2.5 Million Families on £100k/year Don't Feel Rich

uzubairu

lostinrates wrote: »

Below average. Can always eat. B alancing income/outgoing needs consideration, but can be done without missing meals. Can afford all basics/save for somethings besides basics. e.g. second (or fourth) hand car and running costs and, probably an annual short haul holiday. Can save for a new washing machine.

Average: can afford to eat, heat and meet with friends e.g. ub regular basis. Can afford regular small ''treats'' and save for retirement , run car (new?), might never buy a new one. Can afford annual holiday, plus maybe weekends away. Is able to juggle finances occasionally to suit so not to go over od limit, might take it a bit close to the line sometimes but doesn't have to plan ''petty cash'' spend too seriously. doesn't have to save for immeadiate needs: has savings to draw on and is able to plan for more than very basic retirement and have some choices. Can afford a washing machine, will have to budget for it, but will have choice over model.

Comfortable: Doesn't think about covering basics, thinks about covering investments and second/third holidays. Can eat out on whim with no account juggling.. doesn't have to save for immeadiate needs or wants. Is able to plan for decent retirement with some choices. doesn't have a set budget for things. Can drive decent car, doesn't have to consider running costs or insurance class of first car. Might employ home help (weekly/gardener/aupair). Finances require balancing, but not suffering to balance. Wife might be a certain shade of blonde. Able to a persue an exensive hobby each. Can afford a washing machine, choice of model, without saving or ''serious'' budgeting.

Wealthy: Can cover all wants without too much effort. doesn't consider cost of eating out as much of a dent. Can drive nice car from new, plus second nice car from new, wthout considering insurance class. Can holiday without juggling accounts. Able to employ daily/nanny (and a car for them). Wife is a certain shade of blonde. Able to partake in a wide range of exensive hobbies and associated equipment. Washing machine has bells, whistles and probably wifi.

ETA: have added a washing machine scale, as its so contentious.

Rich: Huh? Can afford weird wants. NEEDs the equipment to persue the hobbies and interests.Car: navy for weekdays and pink for the weekends. Doesn't identify with the term ''save up for''. Has trainers, not trainer. Gym is in the house, not somewhere you go. Unless you own the chain.

I think it's more about your outgoings and location that determines how rich you feel on £100K.
We would definitely be very comfortable.

From the descriptions, I would say we were was average.
Dual income £60K- £65K and no kids (living in the North West). No loans, credit cards paid in full each month, cars paid in full (07 Mini & 55 Clio).

The extra money required to make us comfortable is currently tied up in mortgage payments and overpayments.

We do have the option to make some comfortable choices by reducing the overpayments (e.g last year OH finally decided that he was sick and tired of looking at the cheap kitchen worktops in our new house and had granite ones fitted with money earmarked for overpayments).
2 years ago, he cancelled his gym membership and bought a decent treadmill and exercise bike, which we both use.

I think using this site, cashback sites and other bargain sites has made our money go much further so although we have gone on holiday abroad 3 times this year, one was free (Egypt with Tesco Clubcard points) and the others were relatively cheap (Manchester-New York return £141 and Miami return £230).

Pobby

lostinrates wrote: »

Cleaver sent me a book which opens with discussion on seatbelts, and the stats showing that when seatbelt wearing became compulsory accidents went up! (US figures). Anyway, I think there is a happy medium to be stuck in risk: taking sensible precaution is of course valid, but risk cannot be eliminated, and perhaps some risk is in some ways good.

Interesting and not surprising that accidents increased. The problem with modern cars are they are like a bubble. Little or no road noise, cd players and so which creates a feeling of being isolated from what is really going on. Anyway, should you have an accident there are air bags, safety belts and so on and I guess that is some of the cause of the dreadful state of driving today.

At the end of the day, you are sitting at the front of a missile going at 70 mph down the motorway containing a tank of highly explosive liquid.

Makes you think?

mitchaa

uzubairu wrote: »

I think it's more about your outgoings and location that determines how rich you feel on £100K.
We would definitely be very comfortable.

From the descriptions, I would say we were was average.
Dual income £60K- £65K and no kids (living in the North West). No loans, credit cards paid in full each month, cars paid in full (07 Mini & 55 Clio).

The extra money required to make us comfortable is currently tied up in mortgage payments and overpayments.

We do have the option to make some comfortable choices by reducing the overpayments (e.g last year OH finally decided that he was sick and tired of looking at the cheap kitchen worktops in our new house and had granite ones fitted with money earmarked for overpayments).
2 years ago, he cancelled his gym membership and bought a decent treadmill and exercise bike, which we both use.

I think using this site, cashback sites and other bargain sites has made our money go much further so although we have gone on holiday abroad 3 times this year, one was free (Egypt with Tesco Clubcard points) and the others were relatively cheap (Manchester-New York return £141 and Miami return £230).

With a £60-65k income and able to overpay your mortgage in a 'cheaper' area of the UK, you are surely not average? Average household income is £35k.

You are nearly at double this and do not have child associated costs. I would say you were undeniably in the comfortable category.

Davesnave

lostinrates wrote: »

But then, what do I know, I'm not a parent as you say, and I'm sure priorities change hugely.

They do. Things are better now. When our big one was tiny, 25 years ago, I spent a considerable sum fitting this huge bar thing across the back of our estate and then fastening equally massive straps around the carry cot.

I felt very smug for about three months, when a consumer test revealed that although this device worked very well, the carry cot usually bent into a u shape, while the straps would probably cause severe injuries in an accident at speed!

lostinrates

Pobby wrote: »

Interesting and not surprising that accidents increased. The problem with modern cars are they are like a bubble. Little or no road noise, cd players and so which creates a feeling of being isolated from what is really going on. Anyway, should you have an accident there are air bags, safety belts and so on and I guess that is some of the cause of the dreadful state of driving today.

At the end of the day, you are sitting at the front of a missile going at 70 mph down the motorway containing a tank of highly explosive liquid.

Makes you think?

When DH got his car I was highly sceptical. I'd hd n older model of the same and it was fun, but hard work. You really DRIVE it.

Now this car, is slightly easier, less wearing, but you still really drive it, and you know, DH's driving has suddenly got amazing. Actually DRIVING the car has sort of joined dots that in push button newer cars doesn't seem to have done. I haven't really understood why, with higher standards of testng...and I'm SURE its harder to pass now, why some new drivers don't seem to guage things well...but now I think its the cars. Not that they should be less safe of course, improvements are obviously desirable.

mitchaa

lostinrates wrote: »

When DH got his car I was highly sceptical. I'd hd n older model of the same and it was fun, but hard work. You really DRIVE it.

Now this car, is slightly easier, less wearing, but you still really drive it, and you know, DH's driving has suddenly got amazing. Actually DRIVING the car has sort of joined dots that in push button newer cars doesn't seem to have done. I haven't really understood why, with higher standards of testng...and I'm SURE its harder to pass now, why some new drivers don't seem to guage things well...but now I think its the cars. Not that they should be less safe of course, improvements are obviously desirable.

The problem comes when you put a woman behind the steering wheel:D

PasturesNew

mitchaa wrote: »

The problem comes when you put a woman behind the steering wheel:D

That's the one post in this thread that will remain unthanked by me.

lostinrates

mitchaa wrote: »

The problem comes when you put a woman behind the steering wheel:D

Interesting that, when women have lower premiums. This woman drove 7.5 t lorries at 17, tows trailers with no reversing problems, and has driven some Italian cars that make men weak at the knees at very high speeds.

mitchaa

lostinrates wrote: »

Interesting that, when women have lower premiums. This woman drove 7.5 t lorries at 17, tows trailers with no reversing problems, and has driven some Italian cars that make men weak at the knees at very high speeds.

Women cause men to crash you see

When you are stationary at a roundabout waiting for that gap to open up to move, that gap comes, the impatient male late for his work behind looking right obviously thinks she must have moved, puts the foot down and bang into the car in front who has stopped at the roundabout for a picnic break.

Then there's those that think they are being careful driving at 50mph on the motorways not realising that big wagons are pulling out into the middle or outside lanes to overtake them putting all other cars at risk as they do so.

Then we have the older generation, (Both sexes) by god, they are by far the worst. A driving retest should be made compulsary every 10-15yrs, half the old and bold would no doubt fail todays tests.

kabayiri

I have much to thank for that YouTube video.

Not only will it steer us into safer cars hopefully, it might put an end to that smug conversation many of us will have suffered with a Volvo driver, who is intent on moralising us on our choice of car, and about how we are putting fuel economy before safety etc etc.

I don't feel confident about crowing about the safety of our new car. It's your typical modern 4x4, all the airbags, anti-lock, Stability control, etc etc; chosen to make a regular journey over England's highest motorway, which can be nasty in poor weather.

However, I've seen pictures of a Range Rover on it's roof. It wasn't pretty. These cars should still be driven with care, so why do we see so many people hurtling along in them.