Do you consider this ‘wealthy’?

[haleeeee]

Two kids in private school since primary. Two buy to let’s of around 250k value each. One holiday home value 280k. Own home mortgage free. Income allows for a few holidays a year circa 3k each time.

Wealthy? Well off? Or just better than average?

Wealthy.

Comfortable I think, but not actually wealthy yet. They’re probably watching their spending because they are walking the tightrope of having used debt to acquire assets, which can be a risky game if they don’t have enough liquid margin to make the occasional financial misstep. I expect they probably feel very stressed about money if their financial obligations match or very slightly exceed their income.

Three properties. Of course it's bloody wealthy. But on MN it's just about getting by.
Ridiculous.
These folk are also tight as a duck's bottom.

Blimey. Beyond daft.
We are retired on about 65k. One mortgage free house and some savings. We are perfectly comfortable.

Very wealthy.

Their costs/living standards will be very high.

Not that I feel sorry for them, they are in an extremely fortunate position.

Rich.

Well off. Wealthy - no. But I guess it's what you are used to!

Very well off.

Wealth to me would mean renewable passive income so they aren’t there yet but working towards being wealthy.

Perpetual is probably a better way of putting it than renewable.

Wealthy. To be in the top 10% of earners UK is an income of £67k, to be in the top 5% is an income of £81k. £30k likely costs for two kids at private school (not boarding) might be making them feel poor but they’re certainly not. As some people’s incomes increase so does their spending, and they end up never feeling the benefit of their wealth. They lose perspective, and sometimes empathy, with other people’s ordinary levels of income and don’t realise how insensitive they’re being. The problem is, no one poorer than them can point it out without being accused of jealousy.

We’ll just because they live in an expensive house which you have said they didn’t pay for - so they don’t pay for school fees either?

She doesn’t work so your brother must earn a decent salary - he’d need about 300k plus to be funding something comfortable

They're very wealthy. Why are you asking?
It sounds like they're working towards financial independence, so when they say they're broke/struggling, maybe they mean they're keeping within a tight budget out of choice. As long as they're not actually pleading poverty or leeching off you, I'd leave them to it

I just wonder how people who think this is not well-off would describe the many people who don't own multiple properties and earn the average UK wage or less. 🙄

Yes, they are wealthy

My guess is that they would describe them as lazy failures.

That's the problem with meritocracy, it implies that anyone struggling only has themselves to blame and deserves to struggle.

If the property was gifted to them - SiL clearly has a wealthy family

The council tax on that property will be circa 4k a year, then fuel bills to keep it warm then they have all the other stuff - uniforms, school trips etc

They can afford several holidays a year, I'm sure if they're feeling the pinch from council tax and other bills, they could miss a couple of the holidays.

Or maybe the wife could get a little job for pin money. 🙄

Hearses don't have luggage racks.

Are OPs family about to die, they sound quite young or at least only middle aged, what are hearses and shrouds got to do with it, they don't sound elderly.

Well, the problem with the mirage of a meritocracy. We don’t have a meritocracy really. But the view that ‘if the poor just tried a little harder they too could become wealthy’ means that the wealthiest can feel ok about benefiting from a system that disadvantages the many to benefit the few. The myth of ‘trickle down economics’ does the same. I’m not a socialist but work with disadvantaged people and in inequality of opportunity is staggering. There are so many complex layers of hurdles and barriers that make it infinitely more difficult to become wealthy if you are born poor. Especially at the moment.

Yes but until we know what the brother does it is not crazy to think that her family has bought their home and paid the school fees.

Food, bills, uniforms, holidays, cars etc would wipe out a 100k salary each month easily

I agree that we don't have a meritocracy, but I don't think one is desirable either.

If you had a perfect meritocracy you'd still only have a small minority able to come out on top - it's kinda obvious that not everyone can benefit from the rental income of two buy-to-let properties as the OP has, because they need the "failures" to be stuck renting from them and paying for their holidays.

And the grinding psychological damage from meritocracy is that it tells people who don't come out on top that they only have themselves to blame.

So? Doesn't mean they're "struggling" - it means they're making lifestyle choices they can't afford.

They simply cut back on a holiday or have a cheaper car and they're back within their means - and they're still not suffering any deprivation. "Oh no we can't go to the Seychelles 4 times this year, it'll have to be 3." Oh dear, fetch a waahmbulance.

Someone who is actually struggling doesn't have that luxury.

Yes, if they cancel their Sky subscription, don’t own a flat screen tv and don’t pay for private education.

How do you know the ins and outs of someone's finances? Even down to the specifics of the ltv