How much money would it take to make you feel rich?

[toastedbeagle]

Since being at home with DC2 I've not got a job to go back to... Despite my DH earning a very decent wedge I'm still putting baby clothes aside to sell on eBay and trawling charity shops. I just can't shake the feeling of needing to economise. Is there amount that you'd stop feeling like this at? If that makes sense?

A mortgage free house that I didn't need to move from would make me feel rich beyond my wildest dreams.

I'm not rich but have over a years expenditure squirrelled away. We don't plan to buy a house or do anything big with the money. We have a separate savings account where we put money in each month to spend on holidays.
I still buy second hand/look for best deals on everything/sell on unneeded items. I feel twitchy at the thought of touching it and feel good watching it grow... like a big safety net. I doubt there will be a day I regret saving money!

Hmmmm I have approximately £3k in savings. My 3 yr old daughter and 9m old son have more than that (grandparents gifts) in theirs. I think stopping work (temporarily, going for interviews now but so far no luck) has made me panic, about my lack of savings, effect on pension. I'm just acutely aware that a lot of my friends think I'm "really rich" but I feel quite vulnerable. My DH thinks I'm nuts.

Well, we have a very modest mortgage free house which is ace but our household income is less than £30k so things are tight enough as in we haven't really had a proper holiday in 6 years but to feel relieved, (I Rea
Ly do already feel 'rich' in life), I'd say £3million. I've had a load of stuff to ebay but trying to do the Marie kondo thing to get the house sorted as In never going to make enough money from ebaying the old stuff that
I can donate to a good cay anyway, so se're just waiting for a lottery win ;)

A mortgage free house.
Savings for DS to help him through uni and get a car.
Enough to buy clothes, shoes, household stuff whenever we need these things, without having to worry.
Enough for 2 or 3 weeks holiday every year.
About £5-6000 as a little nest egg for myself.

This year I've finally paid off every penny of my debts and have managed to save £1000. I feel immensely rich!

I look at all the people trying to move to Europe and feel rich.

Mortgage free home and enough of an income from a passive source (shares / a rental property) to cover all bills and food so we couldn't starve if both jobs were lost.

We earn £24,000 between us, we certainly don't feel poor, I won't say we feel rich, but I have never bought anything in charity shop or sold things on ebay or elsewhere we don't worry about money.
We never felt poor when I was a SAHM, DH is on the same £15,000 he was on then which was topped up to £19,000 with tax credits. We felt comfortable enough on that that I stayed at home for 9 years.
In the last year I have gone back to work so we do feel quite well off on our £24,000.
For comparison our mortgage is 600, council tax 104, utilities 120, car payments (combined) 200 all insurances combined 85.

I have a feeling I'm one of those People who never would. If this house were mortgage free I'd just get out another mortgage go buy a bigger one, I'm sure.

I think that if it is in your nature to look after the pennies and this is something you have always had to do then it is not easy to change that mindset even when your financial situation changes and you become better off.

I set up a business two years ago and have trebled my income (which was already pretty good). DH's income has also almost doubled. On paper we are certainly what I would have considered "rich" a few years back.

I still can't stop myself being careful with the money (although this is partly because I know that things could revert back to how they were very quickly if the business failed). In fact, I think I probably worry about it more now than I did before. Once the mortgage is paid off in the next couple of years I will hopefully be able to relax a bit more but I still can't see myself being happy to pay over the odds for anything.

Just £21000. would do it. In 18 months we will be. Throwing all we can at mortgage to pay it off. Our bills would go from £1800 a month to £500.
I understand your though howtorebuild

That's thoughts*

This thread seems more about confortable than rich to me. We have no mortgage, everything for the children is paid up, our pensions are well funded. We don't have to worry about money but are not extravagant. I don't feel rich. Nowadays I think rich is an 8 figure sum not a 7 figure sum. At least in London and the south east.

I really appreciate the little things - just being able to take DD for coffee and cake whenever we fancy.

At your age/stage I'd try and get some savings behind you, so I think you are wise to be economical. Is your DH's job recession proof? I think there is a high probability of a big financial crash in a few years soif I were you I'd try to build up savings to get through that, should it happen.

For me, with teenagers who will be off doing their own thing in the not too distant future, £1, 000,000 would mean I would never worry about money again, if Dh and i were careful with it.

It's all relative too. I am from a working class background, council estate etc. I therefore feel well off on less than my BF who had ponies and weekly shopping trips/meals out growing up. She is happy with her beautiful house but it's a step down for her. My similar sized house is a big step up for me.

I agree ripeningapples that doing those little things without having to worry about money is what I appreciate.

We are relatively rich I think. Home worth 600k mortgage free, 120k in the bank between us, savings for both kids with savings accounts set up by in laws too (they will have at least 50k each at 18). We have very ordinary jobs though and are incredibly frugal. I shop in charity shops, rarely get hair cut and don't spend money on make-up etc. However, when I want to spend money I don't really have to think about it. I don't have a pension though.

I grew up incredibly poor and had to work super hard for everything. I worked full time through degree and masters and bought first house when very young when peers were having fun and not worrying about stability in the way that I did having grown up in a council house with no money.

I know times are tough for a lot of people and never take being comfortably off for granted. We're not showy and drive an old second hand car and certainly don't appear well off!

We were exactly like you, things change as you go along.
We're not rich but comfortable.
Owe £20k on a large house.
Own a rental property outright.
I work p/time and can afford to give up anytime.
We have savings, good pensions (to retire early) and investments.
Never had to have car finance or borrow for anything.
2 to 3 holidays a year (mostly abroad, but now exploring the UK more)
We go to lots of festivals, gigs, days out.
We go out every weekend for drinks, meals etc.
Dc have deposits for their first house (from relatives)
Still like charity shopping.

To feel rich I think all the above plus having £500k in cash in the bank would do it. It would give us enough for DH to pack up when he felt like it, in other words more freedom and to be able to help family out in emergencies, but I suspect our lifestyle wouldn't change much.

I work part time too and had the luxury of being able to wait for an interesting job to me along after taking a short maternity break. I had that panic too OP when I stopped working to look after the kids for a couple of years. You'll find something soon.

I volunteered half a day a week for the two years I took out of the workplace and I think that really helped.

There's no point putting amounts as we're overseas, but:

• Pay off the mortgages (1x 2-bed flat for me and DD, 1x 2-bed flat currently rented but for DD when grown up, no urge to upscale. Both mortgages less than 50%)

• Replace car (19 years old, have had it for 9 years, small Fiesta-sized car and prefer public transport when possible)

• 6 months savings at current income

• sufficient investments to provide 2/3 current income (to be added to rental income from flat 2 to provide sufficient income to live on if necessary)

• cost of 1x trip to UK for me and DD per year, flights and 2-3 weeks costs while being able to stay with friends relatives, plus 1x week-long B&B-type holiday here, plus occasional weekend camping/B&B

If I had a cash windfall that covered the mortgages, then within a year I could replace car & do a UK trip (the first in over 3 years, and elderly parents live there).

Year 2 would cover the 6-months savings and trips/holidays.

Year 3 would cover trips/holidays and start to build up the investment - would probably take about 20 years...

But as so many people here live in shacks, don't have a toilet/clean running water, don't always have enough to eat, actually I feel fairly well off most of the time. But having been made redundant a couple of times (during DDs lifetime, so more than just myself to worry about), there is a constant niggle of wanting a safety net.

PS car before savings because it is costing so much to keep it running...

To feel rich I would have to own my house outright and have £1m in the bank.

Less than that would be well-off/comfortable, but I would still feel vulnerable to sudden income loss for whatever reason.

To be 'rich' I'd say I'd need to own my home outright, though as I currently rent unless I win the lottery thats a way off!

If I did have my home mortgage / rent free I'd be 1k a month (ish) better off, so far more able to save for emergencies and have holidays. I don't have an OH but save around £200 a month (plus pension). I only put a little into the DC bank accounts, but I do it regularly. I'd love to be able to up that to £100 plus a month each, plus increase my pension amounts, then still save an extra £500 a month - that would feel amazing! Would be well enough off that if I wanted or needed something for the house I could just get it.

If property prices in Londin fall we could soon be much worse off. Bought house for half of what it's now worth....