On £25k but 'poor'?! Misery thread...
Discussion
lukefreeman said:
Generic "I get paid more than average wage, want to boast, and make people feel sorry for me" post.
Fixed costs are a £1k a month. Food/fuel not included.
Could easily live on minimum wage comfortabley, should we have too.
Don't need latest mobile phones, clothes, car, going out every night etc.
F/T minimum wage:Fixed costs are a £1k a month. Food/fuel not included.
Could easily live on minimum wage comfortabley, should we have too.
Don't need latest mobile phones, clothes, car, going out every night etc.
35 hours per week, 6 quid odds per hour, c. £220 per week, 11 grand per year?
You sure about that...?
simoid said:
lukefreeman said:
Generic "I get paid more than average wage, want to boast, and make people feel sorry for me" post.
Fixed costs are a £1k a month. Food/fuel not included.
Could easily live on minimum wage comfortably, should we have too.
Don't need latest mobile phones, clothes, car, going out every night etc.
F/T minimum wage:Fixed costs are a £1k a month. Food/fuel not included.
Could easily live on minimum wage comfortably, should we have too.
Don't need latest mobile phones, clothes, car, going out every night etc.
35 hours per week, 6 quid odds per hour, c. £220 per week, 11 grand per year?
You sure about that...?
simoid said:
SystemParanoia said:
errm yes, 4 years ago i was doing just that.. and the minimum wage was lower then
Well, yes. For short-medium terms, I'm sure most could survive.But for longer terms, planning for the future, rainy day savings, other things that make life a happy place...
Im not much better off now.. I have a CRT TV, my car was made in 2000 and many things i have to make-do and mend... or even make my own
but im hardly destitute and living on the street.. im even able to splash out on Virgin TV.. although this may not go on for too much longer as they keep pushing the price up little by little.
its perfectly possible to live on minumum wage, and even have a few nice things. but many people want EVERYTHING, and they want it NOW and it has to be NEW.
to those people.. they will always be Unhappy or in horrible debt.
good luck to them
SystemParanoia said:
many people want EVERYTHING, and they want it NOW and it has to be NEW.
Someone finally talking some sense.I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We bought our house when we were on £16k and £12k - so £28k household income. We had to do without certain things, but were by no means 'poor'. Just over 6 years later, we've paid our mortgage off.
Whilst admittedly our wages have increased, we did this by not having everything NOW and everything NEW. We've had some nice stuff, lived a good life, and still managed it.
Unless you're willing to make some sacrifices in life, you'll always be stuck.
SystemParanoia said:
Its perfectly possible to live on minumum wage, and even have a few nice things. but many people want EVERYTHING, and they want it NOW and it has to be NEW.
to those people.. they will always be Unhappy or in horrible debt.
good luck to them
So true. I went to a local auction last night. They sell off house clearances. You could buy a Fridge, Washing machine, Bed, Sofa, Dining room set, Wardrobes plates and cutlery. Basically you could furnish and equip an entire house from scratch.to those people.. they will always be Unhappy or in horrible debt.
good luck to them
I calculated you could do it all on £200. OK so it's not the latest in fashion, but that's amazing.
It's never been cheaper to buy second hand stuff. It's basically not valued or sought after at all.
I mentioned it to a few people at work and they all looked at me as if I was mad to contemplate 2nd hand stuff.
STURBO said:
So true. I went to a local auction last night. They sell off house clearances. You could buy a Fridge, Washing machine, Bed, Sofa, Dining room set, Wardrobes plates and cutlery. Basically you could furnish and equip an entire house from scratch.
I calculated you could do it all on £200. OK so it's not the latest in fashion, but that's amazing.
It's never been cheaper to buy second hand stuff. It's basically not valued or sought after at all.
I mentioned it to a few people at work and they all looked at me as if I was mad to contemplate 2nd hand stuff.
Not always, but I often buy second hand stuff. It feels much better buying stuff that I have a chance of getting most or all of my money back if I had to sell again on eBay.I calculated you could do it all on £200. OK so it's not the latest in fashion, but that's amazing.
It's never been cheaper to buy second hand stuff. It's basically not valued or sought after at all.
I mentioned it to a few people at work and they all looked at me as if I was mad to contemplate 2nd hand stuff.
Pulse said:
Someone finally talking some sense.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We bought our house when we were on £16k and £12k - so £28k household income. We had to do without certain things, but were by no means 'poor'. Just over 6 years later, we've paid our mortgage off.
Whilst admittedly our wages have increased, we did this by not having everything NOW and everything NEW. We've had some nice stuff, lived a good life, and still managed it.
Unless you're willing to make some sacrifices in life, you'll always be stuck.
Serious question here - how long did you need to save for you house deposit? Total income would have been circa £2k between 2 people. Assuming you were having to live somewhere whilst saving I'm genuinely interested in timescales, with a very tight belt I would estimate £500/month saving(?) so surely we're talking 6+ years assuming no other significant costs came up? That's a good effort!I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We bought our house when we were on £16k and £12k - so £28k household income. We had to do without certain things, but were by no means 'poor'. Just over 6 years later, we've paid our mortgage off.
Whilst admittedly our wages have increased, we did this by not having everything NOW and everything NEW. We've had some nice stuff, lived a good life, and still managed it.
Unless you're willing to make some sacrifices in life, you'll always be stuck.
NightDriver said:
Serious question here - how long did you need to save for you house deposit? Total income would have been circa £2k between 2 people. Assuming you were having to live somewhere whilst saving I'm genuinely interested in timescales, with a very tight belt I would estimate £500/month saving(?) so surely we're talking 6+ years assuming no other significant costs came up? That's a good effort!
I'm not sure actually. It wasn't very long, but perhaps I had saved some money already prior to meeting my partner. We saved the deposit whilst renting as well.It was back when mortgages could be had with only a 10% deposit though, and our house was reasonably cheap.
Pulse said:
I'm not sure actually. It wasn't very long, but perhaps I had saved some money already prior to meeting my partner. We saved the deposit whilst renting as well.
It was back when mortgages could be had with only a 10% deposit though, and our house was reasonably cheap.
Yea, it was easier in the past, and that's what everyone forgets. Try doing that now, on those wages, with average rent prices in the £600-700pcm range and when most lenders are wanting a £25k deposit.It was back when mortgages could be had with only a 10% deposit though, and our house was reasonably cheap.
Kozy said:
Yea, it was easier in the past, and that's what everyone forgets. Try doing that now, on those wages, with average rent prices in the £600-700pcm range and when most lenders are wanting a £25k deposit.
Still not impossible though. We had to save up £20k to buy our place, we were 23 and 20, and on those wages.I started saving when I turned 23 (salary £17k) putting a few hundred aside each month, upped that to 500-700 when I turned 27 (salary £20k), then at 28 following a promotion (salary £25k) began saving a grand each month.
Lived with my parents until I was 29 when I moved into my own flat costing £106k with a £26.5k deposit, got about £12k put aside as 'rainy day' money should I lose job. Being single I wouldn't have been able to do this if I was renting unless I lived in a bedsit.
£25k is about the right salary to lead a comfortable life and not feel poor where I live. Have 300-400 left after monthly outgoings which is going towards buying household items, once that's done I'll have a holiday (not had one since 2009) then begin overpaying mortgage before rates rise. I haven't got that detached house with a garden and garage that I aspire to have and don't see how I can ever reach that point without a significant salary rise or meeting someone on £25k too.
Lived with my parents until I was 29 when I moved into my own flat costing £106k with a £26.5k deposit, got about £12k put aside as 'rainy day' money should I lose job. Being single I wouldn't have been able to do this if I was renting unless I lived in a bedsit.
£25k is about the right salary to lead a comfortable life and not feel poor where I live. Have 300-400 left after monthly outgoings which is going towards buying household items, once that's done I'll have a holiday (not had one since 2009) then begin overpaying mortgage before rates rise. I haven't got that detached house with a garden and garage that I aspire to have and don't see how I can ever reach that point without a significant salary rise or meeting someone on £25k too.
A quick look back at Maslow's hierarchy of needs is quite refreshing.
It was referenced on a course I attended last year...I hadn't given it much thought since studding Business Studies at least 15 years ago.
Makes you realise what you really NEED to survive, live and feel happy.
I know for one that I was far happier 12 years ago on a fraction of my current salary. Ultimately and most importantly I had less to loose financially (clear minded) and more loved ones around.
I'm no preacher but there seems to be a lot of sense in that old triangle!
It was referenced on a course I attended last year...I hadn't given it much thought since studding Business Studies at least 15 years ago.
Makes you realise what you really NEED to survive, live and feel happy.
I know for one that I was far happier 12 years ago on a fraction of my current salary. Ultimately and most importantly I had less to loose financially (clear minded) and more loved ones around.
I'm no preacher but there seems to be a lot of sense in that old triangle!
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