To be in this job and feel poor?

It would be £3100 as student loans on that salary would be £230 (perhaps all the way till retirement if it’s big loan which won’t be paid back as interest high on any post 2012 loan- head situation I’m in, took loan to retrain in a high earning profession but don’t think I’ll earn enough to pay it back) . Then op says they have additional professional loans

You're still young, move overseas for a while somewhere tax free, great way of earning and saving lots. There's a better quality of life out there. You can always come back if you hate it.

Not sure why you are so poor. You have a reasonable salary and not a very high mortgage . What's the problem.

yeah this!

My OH and I did some random googling the other day of what my parents pay in the 90's and early 2000's would be equal to now, and then compared that with house prices, the fact there were no loans for universities etc. It's crazy! Our parents equivalent household salaries today would be about £120k, they had no mortgage and no student debt. Plus a lot less in your face climate guilt, lucky beggers. It was a different world!

What is your job op? Are you an architect? Just asking as my son is thinking about this and I know it’s 7 years and have wondered about the pay. What are your job prospects in the future, will your salary increase a lot or not?

Can you find a side Hussle?

My wife earns 45k and I earn a tiny amount writing freelance. We have 3 kids...surely this single persons income is more than "good" to pay for just themselves

Know exactly how you feel. Slogged for years to get to where I am and I never have anything left over, not even for savings! On a similar salary but have 2 kids as well for context x

Haven’t RTFT but YANBU OP

In terms of food, could you look for things reduced with yellow stickers? Or use apps like Too Good To Go or similar.

I agree with getting rid of the car on finance, if you can get out of the contract, and getting a cheaper run around.

your net pay may be a lot more because both you and your husband will have your own tax allowance: and you may also recieve child benefit

You are not unreasonable - despite all the negative replies. In a very similar situation and feel the same! Life is so much dearer than it used to be - it was worth the work though as we are still in a decent position compared to some

You're in the top 15% of UK earners.

I'm in my 50s, self employed and earn about 30K with no job security. Cry me a fucking river.

I bought a 2 bed terrace for my first house. Had lodgers for many years to help pay the mortgage. Not anyone's preference but a really sensible move if you're struggling......

With respect, according to money saving expert OP pays £248 towards her student loan and has a take home pay of £3291 per month.

Her take home pay is nearly £40k

Are you being serious? The OP lives on beans and pays a mortgage. It’s hardly an enriched life.

@fedippp move, head North and live a little easier

I'm not where you are but I can totally empathise. 58K is a great salary but it's all relative, right? Your mortgage is hefty, especially for a single person. Just to throw a few ideas out for you:

1. Create a monthly spreadsheet so you can REALLY see where your money is going. A small leak will sink a great ship, as they say. I started doing this at uni and was shocked at how little purchases would add up. Even now, I am occasionally shocked and it stops me from doing it the next month.

2. I know you're living in a 2 bed house but there is always the option to downsize to a 1 bed house or apartment? I would only do this as a last resort though as moving costs can add up too unfortunately.

3. Any chance of applying for a job with more money? Or has your career peaked at a 58K salary?

4. Can you get a cheaper car on finance than the one you currently have?

5. Please please please don't feel like an idiot. You're on a great salary, you have managed to get onto the property ladder BY YOURSELF, and it's not your fault that everything is just so costly these days! And single people do pay a premium in life as you can't split the bills, mortgage etc.

I really do hope things get better for you.

You do the "right" thing and get fucked. That's the reality of the UK these days.

Student loans are a timebomb IMO. I was lucky enough to go to university back in the days when there were no fees and there were funds available to apply for, to help you live. That, combined with a little bit of income from summer jobs and generally living ridiculously cheaply (£30 rent per week IIRC), was enough for me to emerge debt free.

I mean, if someone like you works full time, struggles to break even, can't have a holiday etc etc, I don't actually understand the incentive to get good qualifications and work.

I think that your life would be easier if you had a partner. Although clearly that's not something you can force to happen.

But she is not "skint" too, most of her money simply goes on owning a property (that's too big for one person!) and a new car. Those are luxuries, so she is certainly not skint.

Sorry if someone has already posted this (there’s a lot of responses and I haven’t looked through them all) but your utility bills seem crazy.

Our gas & electric is about £280 a month at the moment and we’re a 5 bed, 4 person household, working from home full time, with the heating on for at least 4-5 hours per day (with Octopus).

I would look into using a different provider, and maybe getting a smart meter if you don’t have one already, so you can see what’s creating such high bills, and can maybe make some small changes? For example, we have a conservatory that we use as a playroom and a garden office, both of which get very cold in the winter months so have electric heaters in them. I was putting the heaters on full power (two buttons) and the cost was 60p per hour for each heater. Using only one button instead of two, the cost is 25p per hour per heater. Only real difference is that it takes slightly longer to heat the rooms up to a fully comfortable temperature, but they still take the chill out of the air quickly enough - definitely enough to not be able to justify pressing that second button and adding 70p an hour to the bills!

It’s your mortgage that has put you in this unpleasant financial position. Thank goodness you have a spare room to take in a lodger to get in some tax free income. I wouldn’t want to either, but if needs must you have to do it. But vet them carefully and get a proper legally binding agreement drawn up by a professional so you don’t end up back on here if they turn out to be nutty non-payers.

Professional development loans can feel crippling ontop of everything else. I ended up paying mine off early but I think they might have changed the rules on overpayment on it (I got a random work bonus)
How many years left of it do you have?
Is your mortgage on a fix or are you on the standard rate?

You should be able to get your gas and electricity down look around the likes of octopus have cash back referral system too.

I thought this but then she said it wouldn't go up much - which isn't true for a solicitor- or certainly there is always potential if you're prepared to move areas or seek promotion etc.

Could you sell up and move to a smaller home, perhaps a flat even? I've read through all your posts and it does sound miserable and like you've done your half of the bargain to afford and deserve a more comfortable life. Sadly you're running a house on a single income and that's always going to be more of a challenge.

I'm going to guess you are a doctor, architect or solicitor or other close professional. One of the bitternesses is that professional status no longer purchases a mid-middle class lifestyle with no worries about money. Yes a tonne of people earn less and struggle more, but that's not what you thought you were working toward. I can only say that you can either work harder (extra hours, locums etc) and push through the costs you have now, or bite down the costs you have currently. Unfortunately that does mean not having a new phone every couple pf years, not going on the holidays you want and having a pretty sparse home and social life. You'll not get much sympathy as you are in the top quartile of earners but you have invested more in your earning potential and feel cheated. I get that. At the end of the day, a lot of middle class people can't afford their middle class life and it's important to acknowledge that early and not slither into debts and other spirals. You can't live in the way you think you ought to be able to afford, but you'll have to live in the way you actually can.