Minimum Wage,£7 an hour
Poll: Minimum Wage,£7 an hour
Total Members Polled: 313
Discussion
MissChief said:
Well without going into too much detail I earn around £1.50 an hour more than that and also usually get a smallish bonus as well. I live in Central Scotland so thankfully I can afford my own place. JUST. £480 in rent, £80 or so in Gas and Leccy, Sky TV and broadband cost me nada, I have a car but it's wholly owned so no finance. Petrol is probably £100 a month or so and Insurance is £42. After all the bills have been paid I'm left with a shade over £200 most months. I live payday to payday. My savings account contains precisely £0.00 and I use a paid for (but authorised) overdraft every month. I couldn't get by without it. Am I entitled to state help? Actually, no. I get my kids at the weekend but they're classed as living with their mother so there's no chance of anything in tax credits. I'm above the threshold for housing benefit and council tax benefit (Or I was 5 years ago when I asked last) and in all honesty some months I can't even pay my council tax and get by. That amount of money is really a pittance. I'm struggling to get by as it is some months. Minimum wage needs to be more than £7 an hour. I can't imagine how a single person could cope on £7 an hour. I'm imagining a flat with 4 bedrooms, each one rented out individually or something and certainly no place to bring up children.
I can't even afford to put money away for a mortgage deposit but even if I did I doubt I'd get one. When I got divorced, well, everything we borrowed was in my name. You can probably guess the rest. I haven't even had a holiday in years.
Kind of the point of my post. Minimum wage is nowhere near enough to actually live on even a minimal style.
f
k me that sounds like a sob story!
I can't even afford to put money away for a mortgage deposit but even if I did I doubt I'd get one. When I got divorced, well, everything we borrowed was in my name. You can probably guess the rest. I haven't even had a holiday in years.
Kind of the point of my post. Minimum wage is nowhere near enough to actually live on even a minimal style.
f
k me that sounds like a sob story!The_Burg said:
My bad! I believe that is the colloquile?
I just can't imagine trying to live on it.
Not a PH director, i earn quite a decent wage an am comfortable. Just wonder how others survive.
Fair enough, but people do work on minimum wage. I think you may be a touch ignorant to the ins and outs, but then I suppose this is the point of the thread, so can't knock you for that at all.I just can't imagine trying to live on it.
Not a PH director, i earn quite a decent wage an am comfortable. Just wonder how others survive.
People can and do live on the minimum wage, and you must know this, hence the inital increduality at your statement.
I know I'm not destitute and would probably not be considered in 'Poverty' as such, but fk me it's depressing sometimes. What little luxuries I do have have been scrimped and saved for, taking advantage of deals at work, overtime incentives etc. Sure I have a Plasma TV, an iPad (bought through a work scheme that takes it off my wages over 12 months) a contract mobile and there's an Xbox 360 and PS3 downstairs although they were both presents for the kids from grandparents. I'd certainly find it very easy (and purely IMO of course) to live on two peoples salaries in the house I have at the moment. It's a two bedroom which is decent enough so double the wage coming in would be comparatively easy. Hell I could probably even afford a Holiday.
There was a thread in The Lounge a good while ago, it started out as 'how much do you pay in Childcare?' and some of them were paying out more than I make in a month. In childcare alone! And some of these people were complaining about bringing in £3-4k a month with both people earning. Now I know things are VERY different in and around London but £4k a month alone is a LOT of money to a lot of people! Hell if I made £2k a month I'd consider myself well off! The issue is that for many it means shiny this or new that, 2 weeks in the Algarve in the Summer and maybe Skiing in Austria in the Winter etc. then they say they have little money or they wonder where all the money goes. All stuff that a lot of people could only dream of. I've accepted that short of a Lottery win I'm never going to have that Diablo 6.0VT. In Orange. Hell I've been looking at E46 M3's and dreaming about what I would do with £10k to buy one. I know this is the kind of place where those that can afford 911's, 355's, MP4-12C's etc. are going to be in abundance, but there are also many people here that can't even consider such a thing and I think that some people here (sweeping generalisation!) forget that some members are a bit closer to the breadline than others. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching Monkey thrash the nuts off the latest Supercars but there's a danger of becoming too focused on the Supercar side of things as Evo magazine did. Or at least it was the last time I read it. More Hot Hatch tests. Give Monkey a theoretical £3k or £5k and tell him to find something PH Worthy. Also why I love Shed, despite some of the 'unusual' choices this year. I also love the fleet articles as well and will usually read them avidly. PH is better than most at catering for all incomes, but IMO it could be better.
fk me I do prattle on. Sorry!
k me it's depressing sometimes. What little luxuries I do have have been scrimped and saved for, taking advantage of deals at work, overtime incentives etc. Sure I have a Plasma TV, an iPad (bought through a work scheme that takes it off my wages over 12 months) a contract mobile and there's an Xbox 360 and PS3 downstairs although they were both presents for the kids from grandparents. I'd certainly find it very easy (and purely IMO of course) to live on two peoples salaries in the house I have at the moment. It's a two bedroom which is decent enough so double the wage coming in would be comparatively easy. Hell I could probably even afford a Holiday.There was a thread in The Lounge a good while ago, it started out as 'how much do you pay in Childcare?' and some of them were paying out more than I make in a month. In childcare alone! And some of these people were complaining about bringing in £3-4k a month with both people earning. Now I know things are VERY different in and around London but £4k a month alone is a LOT of money to a lot of people! Hell if I made £2k a month I'd consider myself well off! The issue is that for many it means shiny this or new that, 2 weeks in the Algarve in the Summer and maybe Skiing in Austria in the Winter etc. then they say they have little money or they wonder where all the money goes. All stuff that a lot of people could only dream of. I've accepted that short of a Lottery win I'm never going to have that Diablo 6.0VT. In Orange. Hell I've been looking at E46 M3's and dreaming about what I would do with £10k to buy one. I know this is the kind of place where those that can afford 911's, 355's, MP4-12C's etc. are going to be in abundance, but there are also many people here that can't even consider such a thing and I think that some people here (sweeping generalisation!) forget that some members are a bit closer to the breadline than others. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching Monkey thrash the nuts off the latest Supercars but there's a danger of becoming too focused on the Supercar side of things as Evo magazine did. Or at least it was the last time I read it. More Hot Hatch tests. Give Monkey a theoretical £3k or £5k and tell him to find something PH Worthy. Also why I love Shed, despite some of the 'unusual' choices this year. I also love the fleet articles as well and will usually read them avidly. PH is better than most at catering for all incomes, but IMO it could be better.
f
k me I do prattle on. Sorry!Entirely depends on circumstances. If you have a 4 bed house with a big mortgage, 3 kids, 2 normal cars and a weekend toy and you like foreign holidays and eating out then it's going to require some drastic changes. If you're 18 and living at home it's quite a tidy sum.
If you're completely on your arse and can't find anything better then it's better than Jobseeker's and will hopefully lead on to something better.
So the unsurprising moral of the story: Gain skills and save money while you are young to have a better income when you really need it.
If you're completely on your arse and can't find anything better then it's better than Jobseeker's and will hopefully lead on to something better.
So the unsurprising moral of the story: Gain skills and save money while you are young to have a better income when you really need it.
carmadgaz said:
I've survived on less
So have I, when I lived with my Dad at the age of 17 and ran a 125cc motorbike and nuthin' else...I truly do not know how folk get by on that, I'm just lucky I guess, I probably waste far more money than I should and that just puts it into perspective.
Won't stop me though, :P
Surprised no one has mentioned as it's an hourly wage, you could just work more hours?
I guess that's because we are all comfortable sitting around doing our usual 35-40hour weeks and having weekends off. If you had so little money there probably wouldn't be much point taking time off? other than to get depressed about how little you earn...
I guess that's because we are all comfortable sitting around doing our usual 35-40hour weeks and having weekends off. If you had so little money there probably wouldn't be much point taking time off? other than to get depressed about how little you earn...
MissChief said:
I know I'm not destitute and would probably not be considered in 'Poverty' as such, but fk me it's depressing sometimes. What little luxuries I do have have been scrimped and saved for, taking advantage of deals at work, overtime incentives etc. Sure I have a Plasma TV, an iPad (bought through a work scheme that takes it off my wages over 12 months) a contract mobile and there's an Xbox 360 and PS3 downstairs although they were both presents for the kids from grandparents. I'd certainly find it very easy (and purely IMO of course) to live on two peoples salaries in the house I have at the moment. It's a two bedroom which is decent enough so double the wage coming in would be comparatively easy. Hell I could probably even afford a Holiday.
There was a thread in The Lounge a good while ago, it started out as 'how much do you pay in Childcare?' and some of them were paying out more than I make in a month. In childcare alone! And some of these people were complaining about bringing in £3-4k a month with both people earning. Now I know things are VERY different in and around London but £4k a month alone is a LOT of money to a lot of people! Hell if I made £2k a month I'd consider myself well off! The issue is that for many it means shiny this or new that, 2 weeks in the Algarve in the Summer and maybe Skiing in Austria in the Winter etc. then they say they have little money or they wonder where all the money goes. All stuff that a lot of people could only dream of. I've accepted that short of a Lottery win I'm never going to have that Diablo 6.0VT. In Orange. Hell I've been looking at E46 M3's and dreaming about what I would do with £10k to buy one. I know this is the kind of place where those that can afford 911's, 355's, MP4-12C's etc. are going to be in abundance, but there are also many people here that can't even consider such a thing and I think that some people here (sweeping generalisation!) forget that some members are a bit closer to the breadline than others. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching Monkey thrash the nuts off the latest Supercars but there's a danger of becoming too focused on the Supercar side of things as Evo magazine did. Or at least it was the last time I read it. More Hot Hatch tests. Give Monkey a theoretical £3k or £5k and tell him to find something PH Worthy. Also why I love Shed, despite some of the 'unusual' choices this year. I also love the fleet articles as well and will usually read them avidly. PH is better than most at catering for all incomes, but IMO it could be better.
fk me I do prattle on. Sorry!
we have a household income of more than 4k, but have a one year old. k me it's depressing sometimes. What little luxuries I do have have been scrimped and saved for, taking advantage of deals at work, overtime incentives etc. Sure I have a Plasma TV, an iPad (bought through a work scheme that takes it off my wages over 12 months) a contract mobile and there's an Xbox 360 and PS3 downstairs although they were both presents for the kids from grandparents. I'd certainly find it very easy (and purely IMO of course) to live on two peoples salaries in the house I have at the moment. It's a two bedroom which is decent enough so double the wage coming in would be comparatively easy. Hell I could probably even afford a Holiday.There was a thread in The Lounge a good while ago, it started out as 'how much do you pay in Childcare?' and some of them were paying out more than I make in a month. In childcare alone! And some of these people were complaining about bringing in £3-4k a month with both people earning. Now I know things are VERY different in and around London but £4k a month alone is a LOT of money to a lot of people! Hell if I made £2k a month I'd consider myself well off! The issue is that for many it means shiny this or new that, 2 weeks in the Algarve in the Summer and maybe Skiing in Austria in the Winter etc. then they say they have little money or they wonder where all the money goes. All stuff that a lot of people could only dream of. I've accepted that short of a Lottery win I'm never going to have that Diablo 6.0VT. In Orange. Hell I've been looking at E46 M3's and dreaming about what I would do with £10k to buy one. I know this is the kind of place where those that can afford 911's, 355's, MP4-12C's etc. are going to be in abundance, but there are also many people here that can't even consider such a thing and I think that some people here (sweeping generalisation!) forget that some members are a bit closer to the breadline than others. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching Monkey thrash the nuts off the latest Supercars but there's a danger of becoming too focused on the Supercar side of things as Evo magazine did. Or at least it was the last time I read it. More Hot Hatch tests. Give Monkey a theoretical £3k or £5k and tell him to find something PH Worthy. Also why I love Shed, despite some of the 'unusual' choices this year. I also love the fleet articles as well and will usually read them avidly. PH is better than most at catering for all incomes, but IMO it could be better.
f
k me I do prattle on. Sorry!We live just outside London, Me working doesn't bring in enough to pay the bills (nowhere close), so my wife HAS To work, She works a full month, and after childcare brings in £180 after tax for a lot of hard work. Childcare, student loans, rent (cheapest 2 bed round here is £1000 + bills), plus cars (mine paid for by my job), and we just about break even on a monthly basis. Sometimes we put away £100, which then gets eaten by a car repair, or essential for our daughter.
Our one holiday last year was camping in cornwall, which was free in a friends field.
Do we have it badly? god no. But on the flip side, i work 60+hours per week and we can't afford a holiday! We are very careful with money- our luxury is food, and for the three of us we spend about £110/week on supermarket shopping (although about £109 of that seems to be nappies
:P ) which could be cheaper (we use Aldi and Waitrose!) Sorry, I did mean the poll options are stupid. It's a good and valid discussion topic.
I am looking to trim costs at the moment as I live alone and earn good money but seem to always be having to tighten belt in final couple of weeks of month.
I couldn't survive on minimum wage as it is. My outgoings have crept up over the years and serious readjustment would be required.
I am looking to trim costs at the moment as I live alone and earn good money but seem to always be having to tighten belt in final couple of weeks of month.
I couldn't survive on minimum wage as it is. My outgoings have crept up over the years and serious readjustment would be required.
bulldog5046 said:
Surprised no one has mentioned as it's an hourly wage, you could just work more hours?
Or less, as I think might happen when / if the min wage goes up. Companies will probably trim hours to keep the overall costs the samebulldog5046 said:
I guess that's because we are all comfortable sitting around doing our usual 35-40hour weeks and having weekends off. If you had so little money there probably wouldn't be much point taking time off? other than to get depressed about how little you earn...
I'm not sure if that's as stupid as it sounds in my head or if I've read it wrong. People still have lives to lead even though they're not paid as well as others. andy-xr said:
I'm not sure if that's as stupid as it sounds in my head or if I've read it wrong. People still have lives to lead even though they're not paid as well as others.
Sorry, it's my sarcastic nature.But to put it in to real terms;
£30k/pa = £1,934.88/month
£7/hr @ 60hr/week = £1,472.48/month
JSA for Over 25's = £71.70/week
If it were me, i'd be happy to do the minimum wage job.
bulldog5046 said:
Sorry, it's my sarcastic nature.
But to put it in to real terms;
£30k/pa = £1,934.88/month
£7/hr @ 60hr/week = £1,472.48/month
JSA for Over 25's = £71.70/week
If it were me, i'd be happy to do the minimum wage job.
You say it like you can just choose to do more hours and that's it.But to put it in to real terms;
£30k/pa = £1,934.88/month
£7/hr @ 60hr/week = £1,472.48/month
JSA for Over 25's = £71.70/week
If it were me, i'd be happy to do the minimum wage job.
bulldog5046 said:
Sorry, it's my sarcastic nature.
But to put it in to real terms;
£30k/pa = £1,934.88/month
£7/hr @ 60hr/week = £1,472.48/month
JSA for Over 25's = £71.70/week
If it were me, i'd be happy to do the minimum wage job.
You say it like you can just choose to do more hours and that's it they magically appear.But to put it in to real terms;
£30k/pa = £1,934.88/month
£7/hr @ 60hr/week = £1,472.48/month
JSA for Over 25's = £71.70/week
If it were me, i'd be happy to do the minimum wage job.
bulldog5046 said:
Sorry, it's my sarcastic nature.
But to put it in to real terms;
£30k/pa = £1,934.88/month
£7/hr @ 60hr/week = £1,472.48/month
JSA for Over 25's = £71.70/week
If it were me, i'd be happy to do the minimum wage job.
I think somewhere under the sarcasm and flippant comment is a well meaning 'Work Hard, Do Well' message, but I think you've overlooked some basics that will stop that sort of thing happening. EU Time Directives, overtime payments, people not able to work 60 hour weeks....there's a fair old listBut to put it in to real terms;
£30k/pa = £1,934.88/month
£7/hr @ 60hr/week = £1,472.48/month
JSA for Over 25's = £71.70/week
If it were me, i'd be happy to do the minimum wage job.
The Minimum Wage to me is a cop-out anyway, it's a target for the cheapest price point companies can get away with while playing to the law. I'm all for a free economy, I'd rather let companies set the standards they want according to the service level they'll give which will be dictated by the people they recruit.
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