I equated my SPENDING to HOURS WORKED 💸 - Corporate Lawyer in London

Chances are you work to earn money so you can survive (and maybe even thrive) - sure, we work for varying amounts of money and for varying amounts of time depending on how we prioritise work-life balance, fulfilment and cash... But, most people with a job are effectively trading the hours of their life for money. And that means, when we spend money, we are effectively exchanging our lives for the things we are choosing to buy 😱

That is a pretty wild realisation that I've only really just come to terms with. And I did that by first working out my real hourly wage as a corporate lawyer in London and second equating my spending to the hours I had to work to be able to buy the things I buy. And it's a hugely powerful exercise in making you conscious of the REAL decision you are making when you buy something - that that thing or experience is worth hours of your life spent working 🙌

So - buckle up, and enjoy 🤗

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About Me

I'm a lawyer, part-time YouTuber, son, brother, startup founder, fiancé, black coffee drinker and plant dad. I graduated from Cambridge University (where I studied French and Spanish), topped my law school class and now work for a corporate law firm in London as a trainee solicitor (which takes up a lot of my time)!

Around that, I'm a big fan of discovering new ways of thinking, of balancing work with life, and of performing to the very best of my ability. Ohh, and being happy. And I try to share all that on this YouTube channel 😀

Fun fact: I believe we massively overplay the role of “natural talent” 😮 AND… I also believe that TOGETHER, WE ARE ALL CAPABLE OF POSITIVITY, PRODUCTIVITY AND SUCCESS.

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Disclaimer:
Information, views and opinions depicted in this video are my own. Information visible on screens or in documents does not relate to my work as a lawyer for clients.

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Thanks so much to BetterHelp for sponsoring this video 😀

[HeyPupushee]

Fantastic video!
absoluetly addicted to this channel.

[lightspeed]

great video, it is so eye opening to see how much fun/luxury experiences cost. Especially in terms of hours u have to work to afford them.

[zackeryforeman]

The essential thing that everyone should be thinking about right now is investing in non-government sources of income. Especially in light of the current global economic crisis. It is still a wonderful moment to invest in gold, silver, digital money, and stocks.

[kristie]

When framed this way, 24 pounds per hour sounds actually super low considering you're a lawyer in a top firm. I'm not from the UK so I'm not sure how much that is compared to minimum wage... people tend to think lawyers earn lotsa money but I'm realising it's more because of the hours worked than the pay to hour ratio (unless you're partner level I guess)

[Lotantio]

Hey Liam, in some other video you mentioned that you studied french & spanish. Do you use these languages in any way in your job?

[benz.]

Almost 50% of your monthly income being wiped out immediately is nuts 🤯

[laurenceturlej]

Enjoyed this Liam, spurred lots of thinking! On the flip side this encourages me to cut down the denominator (ie decrease the 'hours worked per week' and still get the job done!). ~£20 per hour here ;_;

[phillipmoran]

Higher pension contributions will substantially reduce your Income Tax (IT) and ERNIC contributions. As I close in on retirement I am able to put almost 30% of my salary into a DC Pension Scheme. It avoids paying IT @ 40% and is especially useful now that the Government has removed the Personal Lifetime Allowance.

[lite]

You earn 10k pre tax Mashallah. What was the monthly as a trainee

[makas]

Another perspective is that you want to earn more so that you can afford a better lifestyle. There is nothing wrong with that but it’s still a good indicator to how much we are spending

[gameworld-ydye]

can i pratice law if i do bba and then llm

[c.lm.t]

Interesting when you think about it like this - you could include your and your firm's pension contributions as this is money you will (hopefully) get back.

[aidanburton]

You say basic salary - is there a variable portion? Bonuses? Thanks

[mihaelamarcu]

Don't you think that the UK income tax is too high? I mean... you work really, really, really hard, but still, you have to pay 40% tax on almost half of your income. Wouldn't you love to see a change in the tax policy and be taxed less?

[joelwilliams]

10k a month? I’m curious to know whether that’s income that is completely from being a corporate lawyer or whether there’s any other additional income included in that I.e YouTube?

[manoellaoliveira]

I regret so much watching this video. Thinking if I will go to law school in London but Jesus.. 5k is a lot?

[Ana-dammi-falastini-]

I want an advice from you i want to do LLB so which subject should i take in my last year graduation
History or Sociology please guid me

[janesmith]

This is, as usual, very interesting. I am not sure everyone in the UK realises how much is taken from ages at source for many workers.

Just wait until there is full time childcare to pay - not tax deductible. Eg one of my lawyer children and spouse are currently paying not far short of £60, 000 (£30k each) because of the way employer NI and auto-enrolment pension etc works so an hourly £14 net pay for the person for 10 hours a day, who does the care costs so very much more when grossed up. The other option is 2 full time places at nursery if you have little babies which is about £24k a year per baby in a good nursery paid out of after tax income for a baby rather than a large older toddler so £48k if you have two and both work full time. Mind you when they reach 5 and might be going to a fee paying school it makes that look cheap! As parents need childcare to work as much as they need a suit or to pay to travel to work it has certainly always felt like a price to pay for working as much as those other items. just about all the new schemes to provide help with childcare costs are denied to higher earners too.

We have got to an interesting position in the UK where due to 9% student loan "tax" plus loss of the single person tax allowance entirely and at lower income levels loss of child benefit for those with children tax almost can be 60% or 70% in effect at the margin. Anyway no one is asking for sympathy. The UK in 2023 has the highest tax burden for 70 years. Also never in British history have those earning higher amounts had so much of the tax burden I believe. We also have rising numbers of net beneficiaries from the state and fewer people who are net contributors. I shall get back to my all day Sunday working half of which is to fund the state as is half the year and that is even before we start on huge indirect taxes we all pay like VAT.

[sukumpai]

Which personal finance mobile app are you using to capture

[manoellaoliveira]

I am not sure if in your position as it is, you earn a lot of money.. No