I earn £100,000 a year but don’t feel rich – I’ve downgraded to PureGym and

A Gen Z professional who earns £100,000 a year insists that despite having no dependents to care for he doesn’t ‘feel rich at all’. 

Jack Kim, 28, works as a strategy consultant and brings home around £6,000 a month after tax but calls himself a ‘HENRY’ – which stands for ‘high earners not rich yet’.

So-called HENRYs are those in the UK’s top 10 per cent of earners, often young professionals, who say they are left with little at the end of the month after bills, taxes, higher mortgage rates and lifestyle inflation.

Living in central London in a two-bedroom property he bought with his partner for £550,000, Jack – who covers all their expenses – says he is feeling the cost of living.

His monthly expenses include £2,630 on his mortgage payment and council tax, £420 in bills, £250 on groceries and £400 for socialising.

Jack claims he’s had to adjust his lifestyle due to cost-of-living – ditching a weekly M&S shop for Sainsbury’s, swapping luxury holidays in Asia for European mini breaks and opting for Pure Gym instead of the more expensive chain Gymbox.

Jack, from East London, said: ‘Even though I’m on a six-figure salary, I don’t feel rich at all.’

Jack Kim works as a strategy consultant in London and brings home around £6,000 a month after tax but calls himself a ‘HENRY’ – which stands for ‘high earners not rich yet’

The 28-year-old, pictured on a trip to Lisbon, has swapped his luxury holidays in Asia for European mini breaks

Jack pays £2,630 a month for the mortgage and council tax on the two-bedroom flat he shares with his partner 

He adds: ‘Everyone knows living in London is extremely expensive.

‘It comes to four main things – higher tax rate for people on six-figure salaries, higher living costs, lifestyle inflation and debt.

‘As income rises, so does your lifestyle.

‘I don’t wear flashy, high-end clothes or own expensive watches, I opt for high street brands like Uniqlo.

‘We try and live below our means by limiting eating out to once a week at a good quality restaurant.

‘Other than a drink at special occasions like weddings, I don’t drink alcohol, which is very expensive.

‘We feel the cost of living just like anyone else. I don’t feel upper-middle class.’

Jack sends £500 a month to his parents in South Korea and after all his expenses are paid, he’s left with about £320 which goes on clothes, one-off expenses such as gifts or saving for a holiday.  

After graduating from the London School of Economics with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in management in 2019 – which cost £99,000 in tuition fees – Jack began his career as a strategy consultant on a £21,000 salary.

He quickly progressed to £45,000 and began saving for a £82,000 deposit to buy a property with his partner.

‘We feel the cost of living just like anyone else,’ says Jack, pictured on holiday

Jack, pictured on a picnic with friends, says he occasionally eats out – but doesn’t drink alcohol because it’s too expensive 

I shop on the high street and mainly buy clothes from brands such as Uniqlo, says Jack

‘We collectively needed roughly £82,000 for a deposit, and we did that in two years with some help from our parents,’ Jack said.

‘It meant we stopped eating out and primarily cooked at home. During that time, it was Covid which did help because it meant we weren’t spending as much or travelling at all.’

And in December 2021, Jack and his partner got on to the property ladder, purchasing their two-bedroom flat.

‘Being on a combined income helped us for sure, but alongside our own drive and determination,’ he added.

‘I can only imagine how hard it is for young people to get on the property ladder now. Especially if they’re single and doing it alone.

‘Affordability and the goalposts for a mortgage have changed – even in the last four years.’

The strategy consultant said that he doesn’t own an expensive watch or car and insists his lifestyle is not lavish, despite being a high earner 

Despite getting several pay rises since the start of his career, the 28-year-old doesn’t feel it’s made a big difference to his lifestyle

He adds: ‘It’s not affordable to get a mortgage these days – unless you have generational wealth.

‘Growing up, my family and I were considered a lower-income family. From the ages of seven to eight, my mum, dad, brother and I lived in a studio flat in Seoul, South Korea.

‘Since gaining my education and career in London, I’d say as a whole, my family are middle class. But we certainly don’t feel it in the grand scheme of things.

‘I don’t have an…