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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Low earner

110 replies

Mondaymanic · 16/04/2022 02:10

What do you consider to be a low earner?
I was always content enough with my pay, always would prefer more of course Grin but generally not feeling hard done by.

Lately I've learned most my friends earn far more than me and consider my pay very low but I'm conscious their view might be skewed. I earn around 27k no children and partner earns the same. Of course I know this isn't amazing pay but is it not decent?
I love North in a v cheap area if that helps

OP posts:
fairylightsandwaxmelts · 16/04/2022 08:08

Income is only a small part of the picture, though - I would actually argue that it's your outgoings that make the difference.

DH and I earn around 60k between us (we're both self employed so it fluctuates) but we have incredibly low outgoings so it feels like we have more than we do.

We have no finance, no loans, no debts and a very low mortgage of £300 a month. We don't have children either so no childcare or anything to worry about.

So we seem a LOT better off than a couple who earns the same amount but has childcare bills, debts and maybe a car on finance - even though on paper our incomes would be identical.

Onionpatch · 16/04/2022 08:15

I had a look on the ONS and low pay is defined as less than 2/3 of the median pay and high paid is 1.5 time more than median.

countdowntonap · 16/04/2022 08:15

@Heracles1000
To add to the post above, this table gives a breakdown of average full time salaries across different areas of the country www.statista.com/statistics/416139/full-time-annual-salary-in-the-uk-by-region/

The average for the North East region is the lowest £ 29,529.

Keha · 16/04/2022 08:21

Depends a bit on your age. If you are in your 20s I'd consider this quite average. In 30s/40s, I expect people I know to be earning £30-50k. But it depends so much on who you mix with, what career you are in etc. I have friends in corporate jobs earning A LOT more than me. The difference also seems to increase as we got older. FWIW I imagine £27k x 2 in a cheaper northern area goes a quite a long way!

Sushi7 · 16/04/2022 08:28

It’s insane that people would consider £27k a year “low income.” No, low income is less than £19k a year (basically working full time on minimum wage).

neverbeenskiing · 16/04/2022 08:31

I agree it depends on your outgoings, but I also think it depends on your perspective and whether your job is rewarding in other ways. My salary is about £30k pro rata. This is much less than some of my friends and less than half DH's salary but my job is interesting and I'm passionate about it, management are very supportive, I have a good work/life balance, I have my own office, plenty of flexibility and autonomy, and only a 10 minute commute so, on balance, it feels like I'm getting quite a good deal.

Dairymilk50 · 16/04/2022 08:36

I agree about outgoings also. If you have a partner earning 27k also it's definitely not low your combined household income.

notanothertakeaway · 16/04/2022 08:41

Do you have enough to pay the bills? Are you able to put some money aside for a rainy day? Are you contributing to a pension?

If the answers are Yes, Yes and Yes, then I'd say you're in quite a good position

Average salaries are misleading. If Bill Gates came to live in my village, then average earnings would shoot up, but would make no difference to me

GooglyEyeballs · 16/04/2022 08:45

54k household income is pretty good. No different from than a family where one person earns a 54k salary and would be considered a high earner and the other person doesn't work or is a SAMP.

Dairymilk50 · 16/04/2022 08:47

The difference would childcare costs. So it is a big difference. The SAHP saves on this.

portionplate · 16/04/2022 08:48

Well MNs would consider anyone earning under 6 figures badly paid however lots of things are relevant eg when you bought, if you bought, location, lifestyle, family money etc.

MyCommentWasDeleted · 16/04/2022 08:51

I thought the maximum benefit payment was about 26/27k, if your wage is on a par with that then I’d struggle with weighing up the benefits of childcare etc but obviously depends on outgoings and lifestyle. I’ve always wanted to have a salary that is 1k for every year of age or more but that’s just my own aim.

Luredbyapomegranate · 16/04/2022 08:53

Under the circumstances you describe it’s not low. lower than average but in a cheaper area that will balance out.

Are your friends earning more in similar jobs? If so then you might think about looking for a new one.

If you can build up to a bit more now, it will make a difference if you are planning to have kids later.

Kingharoldshairstyle · 16/04/2022 09:04

Also I think you need to think of context, if they earn far more than you then you are a low earner in comparison to them. You are both slightly lower than average, but you’re not a low income family as such.

Booboobagins · 16/04/2022 09:12

Why do we measure ourselves using earnings?

If you have enough be grateful. Live your life nit tge life others think you should live.

If you want to earn more, look for a different job.

My DB went into IT vack in 90's. He made a fortune. I stayed in my field of env. Its massively rewarding doing something for the greater good and I've been successful.

He recently git pd off tgat our mum said she was going to give some money to my DS and me, saying how he'd made his money through gard work and not working at Tesco. Neither my DS or I have ever worked at Tesco and my DS said she felt he was referring to her vos she doesn't earn a high salary.

I was really offended. I could have gone into IT if I wanted to cgase money - I didn't, I wanted a meaningful job. I earnt high end in my field since age of 24yo so never been poor or anything. I earnt more than my friends, but who cares?

I couldn't retire at 50 cos I didn't earn as much as my DB and my DH died the year we were going to review finances and plan retirement.

If any of my friends had made any comment about salary I'd have been offended. We all paid our way so what did it matter?

Don't measure yourself using someone else's yardstick. Use your own. Living, being productive, happy and content is not about salary, but like I said if you want to earn more, land a job tgat pays better x

mnnewbie111 · 16/04/2022 09:14

When I lived up north I was on 27k and that was 10 years ago. I had very little left to play with so I would have said it's a low wage but not terrible

mnnewbie111 · 16/04/2022 09:16

@PissedOffNeighbour22

I'd say a low earner would be less than £20k for full time. I'm in the north too and a few years ago would have thought £20k was a decent salary and not many I know would have been on that. I'm on a bit more than OP but I'm older and only recently started to earn that (as does my partner - 2yrs ago he was earning £24k as a trainee firefighter). Of friends and family, I'm not aware of anyone who earns more than we do.
24k for trainee firefighter takes the piss! Literally risking lives for that amount. One of my friends was a firefighter when I lived in mcr and I earned more than him in a pretty cushty job for the council. Seemed so unfair
transformandriseup · 16/04/2022 09:27

My pay is 27k full time and I would say it is on the low side of average but it is a very good wage for my area and similar jobs to mine are advertised for up to 4K less. Very few people I know earn more than 32k with a couple of outliers.

SwanBuster · 16/04/2022 09:36

As others have alluded - all that really matters here is whether your expenses are less than or more than your income, and whether you can live happily with the lifestyle that situation offers. Every individual will have different circumstances for that equation.

To me then - a low earner is someone who lives a frugal lifestyle (meaning things like no luxuries like a basic Netflix account, not horse riding lessons for Tarquin) by necessity rather than choice.

In the UK at the moment, that is going to be an every increasing number of people as the cost of essentials skyrockets faster than incomes.

In the south east of England, for a single person living in a house share, I would think that a tolerable subsistence lifestyle for someone with the mental fortitude to avoid envy of others can still just about be achieved for a net income of less than £1000 per month.

  • basic all inc bills room in house share £450

  • food costs p/m £150 (you could go lower if you want, but I wouldn’t)

  • transport costs £50 (mainly cycling, walking and the odd bus/train fare to go further afield)

  • other goods (toiletries etc) £20

  • phone £15 (cheap sim only + amortised cost of a second hand handset)

  • Amazon prime £7 (I put this because it offers the best £ for £ value entertainment, because of the kindle lending library)

  • social life £100

  • clothes/ shoes £40

  • emergency budget £60

  • replace electronics budget (laptop/kindle) £20 amortised

SwanBuster · 16/04/2022 09:40

Putting that into context - it’s amazing how fast that expands with normal family life. We live what I would call the ‘minimal comfortable life’ in a family of 6 in the south east.

It is extremely difficult to get the total expenses necessary to live down to below £4K, thanks to rent costs and bills.

Alightjacket · 16/04/2022 09:41

I work for the NHS 30 hours a week. About about 17k, five or take. I have good employment benefits and pension obviously. I also have my own business in the early stages that provides about 5k a year at the moment. When I was full time my salary was 22k. Household income less than 50k. We live in a nice house, cheap area, one child. We go on holiday once a year and can afford to eat/go out several times a month. I'd consider myself to be a low earner, as would most of MN I imagine. But we don't have a low household income and have a nice life. It's all subjective really isn't it. My best friend is a consultant psychiatrist and earns double our household income. I'm obviously not able to keep up with her life style but I've never felt judged by her.

54k household income is not low to me.

SwanBuster · 16/04/2022 09:42

(4K per month). So that’s one gross income of £70k, gone.

SwanBuster · 16/04/2022 09:45

@GooglyEyeballs

54k household income is pretty good. No different from than a family where one person earns a 54k salary and would be considered a high earner and the other person doesn't work or is a SAMP.
It’s actually quite different net - two 27k incomes has two tax free personal allowances, and if you have kids, the single 54k earner would see child benefit tapered.
SwanBuster · 16/04/2022 09:47

@MyCommentWasDeleted

I thought the maximum benefit payment was about 26/27k, if your wage is on a par with that then I’d struggle with weighing up the benefits of childcare etc but obviously depends on outgoings and lifestyle. I’ve always wanted to have a salary that is 1k for every year of age or more but that’s just my own aim.
That £1k per year of life salary used to be a pretty good normal aim. Now I’d say inflation has made it £1500.
Unsureaboutit9 · 16/04/2022 09:49

Honestly surprised about what some people take to be a low income (and I don’t mean that in a bitchy way), I work full time 37.5 hours (not possible to increase this), earn more than minimum wage north of England 19500 a year, I new my income way low but didn’t realise how much lower than average it was considered in some areas. I struggle with my salary but if I earned 27k I’d be comfortable even with my childcare costs. DH earns 25k