Why do you think mumsnet has a more wealthy user base than average or do you think it’s full of bullshitters?

[Lurkinginthedarkness]

I’ve been reading mumsnet threads regularly for a while now and have noticed the userbase seems to be far wealthy than the general population, based on the income threads and also other little things that give that feel.
Obviously I’m not saying I think everyone is wealthier than average on here I’m personally a broke loser and I’m sure there’s others like me, but I’ve been blown away by the sheer amount of people saying they earn 60, 70, 80 or even 100k like it’s average.

I personally don’t think it’s full of bullshitters as there are other hints like the fact the spelling and grammar used on here is typically far superior to other sites like facebook and obviously you’re unlucky to have a brilliant job if you’re SPAG isn’t spot on.

Anyway I like mumsnet and have nothing against people being better off than me I’m just musing what do you think it is about mumsnet that attracts more wealthier people typically?

I have to be honest and say I dont think Ive seen this.

Is it ok to have a downstairs bathroom if you have several upstairs bathrooms too?! What are the guidelines ??

The downstairs bathrooms are for the hired help arent they?

I can’t imagine coming across, let alone joining a social media site that references parenting in its title when I was in my 10s or 20s. I only joined when my DC were getting to school age and so I was looking for advice - must have been in my mid to late 30s (and I was one of the younger ones in the cohort of reception mums).

This! I think it's full of trolls and bots or whatever. If you earn good money then you've probably got a good brain. If you've a good brain, you don't need mumsnet/strangers advice on life. The emotional intelligence and sensitivity levels are atrocious on here and the amount of 'go off sick' advice suggests that the vast majority of posters are not the brightest. I'd guess most are low/average earners with low/average levels of intelligence.

Both things can be true.

I had my first child at 16 and my other two children in my early twenties, tbh I can’t exactly remember how I stumbled upon mumsnet but i don’t think the first thread I ever read was even related to parenting

It definitely skews v well paid, highly educated middle class. We walk amongst you!!!! There are fucking loads of us in London.

It is nice to hear how people live, in towns and countryside, in suburbs, in all the nations of the UK. I like reading about how mums in their 30s parent now as it feels a bit different to when I was in my 30s. I like the fact mumsnet has at least a tiny bit of diversity.

It's really interesting to hear people saying "oh people must be bragging or pretending to earn 50,60,or 70k" or that nobody would call a child Ottilie. It makes me realise what a narrow life I lead!! In my parochial bubble all my friends have at least one degree. Almost all my closest friends of my age have professionalish jobs like editors, software developers, marketing consultants, pharma researchers, etc etc. Everyone would say they were middle class with middle class tastes, whatever they are.

I don't think I know anyone among my friend group who earns under 50k household income to my knowledge.

Nobody I know would call a child Lily-May, or not since 1896.

Nobody I know would treat the idea of private school with laughing incredulity - maybe a bit too pricey or not worth it, but nobody is shocked by the very idea of it.

It is a bit of an "NCT class" kind of demographic. Rather competitive, snobbish and boastful at times but ultimately a useful source of support.

Exactly this. I've just sent, to a woman who used to report into me, a role which pays between £450 to £525 per day asking if the rate is too low for her to consider. And that is because, in the line of work we do, typical rate for her level is north of £550pd.

As said, there's a big perception that you need to be a CEO / Director of a large organisation to earn, what's considered to be, a high salary.

The posters who confuse me are the “we earn 500k but would feel super stretched with a mortgage over 1k a month” 😆😆

In all honesty once you end up in a low paid job it isn't all that easy to get out of it. Take for example a shop assistant. You can usually advance to a supervisor but it probably means quite a lot more responsibility for 50p an hour more. If you work your way up to manager you earn more (a salary instead of an hourly rate) but the amount of hours you have to do mean you actually earn less per hour compared to when you were an assistant so it doesn't always seem worth it.

In my experience a lot of people are very good at selling themselves and assume they will learn a job once they start whereas others lack confidence and prefer to stay where they are or fear they will fail. In a cost of living crisis it is especially hard to jump jobs when you need every penny you can get. People make judgements too based on looks, accent, skin colour, disability etc.

Many people in low earning jobs don't actually know any high earners and are from families where nobody has gone to University. The jobs your parents do/did has a large amount of influence on you.

Ill health, caring issues etc play a part and some people who want a better paid job don't have the time to train for a better job as they have responsibilities elsewhere.

Lastly some people enjoy their lower paid jobs and don't see a need to climb the career ladder. They might have a better life balance and as long as the bills are paid they are happy.

Well I live on a council estate and my income is from benefits

People are more likely to post about extremes of wealth or poverty. I suspect most on here are middle-earners.

I think you are simply underestimating the vast size of the mumsnet user base.

How common do you think it is to drop out of uni and not tell your parents for months? I'd guess not that common but when a recent poster said her daughter had done that the thread was pages upon pages of people many of whom had a child that had done that or done it themselves.

I don't think the user base is rich or lying. It is vast.

If you see a thread title "How much do you save each month" / ehat is your disposable income people who are wealthy / saving savvy are going to click right though and talk about how they save ££££ each month but slso have ££££ disposable income. Generally people up to their eyeballs in debt are going to scroll on and not want to see it.

Similarly if the thread is "How much veg does your child eat in a week" the "my child gets their 30 a week" are much more likely to click through than a parent whose child lives exclusively on chicken nuggets.

Also every second post when someone asks about money or property is 'read the room' as if everyone is on their uppers and a penny away from the work house.

So while it might be predominately MC and wealthy or comfortable user base, there seems to be enough people trying to shut any discussion from those people down. I find it a very odd site from that perspective.

They don't have to go to university of course not. But even for those who don't go to university aren't there numerous and varied post 16 qualifications? Do none of them stick out?

I literally gave the disclaimer that it was a very quick estimation with lots of variables - age of retirement/type of investment etc., so that’s not quite the gotcha that you imagine it to be. 30000 is reasonable to live on and would be comfortable, but there would be compromises if your salary had been significantly above this - I think that’s why the guide is to have a percentage of your salary rather than a number. It’s reasonable to imagine if your salary was 30000, a pension of the same would be great for one person, but for two people earning 100000, their lifestyle would have to adjust.

I’m not sure what your downstairs bathroom has to do with it!

Well its either Billy bullshitters or ones who managed to blag a "high six figure salary" job while still talking absolute nonsensical tripe.

Or a mix.

The ones who shoehorn in they have a six figure salary on a thread about cheese or something equally nothing to do with actual earnings are definitely bullshitting.

I dont believe a single poster who says they are on mega money 🤷‍♀️

I'm in the last category.

Always wanted to be happy rather than rich.

I'm not commuting to London leaving the house at 6am/getting home at 8pm 5 days each week for all the tea in China.

I trot off to my care job happily and when I leave I don't usually think about it again until 5 minutes before I'm due back there.

Love spending as little time at work and as much time with my family as possible. Between me and my husband we need to earn enough for everything the family need and a bit of what we and the kids want and that's it. Both work part time. I always weigh up the benefit of what I need overtime money for/could buy versus time at work and not helping my family. Generally don't want any overtime and would rather cut my cloth instead.

Jesus, it wasnt a 'gotcha' at all, I was just chatting in line with your post, dont be so uppity

I dont have a downstairs bathroom, it was a joke.

Why are people so serious on here. Its so tiresome.

I see this comment a lot and I think it’s people skim over the ones who are average or below earning and their eyes pop out and they remember the higher earners,

on any thread about earnings, income etc, it is predominantly people who are average and below, in fact it’s a fairly similar split to the real world, as you’d expect.

i also don’t know why people are so focused on it, there’s like 10 Millon people on here.

the key thing people seem obsessed with is. Money, weight, theirs and other women’s, food , what they are eating and how much, and class.

You must live a very narrow life if you don't believe that anyone earns mega money. Of course they do! What do you call mega money? If you're talking a million or more then that will be of course be very few people, but I know plenty of people on 100 to 150k, and a couple of over 200k. If you're a professional person, doing well in your career, it's not unusual, and I'm not talking London or the SE either.

Honestly to me..as long as you're not on benefits long term and your make are self sufficient on your income. That's fine.