To ask how much

[feelinghothothot]

Is enough for a family of 4 to have a sah parent? I know this is not a one-size-fits-all scenario, but generally speaking. No debt (except home), happy to go camping but with the odd great day out!

soverylucky
I want Melissa to come and sort my budget out!

I know! Genuinely thought I was frugal until I read this post.

Also how are you all getting cheap holidays abroad? We're restricted to school holidays (like most people) and can just afford a week in Spain. Fancied Greece or Italy but they were too much!

We have an 11 year old and a 2 year old. Dh earns £15k and we receive £120 a week in tax credits. Plus I receive £200 a month maintenance from my first dh for dd. I stay at home and we manage okay.

But... We do have a very small mortgage (£300 a month on our 3 bed house) because prior to marrying dh and deciding to stay at home I earned a very good salary as a senior marketing manager.

So its all dependable isn't it. If our mortgage was more than it is we couldn't do it.

We live frugally. We haven't had a night out in 3 years nor a holiday. We run an old car. Dh walks to work. We have no savings and just live hand to mouth. But we'd rather do that than use childcare or me work for a myriad of reasons.

It depends on so many things it's impossible to put a figure on it.

DH earned in the region of £80k last year, I earn about £4k we have only recently stopped feeling the pinch. It is only with some clever money stuff from me we have reduced our mortgage repayments from £1,500 a month to £1,000, he is also on a project so receives first 10k at 45p a mile and if he takes the train they pay that. Before that we were spending a proverbial arm and leg on him commuting to head office, £300 a month.

Long story short, more or less impossible in the Home Counties on less than £80k. IMO

OOps interesting juxtaposition of incomes.

Also depends what else you have to pay for. For example, I am a doctor so earn a reasonable wage, but that means I also have to pay annual fees for GMC £450, BMA £350, MDU £550, courses £600 each (once a year ish), conferences £300 each (once a year ish), exams £4000 (per 5 years ish) plus petrol of £5000 /year-ish. So you can see how things arent always that straightforward.

Depends mainly on your mortgage/rent, if you have a car ect

I'm in the north west. I think it would be pretty miserable on less than 60k tbh, and even that would require strict budgeting, for us anyway. But then like everyone has said it very much depends on your outgoings.

Also depends if you have been left any inheritance money to help out.

Interesting thread. Itshouldbeenough when my DH earned 80k, admittedly a few years ago and we had a simular mortgage to you we never 'felt the pinch'. We have 3 DC and then had a haul holiday and a short haul holiday every year, a couple of mini breaks a year to places like centre pars all in the school holidays, went on days out every weekend, ate out twice a week, had gym membership at a posh club, 2 cars, train fares to London. It's amazing how the same income can give different standards of living.

We do it on one salary. Have small(ish) house with relatively smallish mortgage in East Anglia. Cut back on frivolous spending/most holidays or weekends away. We have a 15yr old car. Nothing more than basic cable TV & broadband package and even that seems a lot of ££! We could do with more disposable income tbh and we are between 40-50k bracket.

xici I'm north west too. A few years ago, our joint income was around £40k (I worked PT) and that was pretty close to miserable!

OP- really depends on what you can do without and what you consider essential to happiness! And what your outgoings are.

My dh is on just over 30k pa. I'm a sahm with 3 kids. We manage just fine, only holiday once a year in UK and don't really have any savings but day to day we have enough for anything we want or need. I guess it depends on where you live and your lifestyle as to how much you really need.

What jobs do people do to earn 40/50/60k +? Just out of interest? Even as a manager of a building society, I was barely earning 22k top line. I'm qualified to do precisely zilch and can't imagine a time when I'm ever going to be on that kind of money!

About £80k. We live in London though, and rent on current one bed flat is £1850 a month. Childcare £86 a day each so £172 a day if they both went full time. £500 a month on commute and work travel..

But you wouldn't need childcare with a SAH parent...

For us, dhs salary is irrelevant. The fact is that child are costs more than my salary after tax, so I might as we'll be a sham.

Sahm

Care not are

Well

It is absolutely impossible to give a figure without knowing your outgoings such as mortgage and transport. Some people seem to manage on a shoestring but get help from parents. Some can manage without ever going out for meals and other extras such as Sky where others count these things as a total necessity of life.

Engineer with scottish power. Starting salary 30. 40 after 5 years is the norm ...as you asked

juliet husband is a teacher on c£30k. I'm in a quasi-legal area and earn about £40k. If I had the relevant degree/prof qual it'd be another £10-15k.

I really need to find a path in life and train to do something!

thanks for all of your messages. i see now that it wouldn't really be viable if he didn't do his handyman things. this is also reiterated by looking up week all inclusive holidays - cheapest one off peak is £2K!! please point me in the direction of where you find them for £500....