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!!!

@vivainsomnia I didn’t time not ion pension when I mentioned my bills and savings because my pension comes out of my pre-tax income.

@TulisaIsBrill I pay extra into my pension despite because a) I am 26 and want to use compounding to my benefit and b) I’m terrified of old age poverty. Also it’s quite tax-efficient for me as if I was getting that money in my salary now I’d be paying student loan contributions on it, but they’ll have been written off by the time I draw my pension.

Time not ion = mention

I've never really worked out total spending before so I just did it!

Single income 2 kids (only one at home) No childcare.

Gas, electricity, water, sky, Internet, TV, petrol, food, mortgage, other car expenses, council tax, mobiles, audible, gardner and window cleaner =

£1,650 per month.

Obviously I could cut out a few things from my list and definitely lover my food shop (£500) but I can see how people struggle with childcare on top.

Our household income is 60k (I work P/T)

Similar outgoings plus some loan payments.

It's hard!

Many people live beyond their means whereas a few are really careful. Some people never fall into debt. Living costs vary hugely depending on need plus priorities.Food bills vary hugely also. It is incredible how much these can differ family to family.

It's not possible for everyone, but for many it's a matter of priorities. People often say they "need" things, but often I'm not so sure they do. We have a small mortgage and don't have any cars. We're lucky, that leaves us enough to be able to save for a holiday most years.

Reminds me of an old commercial. Of course, I'm in the US, but this is everywhere!

It's not possible for everyone, but for many it's a matter of priorities.

It’s a matter of priorities for everybody.. we all need to get to work, we all need to live somewhere, we all need to eat.

There is someone who I work with that pays £126/m for sky TV, £65 for his phone, just under £250 for a car finance, £120 for a motorbike finance… and he comes in with a sad looking single potato for lunch saying they’re skint. Kids have had to go eat at their grand parents.

I pay £12/m for my phone and my car is now free because I paid it off and it’s still a great car. We don’t have sky because we don’t really have time to watch any TV at the minute with work, study and kids. We do have Netflix so I think that’s about £10(?).

We live in a world where everything is easy to get now and pay later, it’s getting to the point that people’s monthly salary is largely taken up with monthly instalments for things. And by the time they’re paid off they’re bored and looking to replace the perfectly good, working object with new on credit again. Cycle continues.

Most people have family help for a couple of days. So that brings costs down.

I don't know anyone who had family help with childcare. Not sure that really is most people?

Single parent with a total take home income of £2100 a month

I have a £400 mortgage and £100 council tax. I give myself £700 a month to cover food, utilities, essentials etc I rarely buy clothes or luxuries but if I do they come out of savings. Most months I do not need to dip into savings at all but I’ll admit I’m strict with myself with what I will spend money on. I shop around, use cashback sites, buy second hand, meal plan and batch cook.

I took a lower paying job that lets me work from home at times that work for me so I don’t have to pay out for full time childcare which makes a huge difference. My previous jobs (pre-kids) would have been at least an extra £10k a year but after childcare costs I don’t think I’d have been any better off (and I hated those jobs too)

I buy my cars outright. First one was an old banger that got me around until I could afford a £5000 one in cash. Next one was about 5 years later when I could afford something better. Current car was bought 5 years ago for £9k and when I looked at changing it last month I could trade it for £4500 or sell privately for £6k so over 5 years it’s cost me, at worst, £75 a month as well as an annual MOT and one new set of tyres. There’s no way leasing would have been a better option for me

Most months I have £900 to save which will allow me to do home improvements, go on holiday, move to a bigger house or add to my pension pot etc

My husband and I earn about 42k combined before tax, if you include commission and bonuses, and we manage ok. We each put £450 a month into our joint account to cover the mortgage etc, and keep the rest of our salary for ourselves. We get a bit of help from the parents now and again, but we mostly cope by saving money in the following ways:

No childcare - yet, but I’m 38 weeks pregnant so that will change when I go back to work.
No car repayments - we both bought our cars outright with savings. We also pay the insurance and tax upfront for the year.
No/ little commuting costs - we live 5 minutes from my workplace, and my husband has a work van to use.
No debt - Neither of us have loans or credit card debt to pay off
No drugs - we don’t smoke or drink.
Limited outgoings - we don’t have Sky or gym memberships, and I don’t wear makeup. We don’t have any pets either.

We do spent a lot on food though (takeaways and eating out).

Did someone shit on your cornflakes this morning?

Is that what sets you off every day?

There is someone who I work with that pays £126/m for sky TV, £65 for his phone, just under £250 for a car finance, £120 for a motorbike finance… and he comes in with a sad looking single potato for lunch saying they’re skint. Kids have had to go eat at their grand parents.

How do people know so much detail about colleagues’ finances, especially when there seems to be a problem.

Nothing wrong with having a single baked potato for lunch.

@ftengineerM I agree completely. That was the point I was trying make. What I meant with regards to a matter of priorities is that some people don't have the same choices open to them as others i.e. they couldn't get a mortgage, car, holiday etc. even if they wanted to. As your example demonstrates some people, who are able to prioritise, make choices but then moan about the consequences.

It's not possible for everyone, but for many it's a matter of priorities. People often say they "need" things, but often I'm not so sure they do.
This is what I diplomatically say to someone I know who complains they are always skint whilst having the latest iPhone, regular ASOS orders, and regular outings for coffees and lunches: "it's just different priorities".

Some people have fewer options and fewer choices by virtue of having less money to start with, but there's also a lot of people who choose choose prioritise new, flashy items and upgrading their stuff only to complain later that they have no money.

@Fluffyslippers123

Single parent with a total take home income of £2100 a month

I have a £400 mortgage and £100 council tax. I give myself £700 a month to cover food, utilities, essentials etc I rarely buy clothes or luxuries but if I do they come out of savings. Most months I do not need to dip into savings at all but I’ll admit I’m strict with myself with what I will spend money on. I shop around, use cashback sites, buy second hand, meal plan and batch cook.

I took a lower paying job that lets me work from home at times that work for me so I don’t have to pay out for full time childcare which makes a huge difference. My previous jobs (pre-kids) would have been at least an extra £10k a year but after childcare costs I don’t think I’d have been any better off (and I hated those jobs too)

I buy my cars outright. First one was an old banger that got me around until I could afford a £5000 one in cash. Next one was about 5 years later when I could afford something better. Current car was bought 5 years ago for £9k and when I looked at changing it last month I could trade it for £4500 or sell privately for £6k so over 5 years it’s cost me, at worst, £75 a month as well as an annual MOT and one new set of tyres. There’s no way leasing would have been a better option for me

Most months I have £900 to save which will allow me to do home improvements, go on holiday, move to a bigger house or add to my pension pot etc

That's a great level of savings every month. You have summed up what I was trying to say previously. I know a lot of people who are earning really decent amounts of money but it's almost as though they have to spend every penny of it. So every time they get a payrise they buy something else in credit. A family member recently got a promotion and before he'd even got his first wage increase he took out a massive loan for a new car. And I'm talking a car that is worth 25k. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the car he had. This new one will drink fuel and road tax alone is over 500 a year. It wouldn't be so bad but they have huge debts already and zero in the way of savings and he pays bare minimum into his pension. They should be rolling in it. In reality they struggle because they spend so much money on things like cars, sky TV, expensive hobbies which are just fads. Have an interest only mortgage with no means of repaying the capital. I think they just just be banking everything on inheritance

I have a second hand car bought at 5 years old with m and s loan - £135 per month. Husband pays double for his Audi, there is no way we would pay £600 for cars per month.
When DC were in nursery we only had one car.

Sorry - bought at 3 years old, it’s 5 years now.

If the average salary is £32k I know very few people on that

I’ve only read the first two pages, but I presume most don’t even think about more than the minimum for a pension?

I only do the minimum but then my employer pays 26% in so I feel no need to add more myself.

@MintyMabel when it’s just two of you in the office for days sometimes over Christmas or something, you cover a lot of ground 😂.

Those who say they have a mortgage of £300-400, where do you live and how much was your house? I just don’t understand how it could possibly be so low. The people’s whose mortgages I know about are all between £1200-2000. We’re in the southeast and house prices are high.

@User135792468

Those who say they have a mortgage of £300-400, where do you live and how much was your house? I just don’t understand how it could possibly be so low. The people’s whose mortgages I know about are all between £1200-2000. We’re in the southeast and house prices are high.

We are in the south east and prices are very high but we bought ages ago when they weren’t so high so our mortgage repayments are low.

I’m 52 and have never paid £300 a month for a car 🤷🏻‍♀️ Let alone that for x2! (even now that I could afford to)

My currently car cost me £5K, with £1K trade in for my old one, and I’ve had it 6 years. That £55 a month. Even if you add in service, MOT, repairs - even tax and insurance! - it’s max £250 a month, and obviously decreasing every month I own it. And I’m really over estimating the repair costs I’ve had.

You cut your cloth.

Those who say they have a mortgage of £300-400, where do you live and how much was your house? I just don’t understand how it could possibly be so low. The people’s whose mortgages I know about are all between £1200-2000. We’re in the southeast and house prices are high.

It's generally because they bought ages ago so the mortgage is low. My parents house was 60k in the mid 80s, sell for 2m now.