Does an annual income of £70k make somebody rich?

[#1]

It's a question being asked by Leanne Wood MP for Rhondda in response to that other 'favourite' of the Welsh John Redwood that "to Labour, anyone earning more than £70,000 a year is rich. Many people on such an income do not see themselves as rich"

Anybody want to guess where they get that figure from? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzBq0n8dxFQ

[#2]

I guess it depends on the unavoidable outgoings such as rent of mortgage payments. Thanks to the purchase of a high return insurance endowment policy in my early twenty's I was able to escape the mortgage drag before I was 50. Since then no rent or mortgage has made a substantial difference to our family life. 

[#3]

Well we unloaded ours at 60 so you did well to be free of yours by the age of 50  -  But having said that, what's the average mortgage these days - a grand a month? Easy peasy on £70k and sure MP's often run two homes but they are given allowances to cover that, although why they cannot book into one of those more than adequate budget hotels when attending Westminster is beyond me.

As for earning that much 'just for starters' the average family in the UK earns less than half of that.   

[#4]

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Minivanman wrote:

Well we unloaded ours at 60 so you did well to be free of yours by the age of 50  -  But having said that, what's the average mortgage these days - a grand a month?   

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Stop supporting the promoted delusion to the poor that they cannot afford mortgage repayments.

Our neighbours pay £600 a month for their mortgage and it's a 4 bedroom house.

[#5]

£600/month on current rates.  Do you remember the days when it was 15% interest rate?

[#6]

 I certainly do, mine hit 17% at one time 

[#7]

@7up

Where did you get that from?

All I am suggesting is that somebody who earns £75k can easily afford a mortgage.

PS. Are you getting 'can' confused with 'cannot'? 

[#8]

It's impossible to give a precise figure on who you class as rich, there are too many variables.

For example the area you live in can be more expensive than other places. The number of people who work in your family,

Lets say a mother, father and 2 grown up adults living in the same house and each earning £50,000 a year, in theory each one is not richer than one person on £100,000  living alone or with a partner who does not work or works part time and is on a low wage.

Who will get penalised the most if tax rates are increased by a big figure past the £ 70,000 figure ?

Some people can live on a adequate amount that allows them to pay all the bills, keep a roof over their heads and not go without essential items as stated earlier too many variables.

Those who have never had much money in life might see an extra £ 50 a week as a fortune whilst others who have been well of would pay that much for a bottle of wine.

[#9]

Well trust me, somebody living in Rhondda (which is Leanne Woods constituency) on £70k a year would be quids in 

[#10]

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Minivanman wrote:

 I certainly do, mine hit 17% at one time 

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Yes that's true and yes I had to pay that at the time but you have to remember it was for a short period only, there was no way it could have remained at that level otherwise half those paying that figure would have posted their keys through their letter box and walked away.

If memory serves me correctly some did !

[#11]

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Minivanman wrote:

Well trust me, somebody living in Rhondda (which is Leanne Woods constituency) on £70k a year would be quids in 

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Does anybody in Rhondda earn that much, excluding Leanne Woods?

[#12]

Annual income of £ 70,000 a year.

At one time some of those working in the financial sector were making that much and more in a single week.

[#13]

@gleneagles

"Does anybody in Rhondda earn that much, excluding Leanne Woods?"

Tom Jones? 

As for those interest rates being for short period only well no, they were high for quite an umber of years I seem to recall never dropping much below ten percent from the mid 70s onward - unless my memory deceives me.

I take your point about those variables and Leanne Woods in the Rhondda cannot compare of course to John Redwood in Wokingham of course but even in the home counties £70k is no mean wage which according to the first site I checked, would get you a mortgage of £280,000 which even in the south east should get you a decent enough home I'd imagine.

Wrinklies like myself are the lucky ones I guess as at least owning a home was within reach even if we did pay through our noses for it, but to be on £70k a year today plus perks, allowance, expenses (and as much as you can fiddle )

If only. 

[#14]

@Minivanman

Whilst I agree that rates were high for a long time my point was that they were not in the range of 15% -17% for very long.

As for TJ no question that he was born and spent many years of his early life in Wales but I think you are pulling my leg to suggest he currently lives in Rhondda.

If you had his amount of money would you live there ?

[#15]

@gleneagles

"If you had his amount of money would you live there?"

Well as they say, you find the best Welsh folk in London as there's many a professional patriot who will do anything for Wales except live there.

A quick check on those bank interest rates (see below) from which we all suffered shows they were around for quite some time. Note the 78/81 peaks. Not always reflected in mortgage rate granted but painful all the same for those of us trying raise a family, pay for that growing family extension, or looking to buying a car. 

As for living here if I had his money well I'm not Tom Jones and it's all relative so yes, I probably would at my age and family - mind you, I might have a neat little beachfront holiday home somewhere nice and warm - all for health reasons you understand.