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Original poster

Am I that poorly paid???

54 replies

londongirl12 · 26/09/2020 18:50

Partner and I both work in emergency services. I'm on about £32k, he's £40k ish. We always thought that we didn't earn too bad, however Mumsnet always makes me feel like we're terribly paid! So many people commenting they're on £60k+. Is that just a small % in f the population, and a lot of them just happen to be on mumsnet? Or does the general public actually get paid a lot more than us? Not that u can do much about it, just more wondering I suppose

OP posts:
BillysMyBunny · 26/09/2020 20:10

Sorry, should have said with some earning a lot less, not more, than me. Some of my friends are on min wage or thereabouts.

saleorbouy · 26/09/2020 20:14

It's not just about the salary though is it, it's what you have to do to earn it, the hours per week, holiday entitlement, pension contributions etc. Its hard to measure purely on take home pay and generally people on higher salaries have a higher mortgage and tax liabilities.
If you're happy with life, feel you are paid fairly for you efforts and can pay your way why worry.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 26/09/2020 20:16

Wouldn’t say your income is great or awful- as a family you bring home what I would consider a very decent household income- I’m London based

LongPauseNoAnswer · 26/09/2020 20:20

It’s all relative and depends on your outgoings and whether you’re happy on your current salary. I can make 32k in a week so my outgoings match that.

dementedma · 26/09/2020 20:22

In my mid 50s and now earm 38K. The most I have ever earned in my life! DH now on 23K, the most he has ever earned. We feel very well off compared to when we were raising 3 DCs on sweet FA. It's plenty for us, covers the bills with a bit left over. Luxury.

zigzagbetty · 26/09/2020 20:24

Remember that this is an online forum and not everyone is truthful about everything...just saying

dalrympy · 26/09/2020 20:28

Way more than me

JoJoSM2 · 26/09/2020 20:31

Just as everyone has said: it depends on location and age. Both of you earn above the national average but for a London man in his 40’s that’s considerably below average.

MN is probably quite skewed towards older (ie not 20yo) people in professional jobs and there are a lot of Londoners on here so the numbers are skewed.

Reedwarbler · 26/09/2020 20:35

Don't use mumsnet as a comparison; you have no idea if people are telling the truth. As they say, comparisons are odious. If you are happy and managing, isn't that okay?

damnthatanxiety · 26/09/2020 20:38

@midsomermurderess

Is this a stealth boast?
How would salaries like these be a boast?
LizzieMacQueen · 26/09/2020 20:59

@londongirl12

Are you full time?

At 37 hours a week that's approx £17.50 which is not bad.

Stompythedinosaur · 26/09/2020 21:02

The pay isn't terrible, but i imagine it might be low for the level of skill and training required and the degree of legal responsibility you hold and risk you are put at.

icanbreathagain · 26/09/2020 21:03

I w gone from being a stay at home my with a total income
Of £130k a year. To being a single parent; chosen by myself due to controlling relationship, being on £18.5k a year bit owning my own home and enjoying life. This is something I didn't have the freedom to do before; shows it's all about compromise and what's important to you x

Kez200 · 26/09/2020 21:03

I worked with someone absolutely loaded.

He would have given it all up to get back a son who died at 13 and for another who is ill, to be well.

jackfruitz · 26/09/2020 21:05

I have the same joint income as you and your husband but we live in the SE so I feel we struggle as everything is so expensive down here. We have friends who earn six figure salaries so we feel like paupers!

Paranoidmarvin · 27/09/2020 04:38

We bring home about £3000 a month. Ten years ago it would have been half that.

But now my son is nearly an adult and I don’t have to pay childcare. My husband is higher up in his job. We have just had an inheritance which has halved our mortgage. I consider myself lucky and comfortable. Others on here would not be with that amount of money.
There are people on here that earn three times that amount and have have a ton of debt. There are people who earn four times that and still struggle.
To me. If u have a roof over your head , food and ur bills are paid you are lucky.
Comparing yourself to someone else will never work as everyone has different circumstances so nothing will ever be comparable.
More children , bigger mortgage , debts etc etc.

RosieLemonade · 27/09/2020 06:34

@LongPauseNoAnswer

It’s all relative and depends on your outgoings and whether you’re happy on your current salary. I can make 32k in a week so my outgoings match that.
Are you Neymar??
PhilCornwall1 · 27/09/2020 07:46

@londongirl12

Partner and I both work in emergency services. I'm on about £32k, he's £40k ish. We always thought that we didn't earn too bad, however Mumsnet always makes me feel like we're terribly paid! So many people commenting they're on £60k+. Is that just a small % in f the population, and a lot of them just happen to be on mumsnet? Or does the general public actually get paid a lot more than us? Not that u can do much about it, just more wondering I suppose
Don't go by what people say on here. I've seen anything from £60k+ to many saying that they or their partner are on a six figure salary. Probably bollocks, but who knows.

I could quite easily say I'm on £90k+ a year with really good benefits. The only part of that statement that's true is the benefits side, but who would know.

Tink1990 · 27/09/2020 08:41

I think that's brilliant! I earn nowhere near that and probably never will!

Handsnotwands · 27/09/2020 08:59

It is absolutely clear from the batshit responses on any thread about work issues / careers / anything to do with work that the vast majority of people on Mumsnet have never been employed in -reality- anything approaching a typical job. Therefore I take every claim of a £60k salary with a massive pinch of salt

Redraptor · 27/09/2020 09:11

You really need to take mumsnet with a pinch of salt. My dh and I are self employed, we earn 32k between us (I'm pt). We live in the north (the real north, 30mins from the Scottish border) and get by just fine on this. That's what matters, that you arent stressing to make ends meet.

RightOnTheEdge · 27/09/2020 09:18

If I had your money I'd feel like I'd won the lottery!

I understand what you mean about Mumsnet making you feel like it's not much though.
All the posts where people have lounge pants that cost £80 or "I need a new bag for work I've got a budget around £250 what shall I get?“

Just get a cleaner, go on a spa break, leave him to it and spend a couple of night in a hotel are casually thrown about.

As a single mum who works in a pub chain, gets UC and lives in a HA house. I feel totally lost on MN a lot of the time.

People seem to have huge wages on here but I guess maybe that's because people on average/low wages just don't talk about it as much?

Thanks for doing your jobs by the way! I really admire anyone who works in the emergency services.

Shelby10 · 27/09/2020 09:19

I think that’s a very decent income personally. However, it’s all about what your outgoings are really. If you can pay all of your bills, eat well and have a few luxuries, you are doing well

thevassal · 27/09/2020 10:07

Why would you bother asking " Or does the general public actually get paid a lot more than us?" to a load of internet randoms who may or may not be telling the truth about their own (limited) experience when you can take seconds to google what the ACTUAL, average salary in the uk is Confused.

Problem with relying on anecdotes on MN is
a) people lie. Don't know why or what they get from exaggerating their salary on a website where nobody knows them but they do....
b) they rarely provide the details of their age, background, experience, job role or the sector they work in which all have a bearing on what a fair comparative to your particular circumstances might be
c) MN is very middle class and therefore won't be representative of the average.

Also salary isn't the be all and end all - some perks like flexible working, TOIL, opportunity for overtime, company car, a good pension contribution by the company and additional annual leave can all add a few grand onto the stated salary.

Valkadin · 27/09/2020 10:08

Look at this www.ifs.org.uk/tools_and_resources/where_do_you_fit_in

Average wage in the UK is around 29k.

It all depends what circles you move in. DH is a Professor, the bulk of his mates have a PhD from Cambridge . He is one of the lower earners as remained in academia but a Prof salary can go up to 100k. I worked in the same sector but as an academic librarian my ex colleagues as I left five years ago that have teaching responsibility are on about 50k. My family who remain in the rural backwater I grew up in have worked in NMW or poorly paid jobs all their lives , retail, catering and care work. My family think I’m very rich, mine and DH salary was less than his international banker mates bonus. But those city lawyers, bankers etc are a minuscule % of the population.

So we have close relationships with people who earn across the entire spectrum except for the absolute super rich which I think is quite unusual.

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