Poll: Are you rich?
Total Members Polled: 520
Discussion
Countdown said:
I think somebody can be "rich" by absolute standards, They might not "feel" rich but if they're earning in the top 1% / 0.5% / 0.00005% then by any reasonable standard they're rich. Just because you spend all your income (and more) doesn't necessarily make you poor
High income and wealth are vasty different things. You can be in the top 1% for earnings but if you spend everything you earn, you'll never build up your net worth. THAT is what counts, not earnings. High earnings can help facilitate an increasing net worth, but only if you invest wisely / not spend everything on consumer crap, holidays and depreciating cars...No doubt many high income earners exist with few assets to back it up, these people are not "rich".
okgo said:
To be vaguely realistic you’d need to be in the top % for your age and region etc, the difference between the top 1% male 40-45 in London to somewhere else is VAST (it’s something like 400k difference to national). And would explain easily how someone can be rich nationally but feel nothing of the sort locally.
All we see on here are folk living in more affluent/poorer than average areas and showing shock and awe at either end of the scale. Hence my comment about whatever you said a few pages back. There’s thousands of people within a 10 minute walk of my house paying for their kids school and with expensive house/car on the drive. I doubt any of them would class themselves as rich or they’d be living somewhere more expensive/in a larger house most likely. These people when plonked in Gosport would be among the wealthiest handful of people there.
We seem to be going around in circles. They might not class themselves as "rich" and they might not "Feel" rich but, by most metrics they ARE rich. Somebody on £2m a year living in Hull doesn't become any richer or poorer if he suddenly moves to Chelsea or Dubai.All we see on here are folk living in more affluent/poorer than average areas and showing shock and awe at either end of the scale. Hence my comment about whatever you said a few pages back. There’s thousands of people within a 10 minute walk of my house paying for their kids school and with expensive house/car on the drive. I doubt any of them would class themselves as rich or they’d be living somewhere more expensive/in a larger house most likely. These people when plonked in Gosport would be among the wealthiest handful of people there.
Ken_Code said:
As above, much of the feeling of wealth and success is down to how well you are doing relative to the people around you at home and work.
The person with the detached house in a street of semis may feel a greater sense of affluence than the person with the “little” yacht in Monaco.
Absolutely The person with the detached house in a street of semis may feel a greater sense of affluence than the person with the “little” yacht in Monaco.
I spent 30 years in the Police, daily wading in to the cesspool of humanity and not just in “poor” areas. There’s lots of people in affluent areas that have lives that aren’t great
I’ve seen it all over the years
I was always happy going to work knowing that I would get back in my car and drive home to my nice house in a nice area and a lovely family inside it
You can be a millionaire and not have that as much as living in a council house on benefits
As I said previously rich just isn’t about money
RizzoTheRat said:
It would be a ok sample if it was random, but it's a sample of people who are members of a forum for people with enough disposable cash to spend on nice cars. PH is not representative of the UK as a whole
I love the way some posters like to think that because they post on PH they are richer/more affluent than those who choose not to post on here.Countdown said:
okgo said:
To be vaguely realistic you’d need to be in the top % for your age and region etc, the difference between the top 1% male 40-45 in London to somewhere else is VAST (it’s something like 400k difference to national). And would explain easily how someone can be rich nationally but feel nothing of the sort locally.
All we see on here are folk living in more affluent/poorer than average areas and showing shock and awe at either end of the scale. Hence my comment about whatever you said a few pages back. There’s thousands of people within a 10 minute walk of my house paying for their kids school and with expensive house/car on the drive. I doubt any of them would class themselves as rich or they’d be living somewhere more expensive/in a larger house most likely. These people when plonked in Gosport would be among the wealthiest handful of people there.
We seem to be going around in circles. They might not class themselves as "rich" and they might not "Feel" rich but, by most metrics they ARE rich. Somebody on £2m a year living in Hull doesn't become any richer or poorer if he suddenly moves to Chelsea or Dubai.All we see on here are folk living in more affluent/poorer than average areas and showing shock and awe at either end of the scale. Hence my comment about whatever you said a few pages back. There’s thousands of people within a 10 minute walk of my house paying for their kids school and with expensive house/car on the drive. I doubt any of them would class themselves as rich or they’d be living somewhere more expensive/in a larger house most likely. These people when plonked in Gosport would be among the wealthiest handful of people there.
okgo said:
Countdown said:
I think somebody can be "rich" by absolute standards, They might not "feel" rich but if they're earning in the top 1% / 0.5% / 0.00005% then by any reasonable standard they're rich. Just because you spend all your income (and more) doesn't necessarily make you poor
To be vaguely realistic you’d need to be in the top % for your age and region etc, the difference between the top 1% male 40-45 in London to somewhere else is VAST (it’s something like 400k difference to national). And would explain easily how someone can be rich nationally but feel nothing of the sort locally. All we see on here are folk living in more affluent/poorer than average areas and showing shock and awe at either end of the scale. Hence my comment about whatever you said a few pages back. There’s thousands of people within a 10 minute walk of my house paying for their kids school and with expensive house/car on the drive. I doubt any of them would class themselves as rich or they’d be living somewhere more expensive/in a larger house most likely. These people when plonked in Gosport would be among the wealthiest handful of people there.
On multiple threads you come across as thinking you are better than others because you earn well. Comments about the jet2 brigade etc.
However where you live earning well gets you a semi detached house and a golf. So why the snobbery?
Someone with a lower income in a cheaper area probably has a better standard or living than you and manages that without lording it over others.
Zj2002 said:
Probably the only thing you’ve ever posted that I agree with, and is the sole reason why I tend to respond to your posts which I regularly call sneering.
On multiple threads you come across as thinking you are better than others because you earn well. Comments about the jet2 brigade etc.
However where you live earning well gets you a semi detached house and a golf. So why the snobbery?
Someone with a lower income in a cheaper area probably has a better standard or living than you and manages that without lording it over others.
All of those things are choices. Not decided for me. On multiple threads you come across as thinking you are better than others because you earn well. Comments about the jet2 brigade etc.
However where you live earning well gets you a semi detached house and a golf. So why the snobbery?
Someone with a lower income in a cheaper area probably has a better standard or living than you and manages that without lording it over others.
You’re falling into the trap of thinking all people live outwardly to their salary.
okgo said:
Zj2002 said:
Probably the only thing you’ve ever posted that I agree with, and is the sole reason why I tend to respond to your posts which I regularly call sneering.
On multiple threads you come across as thinking you are better than others because you earn well. Comments about the jet2 brigade etc.
However where you live earning well gets you a semi detached house and a golf. So why the snobbery?
Someone with a lower income in a cheaper area probably has a better standard or living than you and manages that without lording it over others.
All of those things are choices. Not decided for me. On multiple threads you come across as thinking you are better than others because you earn well. Comments about the jet2 brigade etc.
However where you live earning well gets you a semi detached house and a golf. So why the snobbery?
Someone with a lower income in a cheaper area probably has a better standard or living than you and manages that without lording it over others.
You’re falling into the trap of thinking all people live outwardly to their salary.
okgo said:
Zj2002 said:
The point remains that you have no reason to feel superior to others due to earning well. In that there London you are merely a pleb like the rest of us.
That would require you to know a lot more about me than you do - have a great afternoon. okgo said:
Zj2002 said:
Ah so you are superior. Have a good afternoon fine sir.
Probably to the idea you have of me, yes. Isn’t it about now we trot out Felix Dennis version of Rich? Probably closer to the mark than anything on this thread, that’s for sure.
Private school, £2k a month for day pupils.
That's more than someone on minimum wage earns before tax, more than I took home each month (basic) as an IT engineer, and more than I get now from 3 pensions and renting out a room.
Back in the day, kids who's parents wanted them to get on in life just made sure they got into the local grammar school. Free.
That's more than someone on minimum wage earns before tax, more than I took home each month (basic) as an IT engineer, and more than I get now from 3 pensions and renting out a room.
Back in the day, kids who's parents wanted them to get on in life just made sure they got into the local grammar school. Free.
clockworks said:
Private school, £2k a month for day pupils.
Back in the day, kids who's parents wanted them to get on in life just made sure they got into the local grammar school. Free.
Given the age of many private schools I doubt this is strictly correct. The one we are going to opt for is a few hundred years old. Back in the day, kids who's parents wanted them to get on in life just made sure they got into the local grammar school. Free.
Also the lack of grammars (they’re almost all in about 3 counties) and switch to private of many (such as where Starmer went) has meant there’s far fewer choices.
But I think the fees these days are much more as a percentage of the average wage than they were when I was a kid.
Would I say no to f
k you money? Hell no, I'd take the arm and all.
But I don't wake up worrying about it.
I've had a few working with (and for) me who thought they were rich because they were on high incomes. Firstly they weren't that high. Secondly when every pound you're earning is spent before the end of the month you're not rich.
In my view rich is not having to work. I know the limitations in that viewpoint as that would imply every pensioner is rich when they clearly all aren't but you get the point.
I have an embarrassingly cheap lifestyle by some of the standards on this forum with an embarrassingly large salary given how easy my job is now. I'm not rich, I'm doing ok.
k you money? Hell no, I'd take the arm and all.But I don't wake up worrying about it.
I've had a few working with (and for) me who thought they were rich because they were on high incomes. Firstly they weren't that high. Secondly when every pound you're earning is spent before the end of the month you're not rich.
In my view rich is not having to work. I know the limitations in that viewpoint as that would imply every pensioner is rich when they clearly all aren't but you get the point.
I have an embarrassingly cheap lifestyle by some of the standards on this forum with an embarrassingly large salary given how easy my job is now. I'm not rich, I'm doing ok.
okgo said:
clockworks said:
Private school, £2k a month for day pupils.
Back in the day, kids who's parents wanted them to get on in life just made sure they got into the local grammar school. Free.
Given the age of many private schools I doubt this is strictly correct. The one we are going to opt for is a few hundred years old. Back in the day, kids who's parents wanted them to get on in life just made sure they got into the local grammar school. Free.
Also the lack of grammars (they’re almost all in about 3 counties) and switch to private of many (such as where Starmer went) has meant there’s far fewer choices.
But I think the fees these days are much more as a percentage of the average wage than they were when I was a kid.
Looking at fees for the private school when I was at school the fees would have been about 55 to 60% of my dad's salary. The fees now are about 60 to 65% of my brother's salary (he does the equivalent job as my dad did). Essentially the fees look to have gone up roughly in line with inflation but the earnings (in that job) have been slightly behind inflation.
okgo said:
I think the main issue is house prices have gone mad. So to pay the money today does take a much larger salary than it did.
They haven't went mad by accident though.It has been going on too long to lay the blame at any one party but expensive house prices are government policy.
okgo said:
I think the main issue is house prices have gone mad. So to pay the money today does take a much larger salary than it did.
Yes, that's a problem. Even when interest rates were sky high, if the average house cost 3 or 4 times your annual salary then you could cope. Not so much if you're looking to buy a similar house now at 7 or 8 times your salary. (Figures made up for effect before anyone gets their raw data and facts out!)Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff