Absolutely rinsed in this budget - almost £1k a year worse off.

[Mushroo]

Honestly in despair at this government. On a very high level calc, we are so much worse off!

We both pay a lot into pensions, so the NI change is about £700 a year worse off.

We have an EV car, so based on our 4k a year mileage, it’s about £120 a year. (Although how it will be enforced I have no idea).

Stagnating tax thresholds, probably about £100 a year between us.

Council tax F house (4 bed end terrace, not a mansion, needs renovating). So risk of revaluation after having paid a fortune in stamp duty. We didn’t get first time buyer stamp duty relief because we bought about 2 years too early, and we moved before Covid so no relief there either. So overall we’ve paid about £30k in stamp duty already over our lifetime.

Weve already had the private school hit (which is a separate debate and we’ve accepted that) but wow, we are just being kicked on all sides.

We are classic ‘middle earners’ - earn about £70k each, but have mahoosive mortgage and pay over £2k a month in nursery fees already.

Every measure just seems to have a negative effect on our lifestyle, which is ‘comfortable’ but increasingly squeezed.

Jesus Christ, read the room.

Who the op? She is more than politicians.

We are in a similar income bracket. I'd like to keep more of my money, but we can afford to pay more. Given the outgoings you have listed, it seems that there are plenty of things you could cut back on to remain less squeezed but still comfortable. I don't necessarily agree with the way the government are managing the budget, but when you are well into the top 10% of earners you have to accept your good fortune and the tax burden that comes with it.

And yet there's a thread running on here at the moment that shows a mum in London with three children in London gets benefits totalling 6k - the net income of someone on £113k

So essentially @Mushroo of course you are struggling because you only have just enough to lift you out of poverty in London!

We need to decide what a tolerable standard of living is as a country and then apply it consistently.

It's absolutely unjustifiable to tax one parent to the hilt on £113k and withdraw all free childcare and at the same time dish out 6k a month to another parent who might live just down the street

So not currently affected by private school changes? So you're £100 worse off?

Sorry but you are not ‘classic middle earners!’ You are high earners on that joint income. You are the type of people who should be paying more. There are those of us who would love to be putting more money into pensions and having a private education for our children and a band F property but we can’t afford to. We are classic middle earners.

To put it into perspective for you. On £8.5k/ month, you will be around £80/ month worse off. My own mortgage payments went up by more than that, last year, and in a year I earn approx 2 months worth of your income.
In no one’s world are you “middle earners”. Where would you prefer the money to come from? Who would you prefer to see pay more? The disabled? The poor?

"Rinsed" is a bit strong. I'm a middle earner. My next door neighbours are a pensioner and her son, a disabled gent. He lost any benefits due to ATOS, which was criminal, but they're not strong enough to fight it. They are cheerful souls but can only afford to put the heating on for an hour per day. In cold weather that means the house sits at 13 degrees, and so they're sat there in fleeces, hats and gloves. I think some of us in this country have forgotten just how privileged we are. Yes I work hard for my money, and I juggle, but many people, through no fault of their own, are living in dire hardship. I struggle to generate any sorrow at the numerous tax increases that will affect me. I'd rather it was taken from me than my neighbours, which is what has happened over the previous 15 years. 😔

We are classic middle earners. And every calculator I've used is putting us at £45 a year better off.

Drinks are on you!

I work for in mental health. My colleagues have worked insanely hard to keep waiting lists short. (~ 3 months) We've been rewarded by having a funding cut of over 1/3. I've seen more services be closed due to lack of funding in the last year than I've seen in the last 20 years. So extra money VERY definitely isn't making it to mental health

140k a year combined and your worried? Some of us are genuinely living pay check to pay check worried that we won’t be able to heat our homes or treat the kids for Christmas. And here’s you worried about your private school and your 4 bed house 🙄

140k divided by 12 is over 11 grand a month and your moaning ? Give over is this rage bait or just another humble brag post ?

@Mushroo

Can you clarify if you're sending your dc to private school. In your op you said you've accepted the VAT rise but in the budget you didn't mention fees? Is someone else paying for you?

My heart isn't exactly bleeding for you OP. I'm afraid I'm one of those people who believes the more affluent should be paying. And with your DH working in the private sector, I would have thought you'd understand that too.

I said It’s certainly going to some parts of the NHS. Did I mention mental health? We all know it’s horribly underfunded.

Business owners, rental properties, salaries and freelance income. Ev cars. Every aspect of our life has been hammered.

Business owners, rental properties, freelance income, employers, ev owners - every aspect of our life has been hammered.

Massive house. Driving an EV. Kid in private school. Huge pension.

My heart bleeds . . 🙄

The OP has a high paying career, at least one asset, a presumably good pension as she says she is salary sacrificing a chunk in every month, shes got a partner contributing the same to the household and also msy well not be at her peak earnings. The OP is also sending children to private school.

I think its incredibly distasteful to compare her to someone on benefits, and thats before you drill down into the alleged £6k, the most of which I assume is housing benefit if in London.

OP you have to pay for petrol, a commute and have an electric car? Is this a genuine post.

You don’t have to use a private school, you can reduce your pension contributions a bit which won’t have a massive impact and you won’t get hit by the mansion tax if you’re only paid £30k in stamp duty.

the rumour that bands are being revalued is made up by people on here to continue scaremongering.

Hmmmm.

Yes, you can salary sacrifice in NHS. My husband does.

OP, I don’t have the ridicule of some on here. I get it. And most people want more money, on which they would also pay for the things they’d enjoy having.

However, no matter how much I believe in the entitlement to wanting to better your life and enjoy your money, I also believe in wise choices. £2.5k mortgage on a £140k pre-tax I income is a silly choice – you did that because you wanted the big house. Not because you could afford it. A £140k income also in no way was ever going support the big mortgage and private school – that’s just not reality no matter what this year’s budget.

You’ve not been fleeced. You’ve fleeced yourself.

Two on £70k a year is not rich, wealthy or loaded. It just isn’t. I don’t think it’s enough to pay for private education. Not in the London or Home Counties.

£70k a year is above average but it’s not wealthy. We really need to be taxing the wealthy people who earn in this country. We need to close the loopholes that allow for the wealthy to funnel their earning through offshore vehicles to reduce their tax to eff all. The big corporations who are listed in Luxembourg or Cayman Islands.