We’re often told that people don’t understand quite what average incomes are and so on. However, it seems that people do have a pretty good idea:
THE average Briton would need a home worth £500,000 and a salary of £42,000 before considering themselves “well-off”, a study revealed yesterday.
They would also need two foreign holidays every year and have more than £33,000 in savings and investments to be financially content.
This was a poll of some 3,000 people asking what do you think you need in order to be “well off”?
And the results are quite good really. £42k puts you in hte top 10% of incomes and £500k in housing wealth plus some savings and perhaps a pension as well put’s you in the 8th or so percentile in terms of wealth. (The 9th percentile is £850 k or so).
So what people think they need to be “well off” corresponds quite closely with what the well off actually have.
11 responses so far ↓
1 Chris // Apr 26, 2010 at 8:46 am
“put’s”? And “want’s” in a previous post? Are you planning a career move from rare metals to greengrocery?
2 Kay Tie // Apr 26, 2010 at 10:27 am
I find the iPhone had a hankering for the grocer’s apostrophe in it’s [sic] autocorrect, as just proved.
3 Kay Tie // Apr 26, 2010 at 10:27 am
And I meant “has” not “had”. Bloody iPhone.
4 Ian Bennett // Apr 26, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Ditch the bloody thing and go back to a proper typewriter.
5 Philip Walker // Apr 26, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Ah, a scorecard! I’ve been looking for one of these.
6 Ed // Apr 26, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Note that it is rather difficult to buy a £500,000 home on a salary of £42,000.
7 dearieme // Apr 26, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Ed, the secret is not to buy the home, it is to have bought the home.
8 Ed // Apr 26, 2010 at 3:58 pm
dearieme, yes, when it was much cheaper, and to benefit from artificially imposed restrictions that prevent the next generation from buying. I think it’s sad that people want to have so much of their wealth in a non-productive asset like their own home and relatively little in more liquid and productive savings and investments.
9 Tony // Apr 27, 2010 at 7:09 am
And I meant “has” not “had”. Bloody iPhone.
10 Matthew // Apr 27, 2010 at 4:31 pm
I’m not sure the iphone had* much cachet these days, so you can all drop this cute way of letting us know you have one.
* blast, I mean has not had, I see the iPad hadn’t* solved the problem.
11 Eric // Apr 28, 2010 at 2:15 am
Ah, a scorecard! I’ve been looking for one of these.
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