To wonder how ppl do it...afford it all?

[wishywashyy]

How do ppl (I mean the average joe!) afford everything? I know, I know situations are different BUT in general
Mortgage
Car payments (usually 2!)
Childcare
Savings
And general living

It doesn't add up
Mortgage/council tax on average would be what? 700-800?
Car payments x2 600?
Childcare (let's just say one lot) approx 1000
That's 1400 alone at least!
Saving? I suppose that's depending
General living? Another 800-1k
So That's 2k
Then there's other bills which would be 500ish
That's 2.5k in total

That's a take home of about 40k! Gone! And no savings!

I'm baffled and freaked out at the thoughts!!!

Different circumstances I guess. We have a 5 bed detached in Yorkshire for the same price a tiny 2-3 bedroom house down south would cost and we probably couldn’t buy a garage in London for the same price .

I decided to be a SAHM so no childcare costs and we only have 1 car.

Your assumption seems to be a couple (2 cars) - if you're paying 1k childcare then you're both presumably working.

And I'm another one not sure what you're spending 1k on outside bills!

[quote name7852]@InFiveMins interesting isn't it, most people I know buy cars on finance but not new cars, cars that are 3-5 years old. We've done this the last 10 years or so and it's suited us well, we have 2 cars, usually one on an affordable payment with one fully owned, by the time one payment has finished the other car is on its last legs so we can replace that one. We try to avoid having two payments at once, opt for a reasonably priced car and interest rate that we can easily afford. It got us out of the trap of constantly paying car repair bills on cheap cars we could afford up front but struggled to maintain and trust. There's a lot of snobbery around car finance on here, not everyone who has car finance is paying out 10s of thousands on a vehicle and there are some very competitive car finance deals out there. I swear I spent more on maintenance 10 years ago than I pay in interest now, but the main thing is it's now predictable.[/quote]
We're the same, @name7852. We have 1 car on an affordable finance payment, and 1 fully owned (although it was on finance for 5 years before being paid off to get to the point of being fully owned!). Our 'runabout' car was £6,500 and we just didn't have that kind of money to spend outright, but we still needed a car that was decent and reliable - so it had to go on finance. It's just how it is for some people.

How we do it- second hand vehicles, house that's a bit too small for us on a long mortgage, accrued debts while paying for childcare, no savings. Not ideal but reality for a lot of people.

32k isn’t the average in Wales. More like 24.

What has made you ask this @wishywashyy?

I don’t do a weekly shop, I buy as I need (family of 3) I have £100 per week for spending on food, going out and I don’t fiend more , that way I’m saving more than I was when I didn’t budget like this . Big shop o Eve a week, topping up groceries etc then going out on top

Mortgage 350ish
No childcare - we work around each other
Bought car outright 5 years ago
Other bills 500ish
General living 300 maybe.
Savings whatever we don't spend in a month.

That's 1.25k a month, or 15k a year. As a household, we bring in around 20k a year, but we do live in a cheap part of the country.

You've based your outgoing calculations on it being a 2 adult household and £40k isn't loads to earn between you.

@wusbanker

You've based your outgoing calculations on it being a 2 adult household and £40k isn't loads to earn between you.

It is loads. 40k is what they take home.

@wishywashyy

How do ppl (I mean the average joe!) afford everything? I know, I know situations are different BUT in general Mortgage Car payments (usually 2!) Childcare Savings And general living

It doesn't add up
Mortgage/council tax on average would be what? 700-800?
Car payments x2 600?
Childcare (let's just say one lot) approx 1000
That's 1400 alone at least!
Saving? I suppose that's depending
General living? Another 800-1k
So That's 2k
Then there's other bills which would be 500ish
That's 2.5k in total

That's a take home of about 40k! Gone! And no savings!

I'm baffled and freaked out at the thoughts!!!

Our wage is 50k between us a year. We have two mortgages, one for the house we live in, one we rent out. The rent covers both mortgages. We both have cars, car payments are £220 a month with less than a year each to pay. Car insurance for both cars for a year £600. Council tax £130 a month. We spend around £300 on food. Barely any petrol as both working from home. No child care (always had family helping out with this), then breakfast clubs/after school clubs when started school. Other bills (phones, internet, TV packages etc) roughly £300 a month

We have healthy savings without needing to scrimp or save.every couple we know roughly earns the same as we do.

However my daughter (now 22) earns basic wage, after paying her cat loans, phone, and going out money, she barely has anything left but is actively making cuts to save £100 a month as she's saving for a flat deposit.

I know my neice and myself both have kids. she has a car, top sky package, latest i -phone contract, holidays twice a year, moves house every other year. decorates house from top to bottom, carpets, new white goods each time. kits her kids in latest designers / brand labels. I dont know how she does when only a college student.

Really?

And I'm another one not sure what you're spending 1k on outside bills!

Going out? Bars? Restaurants? Takeaways? Clothes? Haircuts?

We're spending so much more now we can go out again - definitely making the most of lockdown lifting!

People are assuming that if you are in a couple then you will only need childcare if both parents work. Plenty of people have disabled partners that can't work or look after the children and so still need childcare and possibly care for their partner whilst they work which adds even more costs. Impossible situation where no matter what they do they can never afford to live 😞

If you were hard up you wouldn't pay for childcare, you'd have one SAHP or work different shifts.
You also wouldn't pay for 2 cars on finance.

My partner and I live very modestly. Im pregnant with our first. We take home between us after tax £2600 a month. All our bills including the one car we share comes to 1200 a month. That leaves 1400 left over for food, social activities, petrol and "general living". We are saving to cover my Maternity leave which drops to statutory after 16 weeks. I'll then go back to work 4 days a week on an early 6am-2pm shift whilst he works his 4pm-12am shift 5 days per week with both of us taking weekends off so we wont need to pay for childcare. Its very doable even on our very very modest salary. You just have to live within your means and not spend money you don't have. Simple.

Mortgage £300
Other bills inc phones £300
Food £400
Old car owned outright - free
Petrol £100
All per month

Leaves me £900 spare per month. You don't need fancy car. Single working mum, two teens. Nice life.

The biggest expense is having children.
Posters here are talking about buying cars on finance etc, designer clothing etc. However, I think the biggest ‘problem’ is having kids that you can’t afford

@catfunk

If you were hard up you wouldn't pay for childcare, you'd have one SAHP or work different shifts. You also wouldn't pay for 2 cars on finance.

I know what you mean, but some people really are tied to 9-5 office jobs and need to stick with them through those two years of peak childcare costs for long-term career security.

Definitely right about cars though - if you have to have two cars then buying thousand pound second-hand ones and running them until they fall apart would save you an enormous amount.

I’m very much not earning the average by considerably less, so I just live quietly and try not to worry

@MrsJBaptiste

And I'm another one not sure what you're spending 1k on outside bills!

Going out? Bars? Restaurants? Takeaways? Clothes? Haircuts?

We're spending so much more now we can go out again - definitely making the most of lockdown lifting!

If you routinely spend 1k a month on going to bars/restaurants and clothes then I assume your household take home income is considerably more than 40k

Op, you asked how people could afford these things.
The truth is that there are people who are earning a LOT of money. My husband is an accountant and some of his clients are earning mouthwatering amounts of money- think agency doctors earning £4K a week
There are many people who have a lot of family help. My aunt has given her daughter £80k towards a deposit for a house
Many leased cars are business expenses
So many variables

Are you social circle really "average"?

If you leave in the south east people may be considerably more than the national average, even more so if you socialise mainly with university graduate professionals.

DH and I bought both our cars cash. We saved for the first over 2 years, it cost £4,500. We have never bought a brand new car, and never on finance.

I think a lot of people combine part time work and family help for childcare, or flex work around a partner's hours to cut the childcare cost.

Despite a high income DH and I live pretty cheap month to month, but as a friend of ours you probably wouldnt know. Family have holiday homes we use, I get my hair done by a friend very cheaply, and we just have cheap habits. There will be many people like us, you probably think people are spending more than they really are. Instagram isnt real.

When possible, Charity shop clothes, no regular visit to coffee shops, lidl and Aldi shopping. All this means we are now mortgage free. Still had school fees but few holidays. Always second hand cars.

The best feeling was when we cleared the mortgage.
It’s the old saying you can’t have your cake and eat it.