to think a 40K salary is not enough???

[slippytoes]

I've been offered a permanent full time job earning 40K, which at first sight looks great but....

I just realised this will stop all child tax credits!!! Then we wont have nearly enough to rent a 1 bed (let alone a 2 bed flat) in our current area.

We live in zone 2 (very expensive!) and moving is not an option since DD goes to school in the area and is well settled in... I dont want her to lose her friends and change schools!

Also, because the new job is full time I will need childcare, which also means extra costs! I was thinking of getting an au pair but we just cant afford it!

I am a single parent. I really want this job, it's a great opportunity. 40K is a decent salary!!! AIBU? How do people make it in London? Should I ask my new employer to pay me less? And how can I make this work? :(

also if the job is in Southwark you could commute into London Bridge from Brighton or Hove? or is that a terrible idea?

The housing market in London is a bad joke unfortunately.

Move to a new area - go south of the river.
I managed fine on much less than that.

QueenBee: That HRT threshold is after your personal allowance. People earning £35k gross salary do not pay HRT. At £40k the OP would still get full childcare vouchers.

The cut off for tax credits is lower than the HRT threshold.

slippy, you don't have to mention anything at this stage but if you want to use the childcare vouchers then you will have to talk to HR, as at the moment the vouchers can only be claimed via your employer. You should also check that your current child carer can accept payment by voucher too. They are no good for aupairs.

If you do decide to move out, don't forget to factor in the commuting costs. Train fares, once you get out into commuter land, are phenomenal!

nigellas I think waterloo would be best. Which good areas for families (schools, safe) South of the river would you recommend harticus?

Note: the full £243 as a voucher doesn't save you that much on childcare anyway, because you only save the tax and NI you'd've paid on that portion of your salary if you hadn't taken the voucher. The maximum you can save is less than £100 a month.

Have a look all the way down the train line from London Bridge. How about Croydon?

Primary places are in pretty short supply (depending on age) so the key is to look for a flat as near as possible to a likely looking school. If you're somewhere pretty urban then there will be a decent turnover of places, and if you're close enough you'll get the first offer (behind siblings).

I'm assuming that you don't have nearby family, but is there any possibility that DD could go and stay with GPs for a couple of weeks while you settle in and sort out school place/childcare?

Good luck.

You pay 40% tax on anything over earnings of £35k in the current tax year. In 2013/14, you will pay 40% tax on earnings over £32,011 - according to HMRC.

I don't know AU, but about 40% saving sounds good to me! The problem with the vouchers is that you get screwed over if there's only one person paying for it. We get two lots of tax off the £243 a month so over the it works out at about £2k. That's not to be sniffed at! Even £1k a year is a reasonable amount.

Yes. But that's the £32k that you earned over and above the personal allowance, which is a little under £10k. Because of this you don't pay HRT until you're earning over £42k ish. The HMRC site can be a little confusing this way. look here.

QueenBee - you're forgetting the threshold which you add to that. This year you have to earn £42475. Next year it would be £41450.

It's a c. 20% saving if you are allowed £243 of vouchers. Yes, it's better than nothing but I think sometimes people imagine that you get the whole £243 off your childcare every month.

Congratulations on the job!

It's shocking that it isn't enough. You are living in a place that is priced beyond the means of high earning double income families. It's not fair and it's not right but it is a fact.

But I would also suggest you adjust your London-centric view of the world. There ARE interesting jobs outside the capital. Honest

Well thats a good offer, and if you turn it down you might find that in a few years you really really regret it! Wrt moving, your dd is young and will make friends wherever she goes. If your gut feeling is that you need to take the job, call the tax credits people and/or the CAB and find out exactly what you are entitled to.

People do earn that much and live in Zone 2. I think you can get childcare and also use breakfast club and tea time club at school. Have you thought about moving outside of London. There are lots of places that are 20 mins on the train which are actually easier to get to than travelling across London and also more affordable.

Kent is very popular, but Essex is far cheaper with trains into Liverpool Street then central London.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

How much do you currently earn if a 40k job means you can no longer afford to live where you do?

Thank you guys. Yes I feel incredible stupid for moving here in the first place and sending DD to school in an area I can't afford. What was I thinking? I didn't know anything about taxes, savings, budgeting... I've made so many mistakes! Only wish I could make things right from now on.

slippytoes do not beat yourself up - how were you to know the grim realities of parenting? you are doing really well getting offered a job like that, you know, and i am sure you can work something out. Would the ex be helpful at all?

You pay 40% tax on anything over earnings of £35k in the current tax year. In 2013/14, you will pay 40% tax on earnings over £32,011 - according to HMRC.

Plus the personal allowance.

If you can get breakfast club and move your hours earlier this could work. What my friend in London couldn't do was guarantee a 6 pm pick up every day - so she pays someone to take her dc home after school (a local mum with a preschooler). So she's only paying after school hours not all day for an au pair. Then holiday clubs during holidays.

Congratulations on the job :) Sounds like you're really excited about it. Definitely move out to a cheaper zone/borough. Do your research on area, affordability, schools. Perhaps post in Property. Children are adaptable and will soon adjust to a new school - you're taking this job as an investment in their future remember.

This is why I moved out of London years ago. I realised I was never going to make it there financially. London is for the rich, or those on benefits.

London is for the rich, or those on benefits true i am afraid, or for those in LA housing.

ex helps with maintenance payments. He's offered to take DD to school in the mornings if we move too far, but I don't want her in the tube/train at peak hour each day for 30 minutes!!! (AIBU? I think that's awful enough for grown ups!).

Anyway, according to take-home salary calculator and with ex's help, I'd be looking at getting around 3500/month in total. How much would you say it'd be reasonable to spend on rent, 30, 40%?

by the way, I know that's a lot of money. It is for me, anyway. I feel silly for complaining when I know so many people have problems worse than mine!