I live in Surrey, but have not had anything on a plate. I left school at just 16 with no qualifications, having wasted my time for years. I pulled myself together though and knuckled down to try and earn enough money to afford a decent life style for me and my hoped for family.
The fact is that if you live around here, have a modicom of talent, are prepared to take employment that could end in the sack for under achievement, stick with it until you are good at it and build contacts and Clients….you can earn £120k or more.
37 years on I can look back at a reasonable level of success, however I wouldn’t recommend it to my kids. Far better to get a degree in Law or medicine etc and be virtually guaranteed a good lifestyle for the rest of your life.
In terms of struggling to live on £120k, there is no sympathy for this, but people do get sucked into the big house/mortgage/private school/ 4 x 4 lifestyle and therefore will find the money soon runs out.