Anyone else feel like they can’t afford much?

[Kitten189]

I earn around 19.5k a year which is low, but I have no dependants.
I live with my partner and he earns slightly lower, our rent isn’t that high between us but sometimes I just feel like I can’t afford to live very well.

I used to go shopping with friends and they would be spending hours buying quite high-end things and I could just about afford something from primark.
Virtually all my clothes are from Primark, charity shops, EBay, Tesco etc.

I don’t drink or smoke, I have a basic gym membership, a phone contract and Netflix but that’s it.

I get my hair cut every 6 weeks at £25 and I very occasionally get Botox or a facial, but I get it cut price.

I have zero debt which is good, no overdraft etc. As until last year I was in debt, I paid it off with birthday money from my parents.

I just don’t seem to save anything and don’t know where it all goes. I see people going out to fancy places, wearing nice clothes etc and still managing to save money.

I recently went for a meal with friends. It was at a fancy restaurant one of them had chosen, I just had one main but they were all ordering cocktails, desserts etc like it was nothing.

I shop in Poundland, Wilkos and mainly Aldi etc.

Just don’t know where I’m going wrong, I can’t seem to afford anything and never seem to save. I used to have a friend who was out drinking twice a week yet still managed to save £200 per month.

Anyone else feel like this?

You absolutely could figure that out..very easy to spend that.
You know me do you? I've been on a tight budget before, the £200 I spend isn't a budget, I buy everything we want and that's what it adds up to. So there's no way I could spend more than double that.

@FrownedUpon

Surely it’s because you’re on a really low wage. I save & spend quite a lot but I earn over 60k. Not really rocket science.

Fuckin rude. Also, how do we know you ACTUALLY earn that. The amount of bullshitters and liars on here is laughable.

OP, you are doing great, if you’re a TA already can you speak with your school about training to become a teacher? I can bet your friends are living off debt, don’t go there. I admire you.

These things are so area dependent. That sounds like the average (as in typical not mean) wage for round here. There are thousands of people working in factories, care homes etc. So two of you earning say £30k plus between you and no dependents would be comfortable. Some of the salaries people boast about mention on here would make you really wealthy on the local scale. But I know costs vary tremendously by region. I have to work part time round my children's needs (SEN) and I'm a single mum so I know how it feels to not be able to afford things others take for granted.

You've left utilities and council tax off your outgoings, how much are they?

Have you done the obvious things like check all of your utility prices? Going through a cashback site like Quidco can get you some rewards.

Do you have a lot of small impulse buys? I know that pre pandemic I could waste a lot of money by spending a few quid here and there on take aways etc.

I personally would keep the gym, £18 is worth it if you enjoy it.

I’d have thought that at around 30, lots of people start to see a change in their spending.

Lots will be buying houses and starting families. The days of £100 nights out each week quickly end as people’s priorities change and £100 becomes that step closer to the house deposit or the family food for a week.

Lots on MN will have incomes double or quadruple yours and would think very carefully about going on a night out which cost £100, never mind every week. So it sounds to me like you’re in with a group of people who earn more than you, and who are living rather like they’re in their early 20s and still wanting big nights out every week with lots of boozing, new outfits and breakfast next day. Have all those people bought property and got themselves out of debt? It doesn’t sound like it….so be careful about what you envy.

Perhaps at 30 it’s time for a bit of relflection what really matters to you and what your medium term plans might be. If you struggle to see further than next Friday and the dress you will wear, then developing a longer term plan will be hard. In the next 5 years many of your friends will become parents and lives will change.

What do you think about looking for a teaching job again or focusing on the income side of the equation?

Also my grandad used to say don't lost what people have/do, look at what's paid off! I couldn't sleep for worry if I had the debt:income ratio that some people have (I know debt is not always due to recklessness and have been in debt myself previously).

With a teaching degree you could be a nanny? It's longer hours but as a nanny (in London, to be fair, but unqualified) I was earning about £35k a year. Loved the work too, mostly.

Depends where you live as to whether nearly £20k is a low wage. In the North, it’s not a bad wage tbh. I see you work in Manchester, so guess it might be low if you’re working in the city.

Also, do your mates have partners/husbands who have better paid careers? I used to be useless with money and would spend every penny I earned but then I met now DH, calmed the spending significantly, and he is a high earner so I very quickly had a change in lifestyle.

I only bring in about 20k OP. And feel quite well off in

Sounds to me like this thread is becoming a big encouragement of OP to accept what she already has and to suggest that because lots of people have exactly the same, she shouldn’t want anything more…..along with suggesting anyone claiming to have incomes above £50k must be lying!

For those who didn’t read it earlier, OP is already a qualified teacher but hasn’t worked as one. One obvious possibility is to look for work as a teacher, which could double her income over a number of years and certainly get her to £30k in about 5. But changes are needed to make that happen, but I’m surprised how few people on this thread are encouraging Op to consider boosting income.

Of course,t here is nothing wrong with an income of £20k and as people say, with DB earning too, the household income exceeds that of lots of people. However, it isn’t looking down on those earning £20k to also point out, that the lifestyle £20k can give compared to £30k or £40k is different, especially as OP is already qualified to earn the higher amounts. Sometimes I wonder if people don’t like the idea of others boosting their opportunities, seizing chances and moving their lives on….if it somehow validates all their own choices and life experiences too. But then, Op doesn’t seem very proactive or keen to make changes to boost income either, just to keep up with her friends’ short term spending, rather than think about where she might be in 5 or 10 years.

@kowari

You absolutely could figure that out..very easy to spend that. You know me do you? I've been on a tight budget before, the £200 I spend isn't a budget, I buy everything we want and that's what it adds up to. So there's no way I could spend more than double that.

Ok. There is no way

How long was it since you qualified op? The longer you leave it before you get a teaching job the harder you will find it.

You earn very little , it’s just above minimum wage I imagine. You need to either progress at your work place or maybe perhaps take on additional courses to accelerate your career or provide other job options. Good luck ! You can do it !

I often wonder how people afford things as wel.

In my friend group we all seem to earn a similar wage however, some are able to go on holidays, eat our regular etc I think you have to stop comparing yourself because you don't know what their financial situation is, they might be in debt, living pay check to pay check, constantly spending on credit cards etc.

Cutting down spending for example getting good deals on gas & electric or going to the hairdressers isn't going to make any difference. You're coveting a lifestyle where dropping £100 on a night out is a drop in the ocean. So you need to earn more.

All my friendship group is earning £35-60k (ages 28-52) and I earned 60k for years until my circumstances drastically changed a few years back. I'm on benefits currently and I envy people so I know exactly where your coming from OP. It really does suck.

For me, someone could look at my budget and say "get rid of Netflix, change your gas supplier" etc. But it makes no difference as it's a higher income that changes your lifestyle for the better

Depends where you live as to whether nearly £20k is a low wage. In the North, it’s not a bad wage tbh. I see you work in Manchester, so guess it might be low if you’re working in the city.
OP said Greater Msnchester not the city.

The average income in the Uk is over 30k per annum op. You and your partner and very, very low earners, of course there is many like you. What is it you’re looking for here?

I have my hair cut every 6 months, and never get Botox. That helps

I work in the collections department of a bank and from my experience it’s overdrafts, credit cards and people paying into their savings on pay day but by end of month they have spent it all
Credit is easy to get.

@LaurieFairyCake

Where do you live you can't get a full time teaching job?

Dh's school has about 3 vacancies at any one time ((London))

I’m sure that is the case in London. Not so much around the rest of the U.K.

Also depends what subject. There are always Maths, Eng, Sci vacancies and Primary.

Secondary Humanities/Arts are few and far between.

Have you tried logging what you spend every day for a month so that you know exactly where your money is going? I once did this and discovered that the takeaway I had every week was costing me £100 a month. I hadn't even considered it! In the event, I decided to keep the takeaways, as they were my little bit of luxury, like your botox. But it helped me to know where my money was going.

@Kona84

I work in the collections department of a bank and from my experience it’s overdrafts, credit cards and people paying into their savings on pay day but by end of month they have spent it all Credit is easy to get.

Did you post on the wrong thread? Or would you like to try to tie it to this one?

I was responding to the first post of how do people afford things.
My experience is majority is credit

@Kitten189

Thanks for the replies. 450 rent 100 transport 30 phone 18 gym which has just been cancelled 7 Netflix 200 on food, toiletries etc Medication, etc Then indeed I have some left over but as pp said a night out could easily be 100 Trying to save for driving lessons/house deposit too, doing that and having much left over for clothes, make up, travel, nights out etc is tough but I just need to try harder

Gas? Electricity? Water?

Include your nights out, clothes, make up, include everything. It's about seeing where your errors are, so that you can correct them. Things happen like people realise that their Costa coffee every morning is costing them nearly £70 a month, or they're spending £120 a month on take aways.

You need to get a few months worth of bank statements and put EVERY outgoing into a column, like 'supermarket', 'pub', 'clothes' etc. It's forensic and it'll take you an hour or two, but that's not much, given that when you've finished, you'll have a full picture of exactly why your money keeps vanishing.

You'll feel better when you've done it. People always do.