Would you consider 25k a year a low income for a single person?

I earn just under £25k, I honestly don’t think I could afford to be single. DP is on a much better salary, we pay 50/50 towards our household costs which gives me enough disposable income to live a reasonable life, he pays for all our treats and nice stuff. Without that I think I’d be living quite frugally or would need to find an alternative to up my salary

What kind of work do you do? Could you apply for jobs the next level up? Could you do any training/qualifications in your spare time to increase your earning potential?

It seems as if, under your circumstances, it is enough. After bills you have enough for savings, the gym etc and to go on holiday, plus you will he getting a £70 a month pay rise. However, you are perfectly entitled to want more. If you haven't got qualifications, spend some time and money on evening classes. Your salary is low enough to get a discount on some courses. Or apply for other jobs.

I was on a lot less than that a few years ago (minimum wage) and I managed to get buy as a single person in an expensive area just outside of London. I suppose because I had a council home, that was the reason I could afford to live - if not I don’t think I would have been able to, no. I didn’t have luxuries as I couldn’t afford them, I had to count every penny and often that left over money went towards topping up my electric and it wasn’t a nice way to live - but I had my bills paid and a roof over my head so it was better than others.

Of course it's low! It's barely minimum wage ie the employer is paying you as little as they can get away with

Of course it's a low wage, whether you're single, in a couple, worked forever or just started. It's only just over minimum wage.

Whether it's reasonable that it's that low for what the role is, is a different question.

well, it depends what your qualifications are. Low for a graduate that has been working a few years, not low for a first year of working post degree. I am on less than that in London, working part time with mortgage paid. You have a mortgage, so you are paying to own your own property, not paying for someone else to own it, so thats good news

It's double the state pension, so no I don't think it is low.

It is however well below median earnings (all age groups), so I can see why someone might feel otherwise.

Yes, taking into consideration the current cost of living it is low.

its a few grand more than minimum wage.
£11.44x37x52 = £22010. If you had a 40hr working week it would be £23,795

I agree with the other posters, it depends on all the other variables.

I was on £25k when I bought my house by myself in 2016 and it was absolutely fine. I went out a lot, managed to furnish the whole house within a year (having spent all savings on my deposit) and must have saved something because I got a new boiler the following year - remember because the warrantee expired this summer). But my mortgage has gone up a lot since then, council tax has increased at least 30%, general cost of living etc. So if I was buying in exactly the same circumstances today I'd probably just about manage it but not as easily as I did then. But you could be in very different circumstances - either a higher deposit and therefore lower mortgage, live in a cheaper area with lower ctax, etc. Or harder ones - the identical house next door to me has always been rented out for at least double my mortgage so that would be harder again.

I don't think you can automatically say a single person on a salary of £25k is worse off than a couple on £36k (which is the national household income) but with 2 kids, for example.

Yeah I’d say it’s low. 10 years ago my grad salary was £31.25k so I’d say £25k is low.

It is low but it is like a lot of jobs like admin and retail that pay just over minimum wage

I think it's very low. It's barely above minimum wage.

Guessing you work for something like CAB? Locally the local council debt advice service pays £5k more pa, so a sideways move might be worth a look.

Talking to a friend recently and the NHS is struggling to recruit into admin roles as the wages are higher in Aldi. So two thoughts from that, go straight for more money at a supermarket (or their graduate programme) or try for a move into the NHS with a view to rapid promotion.

That was my salary when I started working in 2001 and lived in a flat share. More than enough for my social life, living expenses and holidays. But for my life now with a mortgage and 2 DC. Nope.

You can get degree level apprenticeships on about that salary. Do you have A levels, is that an option? Obviously you put in the work, and study as well for 3/4 years but then there is a huge salary increase at the end when you pass.

It would surely depend a great deal on housing costs locally - they can vary a lot.

Do it then. Get a higher paid.

That's what I earn, single. My main bills are

Mortgage 395
Service charges 190
C tax 130
Water 25
Gas and electric 100
Car insurance 42
Internet/netflix/now as a bundle 52

Then the stuff like food, car tax, petrol, cat food etc
My luxury is I pay a peloton which is £39pm and £16pm for netball

Oh definitely look for a better paid job.

But casual weekend work might help in the short term. A lot of people do have a side hustle of some sort to make life a bit more comfortable: surveys, tutoring, babysitting, cat feeding.

I would say that it is low.

I earn about £29K - £30K a year as I can only work part-time due to health issues.

Like you I live on my own. I am finding it really tight and have little left after I pay the bills/mortgage/council tax.

I manage but it is not ideal so I can see how difficult it would be on £25K.

I'm sure it's tight, but if you've got a mortgage rather than being at the mercy of the private rental sector then that's a start, especially with interest rates coming down.

Would you be able to pick up a weekend shift doing bar work or whatever?

I think it’s crap.

I was earning 19k with a car at 25 in 1989.

That was fairly normal.