Cost of living
Discussion
I'm surprised at this.
As a Couple with joint income of £65k gross living in South East near M25, we afford a mortgage and to run 2 cars without loans, with plenty of money left over to go on holidays multiple times a year and put away a large chunk into savings each month too.
Salary will drop soon as I've just started maternity leave, but we have savings as a back up and there's no pressure to go back to work full time at the end as we will be able to afford the cut.
We both do jobs we live without the added stress of pressure and targets and long hours and that's worth it's weight in gold too.
As a Couple with joint income of £65k gross living in South East near M25, we afford a mortgage and to run 2 cars without loans, with plenty of money left over to go on holidays multiple times a year and put away a large chunk into savings each month too.
Salary will drop soon as I've just started maternity leave, but we have savings as a back up and there's no pressure to go back to work full time at the end as we will be able to afford the cut.
We both do jobs we live without the added stress of pressure and targets and long hours and that's worth it's weight in gold too.
This thread is made for pistonheads! Can't get by on £100k someone said £300k! Everyone is on handouts or a mini crime spree. Reality is that yes both of you need to work especially if kids are involved but can get by on a fraction of these amounts there is a huge North South divide people on here mentioning £600, £800 or more cost of rent or mortgage repayments when again it's far less for millions. Come up north for a day guys it's cheap and they still pay us.
mangos said:
I'm surprised at this.
As a Couple with joint income of £65k gross living in South East near M25, we afford a mortgage and to run 2 cars without loans, with plenty of money left over to go on holidays multiple times a year and put away a large chunk into savings each month too.
Salary will drop soon as I've just started maternity leave, but we have savings as a back up and there's no pressure to go back to work full time at the end as we will be able to afford the cut.
We both do jobs we live without the added stress of pressure and targets and long hours and that's worth it's weight in gold too.
This is an interesting and informative post - but there is one thing missing (and don't worry, I'm not asking you to share it!!! As a Couple with joint income of £65k gross living in South East near M25, we afford a mortgage and to run 2 cars without loans, with plenty of money left over to go on holidays multiple times a year and put away a large chunk into savings each month too.
Salary will drop soon as I've just started maternity leave, but we have savings as a back up and there's no pressure to go back to work full time at the end as we will be able to afford the cut.
We both do jobs we live without the added stress of pressure and targets and long hours and that's worth it's weight in gold too.
) - your age/partner age - this is the key element of 'what is enough'.I live in the midlands, maybe even as some would describe it, 'The North'.
House prices in my local area have trebled since 2001, salaries have not - it's also an area with a household income considerably below the national average.
Therefore, someone of the previous generation to me and my wife can afford to live on less, someone of the next generation - maybe they will struggle even more.
So there is very little in the way of 'what is the cost of living' as a direct answer - much depends on geographic location, generation gap and income gap - salaries simply haven't risen in line with living costs and this gap can be extreme in certain areas (not just central London).
Threads like this are fantastic for showing just how out of touch people can get with reality. To think that to live "any where near comfortably" you'd need a household income that is nearly four times greater than the average UK salary - or two people earning roughly double the average salary, is ludicrous.
I live alone. My rent, council tax and child maintenance alone come to 2000 a month.
When I was in the family home our joint budget for the mortgage, bills, food etc was 1000 a month.
Ie 500 each as we both worked.
So back to now. I need 4000 a month before tax to cover my expenses and live ok.
Crazy isnt it. Unfortunately though, work is not too good at the moment and I am only making 2500 a month before tax.
Never thought I could be on 30k a year and still be going under.
When I was in the family home our joint budget for the mortgage, bills, food etc was 1000 a month.
Ie 500 each as we both worked.
So back to now. I need 4000 a month before tax to cover my expenses and live ok.
Crazy isnt it. Unfortunately though, work is not too good at the moment and I am only making 2500 a month before tax.
Never thought I could be on 30k a year and still be going under.
Rent £0
Bills £300
Car insurance/tax £80
Entertainment/Fuel £300
Travelcard £150
I do however scrounge off as many free dinners from friends, parents, girlfriend, work .. basically anyone who enjoys my company. If I had to start again with a full mortgage/rent in London I would move abroad for sure - maybe the US / Hong Kong or Australia.
Bills £300
Car insurance/tax £80
Entertainment/Fuel £300
Travelcard £150
I do however scrounge off as many free dinners from friends, parents, girlfriend, work .. basically anyone who enjoys my company. If I had to start again with a full mortgage/rent in London I would move abroad for sure - maybe the US / Hong Kong or Australia.
Edited by fido on Tuesday 2nd May 09:25
croyde said:
I live alone. My rent, council tax and child maintenance alone come to 2000 a month.
When I was in the family home our joint budget for the mortgage, bills, food etc was 1000 a month.
Ie 500 each as we both worked.
So back to now. I need 4000 a month before tax to cover my expenses and live ok.
Crazy isnt it. Unfortunately though, work is not too good at the moment and I am only making 2500 a month before tax.
Never thought I could be on 30k a year and still be going under.
Croyde, I'm sorry to hear that - nothing's worse than swimming against the tide :/ I hope circumstances improve for you!When I was in the family home our joint budget for the mortgage, bills, food etc was 1000 a month.
Ie 500 each as we both worked.
So back to now. I need 4000 a month before tax to cover my expenses and live ok.
Crazy isnt it. Unfortunately though, work is not too good at the moment and I am only making 2500 a month before tax.
Never thought I could be on 30k a year and still be going under.
This is a prime example however of differing needs defining what is 'enough' - and I missed this 'change in circumstance' from my previous post.
There is no right/wrong answer - but there is a definitive difference between income and cost, and a lot of difference of expectation.
Mortgage, started last year as bitterness from losing last (paid off) house to a cheating spouse finally wore off £1000 PM
Bills average about £300 PM
I had to take cards in employment to get the Mortgage so currently earn about £40k, £30kless than I was earning as contractor.
We consider her wage as an extra bonus, to be saved up for treats which will stop when she finally drops a sprog.
We are comfortable enough that I feel no need to go back to contracting for more money as it would mean extended spells away from home.
We run a car and my bike, although bike not much used in the summer as I prefer to cycle to work, house was renovated over the last couple of years and, even though I did most of the work myself, the cost was more than expected. We managed.
Couple of pints locally a few times a week, not a problem. Food, well I enjoy cooking and often invite friends around for a meal,
Holidays are a bit odd, I have spent a lot of my adult life working abroad, she has never left the country so currently saving for a Botswana trip.
I think that qualifies as comfortable.
Bills average about £300 PM
I had to take cards in employment to get the Mortgage so currently earn about £40k, £30kless than I was earning as contractor.
We consider her wage as an extra bonus, to be saved up for treats which will stop when she finally drops a sprog.
We are comfortable enough that I feel no need to go back to contracting for more money as it would mean extended spells away from home.
We run a car and my bike, although bike not much used in the summer as I prefer to cycle to work, house was renovated over the last couple of years and, even though I did most of the work myself, the cost was more than expected. We managed.
Couple of pints locally a few times a week, not a problem. Food, well I enjoy cooking and often invite friends around for a meal,
Holidays are a bit odd, I have spent a lot of my adult life working abroad, she has never left the country so currently saving for a Botswana trip.
I think that qualifies as comfortable.
alfie2244 said:
Trustmeimadoctor said:
Bristol spark said:
f1nn said:
I would say a joint income of 100k minimum is required to live any where near comfortably, possibly more if there are than one or two children involved, in most of the southern part of the country.
If that can be on one wage, great, but more likely both partners will be contributing towards that in most cases.
If that can be on one wage, great, but more likely both partners will be contributing towards that in most cases.
maybe in central london, elsewhere nowhere near that is needed to be just comfortable. I worked out my costs the other day, i live alone, so just me.
Rent £800
Council tax £100
Food £100
Utilities. £50
Car insurance/tax £60
So bare living costs, say £1200/month.
Say £2500/month after tax, thats £1300/month left to entertain one self per month which i would say is comfortable??
Only on PH would a 100k salary be considered comfortable. 100k is a very health income.
98elise said:
I slow cook a lot of family meals from scratch (spaghetti Bolognese, chilli etc). Average cost is arroud £1 per person.
Only on PH would a 100k salary be considered comfortable. 100k is a very health income.
Only on PH would people tell you what you can and can't be comfortable on. People have different outlooks on life. Being comfortable to one can be paying your heating and feeding yourself. Comfortable to another can be jetting across the globe.Only on PH would a 100k salary be considered comfortable. 100k is a very health income.
Different strokes.
Going back to the OP's actual question, I think the switch gained momentum in the 70s and crystallised in the early 80s.
What's harder to identify is the chicken/egg order: were women 'forced' into the workplace because single salaries were no longer sufficient to meet living costs, or did prices rise because it was clear that families had more income as women made the voluntary shift into working as well as having families?
I tend towards the latter. I think that the huge growth in women working instead of staying at home until their children left home fuelled, amongst other things, house price rises. And as house prices rise, so do so many other, associated, products and services.
So wimminz lib's to blame; same as for the death of pubs
What's harder to identify is the chicken/egg order: were women 'forced' into the workplace because single salaries were no longer sufficient to meet living costs, or did prices rise because it was clear that families had more income as women made the voluntary shift into working as well as having families?
I tend towards the latter. I think that the huge growth in women working instead of staying at home until their children left home fuelled, amongst other things, house price rises. And as house prices rise, so do so many other, associated, products and services.
So wimminz lib's to blame; same as for the death of pubs
j44esd said:
This is an interesting and informative post - but there is one thing missing (and don't worry, I'm not asking you to share it!!! ) - your age/partner age - this is the key element of 'what is enough'.
I live in the midlands, maybe even as some would describe it, 'The North'.
House prices in my local area have trebled since 2001, salaries have not - it's also an area with a household income considerably below the national average.
Therefore, someone of the previous generation to me and my wife can afford to live on less, someone of the next generation - maybe they will struggle even more.
So there is very little in the way of 'what is the cost of living' as a direct answer - much depends on geographic location, generation gap and income gap - salaries simply haven't risen in line with living costs and this gap can be extreme in certain areas (not just central London).
Age wise we are 29/31. ) - your age/partner age - this is the key element of 'what is enough'.I live in the midlands, maybe even as some would describe it, 'The North'.
House prices in my local area have trebled since 2001, salaries have not - it's also an area with a household income considerably below the national average.
Therefore, someone of the previous generation to me and my wife can afford to live on less, someone of the next generation - maybe they will struggle even more.
So there is very little in the way of 'what is the cost of living' as a direct answer - much depends on geographic location, generation gap and income gap - salaries simply haven't risen in line with living costs and this gap can be extreme in certain areas (not just central London).
We were lucky enough to have been on property ladder for a while so that's definitley helped.
So I agree, someone younger who isn't on property ladder will struggle in our area.
Friends of similar ages are just getting on property ladder now without children, and the ones with children are stuck renting. But they can still afford on near identical salaries for one to either be a sahp or be part time.
I think people tend to spend less on 'stuff' when kids come along and it's surprising at how little you don't need.
I hate the idea of debit and unnessecary expense so don't have Sky tv for example.
We don't smoke or drink much but we like good quality food and when we do drink it's a nice bottle of wine, so we can still afford to treat ourselves in those ways.
f1nn said:
I would say a joint income of 100k minimum is required to live any where near comfortably, possibly more if there are than one or two children involved, in most of the southern part of the country.
If that can be on one wage, great, but more likely both partners will be contributing towards that in most cases.
35k income here and we survive. Granted we don't have luxury holidays and we run older cars, but 35k is enough to get by. If that can be on one wage, great, but more likely both partners will be contributing towards that in most cases.
2 Adults, 1 Child (one more next week), 3 dogs, 2 cats. Own our own house.
Earn 40k and pay £300 in rent and the same in child maintenance. In a flat share at the moment whilst I'm saving to buy a house on my own after coming out of a 10 year relationship.
Probably have another £200 a month in other bills go out as well. I am left with more than enough to live off so I'm squirrelling it away at the moment.
I also live in the midlands so house prices and rent are cheaper than down south. I feel sorry for anyone supporting a family if they have less than 40k coming into the household.
Probably have another £200 a month in other bills go out as well. I am left with more than enough to live off so I'm squirrelling it away at the moment.
I also live in the midlands so house prices and rent are cheaper than down south. I feel sorry for anyone supporting a family if they have less than 40k coming into the household.
Latest data I could find was from 2013, but it was showing that there are:
31.7 million families in the UK.
11.6 million of whom claim some sort of benefit (excluding pensioners and the state pension).
That's under 37%, so not quite the "more than half" mentioned earlier. It also includes child benefit which is paid to almost all parents, so the figure for people who get job-seekers' allowance, housing benefit, or disability benefit is far lower.
There's also data to show that more than £10 billion each year in welfare payments go unclaimed (just googled "unclaimed benefits").
The ONS are still compiling data on the 2015/16 financial year but they have reported that the median household disposable income was £23,400. This is the figure after tax, but including all benefit payments. That's £1950/month to spend which is roughly £30k in pre-tax if there were no benefits added.
Average UK rent in Jan 2015: £899
Average 2014 Council Tax: £132/month
Average 2014 dual-fuel bill: £112/month
Average 2014 water bill: £33/month
Broadband connection: £112
TV Licence: £12/month
We're already at nearly £1200 spent before transport, food, childcare etc are factored in. Then you've got clothes, a mobile phone, having a holiday once a year, saving for a pension - Things which turn surviving into living really. Honestly, I don't have kids and have no idea how anyone raises them on an average household income. And this is assuming two parents, a single parent with increased childcare costs and possibly lower starting income... Ouch.
31.7 million families in the UK.
11.6 million of whom claim some sort of benefit (excluding pensioners and the state pension).
That's under 37%, so not quite the "more than half" mentioned earlier. It also includes child benefit which is paid to almost all parents, so the figure for people who get job-seekers' allowance, housing benefit, or disability benefit is far lower.
There's also data to show that more than £10 billion each year in welfare payments go unclaimed (just googled "unclaimed benefits").
The ONS are still compiling data on the 2015/16 financial year but they have reported that the median household disposable income was £23,400. This is the figure after tax, but including all benefit payments. That's £1950/month to spend which is roughly £30k in pre-tax if there were no benefits added.
Average UK rent in Jan 2015: £899
Average 2014 Council Tax: £132/month
Average 2014 dual-fuel bill: £112/month
Average 2014 water bill: £33/month
Broadband connection: £112
TV Licence: £12/month
We're already at nearly £1200 spent before transport, food, childcare etc are factored in. Then you've got clothes, a mobile phone, having a holiday once a year, saving for a pension - Things which turn surviving into living really. Honestly, I don't have kids and have no idea how anyone raises them on an average household income. And this is assuming two parents, a single parent with increased childcare costs and possibly lower starting income... Ouch.
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