General Chat

Money means a lot particularly when we don't have much.

Today's Budget means very little to me. :-P

Having lived in both wage brackets
Money doesn't make you any happier

People just make the best of what they have at the time

Don't watch it, but generalising -

If the net income gradually increases, so does your expenditure. Initially its the coffee shop visits & the big-boys electronic toys. Then its purchasing more upmarket clothing, jewellery, accessories & cars than you could previously.
Holidays further afield than you'd ever considered, or even 5 star hotels instead of 2 or 3.

Take 2 people we know/have known.

The first was raised in poverty because of his father's gambling.
In time, he was earning an above average salary. He loved to buy & treat himself & his own family to all the things he felt he'd missed out on - exotic holidays, large house, new upper range cars & fine dining. There was some suspicion that he was over-extending himself.

The other person was raised in an 'average' family. She & her husband didn't have a great deal of income, but were 'comfortable'. They saved for their 'old age'. That time has come but they still can't bring themselves to replace clothing not even fit for the rag-bin or spend the extra 2p on a food item from a more convenient shop. Heaven forbid they were to put the CH on early!
In their case, old habits die hard.

I have been watching this and think we live on a similar amount of money to the people in the poor homes, especially as we do not claim housing benefit.

What I find difficult to imagine is what I would spend all the money on that the people in the rich houses have.