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.

That makes sense for essential things, like any bills related to medical treatment for example.

But if it comes to housing, for example, why do you think your lifestyle needs are different than anyone elses? For example, why should it not be taken into consideration that one person may be spending all of their money on a luxury home, whereas someone else may be living in a small 2 bedroom house that is falling apart?

How can it be said that the person living in the 2 bedroom house does not have the same "lifestyle and needs" as the person living in the luxury home? Are we thinking that they don't need a better home because they are less of a person?

I would think that if someone is spending a lot of money on a luxury home, then it would be absolutely wrong to try to claim that that person is financially struggling. They have made a choice to pay that money for that home. If they want more disposable income, then they should choose to live more modestly like everyone else.

92%

90% very surprised at that, whilst I’m comfortable I’m not
as comfortable as I would like to be

Glad you pay so much attention. You might learn something.

I'm doing better than 62% of people apparently.
I'm broke. Mid 30s. Single income. All bills are on me.

How on earth do the rest get by?

There must be some very rich people in the UK screwing with this scale.

I am better off than 92%.

Sunfle adult household and no kids. Live in the north east.

My SUV got me safely to work through a red weather warning where smaller cars couldn't get through, so I think I'll keep it and consider it a net social benefit as it meant our unit had a consultant available to stop people dying.

@littleluncheon It's so weird though isn't it? Having large outgoings doesn't mean your income is less 😂

Indeed. Which shows that there isn't really a positive correlation between intelligence and income.

My kids won't be going to uni unless they can live at home (in a bedroom shared with a sibling) and work part time.

I hope your children do well at university if they go. If they need more space for studying, universities have libraries with lots of space and computers. Ear plugs are a god send for studying too.

Yeah, that's a stupid calculator. For one it asks about council tax amount when not all of the UK uses the council tax system. So how can it measure "UK income distribution" when the calulator doesn't apply to all of the UK.

The only thing to take home from that calculator is that getting rid of the children will make us rich.

I recently gave up work so I'm surprised that we got such a high percentage on one wage. We do feel well off. Both from poorer backgrounds, haven't given in to lifestyle creep (although our grocery budget is far higher than I'd like), and we are quite frugal.

36% which seems decent but both teens have complex special needs and there are a lot of extra costs for that so we do really struggle (but are too well off for UC).

@Scirocco My SUV got me safely to work through a red weather warning where smaller cars couldn't get through, so I think I'll keep it and consider it a net social benefit as it meant our unit had a consultant available to stop people dying.

Owning an ugly SUV just in case a once-in-25-year storm happens is a bizarre rationale for owning such a vehicle.

First, if a tree falls on your ugly SUV, you likely wouldn't survive anyway.

Second, I have no idea what you mean when you say "smaller cars couldn't get through." If a road is blocked, it is blocked. It is not as smaller cars are unable to drive on the same roads that ugly SUVs drive on.

Third, I am slightly concerned that a consultant would not have the foresight and common sense to book nearby accomodation, or stay overnight in the hospital to avoid travelling during the storm, which is what I would have done if I had been required to work during the storm.

94 %. Comfortable but not rich.

68% and 61% when including housing costs. Surprised i am nearer the top when i am a single parent family and certainly don't feel well off.

23%

85% without housing costs
78% with hosing costs

I don’t feel like I’m better off than that many people - we’re totally fine but not living an extravagant life.

That doesn't make sense, surely it's that there are a lot more poorer people than you think?

It doesn't ask for mortgage payments, only mortgage interest payments.

82% - mortgage is paid off. It's a bit daft though, when we were younger with childcare costs and still paying a mortgage, we'd obviously have had a lot less disposable income.

What’s it like walking around with this chip on your shoulder?
I have a few cars for various uses and anything lower an SUV would flood trying to get through the water in my village that gathers for weeks every single winter.
Stick to your morally superior noddy car and let me enjoy my ugly SUV.

I did an ons one that requests more data. Whilst income was very near the top, our spends were 50%. I’ve always channelled the micawber principle but hadn’t realised we did the super plus version.

94% if I include housing costs, 92% if I don't - my mortgage is small now. I'm not surprised, I've come in in the top 5-10% of households on these things for years.
It doesn't feel like I live that well, but I am certainly comfortable and have options and security many do not.

I think Mumsnetters are a fairly well-off bunch, to be honest, although there's a wide range here.