“Mumsnet rich”

[Harrietta82]

I’ve seen this referenced a few times recently.

What do you class it as - I’m assuming 6 figures plus given how many appear to be earning it? Or do you also need a c-suite DH? I’m intrigued!

In my industry even the most senior people don't have those titles, no chiefs, very industry specific titles, so what does that make them? I also know someone who has a two man operation selling and fitting double glazing and he is the company chief exec! 😂

Mumsnet Rich is a simple equation;

(1 x SAHW on 0 GBP) + (1 x CSDH x >100K) / 100% myincomeandjobwhenaskedabouthowmuchiearnonmumsnet

Everything is relative. I come from a small city where most people are working class or middle class but still struggling. My husband earns very well and for the town I come from we would be viewed as incredibly wealthy. But we live in London and my kids go to a private school where many of their friends live in huge, fully staffed homes and fly with private jets. Compared to them we are poor. It took me some time to stop comparing and feeling bad. I think it is human nature to not feel like we have ‘enough’. I’m sure the extremely wealthy families also feel some amount of competition with those richer than them. I also think that it’s not easy to view yourself as rich based on income alone, particularly for those who don’t come from money, as income is not certain.

we earn a base of 120k combined (not including OT and bonus) and we save 2.5k per month. I feel very well off to be fair.

I agree, if I heard the phrase ‘Mumsnet Rich’ I would take that to mean ‘Rich and clueless’. So many threads ‘we earn £150k but can’t afford a holiday’; ‘income of £200k but struggling’.

Not really sure what else MN Rich might mean - rich compared to other posters, or what MNers perceive as rich?

@Lifecanbebeautiful12 I also think that it’s not easy to view yourself as rich based on income alone, particularly for those who don’t come from money, as income is not certain.

Yes exactly.

It's obviously better to have a higher income than a low one, all else equal, but there are a lot of steps (and things that could go wrong) between that and money in the bank.

When you earn more than your parents you can't rely on them to bail you out if you can't pay the mortgage one day. It feels a bit like flying too close to the sun.

I manage on £23k.

It always amazes me when people say they ‘only’ have £3k left each month after outgoings and how will they ever manage. Madness.

don’t even now that c-suite means!

Meaning of c suite
CautiousLurker01

@ResusciAnnie the the tread seems to have been derailed from what MNs rich is

I’m MN poor and low class then. Single parent, living in a council flat on a crap estate in London. Only for another 2 years them I’ll be living on the coast, still MM poor but hey Ho

I thought it was a reference to the fantasists amongst us. 😂

Surely on that wage you could afford to go part time and still afford private school? You must be saving huge amounts?

Why is it dreadful?

Totally agree!

We live in London. Our combined income is c.£250k but our mortgage is close to £4k a month and childcare of close to £2k a month. Obviously paying a lot of tax. Have decent holidays and go out for dinners etc but definitely don't feel "rich". House needs loads of work which we have to save for. Feel grateful and privileged though.

I think a large part of it is the timing of purchasing property. Had we bought ours 10 years earlier at a significantly lower price we'd prob feel well off. Property prices and salaries haven't increased at the same rate (in London at least, can't speak for other places).

So salary / income alone isn't the sole indicator. There are lots of different factors.

I take what I read on Mumsnet with a pinch of salt.

The average salary in London is about 55K and in the UK about 35K.

I can accept that of course some people here will have higher incomes but I can't help but think that there is a lot of boasting and ''fantasy lives'' on this forum...

Is that 23k overall, or 23k with UC on top? I think sometimes people forget that UC is basically equivalent to another wage.

MN rich is the delusion that you’re not rich despite earning £350k between you because you’re always ‘rushing around’. 🙄

A lot of these “boo hoo pity us we only earn £100k” people will also benefit later on from bank of mummy and daddy, and inherited wealth. So income is only part of the picture.

Very true. Income and wealth are not necessarily the same thing. People above a certain age lived through periods where it was possible for people on not very high incomes to acquire property that later became extremely valuable, and needed much more money to acquire for those born later.

This is not the same as saying all people had access to those opportunities, but the number in older generations who did is much higher than those in younger generations.

And this is why there are so many threads of six-figure earning households complaining about their lot, which are then met by absolute incredulity from others.

They aren’t eligible for childcare (possibly worth tens of thousands net), and will be paying tax rates of 60%+ and perhaps even a student loan - so the take home pay isn’t as good as it looks. But then the cost of living on top of this is so high - as you say a £4k mortgage, maybe £4k in childcare. Thats the entire take home pay on £150k.

And that £4k a month mortgage buys what would be an utterly unremarkable house elsewhere, so despite being more fortunate than most… it’s all just pretty ordinary.

I have no idea what it means. I'm neither mumsnet rich nor any other type of rich though, so perhaps that's why.

Once children leave education you no longer get UC if working full time so for some people this will be the only income, especially if single.

I know in a few years I’ll be on wage only and I’m not much over min wage but I won’t get help then.

To me 'Mumsnet rich' means people with over 100k+ income. Invariably they don't think it's nearly enough.

It could even warrant a UC top
up! 🤣

I think the rise of “influencers”, celebrities and prevalence of social media has distorted our perception of what “rich” is.
I don’t blame PP’s for not feeling rich even with incredibly high incomes as all you have to do is hop online and see “rich” people showcasing their lifestyle and it doesn’t match up to theirs. Private planes, super yachts, trips to fashion week, constant holidays, the illusion (or reality) of not actually working.

I would consider myself well off. I wouldn’t consider myself rich or wealthy because the mundane middle class life I lead does not match up to the visuals of what rich looks like online.