Average UK salary. How you getting on?

[RedSquirrel111]

Thought it would be interesting to hear off the average, and not the mumsnet six figures- can't afford to live

Average UK salary for full time workers 2021 was £31,285

I'm very slightly higher on £33k with potential end of year bonus up to £2k

• live in North West
• insurance broker
• no partner or children
• own home (with mortgage)
• comfortable but a bit worried about increased cost of living.

Generally I feel quite lucky. I can't afford luxuries, but I don't worry about basic necessities - don't really budget for food costs etc.

How does your average wage look? What's the job sector? Do you struggle? What area?

Should have said we are in the midlands

@ChannelTheCalmaLlama

Can I ask what your job is?

Yes, of course. It's a hybrid of law and accounting/ finance, I do policy work.

I left home at 17. Abusive family. I worked pretty much full time all through A levels and University, then did professional qualifications on top and worked 90-100 hour weeks throughout my 20s to get more experience quickly.

I am paid a lot for what I do because it is difficult and not many people have the expertise to do it, having put in that many hours to get both the qualifications and diverse range of experience in early life when others were out having fun. It's a niche I guess. But I worked SO hard to get to this point - between work and study I did close to 100 hour weeks all the time from 17-31, before I became disabled and stepped back a bit.

I am constantly terrified I'll lose my job somehow and not be able to provide for my children anymore, or that my health will collapse (already shakey!), because there is no safety net for us. Just me. But I do feel very lucky that we have what we have - for now - despite my husband vanishing from our lives.

Thank you so much to all of the people on this thread who have defended me. If I had understood who the OP actually wanted to reply, the parameters of who should post, obviously I would not have done so.

I never intended to upset anybody and tried to explain my misunderstanding but I can also see that many other posters "misinterpreted" the OP also because it didn't actually ask what she has subsequently said she had wanted to ask. We can only go from the actual words that are posted, we are not mind readers.

It means a lot to me that people have defended me from this totally unnecessary spitefulness and I am very grateful. It's not a competition, why can people not just be supportive to each other? I understand so many people are struggling more than us and try to help whenever I can. I think more kindness and understanding is needed because everyone's situation is different. Being a lone parent and autistic is not easy believe me! But of course I do know that others have worse struggles and I hope things get easier for everyone that has posted their difficulties.

It sounds like you have worked extremely hard to get where you are, and well done to you.

But again

This is not the thread.

Many, many people here work long hours and frankly, their fingers to the bone. Just to eek out an existence. It is a very different experience to the one that you are outlining,

I wish you well, but this thread was a discussion about living on an average (relatively low) wage, and I think it was intended not to include those on mega bucks, because it makes us all feel even worse about earning a fifth of what you do.

Yes @opalescent I know that now, but I didn't at a few posts into the thread when I first posted because it wasn't clear from the OP, hence so many posters getting it "wrong" just like me.

I've been there, with no food, heating or electricity when I was young. It's horrific and I feel so much for people in that situation. But it seems this post wasn't for them, either.

Again, I'm sorry for misunderstanding the OP and I wish everyone well. I think 2022 will be such a hard year for many.