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

misskool

olly300 wrote: »

Time vs money.

If I'm working 11-12 hours with a 3 into total commute the last thing I'm going to do is make my lunch for the next day when I could be doing something else if I could afford it.

It depends really. The canteen where I work has DIABOLICAL food, so I normally make lunch. I work enough hours and have a reasonable commute.

If it gets bad, then I'll have to pop to M&S before work and buy something to zap at work.

But I like to cook and make food so it's not a big deal.

PasturesNew

I temped a couple of years back at a place that was a bit out of town, they had a canteen there - but the canteen was a separate business. To get a coffee you had to go to the canteen, but you weren't allowed to just go, I had to wait until somebody was going to get everybody coffee. Even hot water was charged for.

If I had just 3 coffees/day (small, standard granulated coffee), then over one year it would have cost a whole week's pre-tax earnings. I bought a £2 flask from Asda, a cheap jar of granulated coffee, a small screw top plastic container and I'd take a flask of hot water in and make my own coffee at my desk. As I said, I was just temping there, but right after I left there was an email went out to all staff that they weren't allowed to bring in flasks, they cited H&S as the reason.

It's nuts that you're forced to spend one whole week's pre-tax money just to buy coffee at work. My flask solution paid for itself by day 3.

PasturesNew

Atomised wrote: »

I don't think anyone can be classed as poor if they can run a car and eat. It's all nonsense but anyone can live beyond their means. If you earn £100k a year but buy silly things you can't afford -you will feel poor.

I calculated my total cost of ownership of my car yesterday, bought new, total cost of ownership (depreciation down to £0, loss of interest, tax, insurance, MoT, repairs, servicing, RAC membership, petrol) and it worked out at about 33p/mile for every mile I've done... so even if rounded up to 40p that still makes my car cheaper than any public transport.

Many poorer people have to live further out than services, so you often need a car to get to jobs or to get a bigger range of jobs (most jobs I've done are not near public transport).

So, running a car is an essential "get to work" cost.

As for eating: 1 loaf and 4 cans of beans is 10 meals.

Doom_and_Gloom

I agree with PicturesNew. Your own transport can be essensial to get to work. My partner has a motorbike and it costs him less than 1k a year to run it, insure it, repairs etc (although not MOT yet as it's not 3 years old as it replaced the one that got stolen last year :mad:). He does need this as it is not very safe to cycle the route to his work (he did have to during the time he didn't have his last motorbike to the new one though) also the bus isn't worth it due to how far the nearest bus is and the fact it would cost WAY more a year :rolleyes:. It may mean nearly 1/7th of his take home pay goes on his motorbike but it get's him to work and back and he also loves working on it to keep it going. A passion with a mode of transport like that is cheaper than some things he could be doing in that time and works out even cheaper as he hardly ever needs anyone else to fix his motorbike!

lemonjelly

abaxas wrote: »

In terms of lunch, for £5 a day you could eat like a king, providing you made it yourself.

For me, I cant understand why people buy their lunch. It's mostly crap, so why not make it youself for 1/3 of the cost, have something better and healthier.

The answer is, people cant be bothered.

Not only that, you get exactly what you want, & exactly how you want it! Winner all round!

I can't understand why people don't do this tbh. I can make what I like each day, sandwiches, salad, something to heat up, pizza
MMmmm, hungry

uzubairu wrote: »

I got sick of eating the rubbish in the staff restaurant and even when I was I was buying stuff off the shopfloor approx £3.50 (I work in a supermarket), it didn't taste half as delicious as the food I now eat that is prepared at home.

I very rarely have sandwiches, but I get envious looks from my colleagues when I open my lunch bag, and often have to share some of it.
At first I was only doing it 2/3 times a week because I didn't plan my time, but going back to boring stodgy food on the other days was just so awful that I knew I had to make the time.

Yes, I too got sick of rubbish options. I am also a fussy eater, see above comments.

At the housing association I used to work at there were loads of people who were trying to work out who it was bringing in the delish salads every day. My colleague opposite used to bring in her home made soups all the time too...

lemonjelly

lostinrates wrote: »

Dh's week so far has been the following times:

Monday: left here 6:15, left work 12:30am
Tuesday: in work for 8am (so I guess left at about 7:40am)in work till some time after midnight (can't rememebr time we were talking...)
Wednesday: lie in....in work for 9am...in work till 10ish (met friend for late supper)
Thursday, in work for 8:30, was on hone in the cab while this week was on, because I was telling him about it
Today: in work for 9:30am (lazy sod) and don't know when he'll be home....he usually manages an earlier train on Fridays, because his boss nice and knows he comes out of townto go home.

I'm pretty stingey about spending money, but on days like these, I don't really expect himto save some money (and if he and his collegues did the people staffing the canteen would be unemployed...) by making a packed lunch.

lir - great comeback earlier in the thread :T:D

Regarding the above, I don't/can't/won't doubt yours/your oh's feelings for each other, but given the above, when does he actually have time to live? I'm not sure I could bear to spend that amount of time away from the people and past-times I love. No matter how much they paid me.

On a seperate note, this thread is enlightening as to the cross section of people who post. I'm a complete pauper in comparison to some judging by some accounts I'm reading. It's quite exciting! I feel in some ways that I'm communicating with people who ordinarily I wouldn't have the opportunity to meet with, converse, exchange ideas & opinions, because generally (generali?;)) we move in such different circles. Many of you are people who may be living in circumstances which to me are unlikely to ever be acheivable!

Not that any of it is a bad thing. But it is eye opening!

& quite a privelige I may add

Davesnave

lemonjelly wrote: »

On a seperate note, this thread is enlightening as to the cross section of people who post. I'm a complete pauper in comparison to some judging by some accounts I'm reading.

I’ll admit to knowing, or knowing about, some fairly rich people, but IMO they don't fit comfortably into any particular mould.

In my current locality, the richest person I'm aware of so far, has chosen to remain living alongside others in a modest 3 bed he designed himself. He drives a Ford Fiesta, albeit a reasonably recent one.

If we could go back in time ten years to a certain Westcountry pub, we’d find a few dapper old men, my father among them, and one other, dressed in a rather grubby old track suit. If asked to pick out the wealthy Lord, few would have chosen the last mentioned. Indeed, not many of those rubbernecking around his country seat had any inkling about the weird, inappropriately-dressed old guy, unless he introduced himself.

With my business, I worked at a good number of large country piles, stupidly imagining that they were owned by their occupants. One place, where the 'owner' had created a fantastic 2 acre garden, made me particularly envious. However, on my last visit, I was told it would be the final one, as this 'rich' person and her husband, despite running various money-making activities at their home, could no longer meet the rental payments. The whole garden, a labour of love over many years, was lost. I wasn't quite so envious then!

With regard to LIRs earlier comment, it's often true that those who are born into money don't flaunt it, nor do they leave one feeling uncomfortable when visiting. The ones who are flash, or who park you somewhere to eat your sandwiches alone at lunch-time, are not the real McCoy.;)

lostinrates

lemonjelly wrote: »

lir - great comeback earlier in the thread :T:D

Regarding the above, I don't/can't/won't doubt yours/your oh's feelings for each other, but given the above, when does he actually have time to live? I'm not sure I could bear to spend that amount of time away from the people and past-times I love. No matter how much they paid me.
We are wondering when we live....but the money he earns is often ...much to Stingey-me's- dicscomfort, often best used in maximising time together. Its on of the reasons the living part weekdys works well for us. Before, living together with me twiddling my thumbs, he felt pressure (not pplied by me) to be both at work and at home. Before he converted we had worked a lot together and lived together, then he was of course, he was my sole carer outside medical teams...and we are a very coupley-couple...

I think it helps that it is a template set for us by both sets of parents: both our parents spent time working away from home, and all were commited to their jobs. I often didn't see my dad six months at a time. DH's parents similarly worked in more than one country. Actually, with more than one child the different approaches to parenting under less ''conventional'' set ups are interesting too...

The pay offs are interesting: fundamentally DH relishes the significant intellecual challenge, travel (which often I could take or leave) and extra parts of his job: he is also good at it. Furher more, despite what is said, it is a job not everyone can do, and that it is wih the very machinations that keep the world turning financially, he enjoys that: he feels he des something ''good''. If I return to work my hours will also be long, which is fine, I'd rather do something that interests me for a long time I think. However, fate is a funny thing, and ATM I have a (one off) oppertunity which is fun, and significant adaptations have been allowed to dealwith things like my problems with recalland words. I thought it would be hard work but actually....its not, and its fun, and I get to have a day when I'm ''off on a business trip''. Which is uite fun.

Some weeks its good. On occasion,when things aren't busy his firm have said on a Thursday night...hey...go home, see your wfe. Rare occasion....but delicious. London is certainly a VERY different environment to Italy though, and the times he'sbeen sent home do not scratch the tip of the times he's worked weekends and cancelled/postponed time off.

TBH, if I were full time employed I'm not convinced it would work brilliantly: I am able now to fit in with his time, and do the mundanities of life pretty much for him.

On a seperate note, this thread is enlightening as to the cross section of people who post. I'm a complete pauper in comparison to some judging by some accounts I'm reading. It's quite exciting! I feel in some ways that I'm communicating with people who ordinarily I wouldn't have the opportunity to meet with, converse, exchange ideas & opinions, because generally (generali?;)) we move in such different circles. Many of you are people who may be living in circumstances which to me are unlikely to ever be acheivable!



Not that any of it is a bad thing. But it is eye opening!

& quite a privelige I may add

LOL< there is a good crowd here, I think we all are pretty lucky to get the experiences of others in such a way.

SingleSue

Atomised wrote: »

Maybe low paid workers need a car sometimes but no way are car owners classed as poor! I guess i'm one of the poorest people on MSE at the moment and although I would love to be able to drive , it's not cheap so is a luxury for a lot of people.
I couldn't live off beans on toast as too carby and unhealthy.

I'm not exactly flush with cash but have to run a car as an essential (two disabled children, umpteem appointments, school not in walking distance - it's not a mobility car either)

The fuel is strictly used, no non essential journeys at all, only the school runs and going to hospital appointments.

Without it, it would cost a fortune to use public transport to do the school run and get to the appointments, much much more than I currently spend on the car for fuel, insurance, repairs and tax.

There are no finance payments to make, the car cost me £461 over two years ago and maintenance over the last year has been less than £200 including the MOT, I have full no claims bonus going back nearly 20 years so insurance (fully comp) is at the cheaper end of the scale (£20 a month), Tax works out at about a tenner a month.

Public transport just for school runs would cost me in excess of £10 per day (that was the figure over 2 years ago when my old car went bang), would be extremely stressful for my youngest (he would be so stressed, he would be unable to actually then go to school) and still requires a decent walk before and after to get to the destination..again, something that would be difficult for youngest with his mobility and asthma problems.

It's more unaffordable for me to not run a car to be honest.

donaldtramp

Interesting thread folks and I have to say that I am in the "wealthy" section according to the article.
I have to add my tuppenceworth.
I totally agree that there is more to life than money. I have a pretty flash car (paid with cash = no finance costs). But the weird thing was, it was nice for about 2 weeks then it just became a piece of metal. Material things don't bring true happiness. It became something to be worried about when parking in town and in car parks. It was vandalised every night it was parked outside on the street at my old place. I had to find somewhere to hide it overnight! I don't understand that mentality at all....
My other half thinks I'm nuts, as she runs a 10 year old car worth about £500 that never breaks down and when I mention that there is a new dent she just smiles and says "oh, so there is!"

Anyway, I'm wandering. I posted to mention a story about when we went to buy a house. Our local broker who totally agreed with us about being sensible with income multiples. He then told us a few stories about clients who turned up with totally unreasonable demands for mortgage amounts.
These were the couples who turned up at his premises in brand new or year old range rovers and Mercedes. Earning similar sums to the numbers in the article and were absolutely disgusted to find that taking all of their finances into account they could get a mortgage for £10,000!!!!
Then he said, "but I earn X pounds" and "but I earn Y pounds" came out.
The problem was that they were living their life on massive amount of credit.
All fur coat and no knickers comes to mind:p
I know a friend who drives a 911 Porsche turbo that there is no way he should be driving. He's ticked up to the eyeballs. But he's caught by the material need to show off, have "status" or whatever. Bit sad really. To impress people he doesn't know as he drives past, because all of his mates know his love of credit. What's the point in that?

So remember next time that boy in the Porsche drives past, have a think and wonder what stories he's told the finance companies to get the car.
He might have less disposable income than you!

Oh and by the way I had a £1 chicken bake from Greggs yesterday for lunch!