网帖翻译

To save money on groceries, Seb Kouyoujmian rummages through the yellow-labelled reduced items in his local supermarket. 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 given his pay cheque. “I’m earning more than ever before,” the 38-year-old tells me. “But I feel poorer than I ever did.”

为了省下日常开销的花费，塞布·库尤米安（Seb Kouyoujmian）会在当地超市里翻找带黄色标签的打折商品。他除非迫不得已，否则不会买鞋；点外卖更被视为一种奢侈行为。这或许会让人感到惊讶，因为库尤米安是一名年薪超过10万英镑的建筑师。然而，当他从自己位于伦敦北部的一居室小公寓中接受采访时，他坦言自己的生活质量与收入水平并不匹配。“我的收入比以往任何时候都高，”38岁的他表示，“但我却觉得比以前更穷。”

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 the Office for National Statistics. For people aged between 18 and 21, it’s closer to £24,000. And it varies according to region, getting worse outside of London.

对于绝大多数人来说，这听起来可能有些离谱——毕竟，96%的人年薪远低于10万英镑。实际上，根据英国国家统计局的数据，英国的平均工资约为3.6万英镑，而18至21岁人群的平均收入更接近2.4万英镑。并且收入因地区而异，伦敦以外的情况通常更糟。

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 just how bad things are getting for the rest of us. Dr Savage helped carry out the largest study on social class in the UK in modern history, and says the situation is urgent.

然而，年薪在前4%的人群也感到日子紧张，这正是伦敦政治经济学院社会学教授迈克·萨维奇（Dr. Mike Savage）所谓的“加剧的”阶级分化的体现。换句话说，当富裕人群也在为通货膨胀和生活成本挣扎时，他们的困境反映出其他人的生活状况有多糟糕。萨维奇博士曾参与英国现代历史上最大规模的社会阶级研究，并指出当前形势已经十分紧迫。

“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,” he says. “The fear that people on middle and even high incomes are being eroded by inflation and the freezing of tax thresholds is a sign of the sense of insecurity that is felt by large numbers of people.”

萨维奇博士表示：“真正因生活成本和通货膨胀压力而苦苦挣扎的，是那些收入微薄、生活不稳定、还要应付债务的人。而中等收入甚至高收入群体也因通货膨胀和税收门槛冻结而感到压力，这正体现了大量人群所感受到的不安全感。”

The high earners are quite aware of how their laments may be perceived. “It sounds so f***ing privileged,” says Kouyoujmian. “I’m not looking for sympathy, but I’m also trying to be clear that I don’t feel comfortable either.”

高收入者非常清楚他们的抱怨可能会被如何看待。库尤米安坦言道：“听起来简直就是在炫耀特权，我不是想寻求同情，但我也想说明，我的生活并不舒适。”

Lea Turner, who grew up on a council estate and left school at 16 without an education, agrees. The 39-year-old doesn’t fit the typical trajectory of a six-figure earner, having overcome the challenges of being a single parent on benefits, and going on to build a multi-million-pound company – a digital network of business owners called The HoLT – during the pandemic.

莉娅·特纳（Lea Turner）对此表示认同。她在一个公租房社区长大，16岁时辍学，没有受过正式教育。这位39岁的女性并不符合典型的六位数收入者的成长轨迹。她克服了作为领取福利的单亲母亲的困境，并在疫情期间创办了一家名为 The HoLT 的企业主数字网络，将其发展为一家价值数百万英镑的公司。

“I feel very lucky to be comfortable because that’s far more than the vast majority of people in the UK can say,” she says. “But it’s not so affordable that I can just rest on my laurels. I still have to maintain this level or the things I have in my life right now will no longer be affordable.”

特纳说：“我觉得自己很幸运，生活还算宽裕，因为这远超英国大多数人的状况但这种生活并不是那么轻松，我不能就此停滞不前。我必须维持现在的收入水平，否则我现在拥有的一切将变得负担不起。”

Things like her house. After saving for years, and planning her finances, Turner bought a home in Manchester. This year, she found her mortgage increased by £300 a month. “If it goes up much more, I might have to end up selling,” she says.

比如她的房子。在多年存钱和精心规划财务后，特纳在曼彻斯特买下了一套房。然而，今年她的房贷每月上涨了300英镑。她说：“如果再涨得多一些，我可能最终不得不卖掉它。”

The cumulative effects of inflation have played a large part, with the Office for National Statistics reporting that a £100,000 salary back in 2000 is worth the equivalent of £53,600 in September 2024 in terms of its value and purchasing power. The Institute for Fiscal Studies also reports that inflation rates for groceries, for example, increased by an average of 26.6 per cent in just over two years, and the effect on households varied according to income. Higher-income households experienced inflation rates 7.7 per cent lower than those in the bottom percentile of households according to income – and what is known as “cheapflation” means that the cheapest products experienced the highest rises. Effectively, the increasing cost of everything means that everyone is getting less bang for their buck.

通货膨胀的累积效应起了很大作用。英国国家统计局报告称，2000年的10万英镑薪水，到2024年9月的实际购买力相当于约53,600英镑。财政研究所（Institute for Fiscal Studies）也报告称，仅仅两年多的时间，日常食品的通货膨胀率就平均上涨了26.6%，而这一影响在不同收入群体中有所不同。高收入家庭的通货膨胀率比收入最低百分之一的家庭低了7.7%。所谓的“廉价通胀”（cheapflation）意味着最便宜的商品价格涨幅最大。实际上，所有物品的成本不断上涨，意味着每个人的钱的购买力都在减少。

Although Turner has experienced the precarity of living life on the breadline as a sole earner, she says that earning £100k “definitely doesn’t make you rich”. For example, she expected to be able to afford a new kitchen with ease, but she says that is not the case. “I have to buy and sell clothes on Vinted. I go on an affordable holiday once a year, to the same places I’ve travelled before. It’s not a crazy luxury. I don’t fly first class. We’re not partying on yachts or staying in five-star hotels or anything. I’m not buying designer clothes for me or my son. There are certain things in my life that have upgraded, but not much.”

虽然特纳曾经作为唯一的经济支柱，经历过捉襟见肘的生活，但她表示，年薪10万英镑“绝对不能让你变得富有”。比如，她本以为自己能轻松负担得起换个新厨房，但事实并非如此。“我不得不在Vinted上买卖衣服。我每年都会去一次负担得起的假期，都是去以前去过的地方。这不是奢华的享受。我不会坐头等舱。我们不会在游艇上狂欢，也不会住五星级酒店之类的。我不会为自己或儿子买设计师品牌的衣服。生活中有一些东西升级了，但并不多。

Kouyoujmian and Turner are known as HENRYs – or “High Earner Not Rich Yet” – a term coined by Shawn Tully in a 2003 article for Fortune magazine, and used to describe people who earn a high wage but don’t have much left after taxes, schooling, housing, family, and saving for retirement. Both Kouyoujmian and Turner understand that they are better off than, for instance, a service worker on a far lower salary. But while a rise in one bill can be a nuisance to the comparatively wealthy, all bills going up at once can leave them in a similar situation to people earning far less.

库尤米安和特纳被称为HENRYs——即“高收入但尚未富裕的人”（High Earner Not Rich Yet）。这个词由肖恩·塔利（Shawn Tully）在2003年为《财富》杂志撰写的文章中创造，用来描述那些收入很高，但在扣除税款、教育、住房、家庭开支和退休储蓄后，剩余的钱并不多的人。库尤米安和特纳都明白，相比于低薪的服务行业工人，他们的生活水平要好得多。但即使是相对富裕的人，单单一项账单上涨就可能让人感到麻烦，而所有账单同时上涨时，他们的处境也与那些收入远低于他们的人相似。
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

Kouyoujmian has seen his mortgage and energy bills double and the price of his groceries triple. He says the cumulative cost of all of these increases squeezes resources. As a homeowner and leaseholder, he says he was recently landed with a £21,000 bill, while a cancer scare prompted him to take on private medical care, which has also gone up. Turner, meanwhile, says her outgoings easily add up to £4,000 to £5,000 a month. She pays £1,000 a month in private school fees for her son. This, combined with any emergencies or a holiday, leaves her with little left over.

库尤米安发现自己的房贷和能源账单翻了一倍，食品价格上涨了三倍。他表示，这些费用的累积上涨压缩了他的资源。作为房主和租户，他最近收到了一张21,000英镑的账单，同时，一次癌症恐慌让他决定购买私人医疗服务，而这些费用也在上涨。与此同时，特纳表示，她的支出每月轻松达到4,000到5,000英镑。她每月为儿子的私立学校学费支付1,000英镑。再加上可能出现的紧急情况或假期支出，她几乎没有剩余的钱。

For Kouyoujmian, an additional worry is his pension. He is currently paying £1,100 into his retirement every month, but because he only started earning six figures three years ago, he has calculated that he will have to pay £3,000 a month to retire at the age of 68 with a £60,000 income. “As an architect, I can’t afford my own service,” he says. “It’s a dream for me to be able to afford someone like me.”

对库尤米安来说，另一个担忧是他的养老金。他目前每月向退休账户缴纳1,100英镑，但由于他仅在三年前才开始赚六位数的收入，他计算过，如果他希望在68岁时退休并拥有6万英镑的年收入，他每月需要支付3,000英镑。他说：“作为一名建筑师，我负担不起自己的服务，能像我一样的人，能够负担得起我自己，这是我的梦想。”

He adds that his quality of life and general work-life balance are poorer than when he earned half his current salary. He’s even taken up a side-hustle making furniture in his spare time. “I have to work 50-70 hours a week, and I still feel like I’m treading water,” he says. “I know that sounds ridiculous, but I am paranoid about my retirement, especially if I look at friends or elderly family members or neighbours and see how they are coping or not coping.”

他补充说，自己的生活质量和工作与生活的平衡，比他收入只有现在一半时还要差。为了额外挣钱，他甚至在业余时间做家具。“我每周得工作50到70个小时，但还是感觉自己像在原地踏步，”他说：“我知道这听起来很奇怪，但我对自己的退休生活感到焦虑，特别是当我看到朋友、年纪大的家人或邻居，他们是怎么应对生活的，我就更担心了。”

Investment expert Victoria Harris says that the structure of the tax system means that those earning just above six figures feel the sharpest end of it. She calls it the “60 per cent tax trap”, a name given to the removal of the personal tax allowance for those earning just above £100,000 and below £125,000. A quirk in tax rules means that they can end up paying up to 62 per cent in tax.

投资专家维多利亚·哈里斯表示，税收制度的结构使得那些收入刚刚超过六位数的人感受到最严重的压力。她称之为“60%税陷阱”，这个名字指的是对于年收入略高于10万英镑但低于12.5万英镑的人，个人免税额被取消的情况。税收规则中的一个特殊规定意味着，他们最终可能会支付高达62%的税款。

In addition to the tax burden, a higher wage can result in “lifestyle creep”, meaning that as you earn more you spend more, opting for more expensive versions of the same things you would have previously bought at a cheaper cost.

除了税负，较高的收入还可能导致“生活方式膨胀”，意思是随着收入的增加，支出也会增加，开始选择更昂贵的商品，而这些商品本来可以以更低的价格购买到。

Harris, who runs The Curve, a business advising women on their finances, says, “One of our members recently told me, ‘Vic, I fought so hard to break through the £100k ceiling, only to find myself spending even more outside my means than when I was on a lower income.’” She believes that the challenges can be handled with better financial planning. Harris advises “building confidence in salary negotiations”, “creating investment strategies”, and “developing a support network” of other high earners.

哈里斯是《The Curve》企业的负责人，这是一家专门为女性提供财务建议的机构。她说：“我们的一位成员最近告诉我，‘维克，我曾拼尽全力突破10万英镑的收入上限，却发现自己比收入更低时花的钱还要多。’”她认为，这些挑战可以通过更好的财务规划来应对。哈里斯建议“提高薪资谈判的信心”，“制定投资策略”，以及“建立一个由其他高收入者组成的支持网络”。

However, Dr Savage believes that both tax increases and rising inflation are systemic issues and reflections of the strains on the economy. “Increasingly, in the context of pressures on the welfare state, individuals need to fall back on their private wealth assets to pay for routine medical and other services,” he explains. “Class divisions are being intensified as divides grow between the wealthy and the many who juggle debts.”

然而，萨维奇博士认为，税收增加和通货膨胀上升是系统性问题，是经济压力的反映。他解释说：“在福利国家面临压力的背景下，个人越来越需要依靠自己的私人财富来支付日常医疗和其他服务。”他指出，随着财富和那些在债务中挣扎的人的差距不断拉大，阶级分化正日益加剧。

If much of their experience sounds familiar, that’s the point. The four per cent aren’t living as luxuriously as we expect, and it should be cause for concern. Because if someone on a big salary can’t afford to remodel their kitchen, or eat out whenever they choose, how can everyone else?

如果他们的经历听起来很熟悉，那正是重点。属于4%圈层的人并不像我们想象的那样过得奢华，这应该引起关注。因为如果一个高收入者连重新装修厨房，或者随心所欲地外出就餐都负担不起，那其他人又该怎么办呢？