AIBU to think most people have no idea how wealthy people live their lives?

[AnneValentine]

Just that really off the back of a lot of threads but most recently one where multiple people were adamant that the only way it’s possible to have no savings if you have salaries of £200k plus unless one of the couple is squirrelling savings.

Followed up with how do they pay for a broken down car with savings? Hasn’t even dawned on them that people on those salaries don’t have cars that are breaking down.

Is it so hard to believe that money literally eliminates money worries? That you can create a level of security that means savings and such aren’t needed?

Yes wealthy and "comfortably off" people do have investments/savings. So do you OP - in the form of your pension and house. (Others have likely said the same but I haven't read the whole thread.)

As for liquid cash savings, you say your monthly income is enough to cover large expenses that crop up such as emergency repairs or booking holidays. Our income is similar to yours and I'm aware how fortunate we are. But there are many many months where we have not had those extra big expenses so current account cash builds up. When this happens I shift it into extra pension payments/ISAs on the advice of our financial adviser. This is how we paid off our mortgage - we haven't one for the last 5 years. Cars all fully paid for too. OP are you really saying you just blow £13k every month and you still have a mortgage??? I'm gobsmacked.

Get a financial adviser, I think you need one!

And if, at the end of each month, she'd put that excess cash into an ISA or Premium Bonds, it would be a bit more money than her just leaving it in the current account before she paid for those flights in Month 3. I think she's trying to say that's so negligible to her, as a wealthy person, that winning £200 on the PB would be nothing anyway, no more significant than spotting 10p on the pavement. But I figure - why not have it anyway? And in the highly unlikely event she scoops the £1m jackpot, is that also totally inconsequential to her? Maybe so!

I wouldn’t agree that counts as saving BUT even if I did did we NEED to do that? No. We did not. Which is the point. Here and elsewhere I see people saying you NEED a
pot of savings for emergencies. What emergency do I need access to savings for? The point is we don’t. We can cover what we need without even thinking about it. Any saving would be for luxury items which we don’t feel the need to save for and even if we did that isn’t a pot of savings that we actually NEED.

Just curious but is it just your DH working?

I cannot even begin to tell you what a complete waste of time premium bonds are.

Your initial investment makes nothing but you might win £100000. As opposed to our investments which do make a return every month.

If our financial advisor had suggested a premium bonds my husband would have left smoke.

No.

I’d like a genuinely wealthy person (£100m+ in assets) to do a thread like this. I’d like to know what that’s like- in particular how you raise children with motivation to make a contribution to society, and whether you live without material wants or just start to want more expensive things.

Someone bragging about having comprehensive boiler cover isn’t really cutting it.

Is it so hard to believe that money literally eliminates money worries? That you can create a level of security that means savings and such aren’t needed?

Tell that to Steve Bing.

OP do you just want us to tell you that you are wealthy? If I’m being honest - in my circles you aren’t. You are fine - comfortable. You still have a mortgage. How many properties do you have? At least 3? Kids all in private school? I don’t know what you want from this thread at all - except for us to tell you you’re wealthy? The wealthy I know don’t go around telling people they’re wealthy. It’s really weird.

You're missing the point

Premium bonds are better than leaving loads in a current account getting no interest which seems to be what you do

"We have no debt at all apart from mortgage."

I've never heard anyone with a mortgage on the house they live in describe themselves as wealthy. Most would see a mortgage as something you might have taken out at the beginning of your career before you started earning properly and paid it off.

"No they are not. Savings are money you can easily access in the case of an emergency. That’s not the case with pension or investments, neither of which can be accessed."

OP this is rubbish. I have an investment portfolio with Investec bank and I can access monies in there any time I want, it's the reason I chose this particular portfolio.

I think you this thread is not genuine.

Bizarre thread.

We are in a similar financial position as OP. We have savings, investments, pension pots etc. Whilst I appreciate we are in an incredibly fortunate financial position, I do not consider us to be incredibly wealthy. My husband and I are fairly frugal and appreciate that our earning potential may not always be what it is now and would both like to retire with a comfortable pension pot.

We discuss all financial purchases over £100 or so - not for permission, just because they what we do. I would absolutely feel stressed if our boiler broke!

Correct

Paying up a holiday over three months is just something normally off people do, it's hardly the hallmark of a wealthy person.
OP your family has a good income but you're not what I'd call wealthy and you're astonishingly relaxed about savings under the circumstances, as well as astonishingly naive about redundancies.

Children have an ISA and other things in place, they’re covered.

We had an extension, we remortgaged for it as the interest on mortgage is less than the interest we earn on investments. It wouldn’t have made sense to access investments at that time. Clearly if it made more sense to access investment funds we would have done this but property improvement is itself an investment. But again, that’s not really savings for a rainy day or an emergency is it?

For someone who is being so unbearably smug about money, it's funny that the OP clearly has no idea about sound financial management.

You see “savings” as money in a readily accessible bank account.
you don’t need “savings” if you have other assets that you can liquidate at shortish notice should you need to (ie a portfolio in readily tradeable securities). But also… how do you buy a new car unless you get it on finance? The new kitchen? Because those things don’t come out of £13k a month…
”savings” is just a term for money that is available. I think what you want to say is that you are so wealthy that you don’t have to worry about saving up for things most people do. What you don’t mean is that you don’t have any money should something happen

I think the OP's point is that she doesn't have to worry about money because she has lots.

I don't understand why she thinks people might not understand this already

I don't understand what the point of this thread is. No, I don't know how very rich people live. Aren't you lucky that you do know? Why do I need to know? Just to rub my face in it?

I wouldn’t agree that counts as saving

But that’s just your opinion on a matter of semantics. So why the point of the post?

What emergency do I need access to savings for? The point is we don’t. We can cover what we need without even thinking about it.

You not having experienced the specific ‘liquid cash-required’ emergency does not mean the emergency doesn’t exist to be had. And you can’t claim the emergencies posters come up with aren’t relevant just because they don’t apply to you (‘a dog that needs surgery? But we have cats!’ 🙄).

Your whole post was created on the basis that ‘you can create a level of security so that money literally eliminates money worries ‘.

So my question to you is what is that ‘security’? Is it your investments or or salary? And do you believe both are infallible?

We don’t actually have expensive things, starting point for us for ensuring the kids didn’t become deluded is they do not go to private school and never would. I and them
are very active in the PTA. They regularly fundraise. But also one of my children has complex medical needs meaning both kids have a very real grasp on the real world. Neither husband or I come from wealthy or
rich backgrounds which is why bar mortgage we ensure no debt. It’s why we only spend what we have. That any commitments could be met or eliminated if needed. Why we have investments that are lucrative. Why we are sensible and will use a BA sale rather than sticking money into a bank account for a sake of not much return.

I am not for one minute suggesting our income is as high as that, it’s not. But annual
salaries are high and our financial planning secure. So we don’t need emergency funds for a boiler. Which, I agree, isn’t cutting it but that’s literally the example I was given as to why we must have savings. To pay for a broken boiler or car.

Exactly! Flights I get—you have to book when the price and availability are good—but for example this year’s summer holiday accommodation alone will cost us upwards of 10k. Instead of paying up front, we book the hotels with free cancellation and then shift the cash into a high interest savings account so that it is still working for us before we hand it over after our hotel stay.

We're talking at odds here - I'm not suggesting PB instead of investments! But PB as a place to store that excess cash which will be used for the holiday or school fees. As opposed to keeping that cash in your current account. I'm talking about the money you'll use to pay for that new boiler or car or fees or holiday. You leave it in your account, I move it and it makes me a bit extra for fun.

Bubblesohseven
Lack of stress isnt true. That is personality.
Eg prince harry has caused himself and others stress as has andrew.

Relatives have an issue where they could choose to pay for something which is a someone wlaes intentional damage or take the stressful route of charging them. They are going to charge them. Theyve had other issues woth fences etc .

Money doesnt remove the stress of dealing with other people