To not feel that well off with a household income of £100k?

[phalendrina]

Live in London. Both of us are on £50k. We work 9am-7pm. Sometimes longer. Can’t afford to buy yet.

When I was younger I always thought a household on £100k would feel well off. We don’t. Obviously we are fortunate to afford food and rent etc, but we can’t afford long haul holidays or nice clothes.

You managed to buy a house for less than 3x a single salary before you had kids. Earned enough to support your children through university and into adulthood and when you do retire will probably be with decent public sector pensions.

All of that is completely out of reach for the average young person today.

Just because you don't feel wealthy, does not mean you are not wealthy... You've just chosen to spend your money on things that mean you don't have enough disposable income leftover to feel wealthy.

Well, as much as this thread has been illuminating, I think some posters are In The Land of Bollox, so I'm off.
Enjoy!

Stealth boast a-go go.

You are wrong. According to the world health organisation:

In 2022, 73% of the global population (6 billion people) used a safely managed drinking-water service – that is, one located on premises, available when needed, and free from contamination.

Absolutely, thats what I said. It still stands though that you can objectively earn a lot but not feel it because much is taken up in living costs.

Our combined is just over £100k. We live in the South East. Our monthly is £6k approx (I get paid 13 times a year so my 'monthly' is a bit off)

Our mortgage/bills/nursery fees are £3k. We are a family of 4 and spend approx £500 on food and probably another £200ish on petrol. We pay for activities for our two kids which come to around £250ish a month (swimming, football, athletics). So practically £4k.

We have personal things to pay for, credit card debt, loan, phone, membership fees etc. Alongside the usual spending on clothes/shoes for the kids.

We save a paltry £300 a month to regular savings and £100 a month for Christmas.

Now I know we are nowhere near the breadline, we are lucky that we have stable well above average incomes, we also pay a decent chunk into our savings. When our nursery fees reduce and before our fixed mortage comes to an end we will feel better off. But I dont feel well off at the moment considering how much we earn.

Some of this is to do with lifestyle choices we make, like a lot of my generation living on credit and above our means at times (not designer clothes or multiple long haul holidays I hasten to add) and some of it is living in the most expensive part of the country during a COL crisis.

So whilst I totally get the tone deaf comments, and we ARE priviledged to earn as much as we do, I also get the feeling of 'why dont we feel richer on this huge salary?'

To be fair, I actually would but we only bought the flat a year ago and are trying to regenerate some savings + renovate. When we bought the flat our joint income was £112k so we’ve also had recent rises. Don’t want to completely nuke my career yet, and certainly don’t feel massively secure

But your living costs will be much huger than most other people on average wages. You've chosen to spend a higher amount on your car, house, area, clothes etc. Which is absolutely your choice of course and within your means because you earn a high wage, but to claim you are not wealthy is disingenuous because your living costs do not have to take up most of your 100k. Many people have much lower living costs in London, is my point.

@DistrictAndCircle it's a matter of perspective and priorities. We have a low 6 figure income with a mortgage the same size as yours and we go abroad twice a year on average, we did Florida this year. I'm sure if you broke down your outgoings they would show where your priorities are and the extent of your choices, it's not that you can't go abroad, but it's just not what you're prioritising. I think 6 figures with a £1600 mortgage is still well off, I feel well off. Much easier to change your perspective than your income!

I understand your position. We have two children in full time nursery so that we can work and the fees for both combined are £38,800 per year… that’s after tax.

Our nursery is £76 a day - the ones in London can be upwards of £120 a day so everyone at work tells me how ‘lucky’ we are that we ‘only have to pay £76’.

Our mortgage is another £16,000 a year. So we’re on £55k of expenses after tax without car, utilities, food, clothes, days out/ a holiday, house repairs and improvements, birthdays and Christmas etc and savings. Our fixed rate mortgage will end next year too so it’ll only increase from there…

I lived in London. I was earning £14k, 8 years ago. It was tough. Still managed the odd west end show. Walked everywhere a lot mind.

£100k is not poor, even with London prices.

8 years ago was very different to now… rental rates are through the roof

Inflation combined with the country getting poorer.

£100k is (relatively) not as high a income as it used to be.

The grad scheme i started my career on now has a salary 25% higher than it did 15 years ago.

I think OP is getting a pretty hard time here.

She didn’t post that she couldn’t scrape by, she (not unreasonably) posted that on 100k she didn’t feel that well off. Which is surprising to many because when you are on 30k or whatever, you assume 100k is a fortune.

London is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. It’s a great place to live, with loads going for it. But the reality is, a couple on 100k, which probably means jobs like mid-career teachers, mid level admin or allied health professionals, aren’t going to feel well off at all. Long haul holidays, smart clothes or taking advantage of much of what the city offers (theatre, restaurants etc.) probably would not be at all possible.

It sucks, but in London, if you want a nice life (not luxuriating in a Chelsea mansion, just nice) 100k isn’t really enough.

The OP didn’t say she felt poor. She just said not massively well off — and I think this is a common feeling

@Cress42 quite... You could get a room in a decent flatshare for £450 back then. More like £900 now.

I don't understand what point you are trying to make.

I think OP is getting a pretty hard time here.

I really wouldn't worry about OP...there is more chance of pigs flying than there is of this thread being started with genuine intentions.

Fucking hell, my heart bleeds for you, you poor sod

👀

Are you genuinely comparing £100k now with £14k 8 years ago??

This is exactly my point. A lot of us on high incomes make choices that determine how well off we feel. Those on lower incomes do not have the ability to control this aspect of their life. Those of us who do, should not be blaming the COL crisis and London mortgage or rent costs and should rather have some awareness of how our choices determine how wealthy we feel.

This thread is seriously pissing me off! The ones who says my heart bleeds etc…. You have no clue……..

we don’t actually disagree, it’s more that many people who are relatively well off feel we should have more choices for the amount of money we make. I earn nearly £70k and have never been able to justify buying a car, not even an old banger. I don’t feel like I should be in a position to have to choose between eg replacing my rotting single glazed windows in my tiny yet eyewateringly expensive flat and having a car. I have no garden. If I’m so rich, why can’t I afford both? Don’t get me wrong, these worries are trifling and I’m very fortunate. I never worry about turning the heating on. I eat well. I can broadly do most things. But it’s not a race to the bottom. I’m definitely not super rich