yes there could be. It takes all sorts and all that, so it is certainly possible.

Why are you asking us this question? Is it so you know how to feel about their money?

It could all be debt though. I know someone a bit like this and she’s in serious debt but she’s afflicted to the lifestyle.

Of course it’s not of your business but of course people talk about this kind of stuff, I mean I do! My mum says the same about her friends daughter and husband. Her husband has a job that’s not that well paying, she has a business but only working part time due to child who has had health issues. They have a beautiful house, quite a bit mortgage as my mum was told and seem to have a lot of surplus cash, always having renovations / expensive furniture, their house is beautiful. Don’t begrudge them, they’ve been through a lot as hospital negligence their child has ill health. My dad always used to say he was dealing drugs via the job he has! I really don’t think he is but their money certainly goes a long way. They’ve also got a second property (part via inheritance) they rent out, spent 20k renovating it and had to buy out the siblings.

Missing the point of the thread, what is "Only fans"?

Our neighbours know nothing, we know what they tell us. It sounds like too much sharing is going on.

Exactly. Mine don't either.

YANBU, the big red flag here is that a lot of consumption is extravagantly lavish. When large amounts of money come in easily, they are also spent on silly, frivolous things. It's highly unlikely they are using coupons, second hand or meticulous budgeting to fund a lifestyle like that. It's also very unlikely that two people from working/middle class backgrounds have secret wealthy relatives hidden away somewhere. Obviously possible but not likely. And they don't sound like the types to keep a lottery win secret...which is also difficult with 4 kids. One of the kids would definitely tell someone at some point if their wealth was really a secret lottery win.

Occams razor says that this couple has huge amounts of untaxed money, most likely cash, coming in. Some is probably laundered via a small business, other things simply spent using cash. Designer clothes, gadgets and tradesmen are the easiest ways to move cash out.

Not sure why so many here are jumping to defend this couple and bashing the OP for being a green eyed monster. It might not be anyone's business but many, many people out there fund their lives using untaxed money. They'll probably be delighted to know that so many strangers genuinely believe it's feasible to have 20K+ a month entirely outside of their job description on paper.

As most elements of the Fraud Act and the Theft Act have now been effectively decriminalised by the Police forces of England and Wales, that could be a nice money-spinner.
A woman posted elsewhere on MN about her online cam business - no sexual activity, but practised, personalised interaction with clients (think marmalade between the toes/detailed discussion of the feel of washing up gloves etc) - easy money for someone used to chatting with customers ... like a hairdresser or bartender.
Frauds against the retail outlet, using 'inside' information https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-64965027 woman in Gloucestershire made £500k.
Most of us believe in karma at some level and don't want to spend our lives looking over our shoulder, others couldn't care less.

You put it better than I have! That's what I was trying to get across.

I love how drugs is not the first thing Mumsnetters think of when it’s very possible in this situation. Drug taking is prolific in all social classes and geographical areas of the UK and is very profitable for dealers but because it’s so alien to some peoples inner circles, they would never consider this a possibility. Someone has to be dealing all the drugs and it’s not always kids in hoodies on street corners. Online business is safer and very profitable.

I know a couple who won the lottery, it wasn’t enough for them both to give up work but was enough to pay off their mortgage, invest the rest which gave he’s them more income, he still worked full time, she works part time. They have wonderful holiday, expensive hobbies, have given money to their Dc for house deposits etc.

So it needn’t be illegal activity.

Is anybody else getting sick of the "none of your business" brigade on here? OP has already stated that she KNOWS it's none of her business. She still wants a discussion about it and is free to do so.

I think it's not my first thought, because the people I knew 20yrs ago (when SM was still a thing, maybe not like today) would not be so stupid to publish the results of their ill gotten gains on a world wide viewing platform.

Quite the opposite.

You sound panicked. Do you have something to hide? 🤔

I think illegal activity is a very possible assumption to make. I mean, low salaries and high expenditure isn't a typical situation.

I was going to say this. Type their names into pornhub or the likes.

Fully agree. It's not the "kids in hoodies" who are making the big money. They're just the foot soldiers. The "real" dealers will almost certainly be "respectable" people with an image of normality, getting other people to do their dirty work for them.

Drugs or they are illegally breeding pugs in the basement like the Radfords (make all their money from baking pies my ass)