is this a reasonable amount to live on?

[ilovehens]

Or would it be classed as a small amount?

£20,280 (net) for a family of four - 2 adults and 2 children under 12.

This is after small housing costs.

Just want opinions really.

[moonstorm]

We would struggle. Ok if no extras - car/ things that go wrong with the house. Might not be rom for luxuries, but it really does depend where in the country you live

[diamondsandtiaras]

I guess it depends on what your outgoings are................can you do yourself a list of all your outgoings (food/bills/kids activities etc etc) and see if that amount covers it with enough left over for extras/emergencies?

[katycarr]

After housing costs, well it is fine then.

[Feelingsensitive]

I believe this woudl make you eligible for tax credits so yes its a small amount but I guess people manage on less.

[mumblechum]

After housing costs, sounds ok to me.

[ilovehens]

Yes it covers food and things like that but we can't afford much in the way of luxuries, holidays, nice clothes etc and we don't go out.

The thing is this is how much we will have to live on if the child tax credits and child benefit are scrapped. We are living on a little more than this amount at the present time and we're struggling now so it will be worse if these two things are done away with.

I'm just worrying about the budget that's all.

[LIZS]

1700pcm sounds ok tbh unless you have excessive loans/cc to pay out on. Is it net of council tax ?

[katycarr]

I think quite a few people have about that to live on after housing costs tbh.

[runnybottom]

After housing costs? I wish we (2 adults + 3 kids) had that per month to live on after housing costs!

[ilovehens]

We pay countil tax out of this.

It's not that bad then?

I wasn't sure if it was okay or not.

[totalmadness]

If child tax and child benefit are scrapped we will so many different versions of poor it won't be funny

[Xenia]

What's okay? It's all relative. Nothing stops other mumnetters only ever drinking tap water as I do and never going to the hair dresser's etc etc. We all make our choice and cut our cloth to suit our whatever that saying is....

Obviously if you're used to more it's hard to get used to less money but the whole nation is about to be plunged into the age of austerity. They will need to find people who grew up in the war years and the rationining of the 1950s to advise them but they'll adjust.

[FabIsGettingFit]

Don't understand the point of the thread.

[vicbar]

We both work and have 3 children (expecting 4th) and have less than this a month after housing costs (approx £1300) and we live ok. We do have holidays (camping) and days out but I love a bargain. We dont have any debt though (not inc mort) so that money is just for bills food day to day cost's.
I think its all relative to what standard of living you expect.
Moneysavingexpert.com has a great budget planner which covers everything and will give you a clearer idea if it would be manageable.

[maduggar]

We live on less, for a family of 5, and manage fine.

[peppapighastakenovermylife]

Just did a quick (and very rough!) calculation and we earn 50k betweem us. Net pay minus mortgage and childcare will equal £1000 a month for 5 of us to live on if they take away our CB and tax credits which is likely.

Buries head in sand

[mumatron]

£20+k after housing for 2 adults and 2 children under 12.

i dont have that much before housing costs! but i guess it comes down to where you live etc.

[katycarr]

I don't think there is any harm in considering what your financial situation would be if tax credits and child benefit were taken away.

We were trying for another baby, we don't claim our tax credits or child benefit but dp had convinced me that if that was the only way we could have a baby we should do. Now the tories have got in and things are being cut, I have accepted there will not be another baby for us. We can't afford childcare and if I was ever to get ill I can;t count on there ever being help from the state.

This is affecting all of us.

[suwoo]

That is roughly what we live on with 3 kids and two cats . We are in the north though.

Its enough.

[FakePlasticTrees]

sorry but £1700 after housing costs a month? With little ones (not pricy teenagers)?

After mortgage, all our bills & food (including DH's rail card) costs less than a grand. OK - we only have DS who's little, but do 2 under 12s cost £700 a month? (starting to panic about when he gets bigger)

Lots of people survive on a hell of a lot less than £1700 a month including housing costs.

you really need to look at your outgoings if this is going to be a struggle, there must be places you can cut costs.

[OhExpletive]

After housing costs we have just over £14000 net. 2 adults, one child (another due, at which point net income will drop to around £1100 pcm not including housing costs (mortgage currently around £550 pcm).

More than a reasonable amount IMO - I'd be having a small holiday and repairing my guttering, broken sink, getting a new mattress and fencing my garden. We'd be quite, quite comfortable.

[MiladyDeScorchio]

If you really do love hens then you'll be fine. Plenty of MNers are starting to grow and rear their food.

A single person with two DC and no housing or council tax costs gets under £10,000 in benefits. Two can live as cheaply as one and all that.

If the government do get rid of child benefit and tax credits at least there are two of you so that one or both can work

[ilovehens]

yes we live in the north too.

[ilovehens]

I work but my husband was made redundant about 18 months ago. He has been eeking his redundancy out to pay for things like car repairs and emergencies like when then fridge broke down. I pay for everything else.

[OhExpletive]

peppa we've been getting by on that amount for years. Not comfortably by any means but it's just possible.