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Original poster

To think it’s crazy that National Minimum wage is £27k

663 replies

Butterflyfluff · 09/10/2026 20:08

Yet it’s not really enough to live on 😢

My first job paid £7.5k per year and I thought I was loaded! And I’m not ancient.

Now 2 people on NMW earn over £50k between them yet it’s really not enough these days.

OP posts:
Brokentoes85 · 10/10/2026 00:32

Crazy because it's not true.

£24,454

littlemousebigcheese · 10/10/2026 00:28

Our mortgage is 36k a year, we’d be screwed on min wage. Everything has gone up so much, petrol and food shock me every day!

AutumnFlows · 10/10/2026 00:19

scoopsahoooy · 09/10/2026 22:29

Our combined income is only a tiny bit short of that and we wouldn't be allowed to buy an 800k house because of affordability rules - feels like there's some info missing here! How big a deposit did you put down (and, I suppose relevant, did you save it yourself or was it a gift?). An 80% LTV mortgage on an 800k house would be 3.5k a month - I assume you're paying nowhere near that now as you're close to paying it off (and assume maybe bought when interest rates were lower?), but was one of you earning better earlier on?

Edited
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I'm interested too. In my head this only makes sense if you had inheritance or something to help put a massive deposit down.

MidnightMeltdown · 10/10/2026 00:07

My first ‘proper’ full time job after uni paid around 28k, and that was more than 15 years ago!

It didn’t feel like very much back then, but at least I didn’t have a mortgage, kids etc to pay for.

likelysuspect · 09/10/2026 23:51

I think 50k between two people is a good income, you'll obviously have to make choicdes were you live and what sort of property you rent or buy but its a good income.

Enigma54 · 09/10/2026 23:44

fedupwithseparatebedrooms · 09/10/2026 21:05

£27k I wish... I'm a TA and my annual salary is £19500

Mine was too, before medical retirement. It was one of the most physically and mentally demanding jobs, I had ever done in my working life. Loved it though!

SomeoneIsWrongOnTheInternet · 09/10/2026 23:34

BIossomtoes · 09/10/2026 22:16

we haven’t seen this level of inflation for hundreds of years

You should have seen it in the 1970s - just 50 years ago. It hit 27% in 1975.

Really. That was the declared level of inflation, calculated relatively honestly, before the shit hit the fan in the 80s, and all New Labour could do in response was enslave younger working generations and lie about it.

House prices quadrupled. Wages did not change. That’s 400%, a bit more than 27%. The difference is lies, bullshit, fiddling and propaganda.

JessicaBrassica · 09/10/2026 23:32

@Hanalam no. They earn minimum wage. As do b3s. If they raise nmw much more, autonomous therapy staff admin porters and domestics will warn the same with different levels of responsibility. Not sure how that works with job evaluation.

Hanalam · 09/10/2026 23:32

Oh I think the NMW is closer to £25k actually, that’s how the do it then.

BitterTits · 09/10/2026 23:30

Hanalam · 09/10/2026 23:27

So does that mean NHS band 2 new entrants are earning less than the NMW?

Yes but I think they pay a living wage uplift. I used to work in a NHS band 3 role doing minor procedures while band 7/8 sat around doing 'research'. I jacked it in because I knew I'd soon be able to earn more mopping the floors. It's bollocks.

Hanalam · 09/10/2026 23:27

So does that mean NHS band 2 new entrants are earning less than the NMW?

BigFrau · 09/10/2026 23:26

OneGiant · 09/10/2026 22:54

Yes, plus all the cash in hand that doesn’t make it onto the books.

Are you that naive @intrepidpanda or do you think everyone else is?

Bonkers

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OMG

@intrepidpanda is NOT the poster who said she and her DH lived on 20k!!

She was making a JOKE about the poster who said that!!

12,570 is the tax free allowance. That's the joke!

Nofeckingway · 09/10/2026 23:25

Between the cost of mortgage or rent and childcare , I don't know how people do it . And that is before you take into account increased fuel bills, petrol, council tax , food etc.

I was earning 25k several years ago and the outgoings were minimal compared to now. Consumerism is also more prominent I feel . Going for meals was a rare treat , drinks maybe . And not having a packed lunch , buying coffees , etc was almost unheard of . Even avocados weren't available!

I feel sorry for people trying to raise a family now , struggling to give their DCs a decent life , having to save for uni.

I hope some government will address these issues . And quickly.

TheRealSmurfette · 09/10/2026 23:19

MyFairLady27 · 09/10/2026 20:19

Well we get by nicely with kids,pets, new cars, holidays,no credit owed to anyone or anything. And get around £20k a year between us as I'm part time atm dh full..Takes good balancing and communication and we do fine and dandy

Do you not have a mortgage?

JessicaBrassica · 09/10/2026 23:14

rainbowunicorn · 09/10/2026 22:17

But you dont work full time so no comparison.

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No. But I bet it's 8.30-4, but paid 9-3.30 am a paid lunch break with you spend on dinner duty.

DH is a TA so same salary. He also teaches 2 days a week and has to plan.
And yes it's 39w a year.

I work clinically for the NHS. Between us we earn 2x nmw or thereabouts.

2 cars, camping holidays. 2 kids, no childcare costs but probably 2k in extra curriculars a year. Meals out on holiday. I'd say we were comfortable but live in the 1970s rather than the south.

ElleintheWoods · 09/10/2026 23:01

HardFuckingBird · 09/10/2026 20:15

DH and I live off around £50k gross between us and we have a very comfortable lifestyle (we have two children in primary school). It's a perfectly reasonable household income in inexpensive areas (I realise it wouldn't go far in London or much of the south). In my area the problem is lifestyle creep. People's expectations are crazy compared to when we were children. When I was at school most families didn't have one foreign holiday a year, but now a lot of the families I know expect to be able to go away 3-4 times a year. Families often shared one old car - now most people I know have a luxury car per adult, often on PCP. Meals out used to be a rare treat - whereas now a lot of my colleagues feel entitled to coffees, lunches, takeaways and meals out every week.

Agree, expectations have changed so much.

I know lots of people who eat out several times a week, probably have a takeaway coffee a day, shop for clothes every month and have multiple holidays per year. Varying levels of income.

That’s just totally normal now.

Whereas the people I know who do ok on 27k hardly ever do those things, and drive old fully owned cars/ car budget is under 5k.

OneGiant · 09/10/2026 22:54

Bedroomdilemmas113 · 09/10/2026 20:41

No he doesn’t, he takes that as a salary out of his limited company which he’s a director of. Plus dividends, plus whatever personal spending he puts through the business….

People are not stupid.

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Yes, plus all the cash in hand that doesn’t make it onto the books.

Are you that naive @intrepidpanda or do you think everyone else is?

Bonkers

viques · 09/10/2026 22:51

badboss2020 · 09/10/2026 20:48

@MyFairLady27 I can’t actually believe you think you are “surviving on £20k”. If your DH is working full time and genuinely only takes home £12,570 he’s a shit tradesman and should consider a part time job at maccers.
You’ve got some brass posting that on here 🤣

I would love to know where you live and what trade he does! My experience of tradespeople is they are nearly always unavailable because they are too busy and that if you do find one they will be charging you a price that brings tears to your eyes !

I think your OH is either the worlds laziest tradesman or he is doing a lot of cash in hand and I hope the tax people catch up with him .

shuggles · 09/10/2026 22:50

Papyrophile · 09/10/2026 22:25

@mindutopia , could you explain why you can manage on so little?

So little??

Did you miss the part when she said her household income is £74k a year? That would be approximately £58k a year after tax. The median UK household would have about £39k a year after tax. So their household is well above average.

boredsmored · 09/10/2026 22:49

@StuNur85 I’m sure

boredsmored · 09/10/2026 22:48

BIossomtoes · 09/10/2026 22:16

we haven’t seen this level of inflation for hundreds of years

You should have seen it in the 1970s - just 50 years ago. It hit 27% in 1975.

I wonder if we will see the same increase in salaries.

StuNur85 · 09/10/2026 22:48

boredsmored · 09/10/2026 22:37

@mindutopiahow did you buy an 800k house on that salary?

It probably wasn't worth anywhere near that when they purchased it, since the mortgage is nearly paid off, and that's it's current valuation now.

Enigma54 · 09/10/2026 22:47

MyFairLady27 · 09/10/2026 20:19

Well we get by nicely with kids,pets, new cars, holidays,no credit owed to anyone or anything. And get around £20k a year between us as I'm part time atm dh full..Takes good balancing and communication and we do fine and dandy

20K between you? How do you manage that one?

BitterTits · 09/10/2026 22:46

This reply has been withdrawn

Post withdrawn at author's request

Papyrophile · 09/10/2026 22:41

Constantrunner · 09/10/2026 22:36

Guildford is notoriously expensive

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It is, but it is also the only place with enough letting property close enough to where he works. It's also convenient for his housemate. When he finishes the apprenticeship, he will move.