To be permanently skint, despite being on a good salary?

[cherriesandapplesandberries]

On paper, we have a good combined income of around £85,000, although it varies slightly and can even go up to around 90 on a good year.

But we seem to be permanently skint, and I don’t mean not much money, I mean absolutely nothing in the bank accounts, scrabbling round for loose change, stressing about how we will get to work, skint. This isn’t a begging thread by the way, I know sometimes people post on MN wanting others to offer them money and I don’t, I’m just trying to explain how it is.

We do have debts, loans and credit cards plus obviously the mortgage, childcare fees, cars which cost then obviously the needs of a growing family.

I know back when I was a young ‘un I’d have fallen about laughing at the idea my current salary isn’t enough to live on, but I just seem to be struggling all of the time!

I’ve been in a similar position.

I blamed cost of housing (London) and childcare (£2.5k pcm).

But reality was I had a sense of entitlement as to what my professional income should afford me.

So I spent on nice suits (“essential for work”); takeaways (I “deserved it” after an exhausting week) etc etc.

It took someone much senior to me mentioning that he’s stopped buying the evening standard everyday as part of a cost containment exercise that made me really think how costs add up.

And so I stopped spending. And it was brutal. But it turns out that those £3.40 sandwiches and copies of Marie Claire really added up.

Years later I’m in a very different position but I remain much more conscious about how and why I spend.

The teacher pension scheme is around 20% for the higher salaries.

And is a huge perk and - compared to vast swathes of the population - a huge luxury to be able to access or choose.

A 6% pension is not really going to cut it in the future.

Our kids are 11 and 7, but because we are both in full time work, they are in breakfast and after school clubs 4 days a week, and that's £20 per day. So even once they are in school it is still costly.

OP I am sorry you are getting suc a hard time here.

It does come across as quite a first world problem, though and many families are trying to make ends meet on a fraction of your family income.

Debt is a real issue that people of any income can succumb to, and if that is your case then you have my sympathies.

Presumably you have a fairly resonsible job t bea earning such a decent amount- can yuo not apply some of thet thinking towards your own personal financial situation.

Given thet you want to be candid about your expenditure I am guessing that you simply living beyond your means.
Fancy cars, fancy phones, big house, nice clothes etc.

Most of these things are not necessary.

Havve a good long look at your outgoings and see where you can make changes.

Don’t be daft ssd

Your IABU question was:
To be permanently skint, despite being on a good salary?

If you're asking, then people will give advice if they think YABU.

It's not unreasonable or rare to be on a decent salary and having to budget, and not have much money for other than basics, but it's not good if you find yourself desperate for money to go to work.
It suggests that you're not good with money.

Op, be sensible. Don’t moan on here. Look carefully at your outgoings. Then make intelligent decisions from there. If your mortgage is crippling you: downsize. Change energy suppliers. Shop at Lidl etc..etc...

A bunch of strangers with no idea of your situation or budget can’t help you

I ran this level of household income through a comparison for the uk for a household with 2 adults and 2 kids, and it said that put that household in the top 90% of income.
It is not the income that matters, it is the balance between income and outgoings. Disingenuous to use only "money in" as a metric, discounting "money out", as if expenses such as childcare are optional and eccentric. Childcare and housing costs in particular on lower incomes are heavily subsidised by the government, so the "net" is not much different to someone earning loads, but paying loads out of own pocket too.

Your sums don't add up @cherriesandapplesandberries

Combined income does not reduce from 85k - 90k gross per annum to 55k with off takes even with higher tax bracket and 10% pension contributions. More like 68k take home.

Is your DH stashing £1k a month somewhere that you don't know about.

Tbf the op didn't want advice, she wanted other financially incontinent posters to commiserate with their situation.

@SympatheticSwan Homestly you don't know what you are talking about. You have to be on a very low income to get subsidised housing i.e. housing benefit, and you don't get any on a mortgage. Some people on higher incomes seem to think benefits are much more generous than the reality.

And everyone nearly pays childcare and housing, but how much they are is very discretionary.

I'm sorry, but YABU. You chose to have children, and therefore must accept the childcare costs.

you need to write it all down OP, incoming and outcoming.

Once you've established this, see where you can cut back... better rates on utility bills, tv packages, mobiles, home/car insurances etc...

weekly/monthly food plan also in advance, i did this and saved myself over £200pm

Check your debt, can you move the debt to a 0% credit card, if not possible a debt management plan (stepchange) or similar....

At £50k you are still getting Child Benefit as income.

How much did you spend on presents and food over Christmas and NY?

Hi OP, I feel your pain too! Same sort of income in and haven't had a holiday in years or many luxuries.

I notice you mentioned the debt came from medical issues partly which is part of our debt issue. I also worry these medical issues will be a problem again soon.

It is very disheartening and being on such a high salary you just wonder when it'll be possible to enjoy it!

I'm now frantically trying to save while I can to then pay each debt off in full (I recognise it would be more cost effective to part pay as we get it but mentally, it's better for me this way and seems to be working).

I can't wait for the day to start having a bit of a life again! Plan is to pay off the debt, put a £1000 into savings and then save for a much needed holiday.

OP I think you need to just stop spending. I have no idea how you can be on such a fantastic wage and be broke. How do you think people on low income jobs get on?

It’s not about your wages it’s about the amount of debt you are paying. Can either of you find a better paid job?

Are you using the tax-free childcare accounts for your childcare expenses?

And do you get 30 hrs free childcare?

@FourTeaFallOut financially incontinent 🤣🤣🤣🤣

@SympatheticSwan I have just checked our finances. We get £67 a week more than the OP on benefits and have a household income of £45k. So no you are wrong, people with much higher household income than average do not have nearly the same income as those on lower incomes by the time benefits are added. And we pay childcare. We have a mortgage, but would not be entitled to housing benefit if we rented. Of course we have had to make choices about the childcare we use and the house we live in based on income.
We also have no debt apart from the mortgage. But we both grew up very poor and are very good at managing money.

Part of being financially literate is saving for things that are not day-to-day. So we need one car. We know we will have to replace it and are putting a bit by every month for when this is needed. That is cheaper than paying a car loan.

Agreed. Problem is, when you’ve no wriggle room at all, saving proves impossible.