To ask what mumsnetters think is a low income

[Pimmsoclocknow]

Totally inspired by another thread, but what do you think is a low income. - for a individual and for a family of four

Only 1% paid 50% tax on earnings over £150,000

One of our essential outgoings is £5000 a year commuting costs into London, so that takes a fair chunk. And is why we don't have a car.

Opps what if you "are" ill/maternity leave.

That calculator is rubbish.

We are definitely not better off than 90 something % of the population. We are definitely the squeezed middle.

It says we are in the top 25%. Which is a load of baloney. We are still skint at the end of each month.

I would say £17-18k is low for an individual and around £30k for a family.

"If your income is below the median you will not have had a mortgage in the last ten years" you may have just have been made redundant/fired etc so your wage may now be below the median.

So much depends on the peopleoeople around you. I thought that we were around average, but we came in a bit below that, on the fourth decile. But I imagine that people with higher incomes incurr greater expenses because they can, so feel poor but have a bigger house, or one in a nicer area, or travel more, or have more clothes or coffees or a car or a babysitter etc.

Minimum wage is low; I'd say for a single person 18k or so is when it becomes ok-ish; 20k definitely manageable (I'm in the South but not London). I wouldn't know for a family.

South East here. Anything less than £50,000 joint income would be a disaster for us

Btw, MrsPiggie, why does a couple need 8k more than an individual?

All these people claiming they are the squeezed middle and the calculator is bullshit - no. Get real. You are rich by comparison.

I thought I would be bang on average (household income 30k) but in fact around 70pc are richer than us. Explains why I feel poor.

Those in the top 10 per cent who feel "squeezed" should be counting their blessings.

Ooh! I am very rich!

The calculator is looking at my council tax, which I share with my flatmate, and according to that my income is higher than 87% of the population. I'll tell my mum that next time she worries about the fact I can't get a mortgage and haven't paid off my student loans.

I do think it's a crude measure but I do feel very glad to have what I have, which is less than you, MrsJoss, but obviously only for me!

In the UK we were at 11%. Since moving to Germany putting our figures into that calculator, and fudging for council tax, we're at 15%. Quite a jump, and we don't earn that much more, about £100 a month.

arse. 5th percentile. however, I have lower outgoings.

Does the calculator only take info account earned income? A lot of wealthy people have inheritances and money made on homes which probably isn't counted and affects the results.

I am no oligarch, but do feel comfortably off (both higher rate tax payers), and apparently we are top 1%. Not sure that s correct as calculation somewhat crude, but am grateful for what I have.

Well, for us the calculator worked pretty well because

1. we don't pay council tax - Uncle Sam pays it for us because of DH's employment status. We don't get CB either, but it balances out.
2. we have no mortgage - own our house outright, thanks to MIL leaving us money. We'd rather have her back, but have done what she would have wanted - she hated any kind of debt.

We also don't pay for childcare because DDs are 11 and 13 and don't need any. With a combined income of £56k that leaves us pretty comfortably off. We feel very privileged, I can tell you.

For anyone dealing with housing costs, the calculator is pretty poor.

oh and savings.

I would say anything below £11,400 for a single person or £14,400 for a family as that is below 60% of median income in the United Kingdom.
I would say that needs to be Net Income though.

I have managed quite well with 3 children on £1500 A month, though I suspect not having a mortgage is the reason for that.

Talkin . I don't know why you keep wasting your time, telling people the real facts about income distribution in the Uk!.

It doesn't matter what you earn. If your outgoings exceed your income you will be skint.

I earn about £63k per annum, which is a big drop from what I was earning pre DS

DH takes home about £800 - £1k a month after tax.

That might look nice on paper to some people (or shitty to others depending on what you earn) BUT due to a combination of being shit with money, debt and high outgoings in terms of rent and childcare we are genuinely skint.

That's odd ... before I left DH, we were on the 66th centile. Given my income hasn't changed, that's a big jump!

That calculator was enlightening, as is reading the responses of some people on here.

catgirl - well, but come on ... 'skint' properly refers to people with little choice in the matter, surely? I mean, if someone is struggling because most of their income goes on necessities, that's being skint. Having outgoings that most people couldn't afford, such as a big mortgage or whatever, is not the same as being skint. Nor is being shit with money, IMO.

My husband and I are on benefits, if you include the money we get to pay our rent ( I think we should, DH says you shouldn't ) then we get about £23,000 per year, we live in the North West of England.