Oh how my heart bleeds!

[MarioandLuigi]

the Nouveau poor

Hmm

That should be

Think I'm just bog standard poor!
We earn about half of what these nouveux poor earn. They are still sending their child to private school as a priority. That is their choice but at least they have that choice. Our priority is bills and mortgage [on small terrace]. Unexpected bills eg for our old banger put us close to the edge. We will do one holiday - a chalet at the seaside which for my 2 boys is something to look forward to.

it's true though - we have a joint income of around £70 k and it isn't really that much. I suppose it depends on what you get used to.

Nouveau .
Perhaps if I had been to the right school.......

My friend fits that category to a tee/T/tea (which is it?!)

She is always moaning about not having enough, and not being entitled to benefits. And that I get my degree for free (OU funding)

She claims that because her outgoings are soooo high she should get help. Not essential outgoings like rent and childcare, just Buying wine Stuff.

Erm no dearie it doesnt work that way!

We are pretty poor tbh - even before DH got a prolapsed disc (he's been off work since Sept and we are now applying for ESA) he was only earning 17k. Things are tougher now, but we still don't really feel poor iyswim - we live within our means. We don't have a car, don't drink or smoke or go out much, we go for bargains and get cheap food.

BTW I don't mean to sound like I resent what she and her dp earn - good on them I say. It just bugs me that she complains of having no money, when what she actually means is that she's spent all her disposable income. The two are very different!

Still going to have a glass of wine tonight so it ain't all bad... priority!! .
However shop around for cheap but ok stuff!
I do see what you mean FriedEggy.. I try and get hand me downs for kids [ask sometimes!] and buy my clothes from shops like Tescos. Like you say Eggy its cutting your cloth etc. However does feel tough sometimes...

Sorry but I have no sympathy.

I could probably put myself in this category - making cut backs as things get more expensive. But in no way shape or form do I consider myself poor.

Our joint net income is around £3,700 a month, and out of that we pay our mortgage, utility bills of around £100, insurance, council tax of £112 a month and childcare. Once we have paid for food and petrol it?s nearly all gone.

They say that the mortgage is £1000, and they pay £500 for childcare, taking all those things it still leaves them with £1988 a month for food and petrol, which is more than DH's take home pay.

Oh God I knew I'd regret reading that, some people have no idea at all how lucky they are!!!!!

The woman who sacrificed her £100 a month cleaner? Ah the poor little poppet.
Not a blinking mention of the poor cleaner who has lost a no doubt huge amount of her income.

My personal favourite twatty quote

I no longer buy my groceries in Waitrose. I shop at cut-price supermarkets instead. We live in quite a posh area of Colchester and a new Aldi has just opened alongside the Aga shop and designer kitchen showrooms, which I think is a sign of the times

No sweetie, REAL poverty is a sign of these times-you know nothing [seething]

That first family earn £3,700 net

£1000 mortgage
£500 childcare
£100 utilities
£113 council tax
£120 petrol
? Insurance (can't be that much £100 max)

That leaves £1,700 for food and everything else and she is buying 10p beans? That's nearly our net income what they have left and we still buy Heinz!

It's very easy to sneer - especially given the way that the Daily Mail writes these stories.

But it is a real issue. If you earn salaries like they do, then your outgoings increase. You take out a larger mortgage for a start, and if you have a larger house then your bills will be larger..

My income has dropped by 50% this year, which means I can't afford to contribute my half of our monthly outgoings to our joint account. Thankfully DH can still cover this with his salary, but the loss of income overall means that we've had to decide not to have a holiday this year.

Yes, some people never have a holiday, blah blah blah - but that doesn't detract from how horrible it is to lose that amount of income.

Before you rush in to condemn people, just take a bit of time to think about their situation, eh?

Does school fees come out of that figure ... a priority for them unless I read wrong.

Oh, and by the way, I would actually never describe myself as poor. I do realise that we are very lucky.

The school fees were a priority for the second family, who dont give figures.

Where is she getting chopped tomatoes for 18p that is cheap!

Because, I can understand their situation being in a similar one myself. I've been thinking about moving to a cheaper area to save on mortgage costs, we're careful with groceries, kept heating on low in winter etc etc.

I find it hard but I know, having grown up in a poor single mother household where I didn't always have the bus fare for school, that I am not poor now.

Exactly SGM.

They don't have to have a large mortgage though, it's not compulsory.

Mmm that budget breakdown does not add up. As for mortgages I guess they may have equity in their house. We have thought about renting though clearing our loft of junk would be a nightmare! Am aware that we are looking over our shoulders re redundancies. Pay frozen but at least in employment. I do find it hard to be sympathetic on those figures!

No, of course you don't have to have a large mortgage. But it is generally the case that as your income increases, so do your outgoings - because you can afford more.

Why is it so hard to be sympathetic? It's irrelevant what their actual income is, it's the proportionate drop that makes their lives difficult.

(Please remember to divorce their situation from the DM reporting of it!)

Not hugely sympathetic here, DH and I are on about £54K between us and consider ourselves very well off. We run one 10yo car, have a smallish 3 bedroom semi, shop at Tesco and the like and buy books, DVDs etc. in charity shops (then give them back when read/viewed). Old-fashioned TV, old fittings in house but everything works and no credit card debt. We manage to save a little bit too. Life's all about adjusting your expectations and enjoying what you have. A daytrip to the coast - great, but so can a day in the garden with a homecooked BBQ be. We are well aware that there are loads of people living on half our income or less and we have absolutely no right to moan.

pointybunnyears - I suggest that you read the linked article again. they are adjusting their expectations - they are selling their house, they've got rid of their car, they are spending less.

Why not have some sympathy for them?

It's the Daily Mail who is labelling them 'nouveau pauvre'.