To wonder how they afford to stay at home?

[Zonnet]

I follow lots of mum accounts on Tiktok. They are mainly younger mums ranging from 20-30. Most (not all) stay at home or only work extremely part time, have two or three kids, seem to have a lovely home & two brand new cars on the drive and are constantly filming packing for holiday and day out videos.

It’s nothing against them at all, it’s nice that they can have the freedom to do those things and have such lifestyles. AIBU to wonder how they manage it on one income at a younger age? It’s one thing if you ‘have it all’ in your mid 30s or 40s as you have probably worked very hard to establish yourself or your other half could be a very big earner. Maybe it’s just not reflective of real life… or I don’t know!

They may be faking it til they make it

I know this isn't the point of the thread but what professional roles pay overtime? I don't know any professional roles except medine.

The fact is that accounts that are aesthetically pleasing and (somewhat) aspirational will always be more popular than showing the reality of the situation. Therefore there will be more of them, and they will be promoted harder by Tik Tok to encourage views.

Not many people can pull of a realistic and entertaining account of what it is like having a few kids but there is one in NZ called lisaperesecullen who though clearly knows a lot about marketing/fashion etc. has some very funny and relatable day in the life videos.

@3WildOnes you're on the right track! Easy to pick up shifts in some job areas, and they get well paid when you leave NHS roles

When I read this type of thread I always feel like the OP wants to just hear that the people they are jealous of must be in shitloads of debt, or dealing drugs.

Surely it’s obvious that some people just have more money than others? There are so many ways they could have this money, but the majority are obvious.

Sizeable inheritance, generous family support, passive income, working partner earns a lot more than you think.

I am 33 and have three young DC. I have a large passive income which is much higher than my DH income but he loves his job and prefers to work. I imagine some people might think I am in a precarious position, being a SAHM, but those who know us better and know my background, quickly work it out.

When you see people on SM it’s possible that none of what they post, or very little of it is true. You don’t know them, so why care how they live or where they get their money from?

I know a sahm that posts a lot on SM. Her partner is in a low paid job. They get topped up with UC. I suppose you wouldn't really know just going by her posts but that's the situation.

They buy, take photos/try on with me and then return. They're strategic about where they take their pics. Family wealth. Shop sales for their kids and know what looks expensive. My neighbour once said to me kids are always look good looking in expensive clothes- which aside from being shite because she was talking about a pic of my kids dressed head to toe in Primark. Was probably because of the style of clothes they were wearing. Sell clothes instead of donating, sell freebies, sell old toys etc. Also they might be working part time on the qt. An influencer I follow is a nurse but you wouldn't know only she puts pics of herself in scrubs. If she didn't you'd 100% think she's a sahm with a thriving social life.

Of the SAH mums I know who live like that, it’s credit cards.

But credit card bills need to be paid, so I wonder too. 🤔

If you’re talking about “influencers” with a large following, they will have a substantial income from that…

Being an influencer /content creator is a job.

if you are watching the video they made, you are watching them work.

Successful vloggers can earn a very high income. There is a whole generation of teen parents who vlogged while pregnant and it became both their parents full time jobs. I've watched a few out of interest, they have bought their own homes, cars, multiple children, many holidays, and it is their full time job. It is all falling apart for most of them now as people realise the the implications of exploiting children and rates and viewers drop significantly the more wealthy and unrealistic their lifestyle becomes and when they stop being young parents.

I was a SAHM for 11 years whilst our DC were young mainly because we couldn’t afford childcare and we had no family around to help out.

DH had a decent job, we had one car and holidays were one UK holiday a year. Never felt we missed out as I was there for every school thing, it was stress free if anyone wasn’t well, doctors appts etc were easy, we went out 4 days out of 5 to groups/clubs, great social life. I look back on that time very fondly now.

we got used to living on one salary so when I went back to work it felt like we had loads of extra disposable income which has been great for the cost of living crisis plus the DC getting bigger and more expensive, we have 2 cars now, take 2 holidays abroad a year but I would say day to day life is a bit more stressful juggling things

Some of them are actually living in their parents home or homes but you don’t get to see those bits 😃

Influencers influence you to spend money. They’re rarely Mum next door types, they’ve created a lifestyle and get money through affiliate links / ads
they must work all the time to create and stay relevant which sounds exhausting

Much of it is fake. Realistically how many influencers do you follow who only ever seem to go on trips to Blackpool pleasure beach and live in terraced houses?

They have to give the impression of being rich because otherwise people wouldn't follow them. They hire cars, film in their parent's houses etc

Their partner may have a well paid job, inheritance but also if they’re successful at YouTube/TikTok etc that is their company/job

Not sure how "on one income" is such a mystery. There are incomes and then there are incomes. UK average salary is about 30 grand, so all it takes is one partner earning 60K (say 70 or so to account for the higher tax bracket) and boom, the other partner can stay at home and manage just as well as two average earners.

There are threads right here on MN by people lamenting that all their friends and family are on six figures, whereas they "only" earn 70 grand or whatever. Plenty of industries and demographics where that's the norm.

The UK is one of the most unequal countries in the western world. There's no point taking about an "income" as an abstract entity like that means something.

Many of these influencers come from money (check out their homes) and so they can afford to not work or only work PT.

If your parents can buy you a home outright then it’s very easy to live on one income.

Most likely benefit/tax fraud of some type.

There’s a famous homesteading American influencer whose husband is CEO of a US airline.

They can monetise videos now on TikTok if they have enough followers so through the creator fund they are paid even if they aren’t doing a paid partnership. It is very lucrative. They also have high earning partners I presume.

I'm in advertising and we deal quite regularly with influencers/content creators. The decent ones make a good chunk of money off it, you'd be surprised!
It's harder work than it might seem though as there's a lot of admin and comms with clients/agencies involved.

Multiple reasons. A lot of them live in cheap parts of the USA and own their home so no rent, or their partner is twice their age and has a very good job.
If in the UK they may live in a council house so rent is extremely cheap (someone I know is paying 500 a month for a three bed house with the council and someone else I know is privately renting a one bed shit flat for 900 a month) so that would massively help with the disposable income.

They make a lot of money.

Also depending on where someone lives makes a huge difference.

My 2 bdrm condo in Toronto was 700k. I have a big mortgage and the cost of living here is one of the highest in the world.

If I moved to the prairies or Nova Scotia I could buy a bloody mansion.

This is the estimated earnings of a cleaning Tiktoker I watch. It's fucking flabbergasting how much money you can make on social media if you market yourself well and find your niche.

I remember a lady doing a video that showed many of the show homes were filled in IKEA or other such places. Blew my mind people could be so good at making things up.