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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To consider £60-70k a high salary?

403 replies

rebsemmie · 05/04/2018 15:10

Just that really, I just had a general chat with a few friends about work and salaries (not talking about our own salaries, just chatting in general). We are all in our late 20s, unmarried and childfree, so we were not discussing in terms of household incomes, just in terms of single people's income.

Much to my surprise, some of my friends did not consider a salary in the range of £60-70k (for one single person) to be very high, they though it was "alright". One of them said you "come on, you can barely afford to rent a place on your own with that income!" Shock

I was a bit surprised as my salary is well over 30% lower than that, and I considered myself quite fortunate and well-off! Granted, we are in London which is very expensive, but still..

AIBU to think my friends are a bit detached from reality if they think a salary of £60-70k is just "alright" for one person??

OP posts:
Fuckoffunicorn · 05/04/2018 20:30

fleurdelacouer I didn’t say it was the best. I said I thought it was fantastic. Of course not everyone wants to live in London but this thread seems to have people positing that everyone in London feels stuck or trapped. I’m saying there’s many people incredibly happy here and we earn more than outside London in general.

LoniceraJaponica · 05/04/2018 20:31

I work in Sheffield. £60 - £70k is riches beyond belief.

DiegoMadonna · 05/04/2018 20:34

I know people who earn far less than 140k combined and live comfortably in London.

puppower · 05/04/2018 20:34

You seem to be suggesting pup that any house purchase other than prime posh London is a waste of money. Unless I've misunderstood?

Yes you have. I would consider prime posh London property to be Chelsea, Notting Hill, Camden etc & I would say they were also very overpriced too. Looking at that Mitcham property it probably would have sold for 300k 10 years ago which a lot more people could have afforded then as opposed to the 900k it is now. It’s not good for the economy to have such high house prices.

Teateaandmoretea · 05/04/2018 20:34

I don't think that unicorn and it's perfectly reasonable to like London/ want to live there. Some people do have odd attitudes to what is outside the M25 though and it isn't just that bizarre mate of DH's.

LaBelleDameSansPatience · 05/04/2018 20:36

It is an ENORMOUS salary when you compare it to someone who is doing something to benefit society, such as a teacher or a nurse ...

Tiredeypops · 05/04/2018 20:39

I’m a dentist in my late 20s working full-time on half that..... I’d say it’s VERY good

windchimesabotage · 05/04/2018 20:41

YANBU unless they are trying to live in central London in which case it probably seems like nothing.

I personally consider anyone making above 50 grand a year to be doing very well!

I was on minimum wage (now a SAHM) and my husband is on just over 30 grand and we live pretty decently. So I think anything above 5 grand especially if both members of a couple are on that wage.. would be enough for a great life!!
Unless you were trying to live somewhere super expensive like London or York or Winchester or Clifton in Bristol....

puppower · 05/04/2018 20:42

FleurDelacoeur

Yep especially as I think we are in for a tough time economically over the next few years. Even ignoring Brexit, the NHS & social care need a huge cash injection.

windchimesabotage · 05/04/2018 20:42

lol 50 grand not 5 grand!

Schnauzermum2 · 05/04/2018 20:43

In London working for a professional firm (where they will be comparing salaries with much higher earning individuals) paying London prices for everything, living the London life it probably doesn’t seem loads. To others, where everyone the know earns say £25k and costs and lifestyle are organised accordingly it will seem like loads. Can’t believe a second year trainee accountant would earn £50k though (and I’ve worked for 2 out of the big 4. Regionally I would expect them on £25-30k at most so can’t umagins double in London (although having tried it nothing would persuade me to work there again)

Tinkobell · 05/04/2018 20:47

OP - the diversity of opinions on the thread is huge. I've ALWAYS avoided chats around income with my mates because I think it has the potential really taint an otherwise good and valued relationship. I have friends who earn min wage as a teaching assistant to well over six figures.....be careful.

LaurieFairyCake · 05/04/2018 20:49

LaBelle - DH is a teacher Grin In London and on almost 70k. His huge salary just covers our direct debits (no childcare, 2 bed flat in south east London - zone 3 mortgage).

Teateaandmoretea · 05/04/2018 20:49

Who knows pup Maybe the bog end of Walthamstow will come into fashion, and in 10 years that one will be £1m? It's just impossible to predict right now I think.

HainaultViaNewburyPark · 05/04/2018 20:50

I'd have thought that £60k was a huge salary when I was in my 20s. I only earned about 1/3 of that back then. I still consider it to be a reasonable salary these days.

Nowadays DH has a salary somewhere in that range. He's early 40s and doesn't work in London.

I earned around £90k last year - similar age to DH, live & work outside London (East of England - not Cambridge). (I've recently been promoted, so that should go up to around £120k this year).

We consider ourselves to be very well off.

Housing isn't too expensive here (we bought a 6 bed semi for £350k about 5 years ago), and we can afford to take 3 holidays per year and send our 2DC to private school.

MoleskinMittens · 05/04/2018 20:53

Yes, it's a significant amount. Someone on that wage, especially north of London, is pretty well off. HOWEVER, dh has just started a new job on 60k. On paper a big pay rise (17k) but he'll lose a car allowance, will have to do significantly more travel to get to the office regularly (was mainly working from home before) plus I'll lose around £210 in child benefit (I'm a p/t worker on a low wage). Will also need to pay for breakfast/after school club more often as I work afternoons/evenings and he won't be around to pick up the slack. So on paper it's a great move and I'm over the moon for him, but in reality we'll be no better off.
It really does all depend on what your outgoings are. We've got a lowish mortgage repayment because we live in a house 1/4 of what it would be in the SE, so I consider ourselves quite fortunate.

MrsWhirly · 05/04/2018 20:56

I live in London, married two kids. Household income of £50k. I think £60-70k is a VERY good salary. an extra £10-20k per year would make a world of difference to my family and we get by!

DoubleRamsey · 05/04/2018 20:58

Definitely detached from reality!

I can't imagine ever earning that and I have a PhD in biophysics! Obviously chose the wrong career!

Tinkobell · 05/04/2018 21:00

@HainaultViaNewburyPark - woopydoo, bravo!
What exactly IS the point of this thread? So far, have learnt that some people earn more and some people earn less. The ones that earn more feel a bit smug. The ones that earn less feel a bit peeved. So what? If you want salary info look at Monster or Times Appointments. Snore. 😚

himalayansalt · 05/04/2018 21:01

LaurieFairyCake
You chose to move into London from the distant suburbs so you didn't have the benefit of London house price inflation behind you, did you?

£60,000 to £70,000 is a big salary. What it will or won't buy you in London is pretty irrelevant. True, 8 million people live in London but certainly 7 million of them will earn below £60,000. It's the other bastards who skew the idea of how wealthy London is.

randomthoughts · 05/04/2018 21:01

Moleskinmittens - your Dh needs to look at childcare vouchers etc while he still can for the breakfast clubs. The £50k for child benefit is taxable income. Google for some handy hints!

Justanotherlurker · 05/04/2018 21:02

Can’t believe a second year trainee accountant would earn £50k though (and I’ve worked for 2 out of the big 4. Regionally I would expect them on £25-30k at most so can’t umagins double in London

Firms in london do offer london weighted wages, its just become an ever increasing bubble, hence why people who blindly talk about just raising wages ignore the knock on effects

LaurieFairyCake · 05/04/2018 21:06

Yes, that’s true, we moved from the burbs)

It is (obviously) a huge salary if you take no other factors into account - when you have to actually pay for rent or mortgage for an extremely modest place or buy anything like food it really doesn’t go anywhere near where a much more modest salary goes elsewhere.

We had way more disposable income a decade ago on £25k than we have now.

The biggest problem in London and the south east is the gap between people who bought 10/20 years ago and now.

TheFirstMrsDV · 05/04/2018 21:07

People do know that there are many thousands of people living in London who don't earn anything like 60k don't they?

60k is a lot of money. It doesn't turn into peanuts south of Watford.

LaurieFairyCake · 05/04/2018 21:08

And I’m also not complaining in any way. It’s just bizarre not to be able to afford a holiday abroad in 15 years when you earn loads.

Way too expensive in school holidays when we have to go.