To ask how much you think a family of 4 need to earn ...

[Jesscarbqueen87]

Minimum for a decent standard of living.

Surely it depends on too many variables
Where do you live? How much is the mortgage?

After reading some more comments - I think it's all relative too like I'd love to have 100K a year but someone would love to have my 45K a year and other people would just be happy with a wage of any kind.

I think if you have a roof over your head, food in your bellies and don't have to scrimp for the electrical bill then you're living pretty decently already and anything extra to that like days out and holidays are a bonus.

I know this wasn't the question but just a reality check for people who think anything less than 100K is being poverty stricken.

Just saw your message, probably 50k joint is not unreasonable. 100k isn't a fortune if you're in London with two kids and a mortgage to pay

I am a single parent with 3 children. I earn 12k working full time in a school and with tax credits we have 20k we don’t have a fancy car or really go on holidays but I would say we have a nice life.

I live in Surrey btw.

35k is the poverty standard?
I could only dream I’d ever reach that.

Family of 4, 7.5k a month. Live in an expensive area in south east. I’d say our life is in between decent and low end lavish, if there’s such a thing 😆

So that’s the rowntree definition plus some extra. So maybe £50k a year- with the exact amount depending on how much you choose to spend on housing

Where do you live? What is average? Private school? Where do you want to shop? Local holidays? Foreign holidays?

And this thread shows why many think that MN is populated by middle class detached from reality folk.

£2500 per month. The amount of money on furlough. Although our money had dropped by thousands it was enough.

A lot depends upon housing costs & childcare costs. You could have 2 families, one bringing in 5k a month but spending 3k of that on housing, bills & childcare & one family on the same road bringing in 4k but only spending 1k.

I'd say about tree fiddy.

@IMNOTSHOUTING

These threads always have at least one person who claims you can't possibly survive on under 100k (we actually have a substantially higher income than that so this isn't jealousy). In most parts of the country you can be comfortable on much less than that.

Yes I agree. I’m not sure why OP posted this everyone has a different way of living and you adapt as you go along. What are you going to gain from this OP.

I'd say about tree fiddy

🤣🤣🤣🙌 @ThePants999

TBF the OP asked about a decent standard of living. For me that would me not having to budget every last penny, able to save, afford a holiday or 2, etc.

@Jesscarbqueen87

I consider a decent standard of living for a family of four living in an average area of the UK in terms of cost of living, as having a roof over your head, bills paid, food in the cupboard, decent clothes on your back, a car on the drive, little things to look forward to throughout the year such as family days out, occasional meals out, maybe the occasional bottle of wine or a takeaway on the weekend, the odd treat for the kids and after all of that having enough left to put a little into savings or a rainy day fund to cover broken appliances, car problems or any other unexpected expense. So in a nutshell being able to afford all of the basics food, clothes, shelter, without worry and having a little left over for occasional treats, unexpected expenses and savings. Not necessarily living a lavish lifestyle but a comfortable one where you never worry about where your next meals coming from and can afford the little things that make life pleasant and enjoyable. Not just surviving, but not exactly living in the lap of luxury.

That probably describes us and we're a family of 4 with a household income of about 70k.

Depends on so many factors like where you live, if children are young enough to need childcare, how much that childcare may be, how flexible the parental jobs are (so many short notice events at school), whether parents already have assets like cars, whether the children are to be state or privately educated...

There are people who make it look easy on average wages and people who don't even save on double that.

@kittykat35

I'd say about tree fiddy

🤣🤣🤣🙌 @ThePants999

😂

I'm a sahm, dh is on £110k. Sounds loads, is loads but seems to disappear each month! Two children, mortgage of £1000 on a 4 bed house.

Also one person earning 100k brings home 5.5k whereas 2 people earning 90k between them would bring in 5.7k & get CB

It’s all relative and you get used to the income you have. It is possible to budget, live frugally and still be happy...but it takes more work and imagination.

However, it is much more difficult to be happy if you don’t have the money to provide a secure roof over your children’s heads; warm, practical clothes and a good diet.

@saynotodietcoke I would say that's a low mortgage relative to earnings, what do you spend your money on?

@baobun

Also one person earning 100k brings home 5.5k whereas 2 people earning 90k between them would bring in 5.7k & get CB

But depending on the age of children the family with one earner could be a lot better off as no childcare to pay.

@Hardbackwriter of course but childcare costs are for a relatively short period as you would get the 30 hours.