Joseph Rowntree/Loughborough Uni research on Minimum income standards

[Moneynewpence]

DH finished reading the latest report and apparently a single working parent with two children needs an income of 56k a year?! AIBU to ask is this true in your experience? Anyone managing a decent life on less than this?

The housing they provide isn't relevant to the research, at all.

Well it is because it's supposedly part of their charitable aims

Let's just talk about the figures please.

And actually I think it is very relevant indeed that a supposed anti poverty organisation is getting grants for expensive housing.

It makes me wonder whose side they are on.

I'd say it's pretty accurate. Only thing it doesn't include is savings, which are essenrial to have as some sort of buffer.

I think that sounds about right really to be comfortable and not worry about money.

Not rolling in it, just to be able to afford decent housing, bills, a modest holiday, run a car and all the other normal living costs

I still don’t get your number - can you screenshot it? - but I do get a higher number with an under 1 and a 2-4. Which unsurprisingly is driven by childcare cost - in this case 42% of the net income.

I think that’s an important point when looking at how realistic it is. If you say £56K, it sounds like loads. And as people have said, many are managing on less. But how many single parents are managing to pay 2 lots of full time childcare? Some as I’ve said will be getting free family support, many will be working part time - which might not be their choice.

I find some of the category amounts odd - the rent especially! But generally they’re quite logical.

The MIS doesn’t set out to say every single person with 2 young kids NEEDS £56K.

It tries to describe what real people in that position say that they would need, in order not to feel poor or disadvantaged, to live not exist - including being able to pay childcare to work, and to be able to take their kids out for fun.

For some respondents, that might mean they want to include £10 a week for swimming lessons and £30 a month for a cinema and McD treat.

No-one is saying that people NEED swimming lessons and the cinema to survive. The point is to capture what people feel that they and their children need to participate in society and feel dignified.

I think it’s a useful study and when you look at the category level, I don’t think it’s far out.

I think you capture it really well!

Anyone who approaches this as trying to calculate the minimum you need to survive is doing disagree.

This research is more aiming at what you need to earn for (for example) your child not to feel excluded and marginalised and embarrassed (and maybe you as a parent ashamed) to be the only one of their friends not to have gone to the Barbie release, because you couldn’t afford it.

Why so negative about a positive action?

I'm not being negative.

The OP told us the report said "apparently a single working parent with two children needs an income of 56k a year?!"

There was no link to a report. I was answering the question asked.
There are lots of people in all sorts of different combinations of circumstances who are comfortable on far less than that.

“There are lots of people in all sorts of different combinations of circumstances who are comfortable on far less than that.”

But the point is, other people can’t just get that circumstance.

Single parent no support, renting, needs childcare to work. Absent father.

Or single parent getting CMS, with both MIL doing a day each of free childcare and owns a mortgage free house after the divorce.

There’s no point in looking at the latter and saying, “of course not everyone NEEDS £56K”.

The research attempts (usefully and reasonable successfully in my opinion) to understand the minimum needed if you don’t have especially helpful circumstances. If you are having to pay out the standard costs for everything.

Doesn’t sound unreasonable to me. People on low income would be getting a significant amount of ‘income’ in addition to work income from UC and help with childcare. It must be 20k in childcare which doesn’t leave a lot after tax to support 3 people

I have two under three and currently am job hunting, and yes, according to my personal budget, I need to earn about £50K (net) to be able to afford childcare and all our living expenses (if we were to rent privately and I were to get a car which is not currently our situation). On this budget I would also be able to afford to pay a small amount into a private pension, to get life insurance for my DC in case the worst were to happen to me, and to save a small amount each month.

In reality I won't actually be able to earn anything near that amount. So we'll continue to bunk up with generous family paying low rent for the foreseeable future (v. grateful to them for offering this, would be lost/homeless without them), buy clothes/books/bday pressies etc. in charity shops or second hand, rely on Olio app for food and freecycle for other things, etc.

We're managing, but I got teary the other day talking with a friend about how I am fearful that my kids will not be able to pursue hobbies they might enjoy/be talented at, I won't be able to afford to send them on school trips, they might get bullied for their second hand clothes, unable to have big birthday parties/go on holidays, etc. Obviously many families esp. single moms are in a similar position and much worse as well. But it does feel scary and sometimes makes me really sad/I have moments of panic about the future. I feel sad that I won't be able to afford to rent a nice little 2-bed flat for me and my two DC, even though I plan to work full-time. It's just too expensive.

I haven't seen the budget in the JR-funded report, but I believe it.

There are itemised spreadsheets if you delve further via that link
Household budgets | Centre for Research in Social Policy | Loughborough University (lboro.ac.uk)
As a single female pensioner, apparently I have no motoring costs. And actually I'm addicted to tobacco, but no budget for that. I can budget £5.74 a week on alcohol though, but I am practically teetotal.

Luckily I have (and had in 2022) more income than the £17,870 their calculation says is the minimum acceptable amount.

Oh yes, no motoring costs, but a budget of 12.37 a week for transport costs.

One can but ask: does this hypothetical female pensioner have children and grandchildren? If so, let's hope they live locally, eh?

They have long lost sight of the people they claim to speak for.

Who do they ask? In the case of pensioners, are our cost of living priorities based on what people younger than us think we should be able to do with our lives.

I used to work for the CAB, and used to have clients who were female pensioners and had, say, 2 DC and 4 grandchildren. They watched every penny because giving presents to their family was a high priority to them. Even leaving out the DC, that's 8 presents (and cards) a year (Christmas and birthday).

@AcornRoots I remember what it was like, and how constantly stressful it is, though at least we had a roof over our head (couldn't afford to maintain it though). Our kids have grown up into lovely people, which is the main thing.

@SequentialAnalyst thank you! This is lovely. I hope I can raise my DCs right and be the best parent I can be, whatever our circumstances! :)