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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think you cannot possibly support a family on 29K?

444 replies

AliceBlackwell · 30/07/2010 13:35

Please please please tell me I AM being unreasonable! My DH has been offered a wonderful job which he would love to take, but the pay is only 29K. Taking the job would mean leaving London, and while I do appreciate that salaries do drop outside London, I really fear that this is just not enough money to support a family.

Back story: we do not have children yet, plan on TTC in a few months. I am self-employed; when we have a baby I will have to stop work (at least for a few months) and will have no income. We have no savings, having recently finished paying off debt (credit cards, old student loans etc.) and do not own a house. This will mean moving to a new city, renting, trying to save for a mortgage, hopefully starting a family - all on 29K!

I have namechanged to prepare for inevitable flaming. I don't mind being told I am being unreasonable/ridiculous - I hope I am! It just seems such a huge drop from what we are earning now, and believe me, it doesn't feel like we are living the high life.
Please tell me money goes much further outside London, and that it would be possible to have a comfortable life on this money. I didn't grow up in the UK, and have only been living here a couple of years, so don't really have any point of reference apart from London. I know that we haemorrhage money just opening the front door here.

Looking forward to being told IABU.

OP posts:
Groovee · 29/06/2011 08:44

We live in Edinburgh on around 25K a year and it's more than enough considering how much our mortgage is and how much our council tax is.

Serenitysutton · 29/06/2011 08:59

Someone else has already said this but people seem to still be ignoring it - the op in this case needed to be near London as that's where the now not so new job was.

Serenitysutton · 29/06/2011 09:03

Sorry bristol, not London

DamselInDisarray · 29/06/2011 09:06

I lived in Edinburgh with DS1 on £14k. It's definitely possible.

charliejosh · 29/06/2011 09:32

I am not sure on this one.....me and dp earn 39k between us and live in the north west yet still struggle....

Indigojohn · 29/06/2011 09:37

All of you who say you manage on half that don;t really, do you? Because you will be getting CTC and TC and CB and possibly HB and WTC. So you don;t "manage" on 12 K a year so it's disingenuous to suggest otherwise.

Indigojohn · 29/06/2011 09:38

Damselindisarry - how the feck did you live on 14K?

VeronicaCake · 29/06/2011 09:55

I'm sorry I haven't read the whole thread. But no YANBU to be worried, particularly if you have been living in London. But you can rest assured that your money will go a lot further in another part of the country.

DH and I both left well paid London jobs to become PhD students in Nottingham. In real terms our income was more than halved but we still felt much richer. In Nottingham we could afford to rent a three bed semi with a garden. Going out was far far cheaper (so we are now the country cousins who rave on and on about buying a couple of pints in London costing £7.50! £7.50!!!!). The city is smaller so we walked everywhere and didn't need a car or public transport.

Eating out is equivalently expensive usually and the quality is often poorer. In London we knew loads of excellent inexpensive restaurants. We found a few in Nottingham but nothing like so many good places. And we missed being able to see a huge range of world class art, and sometimes world class music and theatre either cheaply or for free.

But the flipside is living near the peaks made it easier to do outdoor hobbies (eventually we just moved to Derbyshire). And because we have family and friends in London we are back down there a lot.

There will be things you miss, but adapting is not as hard as you imagine.

Riveninside · 29/06/2011 09:59

True indigo, depending on many children you have. If yiu have a mortgage though you do not get HB. We woild qualify for HB if our mortgae was rent because of low earnings. But we get nothing so find 7k a year out of a small income.
But you live on it because theres no choice. Its not like your employer is going to hand you more cahs!

Chen23 · 29/06/2011 10:31

Haven't read the whole thread, I got to the post where someone was banging on about having a six figure income but not being able to afford to have kids and gave up HmmHmm

OP I'm sure things will be all right, cut your cloth accordingly, make a sensible decision on your housing arrangements and you'll be OK

Fleurdebleurgh · 29/06/2011 10:35

I live 20 mins from Liverpool Street Station and 5 of us live on 17k.

Move to just outside of zone 5 and your rent etc will drop dramatically.

mumblechum1 · 29/06/2011 10:40

Again, this thread is a year old people!

startail · 29/06/2011 11:06

Uanbu to do the sums very carefully.
We couldn't because of large mortgage and two cars.
But if you stand to make a profit on your current house and don't live some where where large motoring costs are as inevitable as breathing of course you can.

sparkle12mar08 · 29/06/2011 11:07

It may be a year old, but with the economy still the way it is and not likely to get any better in the next 3-5 years, the issues are still very much current.

oohlaalaa · 29/06/2011 11:09

You still get maternity leave, paid to you by government, as a self-employed person. I think it works out at about £125/week.

BulletWithAName · 29/06/2011 11:11

hahahahahahaha oh no 29k however will you cope?! TWAT

Oh and YADBU

FFS...

Indigojohn · 29/06/2011 11:12

Fleur, 17K ? For all five of you and not a penny from any benefits, TC etc?

Gosh.

Indigojohn · 29/06/2011 11:14

Bullet, why have you stooped to name calling?
As it happens, I couldn't manage on 29K. Of course I could live but not live my life at all on that. In fact, we couldn't even cover the mortgage .

BulletWithAName · 29/06/2011 11:19

Because it's totally fucking ridiculous. There are people who manage on half that. Sorry but to moan about living off 29k which to me is a large income makes you a twat.

BulletWithAName · 29/06/2011 11:22

Just realised this is a ghost thread...need more caffeine I think Grin

Indigojohn · 29/06/2011 11:50

They don't manage on half that, bullet.

They will have a hefty dose of top ups from various benefits.

BulletWithAName · 29/06/2011 11:54

29K regardless of how you look at is is a lot of money. Sorry but it is.

daddydaycare51 · 29/06/2011 12:20

I live up north too , in an (extended) paper bag Grin. I am a single dad of 4 children and one with a disability so I am also a full time carer for my 11 yr old son and I get £19,500 which is £10,000 less than you get Alice. If we can survive (just) on my money then you can surely exsist on yours.

daddydaycare51 · 29/06/2011 12:30

Indigojohn
I live up north too , in an (extended) paper bag . I am a single dad of 4 children and one with a disability so I am also a full time carer for my 11 yr old son and I get £19,500 which is £10,000 less than you get Alice. If we can survive (just) on my money then you can surely exsist on yours. Also my £19,500 per yr does include some of the benifits you mention , but it also includes the DLA payments for my disabled son. I would love to have a hefty dose of top ups but it's not going to happen Sad

minipie · 29/06/2011 12:39

THREAD IS A YEAR OLD

but carry on debating it if you like...