[Politics] Does earning £50k a year make you 'rich'

[dazzer6666]

I've never come close to buying a new car, I don't think many, if any do any more ? I guess, like my neighbour with a Porsche 4x4, (turbo tractor) its just a lease car . . . . or a posh hire he's wasting £600 a month on!

My last couple have been new, but I tend keep them for several years.............I know it's a bit of an extravagance but waited until I was mid 40s before I ever bought a new one. I did have company cars for several years so was getting a new one every 3 years - despite being in a job where I did virtually zero business miles.

 

[zefarelly]

newest we had was 14 months, 12k miles ex manufacturer Co car. and half price! my current SUbaru legacy I bought 3 yrs old, 90k miles, £4k . . . .I'm not rich . . .10 years later its still going strong with 160k on the clock!

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Cars have always struck me as a total waste of money and a burden. I take the option of living somewhere, and working somewhere, where I don’t need one. It’s a lot easier and cheaper.

 

[Bozza]

Cars have always struck me as a total waste of money and a burden. I take the option of living somewhere, and working somewhere, where I don’t need one. It’s a lot easier and cheaper.

I'm of a similar mindset, ish. The time when I had new cars and nice BMW convertibles are long gone. We now share a single car, a (now) 6-year old Civic. It's cheap to run, reliable and generally quite practical. It replaced another Civic that we all but ran into the ground before someone ran into it and wrote it off.

Today, though, is a rare day where a second car would be useful (Worthing to East Grinstead is a bitch of a journey on public transport) and I find myself browsing car leasing sites and when I do I'm amazed at what £300 a month will get you. It would be very easy to do, and we'd have a very nice brand new car on the driveway for days like today. But days like today are rare and that's £300 * 12 months * 4 years = £14,400 that we just don't need to spend.

 

[dazzer6666]

I'm of a similar mindset, ish. The time when I had new cars and nice BMW convertibles are long gone. We now share a single car, a (now) 6-year old Civic. It's cheap to run, reliable and generally quite practical. It replaced another Civic that we all but ran into the ground before someone ran into it and wrote it off.

Today, though, is a rare day where a second car would be useful (Worthing to East Grinstead is a bitch of a journey on public transport) and I find myself browsing car leasing sites and when I do I'm amazed at what £300 a month will get you. It would be very easy to do, and we'd have a very nice brand new car on the driveway for days like today. But days like today are rare and that's £300 * 12 months * 4 years = £14,400 that we just don't need to spend.

I totally get that and that's where we were a few years back........slightly different for us now :

-regular fairly long trips to see family
-usually drive to awaydays
-wife lacks confidence driving, will only drive a small car (that wouldn't be big enough for general use, and would be nasty on long trips)

Don't spend much on other luxuries (apart from holidays) so having a nice car is, I know, a bit of an indulgence on my part. By comparison, wife's car is 10 years old, and no plans to change it (I have suggested it but she doesn't want to) - it's only got about 25k on the clock and costs absolute peanuts to run. Also, having a new car means no servicing costs or worries for 3 years

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I'm of a similar mindset, ish. The time when I had new cars and nice BMW convertibles are long gone. We now share a single car, a (now) 6-year old Civic. It's cheap to run, reliable and generally quite practical. It replaced another Civic that we all but ran into the ground before someone ran into it and wrote it off.

Today, though, is a rare day where a second car would be useful (Worthing to East Grinstead is a bitch of a journey on public transport) and I find myself browsing car leasing sites and when I do I'm amazed at what £300 a month will get you. It would be very easy to do, and we'd have a very nice brand new car on the driveway for days like today. But days like today are rare and that's £300 * 12 months * 4 years = £14,400 that we just don't need to spend.

I’ve only owned one car, this was about 20 years ago and for about 4 years. Towards the end I was only using it occasionally and an Enterprise* office opened almost at the end of my road in Hove; I sold it and now hire as and when I need a car. In addition I have deliberately engineered my life so I don’t need a car; I appreciate not everyone can do this but it’s just me and the Frau so we can. But equally I do feel there’s a lot of unnecessary car ownership out there.

It also cost a lot in depreciation, tax, maintenance and insurance. I’ve got far better things to waste my money on like pretentiously named beers and overpriced limited edition vinyl and iPhones.

* I did cause a stir quite recently when I hired a nice smart new car from Heathrow and asked which pedal was the clutch when I was told to press it to start the car. I’d not driven for about a year though.

 

[WATFORD zero]

PCP thing is interesting - when I changed my car last year, I simply couldn't get a sensible (comparable) deal by paying cash up front - taking out a PCP instead meant a whole load of discounts were triggered (dealer discount, manufacturer discount, finance discount etc) that wouldn't have been available if I'd paid up front.

Apparently 86% of new cars are now bought on credit (last year's figures), so the chances are very high that if you see a new car, it's on credit.

 

[Mr Cleansheets]

As far as I'm concerned you're only rich if you don't have to work.

The Australian equivalent would be about $90k, which is just short of double the average wage - similar to the UK position. The missus and I make a fair bit more than that and while we'd be certainly regarded as well off by national standards, we don't feel rich and will have to keep working for a few years yet.

Having said that, we holidayed in Egypt in 2010 just before the revolution. Seeing the terrible poverty of Cairo opened my eyes somewhat to the way the world economy works and I realised that by world standards, living on the dole in Australia makes you VERY rich.

Not that anyone on the dole in Australia would think so.

 

[Triggaaar]

55% of voters on this poll earn over £50k. WTF?

 

[Bozza]

55% of voters on this poll earn over £50k. WTF?

I know, right?

What should we do with the 45% who are letting the side down?

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

I think the answer is 'it makes you feel rich', and therefore vote Tory and support policies intended to divide you from the truly poor. The dividing line between the rich and everyone else probably needs another '0' on it though

 

[Triggaaar]

I know, right?

What should we do with the 45% who are letting the side down?

Execution springs to mind, but then, these toilets won't clean themselves.

 

[KingKev]

The current £100,00 - £127,300 band where you pay 60% is the most nonsensical. Why not just increase tax to 45% at 100K and be done with it?

Absolutely! How on earth does this craziness still go on - marginal tax rate at £100k is higher than it is at £1m? Hardly “progressive taxation”.....

 

[NooBHA]

Your only rich if your happy

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

Execution springs to mind, but then, these toilets won't clean themselves.

Not once we get rid of all the foreigners anyway.

 

[Gazwag]

55% of voters on this poll earn over £50k. WTF?

Maybe a large percentage don't know their < from their >

 

[melias shoes]

Don't be ridiculous.