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Original poster

To think mumsnet posters must have a lot of £££

218 replies

TwoBabas · 09/10/2023 21:58

General observation from reading posts on here is that there seem to be an awful lot of posters claiming either themselves or their partners are eating salaries of 100k plus.

Now am I being very naive or are people over exaggerating their financial situations. What type of job would put you in that range? Doctor? Headteacher? Lawyer?

Most people I know are skrimping by and don't have a lot to piss in.

But then perhaps I'm living amongst the not so wealthy sector.

Are people telling the truth do you think?

OP posts:
TheBeesKnee · 09/10/2023 22:07

I think Mumsnet started out as a platform that attracted middle class women from London and the surrounding areas where high salaries are, if not normal, then common.

That aside, yes some people just go on the internet and lie.

I personally don't know a couple of people who are struggling, most are okay, just not thriving or saving loads.

Farfarfarfarfaraway · 09/10/2023 22:08

My husband earns £100k. Middle management, private sector.

LolaSmiles · 09/10/2023 22:11

It's a sort of selection bias. Most people are in the middle and are neither rich nor below the poverty line. They're probably not going to be sharing their finances online.

Just like relationships. The people in average happy marriages aren't the ones posting about their relationships on the internet.

pocketpairs · 09/10/2023 22:14

@Farfarfarfarfaraway

Average director salary at Deloitte is £135k, so very unusable for middle manager to earn £100k, unless it's a big corporation.

Zola1 · 09/10/2023 22:16

I also don't think that there are really so many women here who's 'DH is a VERY HIGH EARNER 100K+'.
like what are the chances that all of the women married to the top 5 percent of earners are posting here. I think no. At least some are internet fantasists.

Crazycrazylady · 09/10/2023 22:22

Mm I don't know. My dh earns around the 100k when you include his bonus . He is middle management in American multinational. 20 years experience . Would have been on 80 maybe ten years around but cost of living increases . Annual rises of 3/4 percent and it all adds up. I earn slightly less .
We're in ireland and while comfortably off are definitely not rich on what we earn after all the usual expenses .

LolaSmiles · 09/10/2023 22:23

like what are the chances that all of the women married to the top 5 percent of earners are posting here. I think no. At least some are internet fantasists.
Some of them probably also are absolutely stuffed full after consuming 3 grapes a day and they have 6ft+ tall teenagers eat 3,000 calories a day but are also underweight because of their super athleticism.
😂

laclochette · 09/10/2023 22:23

3% of people with a job in the UK overall earn £100k or more. So if you think about how many households have someone earning over that, it'll be a still higher percentage (not sure what tho, don't have that data to hand). Either way, small numbers, but not so small as to be invisible. Plus selection bias around Mumsnet demographic will be part of it, I'm sure, as @TheBeesKnee says.

underneaththeash · 09/10/2023 22:24

pocketpairs · 09/10/2023 22:14

@Farfarfarfarfaraway

Average director salary at Deloitte is £135k, so very unusable for middle manager to earn £100k, unless it's a big corporation.

It’s definitely much much more than that.

RachelGreensHair · 09/10/2023 22:25

It's all BS. I work with many people who earn over £100k and none of them hide behind sofas when their doorbell rings.

ReeseWitherfork · 09/10/2023 22:30

I just don’t think those of us on average or below average salaries feel the necessity or relevance of announcing it. Those earning over £100k clearly suffer from the same affliction that vegans do. I mean, on this thread alone, 2nd post in is someone announcing that their husband earns £100k when you didn’t ask for examples.

Goldmember · 09/10/2023 22:30

Don't step into style and beauty, £3k budget for handbags and £120+ for very average or fugly dresses.

You're in the majority OP, I don't know anyone earning over £100k other than my MD. But some people do and some of those are MN and want to discuss things relevant their lives. I'm very frugal so £3k bags are completely out of my range but I still enjoy the threads in a how the other half lives kind of way.

Torganer · 09/10/2023 22:33

You would also conclude that every woman of childbearing age and has an inkling to get pregnant pees on a stick all day long and puts pictures up to comment on.

The people who post on certain topics will have an affinity to the subject.

In my circle of friends, earnings are between £50k to £250k. All of us open our doors though. None of us have ever had a massive salad. 75% of the couples I know have had a miscarriage and have had a lot of support from this website. I don’t know any of my friends who have screamed in the Sistine Chapel, but if that had, they probably wouldn’t admit it.

Isometimeswonder · 09/10/2023 22:33

Crazycrazylady · 09/10/2023 22:22

Mm I don't know. My dh earns around the 100k when you include his bonus . He is middle management in American multinational. 20 years experience . Would have been on 80 maybe ten years around but cost of living increases . Annual rises of 3/4 percent and it all adds up. I earn slightly less .
We're in ireland and while comfortably off are definitely not rich on what we earn after all the usual expenses .

I know literally no-one who earns this.
You are more than comfortable if you have nearly £200 grand a year coming in!

Millybob · 09/10/2023 22:37

What I can't get over is that there's all these women in £100,000-plus jobs, with husbands earning similar, and yet they can't find anything more interesting to do than Mumsnet?
I'd be out at the theatre - opera - private views ... not wasting time flicking through here because there's nothing on telly.

Barnowlsandbluebells · 09/10/2023 22:37

Looking at posts across a wide variety of threads, I'm often surprised at how much debt and how little disposable income many posters have.....so essentially the exact opposite.

AutumnAuntie · 09/10/2023 22:39

My DH retired on 185k per year, I live in the South East and know lots of people on similar salaries.

Torganer · 09/10/2023 22:40

Millybob · 09/10/2023 22:37

What I can't get over is that there's all these women in £100,000-plus jobs, with husbands earning similar, and yet they can't find anything more interesting to do than Mumsnet?
I'd be out at the theatre - opera - private views ... not wasting time flicking through here because there's nothing on telly.

Well remember that nobody has grandparent support, so who is going to babysit the children when you’re out gallivanting! Or you have a terrible mother in law that you have to avoid at all costs. No wonder people want a bit of lighthearted relief in the evening!

plantingandpotting · 09/10/2023 22:41

@ReeseWitherfork OP did ask if they were being naive and wondered what kind of job puts you in that salary bracket.

The 2nd post answered that.

ActDottie · 09/10/2023 22:42

I think a lot of people exaggerate

KingsleyBorder · 09/10/2023 22:45

I’m not sure why the automatic assumption is that people are lying if they say they earn over 100k. Is it that you somehow feel that someone who has the capacity to earn that much would not waste their time posting online? Surely you must have noticed that Mumsnet tends to be a place where you will find well-written, articulate posts about a huge range of topics? It really is a cut above the likes of Netmums or Reddit in terms of quality of writing. So it can’t be that surprising that MN posters also earn a good living?

Also, don’t forget that many will have been working for well over a decade, so they are not in industries with high entry level salaries, it is something they have worked up to.

I think Justine Roberts was a management consultant or similar before founding MN, it’s not surprising that she attracted women of a similar educational/career background to the site.

Jellykat · 09/10/2023 22:48

Barnowlsandbluebells · 09/10/2023 22:37

Looking at posts across a wide variety of threads, I'm often surprised at how much debt and how little disposable income many posters have.....so essentially the exact opposite.

Agree, it depends which threads you venture into...
I never look at the S&B threads for instance, because the couple of times i initially did, the things linked to are fugly, including the expensive handbags!

KingsleyBorder · 09/10/2023 22:50

Millybob · 09/10/2023 22:37

What I can't get over is that there's all these women in £100,000-plus jobs, with husbands earning similar, and yet they can't find anything more interesting to do than Mumsnet?
I'd be out at the theatre - opera - private views ... not wasting time flicking through here because there's nothing on telly.

Do you think that earning a high salary somehow magically removes the need/desire to be at home to look after your children? Or cures tiredness? High paying jobs generally need you to be quite rested, not knackered after a night at the opera!

The ones out at the theatre and the opera every night are in your mega rich category, too rich to have to work at all and with live in nannies who get paid overtime to babysit in the evening.

Lesina · 09/10/2023 22:52

Our family income is slightly north of £100k. We live a pretty comfortable life. Not in the charter a yacht for a month territory but I don’t worry about bills/ food/ school trips and we go on holiday a few times per year. It’s not massively unusual.

TotalOverhaul · 09/10/2023 22:55

Crazycrazylady · 09/10/2023 22:22

Mm I don't know. My dh earns around the 100k when you include his bonus . He is middle management in American multinational. 20 years experience . Would have been on 80 maybe ten years around but cost of living increases . Annual rises of 3/4 percent and it all adds up. I earn slightly less .
We're in ireland and while comfortably off are definitely not rich on what we earn after all the usual expenses .

Between you, you earn almost 200k a year and you don't consider this rich? That utterly baffles me. It's rich!