Too feel like there are very few mumneters who are on minimum wage?

[Dollybird86]

I know that there probably are lots of you out there but it seems like there a lots of frugal people and people who have to budget but this is due to life being fecking expensive not being on 6.50ph ( if your lucky).

Me and dh are both low earners dh works full time I'm currently on Mat leave we are considered "working poor" we currently live in the north as living in London crippled us completely. I'm not degree educated but dh is but it's not a very useful degree, I honestly never see us earning anymore that we do now and it feels deathly depressing!

Does anyone else feel this way?

Im on NMW on a zero hours contract. Dh earns 22000 a year. We are in that government black hole where we only just earn enough to live but earn too much for help. I also live in a very deprived area so jobs are few and far between. I do sometimes feel I have little in common with some people on here who are a world away from my situation.

We earn about 60k between us but because we live in London, the cost of housing, childcare & commuting has crippled us. Unfortunately, 60k doesn't stretch far and I am amazed how people do it for less.

The government needs to do more for the working poor and everybody who works but don't qualify for help because they earn too much [sceptical] but are clearly struggling.

Dollybird & Fairylea do you live in a university town as its worth checking the university job pages for academic support & management type jobs. Universities employ everyone from cooks, lecturers & admin roles etc. It is worth checking.

With one of us on a low wage it woukd be hard but as you can get tax credits we put both children in childcare full time and claim through tax credits and then earn around 30k for both working full time on low wage but then we are more than well off.

It is strange here that you need a degree AND to work in London to make any money.

DH and I are doing well on average London salaries but I am naturally frugal and always thinking about money we are spending.

I don't know, I know that there are a lot who struggle though. I'm not on minimum wage, but I have a partner who is a mature student and we live in the basement granny flat of a shared house. This is the first time we've had our own space since moving down here (Brighton) but if we get kicked out we would have no choice but to go back into shared housing.

We want kids but cannot afford to house them, therefore we can't have them.

What annoys me is when people say that everybody should move to cheaper areas. I lived in South Essex for 19 years, the only work I could get was care work for minimum wage and no prospects. I was lucky to get that tbh as getting any job is difficult. I had to stay with my parents, as did my ex who couldn't find any work (certainly not for lack of trying!). The only way to get work that wasn't care work in that area was to commute, but you couldn't afford to commute on minimum wage or apprentice wages so you're stuck.

I planned to move to the midlands with my ex for a while, again, we couldn't find work and would have had to live with his parents.

I moved down here because of DPs degree, but it's the only place in the UK that I've ever felt 'at home', I've lived in a lot of places over the years, so now I don't want to move out of Sussex. I have people that I like around me for the first time in my adult life, and I can actually get decently paid nanny work here with people who appreciate nannies and understand that they have to employ you. I'm not horribly depressed and preferring death as an option over life either, which is how I get when I live with my parents.

I think if we had kids we'd be in a really horrible situation tbh. If we had a child right now we'd have to move back to Essex and I'd have to move into nursery work (if I could get work) whilst DP would have to go back to his old job that made him severely depressed. We'd be a bit more 'cash rich' but have no quality of life.

incancerre I still find it horrendous that nursery staff get paid so little.

I'm part time on minimum wage and DH is works full time for 30p over minimum wage. he is starting to have to do more management type duties but for no extra pay!

we're not well off by any standards, but I budget and we get by fine and have some savings, a mortgage etc.

Its different in London but I know lots of people living a very good life on minimum wage or thereabouts. The ones I know that struggle are the ones that keep taking out wonga loans or buying from brighthouse but thats more of a budgeting issue.

Tbh, I don't recognise the whole life path of many on here, in regards to, Uni education, House buying choices, choices around returning to work, holiday choices (the whole anti All Inclusive etc) amongst my peers and beyond.

I'm in Liverpool, in my 40's, there is very little stable, decently paid employment.

People learn to be happy to get by and develop and good life/work balance, or learn to be happy on benefit levels.

Many people in rented property's consider themselves in "forever homes", because the've seen those that have bought houses, lose them during unemployment periods.

It isn't the norm to have large amounts of savings, be able to afford cleaners, or even be a car driver, unless a lot of what many on here consider essentials, are sacrificed.

Women aren't SAHM, they can't afford child care, or it isn't available to cover the shift work available.

There are high income people, or well educated people, whose lives do mirror many on here, they have it better because housing is so cheap, but some of the stuff talked about on here, would be alien to people who lived in my area, or who I see in my work (ordinary WC families).

Most of the people I mix with (a wide number) would come on here, read the angst about giving cash for a present (in fact most Celebration threads), enjoying family, doing favours for people, sharing children in the family, personal grooming, housework, baby names!, communicating etc, think WTF and never return.

It does cost more it seems to live an Mn lifestyle as they have to pay for a lot of things wc people have through community and friends helping each other out.

Birds MN is a great place to look into the lives of others and see how they live. It has just confirmed to me that I am very different to the majority but I am thankful for that (mostly )

Just a thought, as i have seen lots of you are in retail management etc, aldi are opening 500 new stores in the next 3 years and are always looking for store deputy managers, managers etc.they pay very well it might be worth investigating.