to wonder if mumsnet is a haven for very well off and slightly blinkered individuals.....?

[preparetobeflayed]

Obviously I have changed my name on this thread as I am prepared for the onslaught.....

Threads about Boden, how sad they are that their jumper from Boden has been pilling, 'oh woe is me my nanny has called in sick', 'I am hard up now the tax band has increased (although I am still earning £170,000....

Where are the rest of the population who reflect most of the parents I meet. I also wonder whether some people are able to look around and see what else is happening in the world....?

(Just having a bit of a rant about some of the other threads I guess......

I don't think that there are any more posts from rich mumsnetters than there are from poor ones.

And it is entirely possible that someone with a mega pay packet can be sorely affected by tax increases. Just because you earn a packet doesn't mean that you don't have money troubles like everyone else.

Of course it is not in the same boat as someone who is utterly skint not being able to afford groceries this week, however is is a real concern for the poster and people shouldn't wade in saying 'count your blessings' or whaveter.

YABU.

You've just been looking at the wrong threads.

YABU

It is one of the things I like about MN, a sneaky snap shot into other peoples lives.

Well let's face it you have to be earning a fair whack to employ a nanny. Most of us can't afford to pay a Nanny.

I a peasant.
My 3 kids go to the local schools.
We shop at Primark and Lidl.
So yes YABU (and wrong).

"Just because you earn a packet doesn't mean that you don't have money troubles like everyone else."

Eh?!?

To the OP:

You clearly only see one small section of the rich tapestry that is Mumsnet.

We come in all financial sizes and shapes. From the hard up, the hard done by and the Hard Cash variety.

If you look closely, and not necessarily just on the threads with highest number of replies in active convos, you will find a multitude of different threads.

just because people shop at boden/waitrose doesn't make them well off.

Peple have different priorities, and some will go without one thing so they can have another.

But tbh I tend to find more that people are shot down for daring to earn a decent salary. There is very much an attitude on mn that if you're not living on the poverty line then you should just shut up and be grateful.

Budgeting is like Dieting.

Just like this morning I did not drink orange juice because I am "saving up" to a M&S organic Scottish Shortbread for my cuppa later on!

''there are lots of fab people and some not so fab''
Yup, like any sector of society and that is nowt to do with wealth or otherwise.

And just because someone's life situation is vastly different to yours, doesn't make them blinkered.
The poster complaining about the tax implications of having earnings of over £150,00 is entitled to post and have a thread and be able to whinge a little about her situation, surely? You might privately think ''my, I wish i had her problems'' but we know nothing about her life in reality.

I love reading about different people's situations and learning about all manner of different lifestyles, cultures and that fact that, for example, regardless of creed, colour and class, an astounding number of us all seem to believe there are monsters under the bd or in our wardrobes....

[Disclaimer: I have a pair of Boden trousers bought in sales. It nestles very happily in my wardrobe next to the H&M, Oxfam, Shelter, Monsoon, Save-the-Children and George at Asda stuff.....]

Greensleaves - eh??

Eh??!! What's not to understand?

I mean to say that if someone is earning £100,000 or whatever it still could mean that they have money issues, large outgoings, tax bills to worry about, school fees etc. And any reduction in that income could affect their life.

I did say that it is not on par with being poverty stricken. I am not equating not being able to afford school fees with being made redundant and being unable to pay your rent. But it is still a valid problem.

FWIW I am absolutely not wealthy and do not have a large wage (I wish).

My friend could not cough up the money to have her swimming pool cleaned last summer. She was devastated at having hit hard times.

gs, of course someone earning a packet can have financial problems. It's called living to your means. The difference though is that someone earning a decent wage chooses to live to their means whereas someone earning minimum wage has no choice.

But people earning decent money do get into debt/other financial difficulties. Sometimes it is because they have no financial sense and don't budget properly, sometimes it's because they live to their means then end up having a pay cut for whatever reason and can't keep up the lifestyle, but money does not solve all.

No, I don't think private school fees and insurance on your third car is AT ALL in the same universe as having to decide whether to buy decent food or put the heating on for a few hours in the winter. It's laughable to call these "money worries". It's greed, pure and simple.

you don't need to be earning a large whack to have a nanny. There are lots of different options, nanny share, live out, part time etc.
You can use tax credits/ childcare vouchers as well.

I have come to apologise.

I feel crap today and shouldn't have been so stroppy.

Sorry.

actually I think that not being able to afford school fees is a real issue. Because while people do make the choice to send their children to private school, if they are then unable to continue to do so, that does have an impact on the children if you have to move them.

I agree that the priorities are different. But equally I know people who claim to be on a lower income who seem to be able to find the money to smoke 20 a day or afford to belong to the most expensive health club in town. I have little sympathy with them either.

I think OP is missing huge swathes of MN people. The boden-type threads are few and far between. And anyway - a lighthearted thread about a jumper - why is that wrong? It doesn't all have to be serious all the time.

You are being very selective and blinkered.

I could very easily sit on here all day saying
'how can you worry about your child being on X reading level when my son has severe LD's - you are so smug and self absorbed'
or
'oh hark at you complaining about your fathers annoying habits - at least your dad is alive - you are so blinkered and selfish'
etc etc

If you exclude the trivial then you loose the richness of the site. And if you think people who have money therefore have perfect lives then you are an idiot.
I have been rich and i have been poor. And whilst being wealthy takes away many many problems not one of the tragedies in my life was negated by having cash.

People should be able to talk about their problems big and small.If you have a problem with certain topics then avoid them.

Well one of the reasons I like Mumsnet is that it is a window into the lives of other people whom you would probably never meet in RL. I can honestly say it's made me a better person as I think now before I pass comment / judge as through many years ib mumsnet I have a better understanding of how most people live rather than just my own circle of high-earning professional Londoners.

haven't read the rest of the reponses - but I can 100% guarantee that I don't fit any of the things you said in your OP.

I find MN to be a good all round place - there's those that are doing very well financially, there are those that are struggling badly, and there are those that sit in the middle and everywhere between.

Makes for some fascinating threads

God that sounded stern

Sorry

Just a sore subject for me. Apologies.

actually pag I was going to say well said