Do you own these sorts of things?!

[featherrr]

And if so what do you earn? I am in a professional career but don’t earn masses, it’s only really at the top when you tend to start making a lot. That said we are all on above minimum wage and salaries in range of 50-70k.

Everyone I work with has designer bags, coats from Reiss, Nike Air trainers etc. I have none of these and it wouldn’t occur to me to buy them as I would find it a huge outlay on my salary (mid range of the above). Do people just spend this? Even on a modest income? What do you sacrifice to buy it? I am in rented which is 1500 a month so maybe that is the difference?

Spikeandbuffy24 those laredoute are final clearance from 60 and only available in a size 9 which few women will wear. Its not a reasonable example as you will rarely find such a bargain for size 5/6/7

You will get an odd cheap shoe from a supermarket. I bought some like the asda pair for my daughter and they were absolute rubbish, leaked in the rain and fell to bits in 2 months. They looked ok the day we bought them and looked shabby within days of wearing.

I mean I think 1500 on rent is extortion 🤷🏻‍♀️
But I chose to live in very cheap rooms to save aggressively for a deposit as a result when I earned that in that range i usd a bonus to buy my first Chanel bag. My mortgage payments were £1k pm

people spend money on different things.
A thinks a £2.5k tv is fine and my bag is dumb.
B thinks expensive cars are stupid but 5 star holidays are a must.

you prioritise a nice living environment over costs and trainers…

I have a Marc Jacobs large tote bag which is the most expensive bag I’ve ever owned (£350). I don’t work anymore but my husband does. All children are adults no longer living at home. I couldn’t have afforded such a bag if:-

1. We still had dependents
2. We still had a mortgage

I'm a size 7-8 and just picked those as the first ones I spotted

Off the top of my head I have
La redoute trainers for £9 (leather)
Zara trainers for £15
Netball specific sports ones for £24
Dune trainers for 30 down from £75 with cashback

It's not tricky, just needs a bit of sale browsing online. Even minus the sale I could go out tomorrow and pick numerous pairs for under that price

I have masses of fancy designer stuff - all of which I got on eBay for about £20

I haven't bought anything new in 20 years apart from bras

We are both in that salary range but don’t have much left over after mortgage, nursery and bills. I don’t own any designer gear although it doesn’t really appeal to me. I do spend a bit more on coats or shoes that will last well but I also look at Vinted before buying new and I tend to focus more on comfort rather than designer brands. My Allbirds were quite expensive for me are so comfy and have lasted well and I have used the same down coat from Uniqlo for the last 6 years. I brought actual Birkenstocks rather than the cheap imitations as I think they are more comfy and will last better.

Before having DD and buying a house we spent way too much on travel so I could have brought designer stuff instead at that stage.

50-70 is a good wage, 70 is double the average and almost 3 times the minimum wage. If someone has no kids, I could well believe they would have a nice bit of disposable income to buy this sort of stuff if they wish.

Your rent does seem to take up a higher percentage of your take home pay, but it seems your ceiling of what you're prepared for clothing is at the lower end.

But we all have these ceilings! I earn a little more than you and would pay £120 for trainers, £150 for well made shoes, and £250 for a good quality coat. But I also buy a lot from Vinted, and my Reiss coat is a charity shop purchase.

I don't like buying cheaply made items that don't last, and I try to not buy from places using sweatshops etc.

However I would never buy a designer bag, as it just isn't worth it to me. But good for those who like them!

As others have said, those things aren’t ‘designer’. They are what I call mid-range. Designer are your likes of Louis Vitton, Boss, Jimmy Choo, etc.

I have shed load of Air 270s and Adidas Courts in different colours, but at weekends I practically live in them. I also have On’s for running and CrossFit trining shoes for different disciplines as that’s my choice of keeping fit.

I have a range of cheap high street fashion stuff, a range of mid-range brands and the odd true designer item here and there which includes shoes and bags.

My SS lives in 270s as well and has mid branded sportswear which both households buy, don’t all teens these days? With the odd more expensive piece too.

Both mid-40s, combined household income of £90,000k, neither of us see the point in earning more and paying more percentage in tax. Own our own 4 bed home in a nice area, large enough and perfect layout for us but not massive (I don’t need more to clean or more for us to rattle around in than this when it’s just us and SS) with mortgage of around £1,100 a month. No debt other than mortgage.

We have savings and pensions and are not hard up. We live a good life with holidays, etc.

That being said, we are not people that waste money on take-away coffee, bought lunches each day, Sky TV (we are not home often enough to watch it to justify the price), take always every night, clutter or collections and such the like.

My dad passed away far too young around 6 years ago. It taught me a lot, he was a massive saver who came from nothing much to really do very well in life and now he can’t take it with him or enjoy it. That taught me that there is a very clear balance to be sought between working hard, earning and structuring your life to be comfortable and enjoyable having the things you want in life (which are different for all of us) and doing things that give you experiences and memories so that when you get old (hopefully) you can say that you lived a good life that made you happy! Which is what my mothers parents had as they were the same as my dad, came from nothing and did incredibly well for themselves in life through sheer hard work, but knew how to both save and spend and have a great life seeing the world and enjoying it.

All of us as their kids work hard, earn around the same money and have a nice life, but we all also know the value of living our life and having the things we want in life to know why we do it!

Equally thanks to their influences I bought a house young and made sensible decisions about money when I was younger which has made it easier later in life.

I didn’t know about quality declining. Thanks for sharing that. I know designer items are getting more expensive. I bought a Prada bag 9 years ago, and it wasn’t more than around £2.5k. Now the same bag sells for £4-5k. That’s just extraordinarily expensive!

household Income is low as is our outlay, we all have sports brand trainers, they aren’t expensive

It depends where you live. 60k is not a good salary in London, not even close, but if you're somewhere in the midlands then it's prob fine.

I think it depends on their and your financial
situation outside of their own earnings before you can compare.
if you are a single income household, and paying as you said £1500 a month rent, you would be worse off than say someone who earned the same but lived with parents or someone who had a partner to share the bills with.
Also people prioritise different things, each to their own.

No. Not because I can’t afford them, I just don’t care about them. I have other expenses (hobbies, decor, activities) that some people probably wouldn’t consider worth the cost so it’s swings and roundabouts really.

Fake Chanel won’t last or be well made. I don’t believe Chanel from Chanel is not perfect. If it was not, the assistant would get you another one.

Boss and Chanel in the same sentence. Hmm. Not the same. When you look at used items, what costs more? Chanel every time. It makes money, As does Hermes if you can get your hands on one!

I live in the South East, an expensive commuter town. We earn £100k combined, live in a 4 bed detached with 2 children.

If you can't make £60k work for you, to feel like a decent income, then you're not managing your money well.

No one is forcing you to live in london.£60k remains a very healthy salary.

Don't believe it, but it's the truth. It's all over YouTube. Super Dacob's Chanel bag was peeling. Others have talked about wonky stitching on a bags costing 5K plus. Their price increases are insane but quality is down. They no longer use 24K gold plated hardware but gold toned. They are mass-produced bags, and that's one of the reasons the quality has declined.

www.purseblog.com/opinion/ive-given-up-on-buying-a-chanel-bag-and-i-cant-be-the-only-one/

And this is interesting

theleathercrafter.wordpress.com/2024/01/14/chanel-flap-bags-honest-review/

I earn £55k and have a lowish mortgage comparatively to many.

I own some really nice Nike Airs that I bought on sale in 2019 and still wear regularly. I have decent branded clothes bought almost entirely second hand but nothing high end designer. I have some really nice handmade bags that I paid a fair bit for but not e.g. Prada prices. I buy some stuff directly from the makers e.g. got some stuff in India from the factory that suppliers high end shops in London and (made to measure) paid 1/5 of the price of the stuff on the hangers back home.

I manage with second hand, not buying often and wearing everything I do have to death.

Thinking some more, I have twice in my life paid £150ish for boots. One everyday pair that I wore to death and were the comfiest things ever. Price per wear miniscule. The other pair were (goth) fashion and I sold them 15 years later for £75 after much enjoyment wearing them to parties and gigs.

I have two really nice coats that I paid about £40 each for from charity shops and retailed new for around £500. I check charity shops regularly and usually find nothing but occasionally strike gold.

Gold plated hardware on Chanel? Really? When was it gold plated? Decades ago and then not everything. You believe all you see on utube? Go to a Chanel shop and have a look yourself! You will see exquisite items. If it’s not 100% perfect, you would get one that is. There’s a reason why they are coveted. They are a top iconic brand.

Give over the article in the article linked clearly shows quality has declined for their handbags and the complaints are real. You just don't want to believe it.

I don’t actually care. If you didn’t buy a bag in the 1950-80s you simply won’t know. I’m happy with my bag that is now 15 years old. My other bag is older and it’s perfect. One has multiplied in value because other people value them. If you don’t , fine. No one in real life is bothered. I’ve still got a £2000 bag that’s going sell for £5000 and I keep it in its box. I don’t use it very often, So whatever people think on U tube, I don’t care and neither does anyone else who wants one. Looks like they still do! All over the world.

No i dont and nor do i want them. I much prefer to spend money on my house and kids

It’s not always either/or. Sometimes in life it’s nice to have a real treat. I am not young and my dc have had plenty, and my house is rather nice. Why is a bag a crime?