So much money

solidpro

I wonder if a) anyone else has noticed so many new threads on spaces like this forum and similar forums on reddit where the starting point is that the poster has 6 figures and don't know what to do with it. b) Is this 'normal' that so many people in the world at the same time suddenly have so much money, whilst so many have literally nothing? c) The other point that enters my head is how safe it is to go on any forum saying you have such a vast sum sitting in an account - isn't the easiest hack the social engineering hack?

InvesterJones

I've rarely seen any post saying they've got X sitting in a particular account. 

But I don't agree with your premise that so many people suddenly have so much money, I think you're displaying recency bias, and instead it's always been the case that people have talked about investments on investment forums, and savings on savings forums, and a board like this that combines the two will have plenty of either, and always has. 

flaneurs_lobster

Re your a) - not really surprising that people are coming into 6-figure sums, demographics are that the post-war generation ("boomers") bequests are now arriving with their offspring. A lot of that money has come from the huge rise in house prices together with the significant increase in house ownership.

Is it (b) normal? Probably not the right term but it is what it is - is it right/just? A political discussion not for this forum.

c) Are you suggesting that this forum could be used as a channel to target the recently enriched? Probably, although an overt attempt to solicit information by posting would be spotted by the admin and members very quickly. Communication by PM is more problematic - I've always assumed that MSE admin can interrogate these messages but your concerns are well founded.

solidpro

I'm not going to provide direct examples but looking back at the last couple of pages there is one about investing >£500k cash, one for £200k cash, one for £600k cash, one for £160k cash. I get it that these places now exist to discuss savings and investments, but I just would have thought in the past it's been more about where do I start (small pots), and specific questions that have eliminated the basics that anyone would have (apart from maybe lottery winners) when dealing with hundreds of thousands.

It feels like vast wealth (on any scale) is getting cheaper, and where I feel the social contract for my children has already been broken, I feel like simply looking to buy a place to retire is ending up like playing with monopoly money causing my social contract to also be broken.

It also feels like there are a lot of cold posts with people who just have 'suddenly' got 6 figures through inheritance, crypto, getting a fairly regular job which makes 6 figures after tax and even just putting it into VWRP - the gains in 2025 have just been crazy. I'm glad those finding themselves in those positions are actively seeking to do something with it to keep/grow it other than going to a casino, but naming specific amounts maybe does make you end up in a few nets ready for harvesting.

InvesterJones

I've not noticed any recent large increase in the amounts people are asking for guidance with. Inheritance has always been a thing, while I've never heard of any significant numbers getting six figures through crypto (though in general, people don't mention where their source of money is). I hesitate to call six figures wealth: if you're comparing generations then don't forget £100k today is only the equivalent of £48K 30 years ago, and HRMC define wealth as over £2m of assets in the last 3 years (or income of £200,000 or more)

wmb194

No, it’s normal. Everyday someone retires, sells their home or receives an inheritance. You’ve mentioned yourself that you’re wealthy.

DjangoUnchained

I would think that people with very little or no money at all wouldnt really have much use for a saving and investing forum.

sgthammer

DjangoUnchained said:

I would think that people with very little or no money at all wouldnt really have much use for a saving and investing forum.

MSE isn't a typical savings & investment forum though. For every post saying "Help! There aren't enough independent banks for me to split my savings at only £85k each! How do I stay protected?" there's somebody else trying to find their way around the benefits system or arbitraging their debts to stay afloat after a crisis. It's a genuinely mixed community in that sense, which is one of the nicest things about it.

Albermarle

sgthammer said:

DjangoUnchained said:

I would think that people with very little or no money at all wouldnt really have much use for a saving and investing forum.

MSE isn't a typical savings & investment forum though. For every post saying "Help! There aren't enough independent banks for me to split my savings at only £85k each! How do I stay protected?" there's somebody else trying to find their way around the benefits system or arbitraging their debts to stay afloat after a crisis. It's a genuinely mixed community in that sense, which is one of the nicest things about it.

I am not sure such posts are very common on this forum, they would normally be found on the benefits and debt forums.
What you do get though is people asking about small amounts to save ( often for children) confusion over small pension amounts, people totally confused about ISA's etc

Scottex99

sgthammer said:

DjangoUnchained said:

I would think that people with very little or no money at all wouldnt really have much use for a saving and investing forum.

MSE isn't a typical savings & investment forum though. For every post saying "Help! There aren't enough independent banks for me to split my savings at only £85k each! How do I stay protected?" there's somebody else trying to find their way around the benefits system or arbitraging their debts to stay afloat after a crisis. It's a genuinely mixed community in that sense, which is one of the nicest things about it.

This for sure.

Id guess the vast majority of people on here asking about HYSAs or is mid 6 figures too much cash to hold - are “fairly” advanced in age and have been saving for decades.

Whilst the average normal person is more skint than ever.

Reddit and MSE are also vastly different 😅

friolento

Like others have said, I haven’t noticed any unusual number of posts about high value on here. I am not frequenting Reddit etc so cannot comment about them.

Having a few hundred £k kicking about after the sale of a house / downsizing / inheriting  etc can occur to many people. Whether it is “normal” much depends on your personal definition of normal