#phinances

[otherwaybabe]

I am convinced that anyone who thinks Dan and Phil are RICH did not watch "Why I Quit YouTube"

Dan's pretty clear about how much they've struggled with money and why.

[philsbrownquiff]

Re: joint bank account

They 100% have a joint account I’m guessing that a lot of their income has become completely intertwined over the years (+ in the event that god forbid something happens to one of them since they’re not married joint account money means the other has a claim on it)

( I really hope their accountant is telling them to get married if only for tax benefits bcs my god they could save a bunch -> joint account hill = wedding hill))

No yeah I completely agree, it would make PERFECT sense for them to have a joint bank account, especially considering the amount of joint expenses they have with the house.

Not to mention they seem to be totally chill with putting whoever the hell’s name and account into deliveroo for example… almost as if it doesn’t matter who pays for it because it’s both of their money……

I will say though I also think they likely have separate bank accounts as well. Just for logistics, as well as their respective businesses (their YouTube accounts only have themselves on the documentation for example, as well as Dan’s tour company). Which is interesting and my nosey ass wants to know how they decide what goes into the joint account and what doesn’t… I guess they could have ONLY the joint account and it all goes in there. But I personally wouldn’t do that in case they ever split but maybe I’m just projecting idk lol. But anyway YES MARRIAGE HILL!!!!! COMBINE YOUR FINANCES AND YOUR LIVESSSS

[otherwaybabe]

I think that, with the phinances conversation, people are really forgetting regional prices, which can sadly lead people into a "just move" mentality for those in poverty in more expensive areas. The thing about being a westerner is that even our poorest citizens can live off the exploitation of those poorer than us (think dollar stores). This fact doesn't change the simultaneous fact that someone entirely reliant on a dollar store will still be experiencing severe food insecurity or that they could be houseless.

In dip and pip's case, they could move out of London and such a move would likely solve any financial issues they have. The issue then becomes what leaving London would entail. Just from a work standpoint, they are based in London and moving would require changes to how they run their business.

There's plenty also an issue where people in the phandom love to call themselves communists, but actual class analysis from a Marxist perspective seems to have been thrown out the window. All youtubers who rely on youtube/merch sales/etc, as small business owners, fall into the class which Marx and Engels referred to as the "petite bourgeoisie." This class is comprised of those who both act as business owners and who have to work in their businesses. Put more simply, they straddle the working and owning class as owners who also exist as part of the producing class. The main issue with the petite bourgeoisie is their tendency to vote against working class interests due to misunderstanding their own class. This class tends to, on average, see themselves erroneously as more similar to the true owning class than the working class. In reality, they have more in common with the working class due to having to work for their pay. From what we know, Dan and Phil break the mold of this class by voting for leftist policies. Obviously, anyone could improve (for example, dnp could make their podcast a registered worker co-op in which all workers, including the producers and editors would be owners as well), but most podcasts do not use that system. It might not be viable due to the podcast company they are working under, I would have to ask my family member who works in the industry more details.

That tangent might be irrelevant, but personally I see it as a better way of viewing their situation than even regional wealth. They're comfortable Londoners, which makes them rich compared to struggling rural workers, and struggling rural workers are rich compared to exploited workers outside of the Imperial Core. Economic class, when viewed through relative class, becomes much more complicated. Economic class, when viewed through the lens of "owners, owner-workers, and workers," is much more digestible. They are owner-workers, as all small business owners are. Someone in the petite bourgeoisie will not be able to simply live off of investments as someone in the bourgeoisie proper would. The biggest difference between Marx's time and now is that the petite bourgeoisie used to often be the lower middle class, where now certain members (pop stars, top youtubers like our boys, actors, etc) can make enough to be considered upper middle class, which is why I personally find looking at one's income is less relevant than looking at their role in the chain of production and their voting tendencies. A small business owner who pays their workers fair wages (as opposed to the minimum) and votes leftist is more my ally than one who pays the bare minimum and views themselves as an ally to the billionaire class

👏

I don't really have anything to add, except to just clarify that right now money means a vastly different thing than it did then or than most Phannies that think they're RICH really understand. At this point, in a big city the bottom tier of "millionaire" means middle to upper middle class. Homes are fucking expensive. Most millennials and Gen Z probably won't own a home in their lives, at the rate we're going. And the ones that do are gonna have to get out some really hefty loans, which, from everything they've said, is exactly what they had to do.

Buying a home and paying for it up front are vastly different things and that seems to get lost too.

Thank you for this exquisite economic lesson.

[otherwaybabe]

If anyone was wondering, because Dan and Phil insisted on sleeping together, the TATINOF tour bus was between 2k and 3k A DAY, just to rent not counting gas or parking or anything else. Which is an entire 1k more than if they hadn't had to sleep together.

[otherwaybabe]

(regarding other anons dnp personal finance ask)

Can i be a scary commie with an econ degree for a second and say it for all the people in the back - theres only working class and capital owning class and in the current hellscape that is the world the middle class is an illusion. and if we wanna get deeper (given they live in london) dnp probably dont even own the land their home is built on. be for fucking real they’re just some guys not lord bezos

Ah good, a language Phannies can understand, hopefully this helps shut people up.

On the plus side this whole discourse convinced me to join the Pham tier.

[otherwaybabe]

https://www.tumblr.com/otherwaybabe/802200553569583104/i-er-think-this-might-be-a-matter-of-perspective?source=share

They didn't buy a house with their life savings, they were renting in London and then took a loan to build a house, it's not their money out of their incomes. Again, no one is saying they are on the verge of poverty or even that they live paycheck to paycheck but I think a lot of perspective is lost when a lot of people don't know how things work. They are still actively paying off the loan on the house like other people.

The thing that scares me is reading these posts and comments it genuinely seems like people think money works by either you're below the poverty line or your Elon Musk.

They are comfortable but not comfortable enough that they could just quit YouTube and never work again. They have to have a steady income.

And it's infuriating that many people, people who supposedly have jobs and careers of their own, don't get that.

Also I'm going to use this opportunity to shout out the fact that they left EA, which probably DID pay well, as opposed to Relatable, for instance, which, as I said, for the amount of likes they received on Incoherent videos probably made them about 5k, maybe? A video? Which for the record is very low very very low for what they do, but they keep working with them because they ARE a good company.

Leaving EA wasn't just doing the right thing, it was doing the right thing IN SPITE of their own financial needs, and that's huge.

[otherwaybabe]

I also don't think people realise how costly building a house is on top of paying the interest on the loan. People joke about builders always being in their house but it's fairly common to make the house in a stop start flow in relation to your finances att. Sometimes things get delayed because they just cost too much and you have other priorities to put that money to like work or health or whatever. Sometimes you hire a service that takes longer to finish because they are less costly and hence also busier.

Also moving into your house before it's ready is also really common because how long are you gonna pay rent also while paying off a loan and other expenses.

I don't mean to say they are not comfortable, they seem stable enough but in an upper middle class way not a set for life you don't have to do any work if you don't have to be rich. They also rely on an income not paycheck to paycheck but it's a finite amount

Dan literally said something about that in the react. Like they do this cause they love it, but also cause they have to. And something tells me that also played a role in getting Dan to come back to the gaming channel. WAD was fucking expensive and they lost money, which isn't super surprising.

Then there's the mortgage and student loans, which don't seem like a lot of an American but clearly they are to them.

I'm sure part of the convincing was, Phil saying "We make significantly less when you're not there." I bet you sponsors were less excited to sponsor AmazingPhil alone during the hiatus. Dan and Phil had become a brand and you take away Dan and you have half the brand. Plus having just come out probably didn't help matters much either.

[otherwaybabe]

This is only tangentially related to DNP but I find it fascinating how much people relate fame to wealth. People really overestimate how much showbiz pays. Unless someone is the top 1% of actor/ musician / content creater or come from wealth they're also not usually set for life.

And sometimes even if they are. Especially for those who's entire savings is in a mansion or something, if you lose that, say in, I dunno a fire, like maybe one that happened in LA 11 months ago, you might have to start working for income instead of just cause you love it.

Most "celebrities" are not the ultra wealthy. Save your anger for Musk and Bezos and Zuck etc.

Thanks for the phask!