As a contractor do you sometimes lose perspective when it comes to money?!

[Robinho]

Two earners certainly helps, but even then it's not 'lose perspective' rich. For a single earner with a wife/kids/mortgage then 70oddK gross isn't a fortune these days, I think that's what the original poster was saying.

So what you're saying is if you spend all the money you earn you won't be rich.

[rootsnall]

So what you're saying is if you spend all the money you earn you won't be rich.

What I'm saying is, on 70K gross with a decent size mortgage and kids you'd be doing very well to save 15K a year. You'd have to be living on <30K net a year. You are doing OK but you can't 'lose perspective' which was the point of the original post. It's good money but you aren't rich !

[mudskipper]

I think if you don't know how much a pint of milk/loaf of bread/box of eggs costs, you have a different perspective on money than the man who does (and knows the different prices in different stores).

[MarillionFan]

I think if you don't know how much a pint of milk/loaf of bread/box of eggs costs, you have a different perspective on money than the man who does (and knows the different prices in different stores).

£30?

[eek]

I think if you don't know how much a pint of milk/loaf of bread/box of eggs costs, you have a different perspective on money than the man who does (and knows the different prices in different stores).

milk is 60p a pint (delivered) 90p a litre £1.20 2 litres in the corner shop.

Bread was £1.55 in the co-op yesterday (there's rapid inflation)
Eggs used to be 60p for 6 until a couple of years back. Now about £2.50 for 12 free range.

[rootsnall]

Bread was £1.55 in the co-op yesterday (there's rapid inflation)

Co-op own wholemeal is 80odd pence, with an even cheaper bargain bucket own brand, no wonder you are all skint if you are buying brands.

[Alias]

milk is 60p a pint (delivered) 90p a litre £1.20 2 litres in the corner shop.

Bread was £1.55 in the co-op yesterday (there's rapid inflation)
Eggs used to be 60p for 6 until a couple of years back. Now about £2.50 for 12 free range.

Milk is 2 for £2 for 2x2 litre(asda, iceland, lidl), Bread is 99p each (lidl), eggs are 99p for 6 (lidl)

[MarillionFan]

milk is 60p a pint (delivered) 90p a litre £1.20 2 litres in the corner shop.

Bread was £1.55 in the co-op yesterday (there's rapid inflation)
Eggs used to be 60p for 6 until a couple of years back. Now about £2.50 for 12 free range.

Good god Jeeves! I told you I'd give you the birch again if I found you pretending to be an IT contractor on the Internet again!!!

[ChimpMaster]

Just read through this thread & I'm worried what the hell I'm doing wrong.

I've been contracting for over 8 years with a consistent 10 months+ work per annum at rates of around £350/day & I'm nowhere near as well off as 99% of the posters on this thread.

Do you all pay yourself way over the £44k(ish) threshold because anything underneath that then you can't have a mortgage/kids/bills etc and still have thousands left over each month to spend on what you want

Though it depends on where you live, £350/day is pretty good if you're not in any major city. After 8 years of contracting at that rate, you should have been able to pay off a substantial chunk of your mortgage, depending of course on how lavish your lifestyle is and how expensive your home is. And have savings, whether personal or in your Ltd.

Live well below your means, just for a while.

Paying off the mortgage at a young(ish) age is a major achievement. It was the main motivator when I started contracting, and allowed me to harness the additional income for other investments. By no means am I rich, far from it in fact (I drive a 3rd hand car with 70000 miles on the clock) but I'm comfortable because I have saved hard in the first few years of contracting.

I treated contracting like a 'bonus' period in my life, a chance to step up and make a difference for me and my family. I always expected to drop back into a 'normal' job at some point, though now my circle of friends has changed and most of them earn a lot so I would be the poor one!

To those new contractors who expect to become rich after just 2 years' contracting - forget it, you'll never be rich in this game if you compare yourself to others. 2 years is nothing, you need to give yourself at least 5 years to get a solid footing financially, if you're earning at least a reasonable rate. Being rich is a frame of mind and you either accept not being rich or take your chances on a business that can grow beyond a one-man-band and bring in some serious income. The best you'll ever be with contracting is comfortable. But that's good enough for some.

[rootsnall]

Paying off the mortgage at a young(ish) age is a major achievement.

Real contractors pay cash for their first house