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?

I know. That's becasue she is not genuine. This is a wind up thread and not even a convincing one

There is no insurance in this country that pays for chronic conditions.....they will just tell you to go to NHS, which does not offer sufficient. But you know all this - as you know everything 🤣

When I first read the OP, I thought wtf? Of course rich people have savings but I kind of get what you mean many posts in.

We’re in a similar position and most expenditures just gets paid out of our monthly income. In months when we don’t spend much, we’ll put the extra into an ISA or other investments but never into a specific savings account.

I guess the problem with this approach is when lots of big expenses hit at once. We had a difficult few months a couple of years ago when we had school fees due, new car needed (we bought it outright as cheap run around car rather than anything flash), house being completely redecorated and wanted to book a few holidays. For about three months DH kept reminding me to put everything on the Amex (what if they don’t take Amex?!) and any time either of us got paid he’d pay one of the big expenses immediately so there was practically nothing left in our current account. At one point we went into our overdraft and to be honest, it was quite uncomfortable, we haven’t lived like that in many years. But ultimately, if we’d had to, DH could have sold some of our more liquid investments or taken money out of a high interest account (and paid the penalty).

The expected return on PB is around 4%. That's compariable to a standard savings account.

Yes, not as good a return as high-risk investments, but the point being they are zero risk. I don't particually like them as a product but they are better than leaving cash in a current account earning nothing.

You and your husband aren't as smart as you think.

Oh, obviously.

It's fun to play along though.

It concerns me that you don't understand that pensions and investments are savings but imply you are in the position of making decisions about other peoples' employment.

I guess your partner is the one with the big job?

11:51 and STILL she’s shiteing on. Like the Duracell bleedin’ bunny.

I didn’t just say we have cats. I also said that I wouldn’t pay for that surgery - I would put the cat to sleep but if needed we do have access to funds in our actual cash account. But again I wouldn’t spend £6000 on surgery for a cat, it’s barbaric to do that to an animal. Even if the insurance covered it I still think it would be a no for me. We did it 2 years back and it’s one of my biggest regrets.

The security - it’s all of it. No one thing creates security, but a high salary allows you to invest, pension, purchase new items that are better quality so less likely to break, to create wealth, I saved like crazy when I wasn’t well off, that’s undoubtedly how
we got here. Sensible decisions, savings, high incomes. It’s all of it.

Could all of it some crash? It’s unlikely but in the very remote chance all of it did crash theres no amount of saving that would solve that. But really, that just won’t happen. We aren’t both going to lose our jobs and not find alternative employment. We aren’t going to find all investments tanking. And the property market would have to fall a LONG way for us to be remotely close to negative equity.

Missing the point perhaps but if your kids aren't in private school, you use the NHS, you go on holiday using BA sales and you're not living in a mansion... what the fuck do you spend £13k a month on

Yet here you are 😂

If you have no savings then you aren't wealthy

This.

Our accommodation was £1500 cheaper if we paid up front.

I’m not sure that premium bonds would
meet the description of emergency funds if the boiler breaks!

Has anyone figured out if OP is earning herself? And what she does for a living? Because surely no one on £200k a year can be this dense and financially illiterate.

Surely that just shows you're less savvy with your money.

Actually op, with premium bonds you might win £1m, not £100,000. And the return is comparable to other savings accounts for more liquid savings on which no tax will be paid.

Also, I take it from other posts that your husband is the person who earns the majority of the salary. If the 'overflow money' is in a savings account in your name and you're a basic rate tax payer, you can earn £1000 in interest before you have to pay any tax on it.

Also you wouldn't put the savings in an account instead of buying flights. That would be silly, but you might have money in short term savings to cover the balance of a holiday apartment where the price is locked in by paying the deposit.

Why not? It's (up to) £50k that's instantly accessible. So there, held securely, to pay for whatever additional expense comes up. As opposed to being in your ordinary account to pay for those expenses. Any money it makes is tax-free. Why do you think it's better to have that money in your current account?

It’s not true that “people at that level are rarely made redundant”. Many senior bankers from Director and MD level earn £500k plus in total yearly comp and in bad years there are rounds of redundancies at those levels. It often makes more sense to fire the really expensive people!

Not that kind of insurance 😂

Its insurance so if either of is diagnosed with a condition that prevents us from working the policy pays out.

Also private health insurance will cover chronic conditions if diagnosed after you took out the policy. There are exclusions for pre existing conditions and there can be exclusions for long term management on private healthcare. But as the parent of such a human you don’t want that private bit anyway, you want to be with the nhs where
you access trials and frankly the better treatment.

No reason why not, you can withdraw them within 24hs via bank transfer.

And here’s a link explaining the difference between savings and investments.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/022516/saving-vs-investing-understanding-key-differences.asp

Yep that jumps out at me too - it's obvious this thread is a pile of horse 💩

Not actually sure what you are asking OP... is it if you have a high enough monthly income you don't need savings??

Maybe if you have the most secure job in the world and live sensibly, but living month to month isn't wise whatever your income bracket.