In thinking 40k income really isn't a fortune??

[mummymacbeth]

Yes, a thread about a thread kind of. And I am fairly sure it has been done before but still!

I really don't think a forty grand gross income is a fortune. Our income with two kids is currently a bit less than that, though has been that in the fairly recent past. It is - and was - a bit of a struggle. We are not in the south east, we do not have a huge mortgage, expensive cars, kids are at state school and we don't manage to get abroad every year. We are living from month to month. A "fortune" it ain't!! (ref the post about someone wondering whether to have a fourth child)

In my opinion it depends on whether you have a mortgage and when you got it. We got ours 6 years ago a, 95 percent one. We have a small maisonette in West Kent with a mortgage of £135k. Our mortgage repayments are £800 per month. Our childcare is £840 a month. We have a combined income of £50k so dont qualify for any benefits. We have friends with lower incomes and bigger houses as they have had a mortgage for longer. Yet just to get by with mortgage, childcare, cars and bills we need to clear £2600 a month. We have no holidays, fancy clothes etc. I am frugal with food and elec consumption. We dont have enough money to put by for pension and life cover. This scares the hell out of me.

Try living on 9K. 40K is a fortune.

So in theory our income says we are 75% better off than most. But not true. So to answer your question YANBU

£40k is a hell of a lot of money but I am one of those who live with a family of four on just under £16k a year.

TodaysAGoodDay...how do you live on 9k? Who pays your rent/mortgage? Not judging..just interested. I know we are lucky to even have a mortgage. We are well off in theory. But it is all relative to circumstance.

I was very lucky to be able to afford my own home when I got divorced earlier this year. I could only just afford a house, but it is lovely and all mine. So no mortgage, no rent. The rest is for bills, most of which goes on the car.

DP and I earn twice that but I worry we can't afford children. Definitely can't afford the deposit for a home. London prices, you see.

£1,800 to rent a 3 bed plus £2k for 2 kids under 5 in nursery... I can't imagine how it works for people.

(Although we are currently saving £1k a month in the event we do actually have kids or want a home. You know, normal stuff.)

Tellybug. Move further from central London.
Don't have 2 kids close together.
But you definately could afford it even paying what you have quoted.
You'd still have over 30k to pay bills and for fun stuff !

krum Yes, could spread kids out but I'll be quite a bit older, considering I'd like to have a deposit for a house etc before I get procreating.

The 'move out of London' thing... But my friends, family and job are here.

YANBU - £40K as a household, family income is not a fortune.

I also would not describe £85K as wealthy. Comfortable maybe (and even that would depend on circs), but not wealthy.

According to that breadline Britain thingy we are well off but I don't feel it. Maybe it is a state of mind to always worry about money. My mum always worried about money because she wasn't well off. So maybe it's inherited.

Fluffygal proves mercibucket's point nicely I think. Seems like a lower income but when tax and benefits are factored in, brings things up to around the forty k level.

Our income gives us around 2450 per month of which all but 250 or so is accounted for once supermarket shop and petrol are taken off. That two fifty is for holidays, clothes, birthday and Xmas, going out, takeaways etc.

milkteef if you earn 16k with 4 kids you would get lots of child tax credit and working tax credit. Are you including cb in your 16k? Do you pay a mortgage out of that? As I said, we earn 19k and have 5 kids so know that there is a ridiculous amount a lot you can claim extra as a low earner.

I can see how joint earners struggle on that income and think its significantly different to a single earner family.

The problem as well is a lot of families in that position have waited until they are older so its more difficult to space children out to reduce costs.

does 2450 include cb mummymacbeth?

We lived on this amount for a few years when i was SAHM and it was tight and i counted every penny. Take home pay for on £40,000 pa is £2,500: private rent for 3 bed house in London zone 3 ~ £1300 pcm cost of travel card zone 1-3 £131pcm, shopping in Tescos for family 4 ~ £400 pcm Remainder = £669. This had to pay for council tax, energy bills, petrol, car tax, Mot, insurance, house contents insurance, school trips, annual holiday in UK, replacement of white goods, car repair bills, day trips out, clothing, swimming lessons, internet access, etc. remember one week when all 3 dc needed new shoes total cost= £100. Couldn't afford school dinners for 2 eldest as £20 pw for both so took in packed linches. Couldn't afford to give 'voluntary' obligatory fiver for teachers' xmas present either. Most of dc clothes/ toys were hand me downs second hand or presents. The worst thing was when we got a big unexpected bill such as car repair or needed to replace the fridge( house was rented unfurnished) and it would wipe out all our remaining cash for that month. I remember we had no savings and was living hand to month some months.

My db on the roughly the same income lives in the midlands in house slightly bigger than ours as ours but his rent is £1000 pcm and he can walk to work so no travelling expenses the extra £431 pcm meant he had a better standard of life than we did.

Some posters suggest moving farthing out of London, the further out you go doesn't make it cheaper, in fact the further into Surrey you go the more expensive it gets, plus your commuting costs start climbing. So in theory it sounds great, move out of London and commute in but in reality the extra money you might save on the mortgage etc you will be paying to sit sorry stand on a train!

Money being 'a lot' or 'not a lot' is so subjective and depends what you do, where you live, how many dependants and what kind of things you are used to. Obviously also depends of you have any debt eg student loan or credit cards and if you are tucking any away into pension or savings.

I think £40k gross household income sounds fuck all tba and would struggle to run a family on that based on current living standards/expectations. But I guess if I had to, I could.

It's all very well saying things like 'try living on 9k' when it turns out you own your own house outright! Wouldn't feel too poor there!

Also, if living on under 16k with a family, how much do you get in, for example, housing benefit, council tax rebate, tax credits, prescriptions, free school meals etc.I spend over 25 quid a week on school lunches. That's where, on 40k +, I do have a choice and don't have to do packed lunches or bring them home for lunch. Very hard for people living just over the threshold for free school dinners/prescriptions/housing benefit

Its all realtive, depends on your outgoings. We have a huge 95% mortgage and a loan to repay that we borrowed for the deposit so we are broke on double that. There is a bck story as to why we ended up in this position btw.

Mercibucket - we have 23k income and are way too well off for free school dinners, prescriptions, council tax benefit etc and we dont get housing benefits.

A lot of those you only get if your really poor.

BeeBee why do you think it's easier for single earners? They bring home a few grand less a year in tax! Do you mean because of childcare costs? Again that shows how individual it is. Got a handy relative to do pickups/dropoffs? No childcare costs and more annual income.