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

74jax

My post way back on Page 1 of this thread (In November) seems so long ago....  I'm still volunteering but now thinking of turning a hobby into a small business........ I think although I have loved the time off and volunteering, I want to do something else now that's more business related, no idea how it work out, but I also think the snow (more today), and cold isn't helping - it was much easier to enjoy my free time in the garden last summer.................  Maybe I'm one of these people where the brain is always ticking..... just a little slower than this time last year..... but the idea of my hobby being more is quite exciting, at least until Spring anyway........

ginger_chocolate

Sandtree said:

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. 

Well - yes, obviously my threshold is based on people living outside of London (I have never lived in London but the rents they charge there would be hilarious if they weren't so horrific). The point is that there is a certain threshold below which a person will struggle to cover the basics from their income without going into debt, but above that level, you have the freedom to make choices about what you do with your cash - I think that still stands, even if the threshold itself is different in different places.

RE holidays - for me I'm not bothered about high class travel, accommodation or whatever. The definition of a good holiday is experiencing new cultures and beautiful locations, having adventures. I'm happy flying economy and staying in a hostel and wouldn't get much out of paying for first class travel  just for the sake of it (I occasionally try staying in a more upmarket hotel, it's fun sometimes, but I don't feel the need to do it every time). The only way I could make the experiences I already have on holiday "better" would be to go to more places, more often. But given that I only get a set amount of annual leave, and my income is  dependent on me working for a living - there is a limit on that. I also have a certain amount of "flight guilt" - but the thing that stops me from using other types of transport is time, rather than money.

I suppose if I earned a lot more, I could invest it, retire early and spend the rest of my life travelling. I honestly don't know if I'd eventually get bored. I hear some people do, but I think it would take a while.

Sandtree

London is just an easy example but can be as easily replicated with sports cars, first class travel etc. Some things people aspire to are unachievable on normal level salaries even with scrimping - personally wouldnt include "once in a life time" events as contributing to feeling wealthy unless you're doing them twice a year etc.

The problem with earning more is that it normally comes with more responsibilities and so taking holiday becomes more challenging. In most the companies I've worked in middle management get an extra weeks holiday to the front line staff, plus flexible benefits also allowed you to buy additional holiday which if you earned more you could afford to do plus some allowed the occasional short term career break on an unpaid basis (a friend spent 3 months travelling with his kids before they went to uni etc but got annoyed as the day after he left they changed the rules and allowed short term to be up to 6 months).

Obviously I am a terrible example as whilst my income has gone up my number of taken days of work has dropped but we take breaks over bank holidays and I have "worked from home" from abroad a few times (before Covid too). There are those that do manage it better than me and would have thought the majority who enjoy holidays could put higher salary into more holidays either now or in the future as you suggest.

MrsStepford

Husband left school at 16, worked hard and it wasn't until we met that he considered management and pursued it. Took him four years and lots of overtime to afford part-time courses. He's in the lower end of the upper tax bracket. We're still in the same cheap house that he bought when he was on tools. It's a mixed road with Down From Londons, locals, doctors, keyworkers, pensioners, single mums - you name em. 

Mortgage on the house was about £200 pcm cheaper than the rent we had been paying for country cottages. We bought steak more often, swapped margarine for butter and olive oil instead of vegetable oil.

I still buy stuff from Oxfam and eBay and always look for bargains on anything, even cushions. Because I've got so many bargains, it probably looks like we've always been comfortable. 

An estate agent told me that the people who turn up in flash car and designer shades probably bought it all on credit. 

Flatulentoldgoat

Sandtree said:

London is just an easy example but can be as easily replicated with sports cars, first class travel etc. Some things people aspire to are unachievable on normal level salaries even with scrimping - personally wouldnt include "once in a life time" events as contributing to feeling wealthy unless you're doing them twice a year etc.

The problem with earning more is that it normally comes with more responsibilities and so taking holiday becomes more challenging. In most the companies I've worked in middle management get an extra weeks holiday to the front line staff, plus flexible benefits also allowed you to buy additional holiday which if you earned more you could afford to do plus some allowed the occasional short term career break on an unpaid basis (a friend spent 3 months travelling with his kids before they went to uni etc but got annoyed as the day after he left they changed the rules and allowed short term to be up to 6 months).

Obviously I am a terrible example as whilst my income has gone up my number of taken days of work has dropped but we take breaks over bank holidays and I have "worked from home" from abroad a few times (before Covid too). There are those that do manage it better than me and would have thought the majority who enjoy holidays could put higher salary into more holidays either now or in the future as you suggest.

Sounds like earning lots of money isn't worth the trouble !!!