To wonder why “new money” is so frowned upon in the UK?

[Namechanged2026]

Dh and I are what you would describe as ‘new money’. We both had very working class childhoods but have since earnt very well. We live in a big modern house, drive new cars (financed as it’s silly to put so much money into a depreciating asset - it works out cheaper to finance if you want a new car every 4 years) and enjoy a few abroad holidays per year (yes, we do like Dubai for the guarantee of weather, relatively short flight and quality of resorts (although we’re definitely not flashy Instagram types😂)). Our children go to private school and have had experiences that me and DH could only have dreamed of as kids.

We worked hard, got lucky and enjoy a lifestyle that we can afford. We don’t dress in tacky designer clothes (although we do have a few designer bags, belts, shoes between us), nor are we ‘flashy’.

But why is there so much snobbery towards this in the UK? Many people on super low incomes would talk about my situation negatively in a way that would suggest they would rather chose a lifestyle with a modest income and fewer luxuries because it’s almost embarrassing to want more than this. I see working class people use the phrase “money talks, wealth whispers” in reference to anything that looks like it might have been very obviously expensive. What do these people think that they would do if they all of a sudden had a super high income… just remain as they are as “money talks”?! Of course not. Yet they see no problem with the “old school” kind of wealth (country estates, kids at boarding school, muddy wellies etc etc).

It’s only in the UK that I think this attitude exists. In other countries it seems like such a positive thing to aim for a high flying career, to admit to wanting to earn as much money as possible, to discuss wanting to travel lavishly and experience lots of things. It’s actively encouraged. However in the UK, I think there is an attitude of mocking these kind of attitudes and suggesting people are shallow for aiming for this. I remember being at uni and telling a family friend that I wanted to buy a house in X area when I was older, only to be met with “is round here (a council estate) not good enough for you then?”.

Agreed Dubai is awful. I personally don't see the attraction

Yes, there are often "class" threads on MN and it is really surprising how some people can't dissociate class from money.

This

Its not about 'new money' its about the UK's general distaste for boasting or seeing to be boasting

However the UK also has an inverted snobbery for anyone who does well/is already well off. Lots of sneering about the well off, however they came to be, lots of sneering about people with money 'the rich', 'the wealthy'.

So your OP is quite muddled OP. But in any case shut up about your car and private schools, no one cares.

Its Benidorm for those who want to spend more money. Totally devoid of any culture whatsoever. Its for people with no interest other than vapid consumerism.

Well have you considered, then, that maybe it's the opposite! Maybe it is seen as rather more elegant to have it land in your lap and not have to work up a sweat for it!

Personally I think class and money are two separate concepts, too often conflated.

I'm not sure that people look down on new money but I do think the Brits (of which I am one) are not massively keen on ostentatious conspicuous consumption.

Nowadays, apart from aristos there isn't that much old money about. Most people today work for their salaries and if they inherit a bit from their parents, it is unlikely to make them overnight millionaires. So by that definition almost everyone is new money really.

Sounds to me like new money in this particular instance refers to the obvious display of wealth, and as a nation we tend not to appreciate that like some other countries do. It might be jealousy but I think it is just something we don't do that much. Remember Harry Enfield and "Loadsamoney" back in the day - that was taking the piss out of all the newly minted traders and barrow boys who splashed the cash. Pearl clutchers will consider conspicuous consumption "vulgar" and those without the funds to do so themselves will consider it "showing off". I think that is just our culture!

But that’s not about “new money”

Old money wouldn’t waste lots of money on something as mundane as a car. Splashing money on a car screams insecurity to me just as much as a logo-ed up ‘designer’ hoodie. The cliche that is a white Range Rover, fake tan and Botox lips. It’s just so sad.

I'm not sure that would be the case in the Netherlands.

Germanic and Scandinavian culture is generally much more egalitarian and bragging about achievements is not usually seen positively. Look up Law of Jante

I don't think it is true of Netherlands or Germanic countries either.

To be honest, I actually think the UK has one of the most evident "new money" type cultures - the Surrey McMansions, Botox etc. In that I think we follow the US rather than Europe.

Italy can have some fairly flashy clothing brands imo.

In my experience, having money earned from your own labour isn't frowned upon. What people can be a bit sneery about is flashing money about: Footballers' Wives-style fake plastic mansions, driving a white Bentley, designer handbags.... If someone just spends their money quietly on comfortable living, that's not a problem. Just stop showing off about it!

@Thecows , I drive a Kia Picanto. We do have one blow out holiday a year with BC flights long haul but try if we can to pay with AVIOS, usually we have a couple of other decent European holidays too but we are retired. I don’t buy designer anything but years ago my husband bought me a Rolex and a couple of nice diamond rings. Our house is lovely in my opinion with a gorgeous view over the Thames big but not massive. I doubt any of our friends are aware of the extent of our wealth it is insignificant in our relationships and is largely invested so that when we are old we can afford to pay for the care we need. I spent many years caring for my own parents and don’t want that for my children.
We do spend money on family times together with our sons, their lovely wives and our grandchildren making memories and I’m grateful to be able to afford that.

Do you wear the Rolex out?

I think there's definitely an air of snobbery about some of the disapproval. People who think of themselves as middle/upper class thinking people who had WC backgrounds should know their place and not dare to be richer than them.

I've never really understood people who sneer at those who've worked their way up rather than being privileged from birth. It ought to be seen as a good thing surely?

"New money" isn't frowned upon at all in the UK but conspicuous consumption certainly is, by some people at least.

The reasons for it, well, they go way back, the reasons tied up to some extent with the old class system, but also I suppose Protestantism, definitely an overall culture of understatement (you can see this in everything from comedy to military history), etc etc.

The kinds of consumption you're describing (Dubai, new cars, his and hers designer leather goods) aren't very traditionally British, regardless of whether it's being undertaken by a binman lottery winner or by landed gentry of many centuries' standing.

A lot of comments are "oh you were just lucky" , "many people work hard without the same results"

Blame the royals.

As long as we live in a country that celebrates and rewards a family solely for their lineage rather than merit or hard work, we will continue to perpetuate a class system. Off with their heads.

Spending a lot of money on flashy things, like cars, which depreciate as you say, is considered crass. It is typically only seen in 'new money'. People who come from wealth are comfortable with a reliable reasonable car. Dubai is also the height of crass and in my opinion, immoral, given their human rights record, especially for migrants women. I don't know why you would support such a place.

Some people I speak to defo don't seem to like the fact I left a graduate office job and am currently getting paid £360 a night to drive a concrete truck for five hours on HS2 (well, it was only just over three hours on 4/5 nights last week!).

People seem to see it as brainless work but they often don't factor in the risk elements. Working on live motorways and repeatedly joining the fast lane from a standstill in a slow moving truck can be a wee bit scary at times. Mess it up and you can end up in prison. Same with manoeuvring a top heavy truck offroad where a pothole can see you tipping over or doing tricky manoeuvres in confined spaces with builders extremely close to the truck as is often the case. And of course there's a lot to learn about the different mixes and how to manage them.

It's not just whether you can do it safely. It's whether you can still do it safely 13-14 hours into a long shift when you've been standing out in the pouring rain or subzero temps for hours. There's not really any room for error and you can legally work up to 15 hours and reduce your rest period to nine hours several times a week as required (which occasionally happens). Most professional couldn't imagine working a 9-5 and then being back at their desk at 2am ready to go for another 12-15 hours, yet alone doing a high risk activity.

Well, I absolutely agree with you about the depressing anachronism that is the RF, but in fact there are 'posher' families than theirs. Some aristos sneer about them as imported German johnny-come-latelies -- I remember discussion about how Diana's lineage was far more aristocratic than Charles'.

Let's start with the RF then eat all the rich x

Disclaimer: I'm an immigrant who's lived in the UK for more than 20 years, and this is only based on my observations versus other places I've lived.

The UK is still really class-conscious and there is a sizeable chunk of people who are resistant to people they perceive as trying to move out of their class - in all social classes. Suggestions that people are getting above themselves, don't think x/y/z is good enough for them, dared to move away from the local area, etc.

You see it across attitudes to social mobility and definitely to how people value education.

I had the joy of a days layover there once Enough for me. Mind you I don't do shopping or beaches

You raise some good points. Op talks about having just a few designer accessories, but these tend to have logos and are being worn all the time. Instead of buying a piece bc it's cool or beautiful and you love the style, you're buying a belt or bag that looks much the same as any other but has a logo.

Why do you want a car every 4 years? this is a bone of contention with my sibling. yes i have an expensive car, but it now will last until it goes - had it for 7 years already and hope to have it for many more. and yet sibling changes car every 3 years.

Not to mention who needs designer belts?