What is your household income/ lifestyle

[Lockdown12]

What is your household income and what lifestyle do you manage to have on it?

Do you have children? Own your own house? Go on holiday? Go out for meals?

I don't have children yet but am interested about how the financial situation might change when we hopefully do!

I am always amazed how much people spend on clothes, eating out (2 or 3 times a week leaves me ), personal grooming, cars. Not to mention the dreaded school fees. You can burn a lot of money that way.

We have a high income finance and IT (>£200k) but I have a 19 year old car, my DH has small golf. Until we moved recently no one would have known by looking at us

We do spend on travel, and now have a big house, but still don’t spend what we earn.

I should also add I’m often shocked at how little people put in their pension. Often current spending is disproportionate to what needs saving.

If they know your jobs, they’d be pretty naive to think you don’t want six figure

Most don’t.
We literally stick to this, where possible-

If anyone asks about what my husband and I do, I say “I work in HR and he works in a bank” so I don’t think people think of us as high earners at all

My family are wealthy but I’m the first to work in ”business” rather than the family business so, while my family would know we’re comfortable, they wouldn’t have a clue of the extent of our income.
Both my ILs were teachers (both long gone now) and made a few comments over the years about how much people earn and they were astonished at salaries of £60k+ needed to service mortgages at a particular level, so I think they had no clue what we were earning.

For holidays, we’ll stay in 5* hotels or book amazing villas etc but, to anyone else, we’ve just did two weeks in Italy like lots of people do.

I’m not saying we’re walking around in holed shoes or anything- based on my car, clothes, and address, I don’t think anyone would think I’m poor, if they were to think about it, we just don’t really reveal too much to people.

Your husband with bonuses I’d presume seven figures

Possibly for London or maybe New York or Hong Kong or Dubai but not where we live (mid-sized European city). He’s well paid but certainly nowhere near seven figures.

Bristol, people just have different priorities. I don't often eat out because I prefer the food at home but I wanted my 5 children to go to private school from 3 - 18 and not have student loans so they would be in the same position I and my siblings were in.

On pensions average date of death of women in my family is 66 (although my mother made it to 75) and my father worked until he died just about as will I (as I work for myself) so I chose to cash out my pension at 55 years old as I wanted the children to have that money for housing, do not trust the state an inch on pensions. HMRC got about a third of it (45% of 75% of the pot) so I suppose that was a massive gift by me to the state too (lucky state). once I have helped the younger student age children with a first property in the same way I will probably be able to save up a bit of money in case I fall on hard times later and live to 110 or something., I am not worried. I have modest needs and if times were hard i could sell the house

On the pension thing - some people don’t pay in a lot due to other reasons

They may have other plans for retirement lucky multiple property or other investments

History has repeated itself where thousands can be wiped out of a pension pot over night due to things going on in the world so it’s not a secure form of saving as people may like to think

I should have said ‘Retirement Capital’ rather than ‘just’ pensions. Doesn’t matter where it is, or what it looks like, but capital that can support a household. Property is just as valid, no issue with that.

Xenia as a high earner school fees may have been realistic for you, but for many they are a real drain on finances that realistically can’t support the expense. No capital behind them, but 10’s of K going out each month. People tend to live longer than they think.

Investments always go up and down, nothing has been ‘wiped out/off values unless you’re a forced seller.

@Theeighthelephant that's uncalled for and mean.

Yes agreed, strangest insult I’ve seen on here in a while

People can just not read me if they want not to - I just wanted them to be aware I choose to pay hundreds of thousands of tax on my pension fund at age 55. Some people think the self employed pay no tax and evade or avoid it but in fact a lot of us pay more take than more. However I will not await a medal from Keir S for my services to the socialist cause of big tax revenues..... and perhaps better HMRC get al that money than I do in my old age. Perhaps HMRC will spend it better and clearly it is needed now to fund furlough anyway,

@Theeighthelephant

You Odd Bod! When I read posts like that - my first thought? Bloody hell I hope that Poster doesn’t have children to pass on ignorant daft judgements

@Lockdown12your targeted abuse of Xenia today is quite vile, and pathetic.
You’re obviously struggling with something at the moment, but Xenia isn’t the cause of your issues.

I enjoy Xenia's posts , regardless of whether I agree or not and I have never in all the years I have been on mumsnet, seen her personally attack someone else.

However I will not await a medal

Although you clearly think you deserve one.

I enjoy Xenia's posts , regardless of whether I agree or not and I have never in all the years I have been on mumsnet, seen her personally attack someone else.

Just whole groups of people.

@Lockdown12your targeted abuse of Xenia today is quite vile, and pathetic.
You’re obviously struggling with something at the moment, but Xenia isn’t the cause of your issues

I haven't said anything???

@Lockdown12 My unreserved apologies. Meant to tag @Theeighthelephant in for that message and not you.

Very sorry about that

The figures on this thread are mindblowing.

I don't mind if posts stay up actually. I cannot even remember what it said now.

On pensions I agree that far few women think about income in retirement and plenty end up in poverty as a result. It is just in my case I am not a huge fan -I was when I was in my 30s and I managed the shares in my SIPP but I lost faith in pensions and also I never had an employer contribution ever and I work for myself and various other reasons.

There are also some regional and class issues with pensions. One reason the average death age is 66 of women in my family over the last 100 years will be because of coming from a NE of England mining etc family. It willbe interesting to see now that I don't like that life if my own life expectancy exeeds my mother's age 75 at date of death. My father put lots of spare money into pensions all his life, worked full time to 77 paying 40% tax on all the pension income including state pension income and died at 79 so did not exactly get a great deal out of all those pension contributions nor his NHS doctor's pension.

@Xenia

The pension rules have changed for the more standard SIPP style pensions. You can leave them, 100% tax free, outside of your estate (no IHT) to anyone you fancy - clearly spouse and kids is the norm. If you die over 75 they are still 100% tax free on transfer to the beneficiary, but the beneficiary pays tax at their marginal rate as they withdraw the money.

A very good tax planning opportunity now

I won't put salary amounts as it is meaningless without knowing how much deductions are etc.

But we are a family of 2 adults 1 child, 1 dog.

2 full time salaries and a small amount of child maintenance bring in a net of £4231 pcm. Sometimes we have more per month due to overtime but I don't consider this monthly as it is not guaranteed.

Currently only 2k in savings as we spent them getting married and putting a new bathroom in.

Both pay into decent pension schemes, he has a big pot in his, mine is more sparse after mat leave then being part time for years.

We have a 3 bed semi doer upper house in need of A LOT of work that we try and do bit by bit very slowly.

Our mortgage will be paid off in 5 years from now as we massively overpay it as that is our main financial priority.

We run 2 vehicles, one 10 yrs old and one 16 yrs old both are needed but we don't spend a great deal on petrol.

Overall we don't feel well off but never overstretch ourselves we are quite sensible with spending and know that we are in a hugely privileged position compared to most.

inthen, I know bt the trouble is most of my children pay 40% tax plus and they would want the money out immediately I die so that change has not really helped this family and secondly I wanted to help them now buy a property in their 20s rather than later. I was 22 when my daughter was born so we don't quite have the age gap some parents do so for us that change was not very helpful. Also I am afraid I don't trust the state one inch on pensions as htey have changed the rules again and again - even over the SIPP I could originally withdraw it at 50 and then it was 55 (and it's going up to age 57). I was also worried the 25% tax free lump sum might disappear too so I took the money and ran when I turned 50. That will not be the right decision for most people who will not be higher rate tax payers working until they die however.

An eye opening thread, wow, some of the salaries here.
I took early retirement age 59 a year or so back, so figures now are:
Nhs pension 435pm, rental income from (at present but bought to live in ourselves in a few years time) south coast flat 425pm, but we don't spend more than 20% of that, rest saved for maintenance expenses and mortgage, 25% pension lump sum cleared our mortgage on our house and this August wife gets her state pension will give us about 1100 pm income without spending rental income. We decided for health reasons to spend the worst winter months on the Costa del Sol (worked this year as we both had covid19 but not badly) but should be able to do this now on income alone this coming winter if we're allowed) and thanks to wife's inheritance we have modest savings. We do live cheaply but nicely by not buying crap and searching out savings.....which we really enjoy, sort of getting one over the powers that be, sort of thing. Cars long since paid for and I'm handy with tools (my weakness, I have shedloads of tools) so running costs are cheap. We have an old (70s) sailing boat which costs a bit in mooring fees, but love a day on the boat. We eat for about 180ish pm but go to Wetherspoon's once a week as it's good value...really missing that. Meal deal once a month, phones paid for and on cheap sim only deals, no sky or any of that shite but thinking about Netflix......ho, ho, been thinking about that for 3 years now, what does everyone else think( :-) ).