To save money on groceries, Seb Kouyoujmian rummages through the yellow-labelled . He won’t buy shoes unless he absolutely needs them. Takeaways are considered a luxury.
This might be surprising once you learn Kouyoujmian is an architect on a salary of more than £100,000. But, speaking from the cramped, one-bedroom north London flat he owns, he says that his quality of life doesn’t match what you’d expect . “I’m earning more than ever before,” the 38-year-old tells me.
“But I feel poorer than I ever did.” It may sound ridiculous to the 96 per cent of the population who typically earn significantly less than £100,000 a year. In fact, the average wage in the UK is around £36,000, according to .
For people aged between 18 and 21, it’s closer to £24,000. And it varies according to region, getting worse outside of London. Yet the fact that the four percenters are feeling the pinch is a symptom of what Dr Mike Savage, a professor of sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, calls “intensified” class divisions.
In other words, as the wealthy among us struggle to keep up with inflation and the cost of living, their difficulties shed light on . Dr Savage helped carry out the largest study on social class in the UK in modern history, and says the situation is urgent. “The people who are really struggling with cost of living and inflation pressures are those who are badly paid, living in precarious situations, and juggling debts,” h.