Who are the squeezed middle?

[Thisisanewnamename]

I know the squeezed middle is a bit of a contentious term here on MN but as it’s common parlance, let just roll with it for the thread.

In terms of household income who are the squeezed middle? Obviously there’s variation here for location, children, mortgage/ rent. Given that the average uk mortgage is around £750 a month. What is the salary range (before tax) for the squeezed middle. DH and I have an average life I’d say (average mortgage, average usage bills wise, average family size you know) but I think we’re probably a bit above average in terms of household income and yet we can barely make money stretch. I think maybe households that earn under £100k?

am I the squeezed middle? I think I must be, household income is definitely under £100k. Is there a definition of the squeezed middle?

Our combined income is nearing 70k. I earn just shy of 20k (Civil Servant, 33 hours a week). Dh works in an electricity, resource guzzling industry so not feeling particularly secure right now.

We rent but from family so our rent is only £550 a month. We moved here after an awful period after sickness and redundancy and crap and this made sense. I'm paying off credit cards which I used to buy food and pay bills but they are getting paid.

We should be really comfortable. I would consider our income 'middle'. I though this much money would be holidays and savings and not having to worry. I want to save for a deposit to buy a house so then my dm can sell this one. It's just not happening, how long is it going to take to save that much money? I'm cutting down the weekly shop, buying fewer treats, getting wearable blankets and thick socks for the dc, brushed cotton sheets for their beds so we can really restrict the heating use in winter. Having been in an awful financial position not too long ago, I hate to think how people on lower incomes are dealing with the worry of the price rises forecast.

just got a bit worried hmrc were really doing us over for a min lol

50-70k household income .
we’re on around 68k combined roughly split equally however we have v high rent and council tax and a chunk of money goes to DH car/travel costs to collect my DSC (and cms payments) and the some to debt and school bus for DC.
we are seriously feeling it haven’t had a holiday atall this year no theme park visits where we usually would be able to afford it. No sky tv etc.
we would love our own child however there is no chance we could afford the childcare.. it would leave us around -1,000 per month so totally unsustainable. Child care cost is diabolical and really needs a complete overhaul.

Same as us! Dh earns low mid 50s and I low mid 30s, lose the little benefit we have receipt of to SI tax.

we took out a htb equity loan to buy our house, property prices soared and now interest rates et al, really fucking worrying

Squeezed middle for me is not joint income of 75k. We have a a joint income of around 55k as I am part time and mortgage is around the average. No childcare or other bills but definitely feel the squeeze. Bills and essential clothes are covered but not much left for anything else and only food shop in Aldi.
We are fortunate to live in a nice house in a rural area so are comfortable in that respect but we can't save and we will struggle these next 6 months.

Lol F £250 a month each being squeezed middle. Some peoples figures are crazy here! What on earth are people spending all their money on to think they’re the squeezed middle on £100k salaries? Even combined! Our combined is around £50k and I still save every month.

We have a household income of around £45k after tax. Most of our friends here in London have a much higher income than us I think - but a very small mortgage & no other debt is the difference between being ok and being pretty skint, thankfully. Modest house, modest car and modest tastes also help, but there is always something to spend money on as we have two expensive teenagers (supporting one at uni).

Big expenses (like new cars and boilers) are a stress as they have to come out of savings (I try to put away £500 / month) but something like a new kitchen, new windows, or blowing £5k on a holiday is something that can only happen once in every few years. Things will be easier when the kids are off our hands in a few years and we definitely won't make the mistake of getting more pets.

I do feel like squeezed middle as we earn enough not to get any concessions from the government (eg. daughter not eligible for much over minimum maintenance loan, we won't get the extra cost of living payment for bands A-D as house is band E ) - we don't need them, but we sit at the very bottom, only a touch over these kinds of thresholds.

We get along fine... but only just. When I read articles like "how to save money in the cost of living crisis", we are doing almost all of the things anyway. I am careful to consider every purchase and not to waste money, every single moment of every single day. Why have lunch / coffee out when you could go home and save the money?

The thought of spending £4900 compared to £1300 on energy bills makes me feel sick as a dog; it's going to make a really big difference to our lives / savings.

I earn £1200 on part-time & I’m a single parent to 1 DD….

car (paid for upfront)
bills £350 pm
no mortgage or rent but I own the house
£200 savings per month & I feel rich🤣 although that’s all about to change with the awful price rises of everything- will wipe out my monthly savings that’s for sure.

Being squeezed doesn't mean destitution... The middle squeeze means exactly that - being squeezed so that you no longer live comfortably in the middle as you perhaps previously did. I'd say those who notice the pinch whether that be having to give up holidays, cut back on comforts or simply having a sizeable reduction to disposable income qualify as being in the squeezed middle. It's essentially living similar to the working class whilst working your butt off.

We bring home around £45k per year so I think that means an income of around £60k before tax NI and pension - does that sound about right?

Mortgage is just under £700

Other household bills likely to be similar to a regular sized family.

Not currently actually feeling the pinch but spends are being closely accounted for and habits are changing in anticipation of tougher times.

The squeezed middle isn't about money really, though that can be a factor.
The squeezed middle are those of us who are towards the end but still paying mortgages, working full time a few years before retirement but ready, offspring at Uni or still needing help with rent in first jobs, older generation needing support with medical issues, household affairs, social stuff and basically keeping all the plates spinning.
It's an emotional, time and energy squeeze much more than a financial one which is an easy fix compared to everything else).

@ODFOx so ‘squeezed middle aged’ really

I think that the middle classes work harder than the work classes is a lie. I used to work in care home as a care assistant it was the hardest job I've ever done. The job I do now is much easier I have a more responsibility overall but the actual job is much easier. My OH says his job now on 6 figures is much easier than his grad one on 25k.

The issue is that although 70k SOUNDS like shitloads - it totally depends on where you live and how old your kids are. If you live in London, in an average house, with a kid in nursery, that’s £3k a month gone out of a post tax take home of around 5k. Throw in bills - car, two mobile phones, utilities, council tax, any insurances, a couple of minor direct debits - that’s down to 1k. Food for a family of 4 is 500 ish a month. That leaves 500 for everything else - birthdays, Christmas, kids clubs, breakfast/holiday clubs, school dinners, clothes, shoes (we all know how quickly they come around!) pet expenses, unforeseeables. Commuting costs if people have them. That’s not even thinking about savings.

Thats what I think of as the squeezed middle, people who on paper earn a decent wage but in real terms it doesn’t provide a great standard of living because mortgages, bills and childcare are astronomically high.

£36k a year in our household, pre-tax/student loan, so around £2k a month take home.

£700 mortgage.
£195 Council tax
£420 nursery fees
Currently £215 elec/gas

That leaves around £500 a month for ANYTHING ELSE - all food, mobiles, petrol, clothes, any cards/gifts for birthdays or Christmas, if something breaks, the occasional cheap day out for our DC. Okay, we do get the £80/month child benefit, so nearer £600. Better than I thought.

We're the squeezed middle because just a year or two ago our mortgage was £550 and our electric/gas was around £80. We got by. We are barely scraping by now, let alone any more rises in fuel bills, or petrol, or inflation rises adding to our mortgage, or food price rises. Fuel prices anywhere over about £4k/year is going to mean real hardship. We are already looking at reduced items in shops and selling what we can to make an extra few quid here and there. We didn't have to do that even during the pandemic.

But we are entitled to no financial help.

£500-900 a month for clothes and presents and to save in case things break, being not enough? Being "squeezed" because you should have more? Give me a fucking break.

for me I’d have thought a fairly big range from about £40k to £80k household income with those at the top end paying out £££ in childcare. The high childcare fees really are a challenge for many families during the early years even those households earning well. I’d also say that range would be higher for anyone paying double nursery fees albeit that would only be temporary. So I could well believe a household on £100k paying nursery for twins would feel squeezed but once those children are at school then they wouldn’t be in the same position.

We’re not ‘squeezed middle’ but will very much notice the end of nursery fees and will feel much more financially secure once that large fixed cost bill is gone.

@SallyLovesCheese give me a fucking break, your nursery fees are a third of mine, your mortgage much cheaper (where do you live?) and we don’t get child benefit as it would be taxed and not worth it. Do you have a husband/partner? Do you both work full time?

and that’s not ‘900 for clothes and presents’. It’s 900 if there’s no unforeseeable expenses (the last 3 months have seen a hefty vet bill, a washing machine needing replacement and car in repairs), but there usually is something, so 500 (and that’s an upper end guess lately) for Christmas, birthdays, public transport, my commuting costs, clothes and shoes for DD, hair cuts, food and items for the dog, DD’s clubs… and generally everything else life throws up.

The number of posters on here who seem incredulous that a household on 80k might be feeling the pinch, saying they bring in half of that… but seem oblivious to the fact their expenditures are half as well…

Incredulous that someone earning 80k can't figure out ways to cut their budgets down like people on half that have to do.

Jesus! Why did you post? You are very obviously not the squeezed middle. Did you just want the rest of us to know how comfortably off you are? 🤷‍♀️ FFS!

Echoing pps but I'd say it depends drastically on location.

We have an income of c.80k but our mortgage on our very average 3 bed terrace is £1700pcm (just outside of London) Add childcare and normal bills...we can manage but have pretty much zero disposable income. Don't need benefits to pay the bills but can't afford ay pleasure in life. I'd say we're the squeezed middle.

Can't believe some people here on massive salaries claiming to be the squeezed middle.

For perspective, we have combined household income of approx £50k and a very nice life. Mortgage, 2 cars, 2 children, foreign holidays this year and next (although that's a bit of a stretch). No credit cards.or debt expcwot student loans and mortgage. We have a modest 3 bed semi but in the past 3yrs have put in new boiler, new windows, new roof and replaced driveway. Childcare bills as we both work and DC both do some extra curriculars.

It's not always a walk in the park and we budget quite carefully, but we certainly don't go without! Increases are concerning but have avoided the worst by being on fixed rates, only food, childcare and petrol have been affected. On £100k we'd feel like lottery winners.

Oxfordshire. We had to move from London because we couldn't afford it. Where do you live? And I work 4 days a week because it's cheaper to have DC home one day a week. And we only have 1 child because it's cheaper. He attends no clubs because we can't afford them. We don't have a pet because we can't afford it. We've made some decisions to try and and reduce our outgoings, even before we were having financial issues.

Your household earns more than double (you're in the top 5% or something!!) and you have £500-900 left for all those things after essentials each month. What I would give to have half of that, but it's more like £50-80 a month. So you have around ten times the disposable income at the end of the month that I do.

So I'll keep the fucking break, thanks.

We've got a joint income of about £85k in SW England, we aren't currently feeling too squeezed as energy bills are still fixed and the mortgage is fixed on a low rate. However, when the energy fixed rate goes in October and we have to renew the mortgage in January I fear it will be like a punch in the face. Childcare costs are enormous and I imagine their rates will go up at some point due to the energy/CoL crisis. There are plenty of people much worse off and I know we have a good income but like most people I'm very worried!