Professor Green, living in poverty.

[SystemParanoia]

TooMany2cvs said:

SystemParanoia said:

BigMon said:

Does anyone who is commenting on this thread actually earn £18K or less?

I would suspect they would be in a better position to tell us how difficult or not it is to survive on that sort of wage rather than someone who is earning a high five or six figure salary.

raises hand.

Can I ask why?

Choice or necessity?
Qualifications/skills?
Location?

Choice : possibly - I have a habit of choosing the wrong job when multiple offers are on the table. by the time i've realised my horrible mistake.. those other offers are long gone never to return

Qualis/Skills - I feel i have the skills and outright determination to do well anywhere being willing to learn and undertake any training, But at the grunt level that i work at ( Disposable agency worker ). the determination to rise and better ones self is seen as a challenge by the managers directly above who then quietly get rid of me with some BS reason. I try to hide it, but i see so many inefficiencies and poor processes that i cant help trying to streamline, or at least document them so the next poor sod that comes in isnt groping around in the dark like i had to.

Location - Im in the midlands.. i should be really well placed being only 20mins from brum

[TooMany2cvs]

BigMon said:

sidicks said:

Regardless, what costs do you think someone on £18k would be incurring?

My point is that unless you are living day to day on that salary, how can you possibly relate to what it is like?

£18000/yr = £1500/mo before income tax = £1293/mo after income tax assuming no BiK etc.

Perfectly decent 1 bed flats in my local city (Hereford) are £4-500/mo.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/proper...

That's £843/month for discretionary spending. Call it £150/mo on food, £200/mo on leasing a nice shiny new car, and another £100/mo on insuring it - and you've still got £390/mo to spend. Doesn't exactly sound dreadful to me...

BigMon said:

Based on that would you like me to tell you how easy and comfortable it is to survive on that wage level?

I don't know who ever promised you that you had some kind of right for "easy and comfortable", but they were lying to you.

[TooMany2cvs]

SystemParanoia said:

But at the grunt level that i work at ( Disposable agency worker )...

That's a stopgap, not a career.

[SystemParanoia]

TooMany2cvs said:

SystemParanoia said:

But at the grunt level that i work at ( Disposable agency worker )...

That's a stopgap, not a career.

Well ive only ever had one legitimate permanent job in my life.
Every other job i have ever had has been via agency

every single one of them with the empty promise of 'temp to perm'

[anonymous-user]

SystemParanoia said:

Well ive only ever had one legitimate permanent job in my life.
Every other job i have ever had has been via agency

every single one of them with the empty promise of 'temp to perm'

Maybe look to become a postman, mate.
Apparently it's brilliant.

[sidicks]

desolate said:

SystemParanoia said:

Well ive only ever had one legitimate permanent job in my life.
Every other job i have ever had has been via agency

every single one of them with the empty promise of 'temp to perm'

Maybe look to become a postman, mate.
Apparently it's brilliant.

Strawman nonsense. As ever.

[cqueen]

TooMany2cvs said:

Perfectly decent 1 bed flats in my local city (Hereford) are £4-500/mo.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/proper...

That's £843/month for discretionary spending. Call it £150/mo on food, £200/mo on leasing a nice shiny new car, and another £100/mo on insuring it - and you've still got £390/mo to spend. Doesn't exactly sound dreadful to me.

£37/week on food - how generous!

Also forgetting other essentials: Pension (one that will pay a pittance come retirement) £100? Power/electric: £70, Water £40, Council Tax £120, Fuel £60, Internet £20, mobile phone £15

= No disposable = Broke.

Edit: oh and god forbid you want to buy something like a hair cut or a beer

Edited by cqueen on Tuesday 26th September 15:31

[sidicks]

cqueen said:

£37/week on food - how generous!

Also forgetting other essentials: Pension (one that will pay a pittance come retirement) £100? Power/electric: £70, Water £40, Council Tax £120, Fuel £60, Internet £20, mobile phone £15

= No disposable = Broke.

£100 per month on pension?

[anonymous-user]

sidicks said:

Strawman nonsense. As ever.

I'll accept no criticism from the man who came up with "It's madness to think that someone on £18k p.a. is 'on the breadline' expect by choices of their own making."

So don't fking bother in future.

[cqueen]

sidicks said:

£100 per month on pension?

? Quite normal

[Fittster]

sidicks said:

cqueen said:

£37/week on food - how generous!

Also forgetting other essentials: Pension (one that will pay a pittance come retirement) £100? Power/electric: £70, Water £40, Council Tax £120, Fuel £60, Internet £20, mobile phone £15

= No disposable = Broke.

£100 per month on pension?

Why do I think the same smiley will be used when it turns out people haven't got a sufficient pension pot to retire.

[SystemParanoia]

TooMany2cvs said:

BigMon said:

sidicks said:

Regardless, what costs do you think someone on £18k would be incurring?

My point is that unless you are living day to day on that salary, how can you possibly relate to what it is like?

£18000/yr = £1500/mo before income tax = £1293/mo after income tax assuming no BiK etc.

Perfectly decent 1 bed flats in my local city (Hereford) are £4-500/mo.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/proper...

That's £843/month for discretionary spending. Call it £150/mo on food, £200/mo on leasing a nice shiny new car, and another £100/mo on insuring it - and you've still got £390/mo to spend. Doesn't exactly sound dreadful to me...

BigMon said:

Based on that would you like me to tell you how easy and comfortable it is to survive on that wage level?

I don't know who ever promised you that you had some kind of right for "easy and comfortable", but they were lying to you.

Dont forget atleast £50-70 p/mo on food
£100 p/mo council tax
£100 p/mo Utilities
£ ??? on fuel getting to/from work
£10 p/mo on phone sim only
£208 p/mo for a part time college course to try and better your lot in life... oh dear.. budgets been blown!

[TooMany2cvs]

cqueen said:

TooMany2cvs said:

Perfectly decent 1 bed flats in my local city (Hereford) are £4-500/mo.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/proper...

That's £843/month for discretionary spending. Call it £150/mo on food, £200/mo on leasing a nice shiny new car, and another £100/mo on insuring it - and you've still got £390/mo to spend. Doesn't exactly sound dreadful to me.

£37/week on food - how generous!

For one person...? Perfectly adequate. Learn to cook.

cqueen said:

Council Tax £120

£75 on that flat.

[cqueen]

TooMany2cvs said:

£75 on that flat.

Wahey, £50! Oh yeah I forgot, Tv license, Make that £35.

We are splitting hairs here, as you can see, on £18k in a stty 1 bed flat you're still flat out broke.

[SystemParanoia]

cqueen said:

TooMany2cvs said:

£75 on that flat.

Wahey, £50! Oh yeah I forgot, Tv license, Make that £35.

We are splitting hairs here, as you can see, on £18k in a stty 1 bed flat you're still flat out broke.

There's also no mention of any form of entertainment here, or indeed any of the small pleasures that make life bearable...

[TooMany2cvs]

cqueen said:

TooMany2cvs said:

£75 on that flat.

Wahey, £50! Oh yeah I forgot, Tv license, Make that £35.

We are splitting hairs here, as you can see, on £18k in a stty 1 bed flat you're still flat out broke.

Fine. Don't lease the brand new car, then. Look! Another £300/mo freed up!

Sure, you can come up with as many things to spend money on as you like - and I can pull 'em apart as much as you like... For a start, that £110/mo in utilities and £35 in internet/mobile is clearly OTT... My elec bill is £43/mo and water £17/mo, and that's for a big detached house - and I'm building credit at that elec DD...

[anonymous-user]

TooMany2cvs said:

Fine. Don't lease the brand new car, then. Look! Another £300/mo freed up!

Sure, you can come up with as many things to spend money on as you like - and I can pull 'em apart as much as you like... For a start, that £110/mo in utilities and £35 in internet/mobile is clearly OTT... My elec bill is £43/mo and water £17/mo, and that's for a big detached house - and I'm building credit at that elec DD...

Plus there will be the odd win on the horses or fixed odds betting terminals to bump it up and pay for the kids' school shoes.

[sidicks]

cqueen said:

Wahey, £50! Oh yeah I forgot, Tv license, Make that £35.

We are splitting hairs here, as you can see, on £18k in a stty 1 bed flat you're still flat out broke.

And yet still doing much more than 'surviving'.

[sidicks]

cqueen said:

? Quite normal

Yes, definitely, people on the breadline normally spend £100 on a pension.

[SystemParanoia]

sidicks said:

cqueen said:

Wahey, £50! Oh yeah I forgot, Tv license, Make that £35.

We are splitting hairs here, as you can see, on £18k in a stty 1 bed flat you're still flat out broke.

And yet still doing much more than 'surviving'.

now add a child or 3 to the mix ....