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Original poster

Rich house poor house wed ch5 9pm

280 replies

Blondeshavemorefun · 02/05/2018 17:16

Two families swap lives for a week. Total opposites in the life styles

the richest 10% and a family who live on the breadline

OP posts:
SleepingStandingUp · 08/05/2018 13:04

Well there are kids in the show and they get to talk on camera so don't see why it shouldn't be. Although maybe a conversation about choice and opportunity, what to be grateful for rather than if no one had kids until they were 40 we could all be rich

Xenia · 08/05/2018 15:59

Good point and I started my children fairly young as I knew I wanted quite a few so leaving it to nearly 40 might have meant I had none.

Original poster
Blondeshavemorefun · 09/05/2018 21:01

Tonights is about to start

I’m away on holiday so will catch up once home

OP posts:
pineappleeyes · 09/05/2018 21:21

What are the rich parents jobs? I was reading to dd & missed that bit.

FlowerPotMum · 09/05/2018 21:24

He owns an engineering business ( sure it was engineering). She has beauty salons .. they also have a property portfolio.

kyrenialady · 09/05/2018 21:38

I can't seem warm to the rich family this week. Also is £170 a week after every single bill paid that bad?. We probably don't have much more and we get by fine.

The children all have quite nice trainers.

FlowerPotMum · 09/05/2018 21:52

I can't warm to them either. I caught a few mini sneers (from the bloke) at the beginning which I found annoying.
£170 spare a week sounds good to me!

kyrenialady · 09/05/2018 21:56

Now they have no gas, crocodile tears coming now.

I think most will have similar incomes, especially areas where rent is high?

RippleEffects · 09/05/2018 21:57

The £170 is for bills like electric/ gas and food. Its after housing but not weekly expenses like the prepayment meter.

FlowerPotMum · 09/05/2018 22:04

I know Ripple. Lots of people I know live happily on less. I think we probably do too though I've never done the sums.

Sharonthetotallyinsane · 09/05/2018 22:09

I didn’t mind the rich family, I think after last week it was going to a tough gig. I kept wondering if the rich house would pay for a wedding, but that isn’t the point of the show.

FlowerPotMum · 09/05/2018 22:20

Ripple, sorry I've just reread and I didn't mean to be snappy with you. Trying to multitask and failing.

Fuckitbucket13 · 09/05/2018 22:34

I liked the rich family at first but then something just didn't seem right. I felt they were too perfect & a bit false, maybe acting for the cameras? What did everyone else think?

Sharonthetotallyinsane · 09/05/2018 22:53

I thought it wasn’t an entirely fair comparison as the poorer family have four children who obviously eat more than the the two young ones of the rich house.

Xenia · 09/05/2018 22:55

I will try to watch it tomorrow and report back..... womanin beauty salons ..ugh; when will she have an oil and case com,pany and he paints nails or minds house? Where do they pick these sexist couples. Let us hope Mr Engineer is not "captain of the ship" this time but equal partner.

TeisanLap · 10/05/2018 05:26

It was very interesting that the night out with the wealthier dads mates consisted of being encouraged to drink as a non drinker and having a bonded together hangover the next day.

TeisanLap · 10/05/2018 05:52

Now they have no gas, crocodile tears coming now

Crocodile tears? You were seeing things. The bloke was genuine.

Xenia · 10/05/2018 12:40

Watching it now - two lovely families again and thanks to them both for sharing their lives like this. It can't be easy and TV is selective as to what it shows.
So far....

  1. My points from the first programme apply
(a) couple with more money are older, had children much later so are better off so delaying babies until you are into 30s pays off (b) the blended family who are badly off have chosen to have a 4th child which they obviously can't afford and better off people would not do. If you cannot afford the 3 you have why do you have a 4th one together? Also if she hadn't had that baby she would be in full time work and they would have had 2 full time salaries to pay for her two daughters (and his son when he is staying there) - the 4th child has been the killer to their finances really, lovely those it is (c) lack of educational qualifications again leading to no money - although the man was a joiner by trade. We are not told so far how the bank manager's son got to form his engineering business nor how the richer mother got her 2 beauty salons.

So have fewer children, as late as you can and get as many qualifications as you can.

Mind you the bottom line of the whole series is money and happiness do not necessarily co-relate.

(Also that semi the "rich" people are in is not that great.
I hope the boy got a bike too because so far it looks a bit unfair that one little girl got a new bike and the other older children nothing).

Xenia · 10/05/2018 12:54

Okay another sexist man! "Providing is just what we dads do". That is from the rich one and last week Mr Big Boss thought he was captain of the ship. Yet the rich man tonight has a wife who works and has 2 beauty salons and properties - his wife just as much could say "providing is just what we mums do".

Xenia · 10/05/2018 12:57

I don't know why the rich ones think it's bad or wrong to say no to children .I am quite well off and often tell children they can't have something. If you give them everything they do worse in life.

SleepingStandingUp · 10/05/2018 15:06

couple with more money are older, had children much later so are better off so delaying babies until you are into 30s pays off
Do you really think every childless person aged 30 or above is in a financially better off position? Some people will never do well in school, never go to Uni, never hold down a well paid job, never get promoted etc and it isn't solely linked to their reproduction habits. Similarly some people have kids young and do well because that situation drives and pushes them to succeed, they have better opportunities to start with etc.

Xenia · 10/05/2018 15:46

Yes, I know so perhaps they deliberately pick each week a rich older couple and a less well off much younger couple. Let us see what combination there is next week. I can see they deliberately and rightly pick families where at least one person in the couple works and I am sure they do that deliberately.

SleepingStandingUp · 10/05/2018 16:06

Well it would open the "poor" family up to about of abuse if they were on telly complaining about being poor and neither worked, you only needed to see the response to Benefits Street etc to see that.

I've definitely seen one where the rich couple were fairly young, think he might have been on his second marriage, second lot of kids etc.

HelenaDove · 10/05/2018 21:25

Ive only watched a couple of these a while ago now but i wonder how it would turn out if a rich family swapped with a a poorer household on Universal Credit while the latter were in the 5 week + waiting period.....

FrankieBee · 10/05/2018 21:43

I can’t bring myself to watch it. I think it would be too awful for the poor kids to try out the childhood they’ll never have for a week and then to have it taken away.

I will agree with Xenia about some of her points (I’ve missed your posts over the years!). I genuinely think that there is an issue with people having more and more children when they don’t have money/room/time for the ones they already have. I can say that because I did the same thing. I have 4DC and two of them were concieved at times I absolutely could not support more children. I will say though that being poor is such a bone aching grind. There is very little joy or anything to look forward to. A baby on the way is a huge source of happiness and gives a sense of pride and achievement. This is especially true if you feel (like I did) that my achievements in life amounted to naught.

I’m older now and don’t think the same way. I would like to say that Xenia, your posts years ago have always stayed with me, especially how important it was to be financially independent and able to provide for yourself.

I have a job which compared to you would be menial but which means the world to me and puts food on the table and clothes on my children. I’m the captain of this household!