[Closed] We earn £190k a year. Do we need to sell our flat to afford private school fees?

Even people with seemingly loads of money worry about having enough of it.

These two will be first up against the wall when the revolution comes.....closely followed by the Telegraph journalist who can't spell consultancy

Abandon all hope

I've some thoughts, none of them are particularly nice though, so I'll take my mum's advice I think.

The couple also own two properties with a combined value of more than £1m

Dear lord that journalist needs a lesson in arithmetic. They don't have properties with a value of £1m, they have properties with a net value or £360k, which isn't that much given the inflated London property prices.

Sadly it's just one more example of people living at, or beyond, their means and that happens at all levels of income.

I wonder if even they can read back that article and think "yeah, that's a fair representation of our difficult situation"

has to be a pisstake, surely. Not even the telegraph could come up with that sort of shit and actually mean it

When Dave talks about the 'Culture of Entitlement' in modern society, he refers to benefits 'scroungers' , but its people like this I always think about.

"We'd like to have our cake and eat it"

And if we can't it must be someone else's fault...

jealousy is such an ugly emotion.

You would hope that the story has gone some way to funding their dreams.
A couple of ITV interviews and schooling for the wee munchkins is sorted,happy days.

Pretty sure justice4rinkas avatar sums it up nicely*

*see comments

I don't want to read the article because I hate the Telegraph, but if when earning £15k a year you find yourself struggling financially, it will feel exactly the same on £150k if you increase your outgoings proportionally, which for some strange reason people feel the need to do.

has to be a pisstake, surely. Not even the telegraph could come up with that sort of shit and actually mean it

Clickbait innit.

Their dilemma is how to fund the cost of the girls’ education without sacrificing their lifestyle

doesn't matter whether you earn 5k or 500k. everything you buy is at the detriment of something you could have bought.

I could have a much nicer car if i didn't spend all my cash on bikes.

If we then take into account holidays of say, £5,000 per year

I don't see the issue, that's roughly ho much 10 days in Majorca with 2 kids costs these days, which is only about £15 more than Centre Parcs

Doesn't matter how much people earn or not. If you insist on playing the game of "keeping up with the Joneses" and living beyond your means, you're going to feel financially crippled! Its a personal choice, they don't need to live in the property they choose to, send their kids to private schools, and have several holidays a year. We all have to make sacrifices somewhere to get by.

People spend what they earn. I've got mates who will complain to me about being broke all the time, but then they've got stupid mortgages, new cars on heavy monthly payments, they eat out twice a week and have 3 holidays a year... I'm self employed, pay myself considerably less than they earn, and bikes aside (perk of the job to be fair) I live a much more meagre existence than they do... Still can't work out why they insist on complaining to me about being broke though!

It's simple, spend more each month than you earn, you will be unhappy.

By contrast, my little sister is in the fortunate position where she owns her own home outright (she worked hard, made a couple of good decisions, and made enough capital in another property she sold to buy this one with no mortgage). This has allowed her to take a big step back in life, work a job she enjoys despite the low pay, and spend loads of time with her dog. She rents her spare room out cheaply to her best mate, and is relatively frugal with her spending (compared to when she lived in London). Even though by most people's standards, her near minimum wage job would make her poor, she earns more each month than she spends!

Hilarious article. Only £5k on holidays, what a couple of plebs.

Also do my eyes deceive me or has 'justice4rinka' got a ladies undercarriage as their avatar on that page? (edit- hadn't seen thestabiliser's comment - my eyes did not deceive me then!)

MrSmith - Member

jealousy is such an ugly emotion.

Envy.

How does anyone who can't work this out for themselves in about 30 seconds end up earning that much money?

£5k a year, clearly only a summer or a winter holiday then, those poor kids, they probably aren't learning to ski!

If only there was an alternative to private schools! Perhaps, in the future they will come up with schools funded by the government or something, maybe they could even score them with a rating so you can choose a good one?

Nah, rubbish idea, it will never catch on.

Possibly the most Telegraph article possible! Spend less, save more is the answer in almost all of these situations and they are spending a very big amount by the looks of the article.

Also two properties of near £1M and two mortgages of nearly £0.5M doesn't mean that they are worth £1M.

Those poor poor ****ers, imagine being entirely reliant on your wages!!1! They're plebs really though aren't they, £10000 a month after tax, ain't no one living on that, I bet they don't even have a decent coffee machine.

They need a chart

[img] [/img]

I earn that sort of money. I went to comprehensive, expect the same for my potential kids and therefore feel absolutely minted. My wife went to a fee-paying school, expects the same for her kids and therefore feels like we need to find 3/4s of a million quid before we can safely have any.

It's all about the difference between expectations and means, whatever you bring in.

🙂

jealousy is such an ugly emotion.

Agreed. But I don't think anyone here is jealous of these people. 😕

They are mortgaged up to the hilt, they live in London, they think private education is a necessity, and they seem to be unsatisfied and scared and completely unappreciative of how incredibly privileged they are. Doesn't sound that great to me.

If they sold up and moved to a terrace in Rochdale, they'd never need to work again.

I can't believe they've not explored this option

Also, if youre 'entirely reliant' on you wages surely that makes you <gasp> [i]working class[/i]?

That article is all over the place, it doesn't explain anything in such detail that you can actually appreciate what the hell is going on. Like why they have £8k in credit card debt yet earn £10k a month after tax with a £2.5k mortgage. What are their other outgoings?

Dont see where people get an impression of entitlement from, they earn more than most and want to do right by their children, the bastards...

jealousy is such an ugly emotion.

Agreed. But I don't think anyone here is jealous of these people.

Jealous? I can't think of anything worse than their lifestyle. I also think, that given their obvious expectations, and sense of entitlement, they'd never be happy no matter how much they have.

mboy put it perfectly.

All about living within your means no matter how much you earn.
If you don't then it's not a nice place to be.

Dont see where people get an impression of entitlement from, they earn more than most and want to do right by their children, the bastards...

Well, thinking that you [i]have[/i] to send your kids to private school, for starters. So everyone who hasn't done this hasn't done right by their children?

Their dilemma is how to fund the cost of the girls’ education without sacrificing their lifestyle.

I believe that's called wanting to have your cake and eat it.

Bet they vote Tory aswell. Could do with a good hiding, might knock some sense into them.

TBH don't have a problem with them earning a good wedge or sending their kids to private school, more the contention that they may have to 'sacrifice' the bi-weekly delivery of shite from the white company and switch from 'artisan' baked beans to aldi. Boofrickin'hoo

I hope they get cat aids, no pudding & end up living in a trendy ex-council 1.5m 2 bed shithole in London's trendiest up & coming area only 3hrs by rancid public transport from their nearest organic hipster bakery. And the bakery is secretly re-selling them Aldi loafs for £7. And the kids go to private school & come out with nothing but attitude & resent them.

Other than that I wish them well in their chosen life path.

Their dilemma is how to fund the cost of the girls’ education without sacrificing their lifestyle.

So they want yet more than than can afford, despite being well into the richest 1% of earners in the country, with all the advantages that gives then, but they don't see why they should have to sacrifice anything else to pay for it?

And you're not seeing a sense of entitlement at all there, no?

You are a Tory cabinet member, and i claim my £5 in food vouchers 😆

Expensive coke habit is expensive.

They earn more than me but I have greater assets, I went to fee paying schools but not bothered about sending my son to one assuming I'm happy with the state school options. Their BTL annoys me most about this though, they'll be benefiting from house price rises from their residence, having another is greedy in this instance and opens them up to a big hit of prices do fall back at some point.

I'd rather live in a nicer house than have another for income purposes - a 725k home in SW London is pretty average - but then they have large mortages so release the capital from the BTL, reduce the remaining mortgage and have a happier life.

All this article has told me is that a couple with two children need help with financial planning. They wouldn't be the first by any means, whatever their income level.

Meh.

When did the wealthiest 1% become middle class?

I don't understand the hatred towards these people. They work hard, earn good money, want the best opportunities for their kids and need help with financial planning. Big deal.

What exactly have they done wrong other than not being very good at planning their finances?

When did the wealthiest 1% become middle class?

Having money has little to do with class.

What exactly have they done wrong other than not being very good at planning their finances?

Moan about a situation that any reasonably intelligent person could resolve.

jealousy is such an ugly emotion.

How can you be jealous of people who can't budget?

Having money has little to do with class.

I was referring to the article..."the sheer cost of middle-class life". If "middle-class life" includes private schools and expensive holidays then I'd say that money has a great deal to do with it.

But it's interesting that it's probably how the people in the OP see themselves.

I know quite a few people like them. My wife has friends who are looking to move to a bigger place (2 kids growing up needing more space), who are moaning that they can't find anything within their budget, in the area they want to live in (they have around £750,000, and want to live in one of London's most fashionable areas). I can't even engage with idiots like that. They simply cannot appreciate that they are in an incredibly privileged position relative to 99% of the population, and really do think they are somehow 'entitled'.

a 725k home in SW London is pretty average

It's not. Maybe 'average' for a very nice home in a very nice area, but certainly not 'average' for SW London. If people weren't so blinkered and felt so entitled, they would realise they could buy a bloody nice home in a not so fashionable area, for a lot less. The equivalent to our home in an area just a mile away from us is probably about £150,000-200,000 more. Simply because it has a different (more desirable) postcode, and some of the local residents are 'celebrities'. So what? What else do you get for your money? Nothing.

You are a Tory cabinet member, and i claim my £5 in food vouchers

Sorry binners, they don't do food vouchers any more, instead you're being moved to a poor house....

When did the wealthiest 1% become middle class?

yeah i'm always surprised by what the Mail / DT will try to define as 'middle class'...

but then...

the idea of 'class' in this country is in such a messed up state these days.

Moan about a situation that any reasonably intelligent person could resolve.

Perhaps you could quote the bit in the article where they moan about their situation?

[quote=ransos spake unto the masses, saying]What exactly have they done wrong other than not being very good at planning their finances?
Moan about a situation that any reasonably intelligent person could resolve.

Are they actually moaning, though, or just trying to find out if they can achieve their goals? They seem well off to us, but probably we seem well off to a lot of people who would sneer at us complaining about the price of Howies shirts and Chris King headsets.

The average salary in the UK is about 25k. It takes something of a lack of awareness (to say the least), when earning a household income of 8 times that, to go into the national press whining that its just, like SOOOOOOOOOOOO NOT FAIR!!! 😥

I bet they've loads of empathy towards people who really are struggling

But it's interesting that it's probably how the people in the OP see themselves.

To be fair if you work in the City, you're surrounded by people who would consider their salary pocket change. My BIL is a CFO in the City and when I socialise with his friends in Wimbledon it is a different world completely.

190k a year, poor buggers, not sure how they survive on that.

Are they actually moaning, though, or just trying to find out if they can achieve their goals? They seem well off to us, but probably we seem well off to a lot of people who would sneer at us complaining about the price of Howies shirts and Chris King headsets.

Chris King headsets are very expensive. I can't afford to buy them for me and my daughter (after all, she should have the same experience as me) and buy all the other things I would like. Do I a)buy something cheaper or b)put it on the credit card and whinge to the Telegraph that the sheer cost of cycling in Britain has left me financially broken?

190k a year, poor buggers, not sure how they survive on that.

They can't, that's the tragedy.

To be fair if you work in the City, you're surrounded by people who would consider their salary pocket change.

That was my point. My wife once worked for one of the big four accountancy firms, and spent an evening in the company of a Partner complaining about the cost of a new staircase in her home. The Partner lacked the self-awareness to realise that the staircase cost more than all of the other people at the table earned in a year.

If poor people stuck to reading The Sun and not The Telegraph then there wouldn't be a problem here.

The issue isn't the content of the article but the fact that the lower classes are reading a broadsheet newspaper 😉

Well, thinking that you have to send your kids to private school, for starters. So everyone who hasn't done this hasn't done right by their children?

Not what I said. I said [b]they[/b] want to do right by their children.

As said they have very poor financial acumen. That doesn't make them any more stupid than the folk who go to payday lenders. Once again the sanctimony on here never fails to surprise me, that you can glean so much about these people from such a piece of poorly written bollocks with little to no real info about their financial situation speaks volumes about your own prejudices.

And binners, no, not even close, just not a sanctimonious judgemental shit like most who feel its their duty to comment on other peoples lives and life choices.

As said they have very poor financial acumen.

Oh give over. Are you seriously suggesting that they got to those senior positions without having any budgetary skills?

As said they have very poor financial acumen. That doesn't make them any more stupid than the folk who go to payday lenders. Once again the sanctimony on here never fails to surprise me, that you can glean so much about these people from such a piece of poorly written bollocks with little to no real info about their financial situation speaks volumes about your own prejudices.

well said.

They work hard, earn good money and are rubbish at planning their finances. That is not enough of a reason to hate them.

a 725k home in SW London is pretty average

It's not. Maybe 'average' for a very nice home in a very nice area

Well I'm going by my old house which was a 2 bed terrace in a decent but not fab area which is now worth rather more than £725k - it is in zone 2 though so gets a premium for that.

As said they have very poor financial acumen. That doesn't make them any more stupid than the folk who go to payday lenders.

Because thats usually a choice the lower orders, frightful as they are, make through an informed decision, after reviewing the plethora of other options available to them, right?

You're coming across really well on the empathy, and in-touch-with-reality front yourself here. Do go on....

[img] [/img]

They look like actors to me. I mean, who really dresses like that ?

Sell the flat?! Maybe if they sold the house and moved into the flat they could afford the school fees.

[quote=binners spake unto the masses, saying]The average salary in the UK is about 25k. It takes something of a lack of awareness (to say the least), when earning a household income of 8 times that, to go into the national press whining that its just, like SOOOOOOOOOOOO NOT FAIR!!!
I bet they've loads of empathy towards people who really are struggling

We must have read a different article. The one I read didn't say that at all.

They want to send their kids to private school but can't do it with their current financial arrangements. I want to buy a car but can't do it with my current financial arrangements. If someone at the DT would tell me how to manage it I'd be happy, but I'm not moaning about taking the bus.

Sell the flat?! Maybe if they sold the house and moved into the flat they could afford the school fees.

Gosh, you're not suggesting that they live within their means, are you? It's that kind of thinking that saw me buy a Hope headset rather than a Chris King. It will never do.

ransos - Member
What exactly have they done wrong other than not being very good at planning their finances?
Moan about a situation that any reasonably intelligent person could resolve.

Agrees with ransos..

As said they have very poor financial acumen.

...but are able to hold down jobs which bring in a combined total of £190,000 every year and are accruing equity from both a buy to let property and their own home, all whilst seemingly living the lifestyle that that they desire.

I would suggest that these two statements are mutually exclusive.

That doesn't make them any more stupid than the folk who go to payday lenders

It's a whole different kind of stupid.

Are you seriously suggesting that they got to those senior positions without having any budgetary skills?

Ironically I'd say yes. It's quite possible to be a senior well paid partner and not have to budget.

If you earn a shed load of money you don't necessarily have to budget. The consequences are far less than if you earn very little. (You may need to stop having a holiday rather than not having food for your children)

The article doesn't say they spend £5K a year on holidays - it's one of the "experts" saying that.

The couple still need their heads knocking together though - they should move to one of the many parts of London that have great primary and secondary schools, free up the education costs and either work less and spend more time with the kids or take up [s]simple cheap[/s] hobbies like mountain biking.

Ironically I'd say yes. It's quite possible to be a senior well paid partner and not have to budget.

You become a senior manager by progressing through more junior positions. I simply do not believe that they progressed in their careers without having to manage budgets.

Managing a budget at work and managing your own budget are different things.

Being able to and actually doing it aren't the same.

If you always spend less than you earn there is no need to budget.

Managing a budget at work and managing your own budget are different things.

Being able to and actually doing it aren't the same.

If you always spend less than you earn there is no need to budget.

I'm glad I earn a fraction of what they do, so I've never been in a position to balls up my personal finances.

We must have read a different article. The one I read didn't say that at all.

They want to send their kids to private school but can't do it with their current financial arrangements.

They could very easily do it. They just don't want too, as they don't see why thy should have to make any sacrifices.

Once again.... you're not seeing that as a sense of entitlement, no?

the sooner we tax buy to let out of existence the better, would we allow any other necessity of life to be speculated upon by "investors"

It's that kind of thinking that saw me buy a Hope headset rather than a Chris King.

I'm glad I earn a fraction of what they do, so I've never been in a position to balls up my personal finances.

Odd thing to say. As I'm sure you're perfectly aware, many people earning the same, and less, than you have ballsed up their personal finances.
I can't see how these people have done this, though.

There's a lot of single people on here, and childless couples, who probably manage to spend just about everything they earn, no matter how high their income.
When another mouth or two comes along, if they're not in the habit of budgeting then what's the harm in asking for a bit of advice? £25k a year on school fees is still a heck of a chunk out of their net income, and wouldn't it be sensible to plan how to save it with the least pain.

the sooner we tax buy to let out of existence the better,

the sooner we tax buy to let out of existence the better, would we allow any other necessity of life to be speculated upon by "investors"

The change in BTL tax relief for top-rate income tax payers is actually going to make it unworkable for a lot of people, including this couple.