Household income. Where are you?

[chonka901]

https://ifs.org.uk/toolsanddresources/wheredooyoufitt_in

Using this link and putting in everything joint net income ,including child benefit and maintenance which I think it takes into account. It has us at 73 percent. Not a stealth boast before any states that. Genuinely surprised.

I certainly don't feel like this but appreciate people survive on less. It doesn't take into account mortgages, rent, generational wealth, inheritance, childcare etc so is a guide.

It is eye opening though.

I feel poor compared to my friends though. We definitely are not the London elite. Just public sector workers in the North. I guess the maintenance helps. My friends must be in the top 20 percent.

Stupid me, can’t follow instructions apparently!

87% using net figures.

87%. Bloody hell I'm rich according to the calculator, 😂
Certainly don't feel it 😑

Unless you’ve put it in wrong to be in top 10% you are a high earner.

65%. I thought it would be higher, my kids are at private school, although we get a healthy discount because of DH’s job. I’m careful with money and we can afford a cheap holiday most years with a big one every 3-5 years.

I’m now wondering what everyone else is spending their money on!

It’s an income not wealth calculator

We are a household of two on ~50k gross each, no kids. I put in the net income and we're 91% without household costs, 87% with.

50k gross is a decent income, but it's not top 10% - you need to be above 70k for that.

Household income percentiles are not the same as for individuals—this calculator is about households.

Same…doesn’t that number include kids? I’d like to think I have a higher income than most kids 😂

Put it in again with 2 kids.

I don't have kids, why would I do that?

Depending whether or not I include Housing costs for us:

We are either higher income than 65% if you take into account our housing costs or 57% if you don't

Because this is what’s statistically odd.

Parents don’t earn more than others, in fact they may earn less.

If I put in 90k net with zero housing costs because I don’t have a mortgage (and I earn more than 50k) apparently that’s only 69th percentile.

And I thought we had a cost of living crisis 🤷🏻‍♀️

82% which is crazy because after all expenses etc we live basically paycheque to paycheque. We di own our home etc but we definitely don’t have a lot of spare money.

The thing about that calculator is it doesn't count savings.

I'm retired as is DP.

We come out at around 83%, based on pensions, but would have been much higher when DP was working up to a few years ago.

However, we have considerable savings and some bring in a few hundred pounds a month in interest - which also doesn't figure in that table as far as I can see.

Interest on savings, makes up part of the figure in the income box.

Interest is part of income.

Oh yes, I'd missed that!

Maybe some people on the thread are using their earnings before tax etc, rather than their take-home. Otherwise all the 90-odd% do seem quite strange.

I'm not sure what your point is. Adding children to the household will reduce the percentile, because the income is divided over more people.

It's not a household wealth calculator, it's a fairly blunt instrument averaging out income.

People seem annoyed that it hasn't accounted for their vast wealth, like they need it validating or something.

Plus I think the calculator is bollocks tbh, It just doesn’t add up in lots of ways.

But kids don’t earn money. Because they are kids.

If that’s the methodology and it may well be it’s just bollocks.

98% - surprised as not much disposable income

No but they cost money, and since the calculator is asking for net income as well as housing costs, it's looking at disposable income.

A very blunt instrument though, obviously.

64% of the population but like you I can't see why that is.

48% two adults on 30 hours a week each

The point is though that it is comparing everyone as equals, not families with families.

So we are way better off than most families. But yeah if we didnt have kids we’d have more money.

The housing costs make no difference either. We have no mortgage and putting in housing costs as zero only upped it 2%. Bizarre, utterly.

Out of interest, did you use your take-home pay as your income? Or your salary figure?