Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

Original poster

to wonder how anyone can live off 15k a year?

116 replies

SheelaNeGig · 03/09/2012 09:28

Is minimum wage actually doable?

I mean, can you pay rent, run a car, eat, ordinary bills etc. Nothing fancy, just live. Can it be done?

Is it feassble for a single person with no children?

And if not what the bloody hell do you do?

OP posts:

Original poster

SheelaNeGig · 03/09/2012 14:09

I'm not judging. I am genuinely wondering how anyone can live independently working gor the bare minimum.
DD is likely to leave school with no exam qualifications. Therefore she can't do 6th form or college. So her employment opportunities are going to be limited.
Whatever job she can get at 16+ is going to be minimum wage.
We live in an expensive yet rural area. Public transport is crap. Her job options are v limited.

However she is 14 and things may change (unlikely but i live in hope)

I may be catastrophising a lot bit.

OP posts:

DameEnidSpink · 03/09/2012 14:21

According to salary calculator the take home pay is £1,061 so I would say do-able as a single, as a family, then CTC CB etc should help

cantspel · 03/09/2012 14:29

SheelaNeGig has your dd thought about going to college and doing an access course?

My son had sen and is never going to pass a gcse but he is still going to go to college. He has already passed his access levels in english, maths and science. He is about to start a year in his sen school 6th form and then on to college for 2 years to do catering.

MixedBerries · 03/09/2012 14:30

I, DH and DS do it without too much of a problem. Our total income is about £16000 which includes turnover from DH's business, tax credits and child support.

It's possible because we don't live in London or the SE, we buy pretty much everything bar food second-hand, we have a tiny house with a tiny mortgage and we don't have an endless appetite for disposable consumerist crap.

To be honest, I wonder what most people spend their money on. My own salary when I was single used to be twice our current income. I just live very differently now. People really overestimate what they actually NEED materially in order to live a happy and fulfilled life.

porcamiseria · 03/09/2012 14:37

with a councl flat, CHB and CTC, its do-able no?

wiothout, no way

spoonsspoonsspoons · 03/09/2012 14:40

mixedberries - would it be possible though if you hadn't once earned twice as much and managed to get on the housing ladder some years ago?

MixedBerries · 03/09/2012 14:43

I didn't have a house when I was single. No way could I have got on the housing ladder in the SE. I paid £450 a month for a rented room.
My DH bought his house 10 years ago and the mortgage is tiny. It's only valued at £70000 now. But we don't live in London now.

MixedBerries · 03/09/2012 14:45

I completely agree the cost of housing is ridiculous in most places. That's why we moved!

ComposHat · 03/09/2012 14:46

Where have you got £15k from op?

Minimum wage job of £6:08 p/h would equate to about £11,000 a year before tax. As a 16 year old the minimum wage would be £3:68p/h if she;s lucky enough to find anything. In a previous job I worked with young people who were well motivated and had qualifications and they'd spent months without work.

thebeesnees79 · 03/09/2012 14:51

when it was just me and the hubby prior to our kids we had just under 60k a year with a tiny mortgage (£200 a month!)
i honestly don't know what we did with all that money?!

bubalou · 03/09/2012 14:52

We live in the South East and our house alone costs us £1300 a month.

However we are paying off our mortgage quite quickly and in the town I live in you can rent a 1 bedroom flat for around £450pm, a basic, cheap 2 bed house you're looking at £750+ etc

For our house and the rate we are paying off our mortgage I'm pleased with what we've got.

Although we are planning to move into 'The house' in 2 years so our mortgage will increase.

Typical

Original poster

SheelaNeGig · 03/09/2012 14:53

15k was a random number plucked from the ether.
She's stuffed whatever so it's a moot point.

OP posts:

shoppingbagsundereyes · 03/09/2012 14:54

My sister does it and has two teenagers. She just doesn't have many luxuries.

PureMorning · 03/09/2012 14:54

She is 14, dont write her off at such a young age.

valiumredhead · 03/09/2012 14:56

A while ago now but I managed well and in London too. Shared flats/houses and no need for a car a PT ia fab.

valiumredhead · 03/09/2012 14:56

as PT is fab

PedanticPanda · 03/09/2012 14:58

I'm a student, just finishing though so haven't had a student loan since May. Dp earned £15,000 until last week when it's went up to £18,000, we have a 5yr old and it's supported us 3, house, car and all!

Things are very very tight and we are often living week by week and sometimes have a week now and then where we literally have nothing in the bank.

DP was in Uni until last year though at the same time as me so I think we start optimistic as now we're far better off financially than when we were both studying together.

We get tax credits but no housing benefit or council tax benefit and no other financial help.

Naoko · 03/09/2012 15:01

It's certainly possible Sheela, it does depend a bit where you are (for example, DP and I are living in a spacious, well maintained 2 bed terrace for 570 a month in North Wales; rents in other parts of the country give me the heebiejeebies and I've no idea how anyone affords it) but that's the income level most of my friends are on. Quite a few of them do live in house shares but some don't, and they're all getting by. Also, out of all my friends, the one who's on the best wage is the one who left school with a few none-too-good GCSEs, in a rural area with a godawful job market. So don't lose hope, and don't write the poor girl off at only 14 :(

Bumblequeen · 03/09/2012 15:08

This reply has been deleted

Withdrawn at poster's request.

Ephiny · 03/09/2012 15:13

She is only 14? Sounds like you have very low aspirations for her future, given she hasn't even taken her GCSE's yet.

Is there some background here that I don't know about?

Original poster

SheelaNeGig · 03/09/2012 15:28

Theres background which i am not unreasonably pissed off about.

So consensus is that it is managable.

We shall see.

OP posts:

lechatnoir · 03/09/2012 17:35

I'm totally flummoxed how a family of 4/5 can survive on less than £20k let alone have money left over for savings/holiday if they live in the SE.

our salary has recently dropped quite significantly to just over this & we're sinking fast Our mortgage alone is £900 then it's another £450 for utilities, £50 on school/nursery stuff (outings/lunches/swimming lessons) £75 on fuel if we're careful & don't see any family, leaving £125 for all food/clothes/presents/going out (ha) and god forbid we have any additional expense (like last month when the freezer died & car needed servicing). Honestly I really would be interested to know either where we're going wrong or how you all manage to cope so admirably

Calabria · 03/09/2012 17:39

I managed on £13k a year ten years ago. Paid the mortgage on a one bedroom flat (in the West Country), paid all the bills, had a social life and smoked. No holidays though unless it was staying with friends.

My parents gave me their old car and I had to give up the fags to afford run it.

CherryCheesecake · 03/09/2012 17:41

We're on about that maybe a bit less a year and survive, just. There's 3 of us and a large dog to feed. Rent is 400 a month for a 2 bed house. S'not too bad

Acumens100 · 03/09/2012 17:42

lechatnoir, the answer is: people don't have mortgages, don't have cars, don't go out, make presents, buy second hand clothes. Etc.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5