Do you think £100,000 a year household income is a lot of money?

[SleepDreamThinkHuge]

I think it is a lot of money even in London where I live. When I hear people say things like "£100,000 is not enough to live on even in London" I think to myself what are they talking about. I have a family of four and we can only dream of earning that amount. The maximum I can see us earning is about £60k if we are lucky. Currently on over £40k combined income with still a relatively high rent and everything does go on bills and other necessities. But sometimes we are lucky and manage to save some money a year. Luckily no debt. I just think to myself £100,000 would be life changing even in London.

What are your thoughts? What do you consider to be average and above average in London and the city you are from?

You are better off than 98.7% of the global
population

We used to have £100k+ outside London and we were still broke as had huge housing costs at that time and spent a ridiculous amount on booze and food.
We are now around the £65k mark and absolutely brassic as have high childcare costs but we will be better in a couple of years. We should get nearer £80k joint again eventually and life will be comfortable.

£100k joint sounds a lot but it doesn’t go as far as you think after tax. It is all relative. Our friends are in the £500k joint bracket and I think that is awe inspiring.

Before or after tax. Cause that makes a big difference. After tax it's £65000.

What do you consider to be average and above average in London and the city you are from?

Is this site obsessed by the salary of £100k, why does this come up every day at the moment?

Averages aren't determined by what someone considers, they are mathematically worked out facts, your question doesn't make any sense.

it’s all down to individual choices

I disagree, my neighbour pays 50% more rent than I do for my mortgage. It's not their fault they are younger & costs are so high.

I don't like in London but I can see why it's not a lot of money once you factor in childcare and mortgage. Also, the OP is talking about household income so you can be talking about a couple who earn just over £50k each. If average house in London is as a PP quoted to be over £500k, I just don't see how you can save up a deposit, pay a mortage and have two children in childcare. Let's not even talk about private schools.

Or 95% of the uk population based on 2 adults and 2 children under 13 and council tax of £200/month

Our suburban London household has an income of around £55k (public sector) BUT we paid off our mortgage long ago thanks to an inheritance, and that has made things ok for us.

It we were starting out now on that income, there is no way we could afford to buy anything bigger than 1 bed flat, even out here in the suburbs - the bank simply wouldn't lend us enough money against our income - so we wouldn't be able to bring up our family here at all.

Thanks to no mortgage, we can afford to live comfortably but saving money is always on my mind and big one-off expenses are a worry as they dip into savings which are slow to replace.

And yes, I'm assuming this is before tax of £100k, not after tax.

You are better off than 98.7% of the globalpopulation

What is this figure based on though? Paye? a lot of higher earners aren't on paye which distorts statistics.

If you mean joint income then it depends on your outgoings, personal circumstances and lifestyle. Me and DP bring in around £110k before tax a year combined and live comfortably but we overpay on pensions and put a lot away in savings for the house we're renovating and holidays. Also have first DC on the way so saving a bit for SPL.

More if it’s household income i.e. 2 earners on £50K each, as OP says.

But if you're feeling the squeeze on that income it's because most of your outgoings are discretionary, or an expensive way of doing it.

We all need housing, pay bills, buy food and transport, families need schools and childcare and people manage to cover all those things on much less than £100k pa.

If you're running out of money on £100k pa, it's because you've made some very expensive choices somewhere along the line.

I should add that we'll be paying £1100 on nursery fees (for three days a week!) so our disposable income is going to plummet 😩

"Well £120,000/yr puts you in top 1% of earners in the U.K., so £100,000 per year is way waaaaay above average"

True but people often live to their earnings and they think they don't have enough. People might be quite wasteful when earning more or overstretch themselves to get that bigger home, newer car etc. Some live a particular lifestyle and in a bubble so don't understand how others struggle and perhaps even feel they struggle on that amount.

a household income of £1872 a week is more than 100k though @Trainfromredhill

@frazzledmess I’m going down to four days a week, and this year I had a temporary promotion (maternity cover) which I won't retain when I go back - and I didn't apply for anything else that would make up for the loss, because I don't want to be too overworked when I return.

that makes sense, good luck

You can most definitely have a very comfortable life on £100k (assuming there's no significant debt).

Whether it's a life that many people would accept, is another thread entirely.

If you have to choose between a baby and a holiday, it's not really a life of luxury, is it?

One of the most useful things I learned as a student was how to survive on very little. It means that I can have a genuinely fab life on a fraction of that.

Having a big income is lovely but if children are raised to expect it, they might find adult life a bit of a shock. I'd rather my dcs grew up being self sufficient and sensible, knowing the value of money.

Then save your deposit and buy your house, then have kids. It’s not rocket science.

I dont consider it a lot for london. Luckily i am not based in london but 100k would not be anywhere near enough to fund the lifestyle i want and currently have elsewhere in the country

On a national scale, obviously, that is a very good salary, but I'm afraid it's true that you would struggle to get on the property ladder in many parts of London.

Where we live (the Putney / Barnes / Fulham sort of area of SW London), a delspudstrd a garage is £200k. A one bed flat is £500k. A 4- bed terrace house £2 million upwards and a 4 bed Victorian semi £3 million. I heard the average house price in the U.K. is £200k?

School places in this area are very limited and it's a vicious circle that because of this, more people are persuaded to use independent schools (especially when some if the best day schools in the U.K. are very local). You would not be able to put 2 kids through independent schools around here (£7-9k per term) plus pay a mortgage on £100k after tax!

And this is not even the most expensive area .

People either bought their houses pre-2008, or they have inheritances or city bonuses or have sold a company or similar. Yes, there is the option of 'moving out', but that's like saying to someone complaining their £40k doesn't go far in Hull - "Oh just move to the Outer Hebrides, you'll get so much more for your money."

a dilapidated garage!