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Original poster

How much income is considered good income in U.K. ?

42 replies

novembeer · 19/10/2021 15:48

Hi Guys

Just wanted to know - How much income is consider as good income if you are living in London for couple?

Where you can eat out once a week, have holiday once a year etc .. not too posh lifestyle just medium lifestyle.

OP posts:
Snog · 19/10/2021 15:57

£100k?

doadeer · 19/10/2021 16:00

Depends where you live in London and how much your rent /mortgage is. If you have a nice rented flat in a good area that's about £1800-£2k not including bills or commute costs.

I would say if you want to not be worrying and eat out, drinks etc. About £50k each would give you this.

Xenia · 19/10/2021 16:03

How long is a piece of string? It is all relative. If you work full time and have two babies in a nursery the nursery fees alone could be £24k per child for a baby for full time. Add on £36k for some central London rents and all that out of income before tax and it all mounts up.

Chicchicchicchiclana · 19/10/2021 16:11

It all depends on housing and childcare costs. Impossible to say.

Tigerblue · 19/10/2021 16:14

Can you give us any more information, ie renting/mortgage on flat/house&size centra;/outskirts, any DC to support, do you require childcare, how central - thinking in terms of travel costs.

zafferana · 19/10/2021 16:22

Depends where you want to live. As an example, one bed flat in Clapham is roughly £1400-1600 pcm. Monthly travel card is £142 each. Then you've got bills, food, savings, pension, etc, all of which are variable. But I'd say between you at least £70k a year and more if you're saving to buy a place.

Hopeisallineed · 19/10/2021 16:24

A good income is the amount you can comfortably live on, so will vary, massively.

Original poster
novembeer · 19/10/2021 16:28

@doadeer

Depends where you live in London and how much your rent /mortgage is. If you have a nice rented flat in a good area that's about £1800-£2k not including bills or commute costs.

I would say if you want to not be worrying and eat out, drinks etc. About £50k each would give you this.

You mean £50k each person income ?
OP posts:
Original poster
novembeer · 19/10/2021 16:29

Flat to rent , outskirts I will say Greater London area ... our joint income is £50k

OP posts:
doadeer · 19/10/2021 16:49

Well it depends how much the rent and commute costs.... It's hard to say without more info.

Also depends on what you consider a nice meal and holiday... The price of those could vary a lot!

I can only speak from when DH and I felt comfortable but we lived in an expensive area.

emmathedilemma · 19/10/2021 17:03

I earn just over £50k and I'm not in London (so cheaper housing but still a pricey city) and I'd say I'm comfortable. I don't lead an extravagent lifestyle but I put money into savings every month, don't have to worry about buying clothes / shoes or bills etc, have a foreign holiday most years and weekends away throughout the year......but I'd say I still have a fairly modest lifestyle, it's definitely not "flashy". That said, i've also done those things on a lower income.

Comedycook · 19/10/2021 17:04

@Snog

£100k?
Don't be ridiculous
DroopyClematis · 19/10/2021 17:10

It really does depend on your mortgage/rent, childcare costs, holiday expectations, your food bill, renovation costs ( if you live in a doer-upper)
Do you pay for private education or do you not have children?
Do you have expensive hobbies?
Do you care for someone or do you need care that isn't available on NHS?

Judging by the threads on MN over the years, you could live comfortably enough on , say , £25,000 p.a. But there are posters who are struggling on £100k p.a.

It's all relative, really.

Siepie · 19/10/2021 17:12

There are so many variables.

Eat out once a week - at Bella Italia, or at a Michelin star restaurant? Holiday in Cornwall or France or the Maldives? How much do you spend on other things, e.g. childcare, commuting, clothes?

On £50k combined you’re not going to have a fancy lifestyle in London, but there are of course plenty of people who do live in London on £25k.

Maybe start by looking at flats in areas you’re interested in.

StripeyBadger · 19/10/2021 17:20

@novembeer

Flat to rent , outskirts I will say Greater London area ... our joint income is £50k
How comfortable are you finding it on that? I wouldn’t have thought it was enough.
InTheLabyrinth · 19/10/2021 17:30

Ok, so if you both earnt 25k, and dont pay into a pension your takehome would be around 1700 each.
A glance through rightmove suggests you could easily pay 1500 for a 2 bed flat (I'm assuming the 6k a month ones are more central).
That would leave just under 2k per month. 24k a year. Depending on commuting costs, that could easily be loads, or could disappear. I wouldnt like to be paying for childcare ontop of that tho, if there is any consideration about kids in the future.

Original poster
novembeer · 19/10/2021 17:32

Have no kids .. so that's not a prob if I have in few years of time maybe 1....

OP posts:
GlowInThePark · 19/10/2021 17:33

our joint income is £50k

How old are you? This would generally be considered a low income for a London couple in their late 20s or older, especially if you have kids. I would expect this income for a couple who are fresh out of uni, child free, and happy to rough it somewhere cheap while you build up your careers.

Original poster
novembeer · 19/10/2021 17:35

@GlowInThePark

our joint income is £50k

How old are you? This would generally be considered a low income for a London couple in their late 20s or older, especially if you have kids. I would expect this income for a couple who are fresh out of uni, child free, and happy to rough it somewhere cheap while you build up your careers.

My partner is 35 and I'm 33 we are planning to move to London ... Greater London I will say ... we don't have kids ...not sure if it's right move that's why wanted to get an idea ... will be living around Greater London area ... 1bed flat I think ... and have decent savings in a/c
OP posts:
LakeShoreD · 19/10/2021 17:41

When I was fresh out of uni back in the early 2010s my boyfriend (now DH) and I earned 25k each, had a flat in east London and felt pretty skint, it was barely a step up from the student lifestyle tbh! It must be even worse now, 50k household is a low income for 2 full time workers in London. I didn’t start to feel what I would personally consider to be comfortable until we had a household of more like 70-80k (with no kids).

Jam34435 · 19/10/2021 17:43

Our joint income is £55 k, live in London with no children. We have a really nice comfortable lifestyle so it can be enough.

Original poster
novembeer · 19/10/2021 17:45

@Jam34435

Our joint income is £55 k, live in London with no children. We have a really nice comfortable lifestyle so it can be enough.
Do u own house or living on rent ? Which area it is in London ?
OP posts:
Jam34435 · 19/10/2021 17:47

@novembeer we went in Ealing, one bed flat around £1300 a month. Ironically would be cheaper if we had a mortgage so looking to buy next year.

Jam34435 · 19/10/2021 17:47

*rent

Original poster
novembeer · 19/10/2021 17:48

[quote Jam34435]@novembeer we went in Ealing, one bed flat around £1300 a month. Ironically would be cheaper if we had a mortgage so looking to buy next year.[/quote]
Thanks Jam34435 ..

OP posts:
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