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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Is my dh BU to think we cant live on £45 grand a year?

160 replies

Bellstar · 09/02/2012 12:56

Inspired by the other thread re household incomes.

A lot of people thought 45 thousand was a very good income and I agree. It is roughly our household income.

Dh thinks that it is impossible to live on this amount and i constantly moaning about it.

Is he BU?

OP posts:
Alibabaandthe40nappies · 09/02/2012 12:57

God not another of these

Biscuit
BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 09/02/2012 12:57

Yes he is, I know plenty of people who live on far less.

He needs to get his head out of his arse and into the real world!

Original poster
Bellstar · 09/02/2012 12:58

Biscuit right back at you alibaba-if you dont like the thread dont reply or hide. Simple.

OP posts:
RealitySickOfSick · 09/02/2012 13:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SimoneD · 09/02/2012 13:00

This just completely depends on what your outgoings are. We have a fairly big mortgage and other outgoings and tbh I know that we couldnt live on £45k in the house that we have now.

If you are struggling and feeling you cant cope with the amount that is coming in you need to take a good look at your finances and see where you can cut down realistically.

imoanruby · 09/02/2012 13:00

Of course you can live on that, and far less but it all depends on the kind of lifestyle you want i guess..

Original poster
Bellstar · 09/02/2012 13:01

Reality-nope. 3 dcs at state school and a tiny ex council house in a rough area.

OP posts:
HeidiHole · 09/02/2012 13:01

I don't know if he is BU or not. It all depends on your outgoings.

If you asked someone in Africa if they could live on £5,000 a year they'd say yes , if you asked in the UK they'd say no. Cost of living differs.

If you have a £2,500 a month mortgage then living on £45k before tax is going to be a struggle! If you live in a 5 bed house with single glazing then you're going to have high heating bills and council tax.

So it all depends...

Garliccheesechips · 09/02/2012 13:01

It entirely depends on your outgoings.

Garliccheesechips · 09/02/2012 13:01

X post Heidi

HeidiHole · 09/02/2012 13:01

ah OK cross post

HeidiHole · 09/02/2012 13:02

So in what way does he think you can't live on it? What can you not afford that he would like to?

Butkin · 09/02/2012 13:03

All about life style. We wouldn't want to live on only 45k hence why we both go out to work. Could not afford school fees otherwise.

ExitPursuedByaBear · 09/02/2012 13:03

Everything is relative. To paraphrase Mr Micawber

Income 45K
Expenditure 45.5k
misery

Income 45k
Expenditure 44.5k
happiness

historyrepeats · 09/02/2012 13:03

Its such a subjective question or boasting by stealth Wink

mojitomania · 09/02/2012 13:04

Well funny you should say this as my sister earns that and has nothing to show for it at the end of each month due to extortionate rents where she lives etc.

Think it sounds a lot on paper but its not really at the end of the day.

Original poster
Bellstar · 09/02/2012 13:04

Ok. So if you live in a tiny house with a small mortgage but with some debt-loan to buy car,credit card-is it still BU to think that this is doable on 45 thousand?

OP posts:
Kayano · 09/02/2012 13:04

That is our joint
Income (soon to reduce) and we manage very well

historyrepeats · 09/02/2012 13:05

Why don't you list your outgoings and we can judge decide? Smile

jesuswhatnext · 09/02/2012 13:05

well, if he wants to be an international playboy he no hope on 45K, if he wants to live in good old suburbier and mow the lawn on sundays he should be fine Grin depends which he fancys being i suppose.

redskyatnight · 09/02/2012 13:06

It's also down to expectations. If you used to live on 30K and now live on 45K you may think you are wealthy beyond your wildest dreams. If, however, you used to live on 100K a lot of your lifestyle will be invested in that income and there may be things (mortgage, council tax, higher heating bills, ongoing expenses...) that are pretty hard to cut back.

Original poster
Bellstar · 09/02/2012 13:06

Stealth boasting? Grin I wish. If you saw the house/area we live in then you certainly wouldnt think that!

I dont think its a huge amount but neither do I think it means we are living on the breadline like dh saysHmm

I know friends who seem to manage well on a lot less.

OP posts:
PushyDad · 09/02/2012 13:06

After tax, whats left from the £45k will pay for the mortgage, school fees, council tax, utility bills, commuting expenses and that is about it.

So, no it is impossible for us to live on £45k.

I've bold-ed the for us so I don't get flamed by those on income support or minimum wage jobs and the like (yes I know it is a lot of money to YOU)

Kayano · 09/02/2012 13:07

I live in a 2 bed with an oldish car. Pay into a good pension, save and am in a sharesave scheme at
Work as is DH.

No debts except mortgage - got 20% equity in house (live oop north)
And quite
Comfortable with that income.

LingDiLong · 09/02/2012 13:07

Again, it depends how much debt you are talking about. How big a car loan? How big are the monthly payments? What other costs do you have? My DH has huge costs for travel to work as he has to commute a fair way.

How much control do you have over finances OP, do you know your incomings and outgoings? Surely this argument could be easily solved by you sitting down together with a spreadsheet. The 'Budget Brain' tool on moneysavingexpert.com is very good as it helps you work out what you need for the year rather than just a month.