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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

My colleague announced today that he is lowly paid............

68 replies

TroubleinDaFamily · 23/10/2017 22:24

He is on £45K a year, now he has four children (all planned) but lives in a detached house in the South East.

His money may not go far, but IMO he is not lowly paid.

OP posts:
StickThatInYourPipe · 23/10/2017 22:25

How do you know how much he is on?

TroubleinDaFamily · 23/10/2017 22:29

He told me.

He was talking about some friends of theirs and he said they are not lowly paid like me. I fudged it and tried to move on and he said what people don't realise is that the $45k I am on goes nowhere.

OP posts:
CaretakerToNuns · 23/10/2017 22:29

Males always think they are hard done by, no matter how privileged they are.

sunandmoonshine · 23/10/2017 22:30

So is it $45,000 or £45,000?

TroubleinDaFamily · 23/10/2017 22:32

£45bk

OP posts:
TroubleinDaFamily · 23/10/2017 22:33

£45k even

OP posts:
00100001 · 23/10/2017 22:33

I have a colleague that pleads poverty. Owns a 5 bed semi, goes on 2-3 expensive holidays every year (skiing, bali, USA etc) and is paying for two kids to get through uni.

Sure he hasn't got much money left at the end of the month, but, he isn't poor!

Capricorn76 · 23/10/2017 22:35

£45k will not go far with 4 kids in the SE so I hope his wife's also working. That said, it's a mid-level wage not low.

GreyOwls · 23/10/2017 22:36

It’s ok as salaries go but not much if you’re supporting four children in the south east.

What did you say?

CappuccinoCake · 23/10/2017 22:37

I live in the south and think it's a pretty good salary myself!! Most families in our area have less than that household.

LaurieFairyCake · 23/10/2017 22:39

Unless his partner earns the same it’s not going to go far on 6 people.

afrikat · 23/10/2017 22:40

I had some friends who claimed that £80k wasn't a very high wage when Corbyn was talking about increasing tax at that level. They both come from money and live in a 7 bedroom house in the country with tennis courts and a swimming pool. I'm not sure they have a single foot in reality...

PoppyPopcorn · 23/10/2017 22:44

Also depends on the role he is doing.

If he's shelf stacking in Tesco then he's on an excellent wage given the responsibility.

If he's CEO of British Gas or Marks and Spencer, yes he's underpaid or lowly paid.

deepestdarkestperu · 23/10/2017 22:47

No, £45k won't go far on 6 people when you have a mortgage and bills to pay, but presumably nobody held a gun to his head and made him have four children?

DP and I earn less than half that combined - as a result, we won't be having four kids! What he earns probably makes him feel lowly paid as he has lots of outgoings, but it's certainly not a low salary!

TattyCat · 23/10/2017 22:51

£45k isn't low? In the South?

And even it it isn't, trying to support a family of 6 must be quite difficult. Bloody council tax is the size of a small mortgage (in the North) in the South!!

LonginesPrime · 23/10/2017 22:53

* £45k will not go far with 4 kids in the SE*

This may be true, but it doesn’t mean he’s under compensated for the job he’s doing.

OP, does he mean he’s underpaid for his role, or just that he’s not in a high-paying job?

Judashascomeintosomemoney · 23/10/2017 22:53

Is that the same Jeremy Corbyn that says he’s ‘not wealthy’ even though he earns GBP138,000+ Afrikat? Smile

NewBrian · 23/10/2017 22:53

I like in the SE, 45k isn’t low paid even with a 4 bed!

NewBrian · 23/10/2017 22:53

Live*

TroubleinDaFamily · 23/10/2017 22:57

I am not going to say too much about the role, but he is not stretched by any means.

OP posts:
TroubleinDaFamily · 23/10/2017 22:58

Anyway, I just thought it was an interesting insight.

OP posts:
CocoPuffsinGodMode · 23/10/2017 23:00

It’s not a low salary, presumably it’s within the expected range for the role he has and if not, surely he’d apply for other jobs if he thinks the salary is below the industry norm?

Rufustherenegadereindeer1 · 23/10/2017 23:00

Dh thinks he is underpaid

For what he does and the usual renumeration he probably is

But its not a bone of contention as he likes where he works and what he does...those things are very important for him (and me)

LonginesPrime · 23/10/2017 23:10

It sounds like he just meant that his friends earn much more than he does - presumably for doing different jobs - as opposed to meaning that he thought he should earn more for performing his current role.

afrikat · 23/10/2017 23:13

judas
Yes that's the one!