Couple on £200k claim to be skint...

[acatcalledjohn]

Sometimes I just want the world to stop turning so I can jump off...

Link Apologies for linking you to The Sun

How is this possible? They clear at least 9k a month after tax and bought their house for just over £200k 16 years ago. They have £31k in bonds. My DP, on his own, bought a property just shy of £220k a few years ago on a salary of approx. £35k. No debt, lives within his means and as a result very comfortably too. FWIW, this is in the home counties, which are not all that far behind London in terms of living cost.

I can't help but think that, if their finances were dissected, they will be found to be throwing away money for no good reason.

Their claims of being 'middle earners' is a slap in the face for those genuinely struggling on £20k a year.

Perhaps we should start an appeal ?

They send their kids to privateschool, their choice.

TBF to the Sun and the Fail this thing actually started in the FT: www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d6f1e58e-20c9-11e6-aa98-db1e01fabc0c.html?siteedition=uk

I am struggling to see where their money goes, unless we are talking about a child with very complex care needs, a history of debt or an elderly relative somewhere who is costing them money.

I read that article earlier today. My heart bleeds for them. Poor little poppets who can't figure out how to live within their (very considerable) means.

Reading the article you can tell she's just a goady bitch trying to get attention and piss people off. With any luck their employers will see what self entitled wastes of oxygen these people are and sack them. The they will know what struggling really means.

Then

Our household combined income is less than half of theirs. We're not struggling at all.

We live in a smaller, cheaper house and don't send our kids to private school.

I bet housing and schooling aren't their only extravagances. I bet they spend more than we do on stuff like holidays, clothes, wine, food.....it all adds up.

Have a cheap house, state schools, go camping, buy your clothes in Tesco and voila you'd be minted in 200k a year. I know they live in London but if their house is worth 700k im sure they could move to a cheaper area and get a house for 500k and then they have no mortgage or 200k in the bank!

She is fucking delusional. Articles like this make my blood boil. We live in London on a much much lower salary than that and are comfortable.

The sun journalist is crap at maths, 16 years later not 6!
Although the scum never could get their facts right!

That's 4x our joint salaries 😡

Pipedream for many!

I want to slap her in the hope it will re-jig those brain cells.

I'd love to see a breakdown of their monthly spend. I can imagine plenty of meals out, designer tastes, multiple holidays abroad...

Sorry it's 5x!

Simin,they have approx half a mill in equity in their house

Sorry, that reads as if I am lecturing you. I'm not! Just the sheer shock at the equity and I wholeheartedly agree with you!

I know. They obviously bought their house before prices rocketed. I feel more sorry for people living in London who haven't yet got on the property ladder. Not people who managed to buy a house for 200k.

While it at first seems ridiculous, is it possible that their high salaries are only possible when accompanied by high outgoings (city salary = city home, nanny etc)? It does mention school fees though which aren't necessary but if they were privately educated and that helped to boost a career with a good salary then they'd want the same for their children?

That said, they are definitely not "squeezed middle" and there must be some financial mismanagement there.

and then made a fucking killing

and then made a fucking killing

Bless em. Thick as mince.

Maybe stop paying for private schools then. And heaven knows what else they're frittering it on.

The value of the house is rather irrelevant. My house is worth much more than we paid for it 12 years ago. It's hardly a mansion - just a 4-bed box, really - but we couldn't afford to buy it now, and to realise any of the equity we'd have to downsize to a shed. Their house is worth £700K but it ain't all that from the photo in the article. If you extend that logic then there are people who earn £25K or even nothing who should leave their homes to realise the equity in them.

While it at first seems ridiculous, is it possible that their high salaries are only possible when accompanied by high outgoings (city salary = city home, nanny etc)?

I'm not sure. They live in Croydon apparently, and with all due respect to the people of Croydon, it doesn't scream "city lifestyle". How they are pissing away £9,500 after tax (by my rough calculation) is very difficult to understand.

They have one 4 yo DD, according to the FT. So they haven't really started on school fees yet

If they bought the house for £200,000 and it's now worth £700k, their mortgage payments must be £500 or less on any decent rate. Unless they've released loads of equity. But why would they? I'm genuinely baffled.

bloody hell
also I note she mentions something about "lifestyle" so she probably thinks things like £40 haircuts are "essentials".

I don't think of people like this as the middle, does anyone else? £200k combined income? That's really very high earnings indeed.

£40 haircuts doesn't sound that ridiculous. I live in the midlands and a standard haircut in a city centre would be about £30-40.