To think £30K is a decent salary?

[priceisright]

DH earns that. He is under 30 years old. I earned that before but now earn far less due to wanting to be there for my son all the time, and taking a considerably big pay cut when going PT in a less skilled role.

Between us we have about £45K a year. I feel well off... We go abroad twice a year, can buy luxuries, no worries about bills or food, save a small bit. I feel very privileged.

If I worked full time, we'd earn around £55-60k between us. That seems like loads to me! I feel as if my life is already very comfortable so to earn that would be even better.

AIBU to think 30k is a decent salary? And £55-60K combined salary is fantastic?

I do wonder what people spend their money on. I say that as someone who wastes a lot of money buying baby clothes and eating crap on rubbish.

We live in the South East. Currently saving for a mortgage, but rent is £900 per calendar month if that helps.

It is a decent salary if your outgoings are small. It’s not about how much you earn it’s about how much is left after all the essentials are payed for. Some people are left with very little after child care and living costs are taken into account.

beelz I suppose us having just 1 DC helps a lot

Of course it is.

It's ok for now, but if you want to own a property and put money away for your retirement you're going to struggle on that amount.

Depends where you live, what lifestyle you want and what costs you're anticipating in the future. Pension?

It wouldn’t be any good for us, but we do have a big family. When I’ve finished my re-training we’ll have a combined income of around 55k which will only be workable as by then all the kids will be in school so childcare minimal amount and just needed for the youngest two.

It depends on your outgoings and area.
It also depends on any support/funding you get (assume your get CB only).

I find gross salary a really bad representation of actual household income. My DH earns £70k but by the time all mandatory deductions are made and professional fees paid, he’s on the equivalent of a £48k wage.

We earn a net combined income of around £4500 pm (including my wage) and are comfortable (expensive area). However most assume we get much more than this so we often end up feeling like we’re being Scrooge’s.

Worlds Yes, just CB. Nothing else.

We also have just 1 DC.

It depends on your outgoings.

It's an ok salary and its above the median salary for a household.

We bring in a fair bit more and are comfortable. We couldn't afford 2 foreign holidays a year. Well we probably could but we would have to cut back elsewhere.

It's also about work / life balance. And if you have that right then you are winning - no matter what you bring in.

Well, it really depends on what your outgoings are. As username suggests, that's my salary. However, I began earning that much when I was 30... Now at 44 I'm still on that, because I work in public sector, and have been at the top of the track for what I do for over a decade. I'm highly specialised, and can't switch jobs without major changes to my role, and into management, which I really don't want. Also, the financial crisis hit, and my sector was decimated, I should be thankful to have a job etc, no pay rises, not even cost of living for many many years. £30k went so much further 15 years ago!!

I survive purely because my dh earns 4 times what I do. (2 children, expensive part of the country). I am seriously considering leaving him, and I know I will be altering the children's lifestyle so much. They're good children, not spoiled (DH had several years not working due to an accident) and they're not demanding at all, but things would be very tight, even if I can buy a house outright.

You have no childcare costs, yes?

Then that is loads.

It massively depends. I'm a social worker on £33k, DH is in IT on £65k. He will fully admit he has an 'easy' job which pays well where as I have a 'hard' job where the pay is crap (for the level of decision making and responsibility I have) we both have good salaries for our sector and role though. Our outgoings are high (2 kids in full time child care and big mortgage due to where we live) so we have relatively little cash after all necessary bills are paid.

I hate threads like this.

For someone with no qualifications working in a role which requires very little skill like stacking shelves or waiting tables, £30k is amazing.

For a brain surgeon, pilot or someone in charge of national security, not so much.

Is this in answer to the other thread where the OP was struggling on £43k?

As said it depends on, housing costs including if you want to save for a mortgage. Childcare costs, commuting costs and if you need to run cars.

I'm in Liverpool, anything over £22k is a good wage, but you can live ok on less.

I wouldn’t be able to live comfortably on that.

I’m curious to know how much you spend on your two holidays abroad. We haven’t been abroad for over 2 years and earn 3x more than you (but have a massive mortgage, childcare costs and save a lot/put a lot in our pensions).

You have no childcare costs, yes?

Yes we do.

Sorry, pressed post before I'd finished.

Before we had kids, we lived in a much smaller house in a worse area and both earned £22k but had much more disposable income because our outgoings were much lower.

@priceisright Getting really sick of these wage bragging posts. Why do you feel the need to ask if it's a decent wage when you've said yourself that you can afford the luxuries in life and go abroad twice a year and feel "very privileged". You know full well you're on a good wage.
I'm also on a good wage but wouldn't start a fucking mumsnet thread about it because I have more decency. Get a grip love.

It is a decent salary but DH and I would struggle as he had massive travel costs and another DD to pay for on that as well as childcare for our DD to even be able to work a bit

pump Outgoings are relevant I suppose - I'm guessing your total childcare costs and mortgage equals over 3k per month? My outgoings for the same thing are only £1200.

user1480880826 we went to Italy for the summer, it cost £800 for a week (family of 4) plus spending money. We went to Italy as the cheapest UK break was £1050 plus spending money.

This makes me laugh after getting slagged off on another thread last week for not being able to support my adult son through Uni as his loan is based on my DH wage (not his dad) when he is still supporting two is his children.

Good old MN!

I don’t think a combined salary of £60k is fantastic no. We have a combined salary of probably £85k ( used to be more when I was full time) but pay a great deal in pension contributions, mortgage payments and childcare costs ( wrap around care for school). My friend who earns half the amount I do but lives in the Midlands rather than the South East probably has more disposable income than me since she doesn’t need the wrap around care. Hopefully it will be worth it in a few years when both DH and I retire at 55. You’re doing OK though OP but make sure you’re planning ahead and not just living for the now.

blues it most certainly isn't a bragging post. It's a curiosity one, since the vast majority of MN seem to think that salary is 'okay' and many many people claim they wouldn't manage on it.

How can it be a bragging pose when there are people on here coming on to say they earn over 3 times as much.

Anyway, it isn't a brag post. I think the message and clarification though, is that we are comfortable because we've chosen to have just 1 DC

it's a fine salary if it matches your outgoings. we earn more but feel skint (atm) because of our choices on how to live.