What's it like having and earning loads of money??

ginger_chocolate

can quite happily walk by travel agent's window or a car dealer's forecourt, look at what's on offer, and walk off without a hint of jealousy because I know that I can buy some of the wares.  It's the difference between being included and excluded, between declining a party invitation and not being invited at all.  

You've completely hit the nail on the head there - that's EXACTLY it. Another thought: I love scouring the charity shops for secondhand clothes now - it's a hobby and makes me feel good to be reducing waste and donating to good causes. When secondhand was all I could afford and I had to somehow seek out a suitable shirt for a job interview for under £3 - that was just depressing. The best thing money buys you is choices.

Also - there's a point here that I need to clarify. When I said above about not spending on things that don't matter, and splurging on things that do - that's really personal. If someone's idea of happiness *is* a fancy sports car, and they'd rather that than a holiday abroad - and they can afford it, more power them. You have to be guided by your own values, not other people's ideas about what you should and shouldn't spend your money on.

MrBrindle

Flatulentoldgoat said:

Any luck on the job hunt?

Nothing atm. Currently doing some admin work for my fathers' business a few days a week, but it's not a long term solution.

What was your friends' job at £45k per year btw? I couldn't find it in the thread.

Flatulentoldgoat

MrBrindle said:

Flatulentoldgoat said:

Any luck on the job hunt?

Nothing atm. Currently doing some admin work for my fathers' business a few days a week, but it's not a long term solution.

What was your friends' job at £45k per year btw? I couldn't find it in the thread.

Oh damn are you eligible for uc or does your dads business push you over the threshold? My friend works at a tech media company and reviews the latest gadgets and phones. Gets to keep some of them which is a nice perk!

[Deleted User]

MrBrindle said:

£45k at 19? Sounds like a dream to me, I'd love to earn that sort of money right now.

I'm 34 and resigned to the fact I'll only ever earn anything between £20k and £30k due to my line of work (graphic design) and rural location (West Wales). I love living here so wouldn't move for better work opportunities.

I've been the only wage earner in our household for the past 6 years, and despite also receiving child benefit and tax credits for our two children, life has been tough.  I barely spend money on myself, and haven't put a penny aside for years.
We've been dipping into savings for the past 2 years as well.

 I love cars, and it makes me all sorts of bitter seeing all these 70 plate cars driving around, and I'm still in an 11 year old Peugeot 207.

I'm not saying money directly buys happiness, but earning more would make my life a whole less stressful, thus achieving a happier state of mind.

I'm also unemployed right now...............life's a joy.

Depending on what you're willing to draw, there are an awful lot of opportunities online for good artists to make money, particularly in adult markets. This NSFW cartoon illustrates this pretty well (it's not graphic, just has rude words). Popular web comics with good followings can make good money too from adverts, patreon, merchandise sales etc e.g. Least I Could Do or Questionable Content (comic isn't rude / nude in the slighest)

macman

I haven't ploughed through all 13pp of posts on this, but the first thing that occurs to me is that although the 'fortunate friend' may be earning £45k gross, he'll be paying nearly £11k in income tax and NI on that, so left with nearer £34k net. If he's naively expecting to see £3,750 in each paycheque, that'll be a horrible shock at 19, with deductions of over £900 a month.

JustAnotherSaver

There's always 2 sides. You know a young person with cash who likes to flash it. I know of people with cash who like to act like they're broke when they're really not. Looking online and my employer and their partner are supposed to be worth 26 million each. Of course i don't expect that to be spot on but i bet it's not too far from the truth either. They live to just make more money but act like they're broke. They'll go to their grave proud of making so many millions but having spent none of it. Bitter and twisted throughout life, complaining daily but at least we made money right? Doesn't matter that they'll have done nothing with it.

I'm probably somewhere in the region of 25k. I remember being on 14k thinking wow those on 25k where i work must be very comfortable. It's ok but it's not great.

You could earn 100k per year and still be broke. Depends on your outlook. If you want all the flashy gadgets and latest everything or if you want to retire ASAP and enjoy a long retirement.

macman said:

I haven't ploughed through all 13pp of posts on this, but the first thing that occurs to me is that although the 'fortunate friend' may be earning £45k gross, he'll be paying nearly £11k in income tax and NI on that, so left with nearer £34k net. If he's naively expecting to see £3,750 in each paycheque, that'll be a horrible shock at 19, with deductions of over £900 a month.

It's pretty obvious that if you earn more then you pay more tax. I have this put to me by people when talking about overtime. We'll end up paying more tax. Yeah no crap. But you'll also earn more. If tax is a bother then you'd literally earn the bare minimum. Struggle to get by but hey at least you're not paying any tax right?

ginger_chocolate

I have this put to me by people when talking about overtime. We'll end up paying more tax. Yeah no crap. But you'll also earn more. If tax is a bother then you'd literally earn the bare minimum.

Often it's not the tax that gets you on overtime but the student loan. A youngish chap at my work once committed to do as much overtime as he was allowed in the run up to Christmas thinking he'd have a nice fat bonus in his paycheck. When it arrived, the amount the SLC had taken was massive and he was left with very little to show for all the time he'd given up. OK so you could argue that he did ultimately still benefit from the money, as its gone towards paying off his debt, but it can come as a massive shock just how much gets taken.

Flatulentoldgoat

macman said:

I haven't ploughed through all 13pp of posts on this, but the first thing that occurs to me is that although the 'fortunate friend' may be earning £45k gross, he'll be paying nearly £11k in income tax and NI on that, so left with nearer £34k net. If he's naively expecting to see £3,750 in each paycheque, that'll be a horrible shock at 19, with deductions of over £900 a month.

He's living at his girlfriends house and doesn't pay any rent or utilities, so his disposable income is still incredible! Talking about getting married now and going through his options when life returns to a bit more normality. I think he's saving a bit towards that already!! Although it doesn't seem like it with his new consoles and gaming stuff.

nyermen

macman said:

I haven't ploughed through all 13pp of posts on this, but the first thing that occurs to me is that although the 'fortunate friend' may be earning £45k gross, he'll be paying nearly £11k in income tax and NI on that, so left with nearer £34k net. If he's naively expecting to see £3,750 in each paycheque, that'll be a horrible shock at 19, with deductions of over £900 a month.

I haven't ploughed either - from my side I've earned more as the years have gone on.  I consider myself very lucky, I have a little extra left over each month.  I've just started throwing it as overpayments at the mortgage.  Maybe i'm old and boring now?

Some earlier regrets(with hindsight and a healthy dose of more recently acquired MSE philosophy).  I would say - enjoy some, you deserve it, try and keep a little aside (okay I didn't, I used to increase spending each pay rise).  Now more than ever I can't see prices or taxes going down.  

Great post about being included vs excluded.  That's a great way of putting it.  Also, post about "why shouldn't he brag about it" vs "He's naive).  I've met a few people with lots of money (6 figures+), and they never brag about it. Yes they have a brand new car every few years, etc, but my experience is if people think you have money, they quickly become your "friend", and just as quickly ditch you. 

Stay well and safe all, I suspect the next few years will be tricky, so I hope MSE-ers continue to help each other, celebrate a bit of success, and support those in more difficult times.

Sandtree

ginger_chocolate said:

I think the secret to feeling wealthy is to spend as little as possible on the things that don't matter to you, so you can afford to splurge on the things that do matter to you.
e.g. I *do* care about going on good holidays and having nice toiletries in the bathroom - so I spend a lot of money on those things. My income is only slightly above average, but I feel wealthy enough because I can afford to live a life that works for me. If I earned twice as much I'm not sure what I'd do with it. There's only so many holidays one person can go on....

In principle a reasonable idea but it needs a certain element of realism added to it too. If you earn say £30k, so well above your threashold, but live in London no matter how much you dont spend on the things you dont care about you wont be buying a big house in the posh area... you'd be unlikely to be able to rent a small flat in a posh area.  Its a technique that can help but not a solution for all to feel wealthy.

What do you define as "good holidays"? I'm surprised at the idea with double the money you couldnt think of more places to go, longer trips, higher class travel or whatever else it is that makes a holiday "good" to you.

If your interests are in experiences rather than stuff its normally possible to always spend more if more funds are available.