‘I don’t live that expensive of a lifestyle. I was lucky to get on the property ladder in 2010, with a flat that doubled in price within five years of me buying it,’ Andrew says
Andrew* is a self-employed private tutor who, at the age of 38, owns a flat near Kensington Gardens in West London and earns a salary of £80,000-£100,000 a year working for his family business. He earns an annual salary envied by so many, and yet Andrew is financially struggling.
In the UK, one in 10 adults are saving no money at all, while a further 21 per cent have less than £1,000 to draw on in an emergency, a new report has revealed.
The findings found that a quarter of the UK adult population have low financial resilience – term that describes having debts that are difficult to pay off; having failed to pay a series of bills; and having little savings.
This is a financial strain felt by even those earning more than double the UK’s average salary.
“I’m not saving. Saving is not really a thing, unless you’re working in finance,” Andrew tells The i Paper.
“I don’t live that expensive of a lifestyle. I was lucky to get on the property ladder in 2010, with a flat that doubled in price within five years of me buying it. I was fortunate in that regard, but I’ve got bills and a mortgage to pay. Life is expensive.”
Andrew describes how he has had to cut back a lot on his personal expenses recently – although he does mention that his age and an introduction to spiritualism are contributing factors to a change of lifestyle. “I don’t go out much. I stopped drinking, and I’m quite disciplined in my lifestyle. Bills are so high, so you go on the odd holiday once or twice a year.”
This life-altering financial toil is one he says is felt by nearly all of his peers and has resulted in many choosing to leave the country. “Many of my friends have moved to either Dubai or Monaco because they can’t afford to live in London anymore,” he explains.
“No one lives off their parents any more. That era of privileged upbringings and continuing the wealth of parents has diminished a lot; therefore, many of my friends are trying to make their own ends meet independently.”
“The people who are successfully [living independently] are people in banking,” he adds.
When asked how much a livable income is in central London, Andrew replies: “£100,000 is nowhere sufficient. If you are independently earning £200,000 a year, then you are comfortably safe.”
A TimeOut study conducted in 2023 found that to enjoy a financially unburdened life in London, you need to be earning £79,524.
Despite his monetary migraine, Andrew is “counting down the days” to his upcoming holiday in two-and-a-half weeks, which immediately follows his last tutee ending their struggles with GCSEs.
“When you’re self-employed, you don’t get annual leave and so I take limited time off because it costs money, even sickies cost money. It costs me around £300 to £500 a day,” he says.
Yet, Andrew will be leaving his W2 postcode and will explore Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro – at the cost of £3,750 to £6,250.
*Andrew is given a false name due to consenting to speak to The i Paper under the agreement of anonymity
