To wonder what a ‘good wage’ is?

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Not really an AIBU but something I’ve been pondering on, and posting here for traffic and opinions.

I often see people mentioning that someone earns ‘a good wage’ or indeed a high wage, but what that means in practice is clearly dependent on many factors, not least the area someone lives in but also their dependents.

I work in an industry where I talk to people on very high wages all the time about their jobs, which I think skews my view of what’s normal. I was involved in a discussion in another forum recently where it was mentioned the average salary at the moment is £27,000. Of course this is a mean average, skewed by a few very high salaries, and most people are below that. But many people were commenting that they didn’t know anyone who earned that much and had never earned anywhere near that themselves.

I’ve also been fascinated by this calculator from the Institute of Fiscal Studies that shows where households fall in the stratification of the country www.ifs.org.uk/wheredoyoufitin/
I think a lot of people would be surprised by it. When DP and I each earned the average salary (no kids) we were still in the top 25/30% ish of households which seems mad, and we live in an expensive area.

I’m wondering - what do you think a ‘good wage’ is, and at one point does something become a high wage?

WitchesHatRim I did say a tight budget for us! We could reduce further by getting rid of our dog, cancelling insurance, phones, selling our house etc but dh spends about £10k a year in work costs alone!

WitchesHatRim I did say a tight budget for us

Because you are living up to the amount you earn.

Can you not see that your statement if 'we have to eat vegan 3 nights a week' when you have the money you have is disingenuous.

Wow! Some people are surely living on cloud nine? In a parallel universe?

I don't rank my wealth by my 'peer group's' because it's pretty blooming obvious they're up to their eyeballs in debt.

For example, DH and I know a family of the same size as us, who earn 30% more than us. However, their large household running costs make up for that 30% (car finance, large high maintenance property, expensive hobbies). What is more, they can also afford: an annual holiday abroad, annual short break to centre parcs, redecorate every 2-3 years, new furniture every few years, pets, new clothes frequently, £100s each on DC Xmas, etc, etc

'A good wage' means NOTHING when the 'keeping up with the Joneses' mentality of majority prevails.

No I don't - we used to spend twice as much, maybe more on our food budget, 20k a year on holidays, 6k a year socialising and eating out. Relatively, we are on a tight budget compared to previous times - there are things that cannot easily be downsized like our house, dh's work costs etc. If we were permanently expecting to live on a lower income than we are used to, we'd have to make more dramatic permanent changes.

timeforcupcakes Well done for making it work.

Isa I didn't include income from other sources because I started with disposable income from a report. It's excluded and I didn't include it because in the current economy returns are lower plus most working people don't have a significant income from investments.

Childcare is our second highest bill after our tax bill. We live in the US and to keep housing costs under control we bought the building and rent other units out. Rental income isn't true income because it pays for the home. We save about $1000 a month this way and will save more in the future as our mortgage is fixed.

No I don't - we used to spend twice as much, maybe more on our food budget, 20k a year on holidays, 6k a year socialising and eating out.

Then if you are even spending half of that then it is still a heck of a lot to many people. Even a third.

A pipe dream to a lot to spend 10k on a holiday or 3k on socialising.

Then if you are even spending half of that then it is still a heck of a lot to many people. Even a third.
I'm not claiming poverty!

midnight Running costs of £72k a year are high for anywhere. Both DH and I work and our running costs are significantly less. We live just outside of NYC and it's extremely expensive here.

I find it hard to comment on these threads without sounding insensitive to some and that really isn’t my intention. Pre tax my dh earns £178,000, now I know this is a fantastic wage but with dc and a mortgage and with wealthier people around us we don’t feel rich, although I know that we are comfortable but I come here and I realise that I do live in a London bubble. I used to earn £45,000 and not having that wage has made a big difference to our standard of living but if I’m honest only in so far as luxuries really such as more expensive holidays. It is easy to say live elsewhere or do your job in another area but often the commute will be too long or the job if in Investment Banking or corporate law won’t be available outside of the city. This is a very expensive country to have a comfortable lifestyle.

Want2bSupermum Not exactly cheap in London either!
Believe me all our costs are on a spreadsheet - we know exactly what we spend our money on!

Mignightmooch - Most of your costs will not be necessities. Most will be things people can live without.

I know I spend a lot less on bills than someone with a good income because I have to spend less. So I spend a lot of time searching for the cheapest of everything, I only turn the heating on for 4 months of the year, I don't have Sky, life insurance, phone insurance, a mobile phone contract, a car etc. Things other people think are essential. Most things are not essential.

I also keep spreadsheets for everything. It's one of the few hobbies I can afford.

My last full time job was public sector and the best paid one I’ve ever had. I earned £16k. I earned £14k full time working for a bank when I lived in London over 10 years ago. Where are all these fabulously high salaried jobs?

Most of your costs will not be necessities. Most will be things people can live without.
Some costs can be easily trimmed back - others like our mortgage or our dog, dh's £5K train ticket to get to work, his £1.2k parking pass for the station, the £1.5 car costs.....not so much!

Don't assume you know what's on our spreadsheet!

I'm not claiming poverty!

Then stop with the stupid vegan 3 nights a week comments. It's as patronising as hell.

I good wage is significantly more than your outgoings. It's completely subjective.

Then stop with the stupid vegan 3 nights a week comments. It's as patronising as hell.

Sorry you see it that way. I was just being honest, I wrote it to indicate that I was not spending an excessive amount on food.

good wage =

enough to cover basic costs of wherever you are + things that generally people have that are nice - big enough housing, food, transport, nice holiday away once a year, enough vehicles for the work situations of the household, putting away for pensions, not have to worry about bills, and have some spending left over.
With kids, enough to fund them through university as well

Depending on what part of the country you are in will depend how much you need to do this.

A "good wage" isn't set in stone but relative and everyone will have different ideas of what constitutes a decent housing situation etc etc

Still that's it for me.

Our income has gone up a lot in the last 5 years and we still manage to spend it all. So there's that as well.

After a few different roles, I’m in sales now (Account management not telesales). Best money I’ve ever been on and not too difficult if you’re reasonably personable with good judgement and quick to learn.

Would recommend it as something which doesn’t need loads of degrees but has a pretty good salary - commission is great too!

I think the issue where some people came across insensitive with their high incomes is because of how quickly the cost of living has escalated in some parts of the country. I was born in the 80s & believed that 1m was an absolute fortune (my parents house cost 60k then which was considered v.expensive) & if I grew up to earn 30/40k I would be very comfortable.

Today you take a couple on 150k joint & while incredibly fortunate & lucky they probably won’t feel rich because they won’t necessarily be able to afford a large home, etc. if that makes sense.

I'm surprised by the calculator too, but in the opposite direction. We have 3 children, DH earns £40k, I'm a SAHM and we live in Central Scotland. According to the calculator our income is more than 26% of the population. I thought it would be higher than that.

@barbaraofseville, yes you can be a lawyer in any City but if you are a barrister with a niche practice you can't if there is only one Bar.

There is a difference between survival costs, living costs, lifestyle costs. As people buy bigger houses communjty charge, utilities, maintenance all increase too. A third child means a bigger car and a larger holiday property. The bar for a maintenance grant is low for university and if a couple have a two year gap between children life becomes ever more expensive. Compromises over space and location often require a second car and higher fuel bills. None oc this is a snapshot. DH and i could live in a three bed terrace in a cheap part of town and survive on a small percentage of our income. We don't and the home we have costs x amount to run and requires x amount of income. DC have phone contracts, uni fees, additional computers etc.

Yes exactly helpneeded. Also, in London, you may well have some if the best schools in the country sitting side-by-side some of the worst. There is such intense pressure in state school places that your "allocated" school place could be miles away, a nightmare journey through rush-hour traffic. So people play the game. Some become Catholic within the required period. Some pay up to move into the right catchment areas. Others go private and possibly pay up even more to get DC through the 11 plus entrance exams.

So it's all very well people saying "it's a choice - you could move out". Not many families want to squander the value if their property or downsize, unless they really have to. Their property may be their pension, for instance. So yes, you could move out to Surrey etc, but it would cost you the school fees in stamp duty to buy house of the same value! Also, who wants that commuter lifestyle when you probably work at least 60- hour week as it is?

Everything is relative. For instance, 2 DC in independent school is about £50k per year - you need to earn £100k pre tax to afford that. Where we live, probably 80% of families have committed themselves to this and it becomes a self-perpetuating circle.

At the moment I reckon I need £2k a month to be relatively comfortable, this includes running two cars (paid for) but no rent / mortgage. With a single car and some economising this could be brought down to £1500 no problem. If I add on mortgage / rent then 50k/year gross household income should be fine. This is based on no benefits or other sources of income. If both working to get this as a combined income then childcare could be an issue.