I know this has been discussed here before but it's now really starting to bug my wife and I.
Now my best friends don't care what I earn; they are a mixture of high earning business people and lower earning permies...all non-IT. They know what my contracting turnover is and they know I have a decent enough house etc but it just isn't an issue. We have been friends since school and nothing will change that.
My other friends, who are generally good for a laugh and a few drinks, appear to have an issue with the income my company generates. I have made the mistake of discussing my rates in the past with them, though they've also told me salary details (like he's on > £110k permie IT job). They seem to think I have something like £10k a month to blow on whatever I choose.
They don't see that our rates are all-inclusive and we have no benefits to speak of. And that we pay several levels of taxation. Or that the bulk of income is stuck in the Ltd company and can't just be spent without tax implications.
They also don't understand that my role is very temporary because the tech I work in is finished, so I need to plan for some serious downtime (which I will try to avoid of course, but have to plan anyway).
Comments like "Oh that costs £600, it's just a day's pay for you" really p1ss me off. I actually feel sorry for them because their financial education must be very poor. Even on a salary of £110k (£5500/month after tax), they complain that they don't have money for holidays... and I know their mortgage and costs aren't that much!
Money really can mess up friendships. Ultimately, mea culpa: I just wish I'd never discussed these things with them
Now my best friends don't care what I earn; they are a mixture of high earning business people and lower earning permies...all non-IT. They know what my contracting turnover is and they know I have a decent enough house etc but it just isn't an issue. We have been friends since school and nothing will change that.
My other friends, who are generally good for a laugh and a few drinks, appear to have an issue with the income my company generates. I have made the mistake of discussing my rates in the past with them, though they've also told me salary details (like he's on > £110k permie IT job). They seem to think I have something like £10k a month to blow on whatever I choose.
They don't see that our rates are all-inclusive and we have no benefits to speak of. And that we pay several levels of taxation. Or that the bulk of income is stuck in the Ltd company and can't just be spent without tax implications.
They also don't understand that my role is very temporary because the tech I work in is finished, so I need to plan for some serious downtime (which I will try to avoid of course, but have to plan anyway).
Comments like "Oh that costs £600, it's just a day's pay for you" really p1ss me off. I actually feel sorry for them because their financial education must be very poor. Even on a salary of £110k (£5500/month after tax), they complain that they don't have money for holidays... and I know their mortgage and costs aren't that much!
Money really can mess up friendships. Ultimately, mea culpa: I just wish I'd never discussed these things with them
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