Anyone on here on an ‘average’ wage with an ‘average’ job living and ‘average’ life?

[Handcreamqueen]

Before I start, I want to say that I am not knocking anyone. I am just being nosey/inquisitive.

I’ve frequented MN since the birth of my ds, 18 years ago.

Back then I don’t recall people discussing their lifestyle and salaries etc (but maybe I was looking more on the baby topics to much!?).

So many threads these days start with ‘My husband earns over £100k+‘ or ‘We have a joint income of £160k+‘ and asking questions about luxury cars, private schools, exotic holidays etc.
It has me wondering if most Mumsnetters from high earning households these days?

I only work very part time, that’s mainly down to some health issues I suffer from and I also care for my mum who has dementia. DH works very hard as a road engineer and also covers the road gritting in the Winter to boost our income (he loves his job and has been doing it for over 30 years). We have an extended 4 bed semi (which dh built himself to save money), we both drive older (but paid for) cars, own a touring caravan so holiday in the U.K etc. All distinctly average.

Our 18 year old ds is training to be a bricklayer and 15 year old dd is still at school. Neither want or wanted to go to uni.

Before anyone jumps at me though, I’m not jealous or envious, I am happy with my lot and appreciate being a high earner is not all milk and honey (We have a few friends who earn ££££ and know how exhausted they are at times) but it often has me wondering, how many people on MN these days are regular, average earners living a regular life? The average household income is around the £35k mark which puts us just above but not by much. How many of us fall in that category?

Are many of you like us living an average life, not a super earner and have a ‘job’ as opposed to a ‘career’, with an ‘average’ car and ‘average’ house but are happy and content?

Hello to you if you are on here 😊

I don't work and my husband earns around 40k. Two small children. 2 bed flat. I feel like we have plenty of money. We are able to explore the world. Socialize with friends. Treat ourselves every now and again.
I spend all my time with my family and my friends. I could have a big career and put my children in nursery and be stressed at the end of the day and hardly see my friends, but that doesn't appeal to me. Average income I guess, but life feels very happy and fulfilled!

Well, the mortgage on my small 2 bed mid terrace house is £1k… you must live in a very cheap area.

Even up north, someone in one of those fields working at a national/global firm (so not a high street solicitor or accountant, but PwC, DLA Piper in a large northern city etc.) will typically hit £60k - £70k a few years after qualifying. And will likely have a better quality of life than their London counterparts!

However, people's social circles are often determined by their circumstances. If you didn't go to university, don't live in a big city or wealthy area, and don't do any hobbies that bring you into contact with high earners, then chances are most of your social circle will be similar to you, and not high earning.

If you don't live in or near a big city, then the kind of jobs I mentioned above are few and far between. In northern England, you only really find largish numbers of those jobs in Manchester, Leeds and (to a lesser extent) Newcastle.

Someone living in e.g. Carlisle could quite easily not know anyone earning that kind of money. And transport networks are much worse up here, so it's not easy to just commute to a city with the right jobs.

So I can totally understand why people think that lots of MNers lie about their salary and wealth. I think a fair proportion probably do lie tbh, but people's perceptions will depend on their experience and what they see around them.

I think the majority of people have average, normal lives. Whether your household income is 30k or 100k, you’re working to pay for your housing, necessities (food, clothing, transport) , none essentials such as holidays and to give your children a nice lifestyle. Of course it looks a bit different if your income is higher- theres more money to save, spend on luxuries etc. But ultimately, most people are working to fund their lives and are a job loss away from losing at least some aspect of their lifestyle, even temporarily. True wealth is an absolute minority.

I'm now considering abandoning my IT study completely to study law

MotherOfRatios I really do feel for you. I am really concerned my ds and dd will never be able to get on the property ladder, we are in Essex, the cost of houses, let alone rental properties here are ridiculously high.
WhisperingHi I can assure you that we are 100% average. The caravan isn’t a new £20k+ one, it’s 14 years old and my husband renovated it, it will last us years and has saved us £££ on holidays. Our 4 bed house is only so because dh sweated blood and tears building the extension onto our small 2 bed semi. We were quoted £100k+ by builders for the extension but dh and his builder uncle built it between them for a fraction of that price. DH is a road worker and I am carer, you can not get much more average than that.

Average Joe here! Single mum of one, work full time 27500 salary 2 bed flat and a car. I will likely never have a mortgage but I'm happy!

@Handcreamqueen I am pleased you are happy with your lot. Have you seen much of the world? What will happen to you in old age? Will the state look after you?

We do need people in all walks of life doing a variety of jobs. Of course we do.

Your DC probably did not aspire to have a high playing job as they have not come across any people that do? Money is not everything. However money does buy you options .......

Having said that if you earn enough to support yourself and never have to depend on any government handouts and happy in life - then good for you .....

I’m finding it really interesting that some people on this thread have a household income of NMW and some have a household of £70k and they both consider themselves ‘average’ 🤔

I wouldn’t call either of those situations ‘average’.

We’re pretty much living from hand to mouth- no savings left.

I really enjoy life though. I get out in nature a lot. Love my (several) jobs.

I feel quite fortunate tbh.

chopc I have a pension from years working for the NHS, I have become a carer through circumstance, if you are as old as me you will know that life can sometimes throw curve balls your way and you ride with that. I have travelled lots when I was younger. Are you one of these people who believes travelling the world ‘broadens the mind’?. There are many, many other life experiences that will do that to you know!
And I did not say my children had no ambition or did not aspire to earn more. My DS is training to be a bricklayer. He works for his cousin who currently earns £80k per year. Just because people do not wish to go to uni or aspire to have a degree does not mean they will never earn a decent days pay. I know people who came out of school with zero exams results and are now high earners, equally I know university graduates who earn an ‘average’ wage.

MissingMoominMamma I truly believe if people were to get out in nature more often there would be more contentment in the world. I absolutely love being in nature, it’s so soothing and grounding. I walk my dog over the meadows and woodlands every day and think to myself just how lucky I am to have that on my doorstep, it’s free and makes me feel good.

I think one difference as to how well you manage on a low wage can come down to age if you managed to get on the property ladder years ago.
And I include myself in that, I bought early 2000s on a low income just by myself at the age of 23.

That's what I thought? Is this total or each?

I think an awful lot of these high income posters are chinny reckoners to be honest OP!

No, already linked to that earlier.

But this might be more revealing to see how you compare to other households.

https://ifs.org.uk/tools_and_resources/where_do_you_fit_in#tool-results-section

That sounds incredibly patronising even if not intentional.

It was patronising in the extreme. The OP replied far more politely than I would have!

Regarding old age - everyone, rich or poor, gets the state pension if they have worked enough years.

Agree. So many assumptions too.

And what does ‘will the state look after you?’ mean?

I also agree with the OP that ‘seeing the world’ (although the be all and end all for some people) does NOT necessarily give you a broad mind. I haven’t travelled extensively but my life experiences have taught me more than ‘seeing the world’ ever would have.

22k Base household income. (Actual around 27 due to O/t.)
one child
one dog
One 10 year old car purchased pre child and dog
shared ownership 3 bed semi
work weekends sometimes
rarely holiday

The £70k one I can see - because the original data linked to upthread had c. £35k as the average household income. But bearing in mind that's household, so includes households solely on benefits for whatever reason, households that are comprised solely of retirees, households of single people, or single parents with kids, households where only 1 person works full time, or at all, etc. All of which would bring the average down.

However average FULL TIME salary is very similar - about £33k median according to https://standout-cv.com/pages/average-uk-salary So if you are a household comprising of 2 adults working full time, with or without kids, then you will be earning nearly double the average household income, but will also be earning only the average of your direct peers - i.e. people in the same position as you, other people with 2 adults working full time. Mumsnet, although having a wide demographic, is going to slant more towards this (due to childbearing age) than a forum without any particular age demographics, or, for example, somewhere targeted primarily at pensioners.

So it makes perfect sense how someone can be both average when compared against 1 set of criteria (which they fit), while significantly above average against another set (which they also fit). In exactly the same way as a 5'4 woman would be considered average height for a 40 year old woman, but significantly under average height for a 40 year old human.

It's scary my rent in a room share is over £1k but I can't afford to buy

Oh, I have an income higher than 17% of households in the UK according to that link, so it seems I'm a lot less average than I thought.

I earn £27,500 p/a with one adult child and one teen dependent on me. We do OK. I don't feel like we are struggling but we don't have a car, mortgage, or overseas holidays.

Yep, chopc is obviously concerned I will be ‘sponging’ off the state in my old age just because I’m from an ‘average’ household and my dumb-arsed kids have zero ambition 🙄

That makes a lot of sense.

When I first came on MN I was shocked by how many posters would respond to thread by saying things like you why not just hire a cleaner or nanny, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

I guess if you spend your time in a certain circle it can be difficult to see how the other half live sometimes.