To think that people with money really have no idea what life is like for the average person

[Increasinglydisillusionedwithlife]

Especially in the current climate. Those that are wealthy don't tend to be aware or understand?

I am degree education in a good job, which unfortunately doesn't really pay well, but it's a worthwhile occupation. Dh has worked his way up in a manual trade to a managerial role, we both work hard, but are still feeling the pinch and money is carefully accounted for the majority of the time. I am self employed and a few of my clients are very wealthy compared to the average, I don't know if they recognise this, but they are. One client sometimes doesn't pay properly and i'm left short, it's happened this week and now I stress as I have my child's clubs, kids events at the weekend etc to pay for. I'd allocated the money for these things. I feel too embarrassed to ask for the money (even though I shouldn't!) as I don't think it would even cross their mind that families live in this way and that waiting a week can sometimes mean I can't afford what I had planned, not always but sometimes

Is it just me? I feel that no matter how wealthy I became I hope that I would still recognise that we're not all the same and that we rely on our wages!

Yes - there is a blindness to others’ needs which comes from always having had plenty. My mother for example: hasn’t worked in a paid job for 50 years, always had enough money from her husband and thinks ‘well people are either working or receiving benefits so they should always have enough’. She has no sympathy or understanding for others because she’s never been short or in debt herself.
Another friend’s husband is very high-earning . She gave up her job to pursue a passion project and will do lengthy sm posts about ‘learning to fly’ the ‘risk’ she’s taken, the courage it took etc. She seems completely unaware that most people can’t take a day unpaid without feeling the pinch, let alone months and months.

Some people are just a-holes. I come from a poor background / area and these days work with high net worth individuals. Across all walks of life, some people are empathetic, some are not. You don't need to be strapped for cash yourself to empathize that others may be. So to answer your question - yes and no really. People not paying on time sucks and they are doing that not because they don't understand what it's like, but because they are bad people who don't care.

We'll all be rich! Rich, I tell you!

Said by the truly oblivious like it’s just that simple

No one thinks you sit on your arse. But you are too scared to ask for money that you are genuinely owed. What does that tell you?

You must see how your attitude has a direct effect to the money you earn?

Do you think a wealthy business owner would just brush off a tenner here and there? They wouldn’t.

Ping off an email now stating, £XX,00 is outstanding and no future appointments can be booked until it’s settled.

Ah yes. I'd wanted to go into a particular career it's basically impossible to do without literally years of unpaid or expenses-only internships. I remember saying to people in this profession 'but I can't do that, I need to pay rent' and all of the hiring managers etc saying 'if you want it enough, you'll find a way like I did' >> and then realizing their way was they lived in the family flat in notting hill or their parents paid their rent or they raided their trust fund a bit. Sigh. I never did break into that profession which is a shame as I'd have been really good at it.

You change the terms of your contract with clients (all of them) explaining that payment is now required in advance, not arrears, and non payment will mean the job will not be fulfilled until such time as payment is made. You then give the non paying client ONE chance, and after that you concentrate your time on finding a new client to fill the gap and explain that non payment has led you to cancel the contract.

I think it’s to do with a fundamental lack of understanding about what’s involved in running a business or being self employed. The more ‘white collar’ paye professions (banker, lawyer, doctor) are notoriously bad for paying their bills on time when it comes to services.
Ironically the poorer the area where there are more manual, self employed and gig workers the better they are at paying their bills.
At least this was my family’s experience of the last 50+ years in retail. Some things just never change.
That’s why so many people ask for payment up front now.

Never be embarrassed to chase a payment though. Start off nicely (‘I’m sure you’ve just forgotton’) and escalate from there).
Paying your bills on time is a basic aspect of human decency.

Yes. It’s quite refreshing when people are honest about it isn’t it. I met a barrister who said ‘I couldn’t have possibly afforded to go into this when I was single. But I married someone very wealthy and then I could go into it’. Fair play to her. But ‘if you really wanted it you would’… or ‘I’ve been so brave and look what I’ve achieved’… that rankles!

I overheard a conversation in rich part of London woman moaning her builder was taking so long and seem to be priotising other work. She said to her mate I know he won't walk off we own him 40K we were suposed to pay few months ago.

When we got windows done in last house we paid once it was done by bank transfer - less common at time and he had money immediatley. We had a few short jobs later on - he always come promptly as knew payment would be immediate.

It did hit me after hearing that some people do not make the obvious connections.

It likely they just don't care and are worried about their own cash flow issues.

Some like a Uni I worked for made a point of late payment till local bussiness black listed them.

You need to be blunt and ask till you get and threaten if nessaray - make sure your terms and conditions cover payment time frames and add interest in future.

Being in the position of running our own business for years, I make it a priority that, if someone has come to the house to do a job for me, I’ve paid them before they have even left the driveway. I did it before running my own company too tbh, I simply couldn’t behave any differently.

Simple you have too many outgoings.

Do you have a card machine which you can pull out and ask for payment there and then. I find everyone who does work in my home has one. So I pay there and then. Personally I like this as I hate owing anyone.

I say this without fear, favour, or bias. Why do people on low incomes have more children than they can afford, and then expect everyone else to pay for them?

It’s all relative. You’re complaining (quite rightly) about your clients not paying you on time and not understanding that money is budgeted for. They’re probably having similar thoughts about someone who is wealthier than them who isn’t paying the dividends they were hoping for on their investments so they can put a deposit down on a new car for Christmas and fly out to their favourite exotic location for some winter sun. While I’m thinking how lucky you are to have gone to uni and to have a worthwhile job you enjoy, rather than a job you hate, but do because it pays the bills.

I’m not saying you’re being unreasonable to be pissed off about it, because you aren’t, but if they’re not paying you straight away, I wonder whether some of that wealthy appearance is financed by credit cards and robbing Peter to pay Porsche.

Dump the non payers. Know your worth x

There was a poster saying of course there are jobs in DD1 super competitive sector her DD got one same degree- then mentioned all the paid for extra work experiences her DD went on.

Ours mentioned them to us but we couldn't afford to pay for - so she didn't do. She at home and looking to study further so long term has a shot still.

I think people will a lot of money forget what it is like. Someone who is a millionaire owes me just over £1k for something..and yes I'm a bit annoyed. This has just reminded me to remind them. People with a lot of wealth presume other people are similiar and have no cash flow issues.

Yes true, the larger the company the longer they take. It’s not unusual to see 90 day purchase orders from govt angencies and so on. Various reasons but normally just down to hanging on to cash for as long as possible (it’s often in short term investments to pick up interests), cash flow - maybe wages get paid before suppliers. Many medium sized companies exist month to month and can go on like that for years, with a bank overdraft propping it up.

Where margins are really tight it really is a balancing act to keep the show on the road.

It’s hardly surprising we’ve lost so many independent businesses.

You should not feel embarrassed about chasing up monies owed from clients. You have provided a service/done the work and the payment should be forthcoming. It's a business relationship - you are not doing them a favour, nor they you. Woman up!

Almost none of my family and friends come from generational wealth.
Some have done very well for themselves indeed and are quite wealthy to very wealthy.
All from working class backgrounds - fathers factory workers, mothers stay at home mums/shop workers.
My experience is the opposite of yours.

Yanbu op. I am employed but my ex H was self employed and I remember the stresses well so whenever I am paying invoices (personal or for work) I always pay them promptly

As someone who probably fits your description, I agree. While I know on paper that many people struggle with money, my circle is mostly people in similar circumstances as me, so it is easy to forget that not everyone is financially comfortable.

I try my best to always be mindful about this and never make others feel uncomfortable around me.

You need to get over your embarrassment about money.

20+ years back I worked in a company where I was dealing with high wealth clients. Some were massively wealthy (think rock stars) and others just had exceedingly well paid jobs. At one point we had a influx of work which meant we weren't keeping to our normal turn around time. I took a call from a bloke who was in a right strop and starting shouting down the phone at me for the poor service he was receiving.

And then he said "I know what your problem is! You're treating me badly as I only make £600k a year!!" I made a polite reply and sorted him out but I wanted to say something like " you "only" make £600k? well I'm a supervisor and get paid £20k so don't talk like you're so hard done by!"

Frankly it's a bit like being on here and someone grumbling that they can't make do with "only" some salary that I could only dream of getting.

As for embarrassment....I'm lucky I've got enough now to be comfortable but keep in mind that people need to be paid promptly. I mess up every once in a while and when someone sends me a meek reminder that I haven't paid something I thank them for telling me. Usually the reminder is accompanied with a "I'm really sorry but..." and I say "don't be sorry, you did the job and deserve to be paid, I'm sorry I messed up. Please always remind me if payment is slow."