Upper class habits to stay rich

[publicsectorlife]

What habits do the upper class have to stay wealthy? What would they never buy that they would consider a waste of money?

Our household income is very good. But yet we seem to be haemorrhaging money with high mortgage, commuting and childcare costs.

But yet our friends with generational wealth (ie small mortgage) seem to be living such a different lifestyle with about 6 holidays a year.

We can’t do much about having no inherited wealth but I think we must be missing a trick.

@Aintnosunshinenowitsgone my point was a general one. HNWs individuals ime do tend to as much as possible to limit their tax liabilities & often resent taxes.

I think this is true. I guess they don't actually need very many of the services taxes provide (and are, rightly or wrongly, exempt from receiving some of them) so to them it's just a sort of forced charity.

Also, the attitude in this thread that people with lots of money must have just been very hard working and sensible - and that it's just a small incidental fact that they got given a load of it - is almost universally shared by people with lots of money themselves. Why should they pay for people who weren't canny enough to be born into a wealthy family?

Ive noticed people with alot money are as tight as a fishes hole. Loathed to part with it, complain about prices....
Take but dont give.
Perhaps ive just encountered awful people

I don’t think you understand how lending and investing work.

Your DC won't need childcare forever. Wealthy people often set up trust funds for their DC or buy them houses.

This is true
A boy in my DD school year started a Business aged 15 and did really well and Kudos to him but his wealthy parents gave him the original startup money and he wasn't worried about paying a mortgage or anything else. He could afford to take risks
Many very wealthy business people come from money in the first place

UC people generally aren’t producing children young and/or out of wedlock. Becoming a parent before one has established education, career, good habits, a savings/investment plan and a stable, time-tested relationship is often a one-way ticket to a life of financial struggle.

Many very wealthy business people come from money in the first place

It's having a safety net.

Yes, there’s definitely downward social mobility. So many people who enjoyed a large house, private education etc. as children cannot replicate that lifestyle for their own children due to their choice of career and due to COL/stagnant wages in the UK. I know a few people who had a privileged upbringing who were encouraged to ‘follow their dreams’ career wise who are now impoverished. An acquaintance who went to a very expensive school wanted to become a professional dancer, went to dance school etc. but ultimately failed at her dream and is now working as a fitness instructor on a low wage and flat sharing in her late 30s. She’s the eldest of five children, and while her parents are relatively wealthy, they’re still young and healthy so there’s no big inheritance on the horizon.

I don’t think saving £300/month in one’s 20s is so ridiculous. Most people don’t have dependents/childcare costs at that age, and a very sizeable chunk will be living at home with no / subsidised rent & bills.

Don’t buy fast fashion but spent the same money on 1 item to last the years than 6 tops in different colours. Maintain and repair that item before you get rid of it. Heel shoes, repair hems, de-bobble jumpers etc. The same for furniture and fittings.

Eat well but simply. Make most from scratch. Do meals with cheap cuts but involving long slow cooking.

Read more and have fewer subscriptions for entertainment, and definitely not a load of gaming gear. Enjoy useful crafts as hobbies so make household items or clothes as part of your relaxing time.

Save up to buy things - don’t buy them using credit where you spend money on interest in repayments.

Pay yourself first - pay your rent/mortgage, and put some money into savings/pension when you get paid before you start spending on fun stuff. Automate savings so they just happen and you don’t need to worry about remembering to love money.

enjoy free or cheap entertainment options - a walk in the woods in sturdy boots looking at nature rather than walking in town through shops and being tempted to spend. Meet friends in the park to have a coffee (bonus if in your travel mug from home) and let the kids play, bring snacks - rather than meeting in soft play. Borrow books from the local library. Swop toys with friends instead of buying new.

I haven’t read the full thread yet, I think it’s admirable to learn about it. Obviously, money generates money if you know how to manage it.

S&S ISAs, pensions, good quality and long-lasting purchases e.g. clothes and a car. I’ve heard of wealthy people driving old cars etc. Not being flashy with their purchases etc.

Many of my friends will be early to mid 70s before they see a penny of the inheritance - longevity and good genes may have some downsides 😂

I started saving £5 a fortnight, straight from my paycheque, when I was earning £8k/year. It’s the habit and repeating it that are important. It meant I had cash for Christmas and holidays, so didn’t spend on a credit card, and kept a bit still there so it slowly increased and I eventually bought my first car for cash (DH and I happily shared until DD was born). Slow and steady really does pay off in the long run. I am still saving and spending the same way now.

I inherited some money and a property. Not millions or a million even but it meant I could do up a ramshackle old house, made enough profit to buy, mortgage free (in a cheaper area but where we wanted to be) our current house.
So mortgage free is a biggie. I'm then selling off some of that land 10 years after doing the house thus creating quite a lot of cash which will generate a good passive income although I don't need the money so it will compound away. I'm then looking at further land sales.
So yes, inheritance has helped significantly but I've had to work it to get the best return, it wasn't just a big cash lump. Then the other end is I live in a really modest house rather than sought out a bigger place which we actually don't need. So it's a case of accumulation then being sensible.

The first hundred grand is the hardest to make
After that, it is actually quite straightforward
I’ll let you know if I ever do

I think the quote goes something like "money doesn't make you rich, but habits do."

Most people I know in their twenties would happily spend that much a month on nights out. Wealth doesn't come from what you earn, but from what you keep.

@Crushed23

*I don’t think saving £300/month in one’s 20s is so ridiculous.

Neither do I hence why I said "£300 spare to invest".

I also said at 20 not 20s, most at 20 will be at university.

The majority of people in their 20s will be saving for a home.

In the words of the Duke of Westminster- who I'd imagine to be an expert on the subject- "Make sure one of your ancestors was very good friends with William the Conqueror".

HTH

Not having a mortgage is a game changer.
Having money gives you options, so you feel less inclined to spend money on things just because you can finally afford them.
Taking drinks and sandwiches on a day out on a plane flight etc saves a fortune.Carry that forward to staying in air b and b where you can cook and make lunches saves as well especially if you have particular diet requirements.
People who have money do all of the above they are also less inclined to give money away or let people off any money owed for shared shopping etc.
You don't unfortunately become well off by giving it away

I agree…? Did you mean to quote me?

There are a great deal of well off people too who have made a lot of money via businesses - and not always that ethically , we work in entertainment and some of the people we know and are aware of were more than happy to screw others over often making very very substantial amounts that set them up for life, this includes dodgy managers/accountants, middle men, agents etc . We know of businesses that were set up , large amounts secured in grants/loans , very large salaries extracted and then put into liquidation within 2 years, no tax paid etc - it’s become much harder to get away with this kind of thing in last 5 or 6 years, but it did used to happen a lot - some ‘businesspeople’ were serial experts at it -constantly phoenixing companies whilst extracting maximum personal profit from them . Many years down the line no one wonders or questions how these people became rich , they just are. UK was very very popular with ‘dodgy’ types because the rules surrounding business etc were so much more lax than in many other country’s .

This is true. When I left university I was totally poverty stricken. On the same grad scheme as me was a someone who’d been to a well-known boarding school. I had to go into shared rented houses which in the early 90’s were generally awful. She rented a lovely unfurnished house as her family had lots of furniture stored in various places she could have. It wouldn’t have occurred to my parents to help me out buying furniture (not that they had the money spare anyway). It’s those first “leg-ups” in life that really make a difference - being given a car, furniture etc.