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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder what a ‘good wage’ is?

580 replies

PaperdollCartoon · 12/01/2018 17:48

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?

OP posts:
Spartaca · 15/01/2018 15:06

Vast, not fast. Hmm

Vanessatiger · 15/01/2018 15:26

Ohhh I live in a developing country. They are very grateful for £450 per month. I will not debate what I pay my cleaner. It is NOT the UK. UK isn’t the centre of the world. You might pay £10 an hour but how much is the living cost in the UK. For a local person here, with the money I pay them they can rent a decent place, send their children to school and feed themselves quite nicely. I pay what’s the local rate it (in fact I overpay as the going rate is £3 ph otherwise).

My husband earns US$500,000 pa.. I was just giving an example of how with our lifestyle you need an excess of £200,000..

unlimiteddilutingjuice · 15/01/2018 15:28

"My wife and I are very clever both earning 6 figure salaries. I would like to think my DC are also clever therefore they deserve a better standard of education than the state is providing in our local area."

Being clever doesn't make you deserving of a better standard of education.
Being born into a wealthy family doesn't make you clever.

5 in every 100 people are entitled to MENSA membership. Do you think they all come from well off families and work in elite occupations?
No. The majority live completely ordinary lives and make use of public services.
Which is as it should be.

We should value everyone and improve public services for the benefit of all.

crazycatgal · 15/01/2018 15:28

@Vanessatiger Since you gave your expenses etc in £ surely you can see why people thought you were talking about the UK?

Vanessatiger · 15/01/2018 15:29

Just because mt husband earns a lot more than the local means that we need to overpay employees. If you’re on £350,000 would you consider paying a cleaner £30 ph? Not because it’s the going rate but because you can afford to. How about you chuck in a few thousands pa to your local postman and your neighbourly hairdresser?

Vanessatiger · 15/01/2018 15:31

I quoted in £ because I’m not sure people would know this local currency plus it’s rather outy..

MrsPestilence · 15/01/2018 15:34

Glad to hear you are not in the UK Vannestiger.

£5 an hour is a good wage in some countries, but not in this one (UK)

arethereanyleftatall · 15/01/2018 15:43

Yes, I would consider that vanessatiger.
It wouldn't sit right with me if I was being paid 100 times more per hour than someone else. It suggests that you think you're better than them. You're not.
The country and currency don't matter, it's the disparity between the wages that you should be ashamed of.

2Cold4me · 15/01/2018 15:47

I haven't RTFT yet, but in MY opinion it depends upon the age of the person, where they live, their family situation (eg whether they're single, a couple, with children, etc) and the household income, rather than just an arbitrary figure.

So for a family (middle-aged couple with 2 children), only 1 person in the household working, and living in the southeast; I think earning over £100K is a good wage that would allow you to live comfortably.

Vanessatiger · 15/01/2018 15:48

To be fair, then we shouldn’t live anywhere? We were “wealthy” in London too. Someone working for £15 ph as a cleaner for us. In London I earned about £150,000 base plus bonus, and my husband £300,000 plus bonus+benefits.
No I don’t think I’m better than them, I think I was born luckier than them, that afforded me a fabulous education (public school,oxbridge) and lifestyle but I’m not better no.

2Cold4me · 15/01/2018 15:52

Oops, posted too soon!

Same area (SE) but much younger (say 20s) and single, I think above £40K would be a great wage.

An older, single person or young couple starting out, I'd consider an income of over £50K a good wage.

An older couple, with no children, I'd consider an income over £70K a great wage.

Lostbeyondwords · 15/01/2018 16:03

At £34k in london with kids I thought I was getting a good wage, till I realised it worked out to be not a hell of a lot more than what we had coming in pm with tax credits, except I have a better paying job now so no tax credit.

At £38k it's doable but just (have a little debt) no real spare money as such but things are covered. Sky/internet/mobiles but can't afford a holiday or car. If dh was earning £16k it would be totally doable. So for me, anything above £50k would be comfortable.

raisedbyguineapigs · 15/01/2018 16:12

Vanessa you should have pointed out that you love in a developing country really in your post. You are very lucky to be earning that amount in a country that is so poor. They is an issue probably with how that country is run that there is such a disparity. My family originate from a developing country. It's not as simple as paying over the odds just because you can afford to. All that happens then is that local people then don't get goods or services because no one will work for them/sell to them because the rich foreigners pay them more.

PinkBlueYellow · 15/01/2018 16:13

I earn 24k. Not much to write home about but I am self employed so I'm happy enough because I have a great degree of flexibility.

My husband on the other hand, earns over 100k...which I consider to be a phenomenal amount!

2Cold4me · 15/01/2018 16:14

BTW, when I talk about income I'm referring to wages.

Rowgtfc72 · 15/01/2018 17:56

Dh and I between us get about 26k a year. We have one child and not entitled to any help. Dd starts senior school next year so we'll both be job hunting as at the minute we work opposite shifts and don't see each other so we don't have to pay childcare.
I have a degree and wouldn't really expect to earn more than 20k where we live.

2Cold4me · 16/01/2018 12:51

Also, 1 person earning £100K and supporting a family and sahp is different to a family where both parents work and earn £50K each; their take home pay will be more then the 1 breadwinner family, so that should be taken into account as well.

E.g. 2 parents working and earning £49K each will still receive CB (family income £98K); whereas a family where just one parent works and earns £60K would no longer qualify for CB. The other parent stays at home in this situation (or is a single parent?). So, the 1st family's income is significantly higher than the 2nds yet they still receive CB on top of earning more; very unfair.

BarbaraofSevillle · 16/01/2018 12:58

But two parents each earning £49k are likely to have very significant childcare costs unless they are lucky enough to be able to work round each other, which is unlikely.

Believeitornot · 16/01/2018 13:33

CB isn’t now there to cover childcare though. Two parents with one on £60k and another on lower wouldn’t get CB either.

Shimmershimmerandshine · 16/01/2018 14:11

E.g. 2 parents working and earning £49K each will still receive CB (family income £98K); whereas a family where just one parent works and earns £60K would no longer qualify for CB. The other parent stays at home in this situation (or is a single parent?). So, the 1st family's income is significantly higher than the 2nds yet they still receive CB on top of earning more; very unfair.

No it isn't unfair if there are two parents. The family with one earner on 60K have the freedom for the second person to go to work to increase their income, if there is a SAHP then this is a choice. It is unfair on single parents though.

Piglet96 · 16/01/2018 14:16

If someone said to me they had a 'high' salary, I would assume upwards of 65k

MrsPestilence · 16/01/2018 17:08

A SAHP can always transfer their personal tax allowance to their spouse. Single parents have the advantage of not having to declare maintenance (not that there will be any for some).

moochypooch · 16/01/2018 17:17

A SAHP can always transfer their personal tax allowance to their spouse. Please tell me how?

FloControl · 16/01/2018 17:19

I work mainly outdoors with unsocial hours. 40 hours per week. My annual salary is just under £20,000. No shift pay or enhancements for public holidays. It pays the bills and the mortgage but there's not much left at the end of the month. West Yorkshire.

TalkinPeace · 16/01/2018 17:20

A SAHP can always transfer their personal tax allowance to their spouse.
Not if the spouse is a high earner