A thread for lower earners to discuss!

[AlexBalex]

AIBU to make a thread for lower earners?

I feel like every thread I read on MN is full of middle to high earners or just posters where it's commonplace for a household to be earning really high amounts like £80k, £100k, £150k.

Now I fully understand the national average is approx. £30k. But does nobody on here and their partner take home minimum wage each resulting in a household income of about £45k?!

In real life I'm surrounded by plenty of 'low earners' but the representation on here seems to be massively skewed the other way.

Where are all the retail staff, hospitality staff, nurses, school teachers etc? Apologies, I don't know the salaries of these roles but they're understood to be below the national average right?

Just wondering if anyone with a not insanely high, lower than average household income (i.e. less than £60k) exists out there?!

Thoughts welcome, was just looking for a discussion really as fed up of reading about 'high earners' all the time .

When my first DC was a baby, I had a household income of just over £8k a year working full time. The child is still a teenager, it wasn’t that long ago. I do wonder at some of the salaries on here. We are now comfortable at around the 35k mark and if you’d told me then I’d more than triple my wage I would have been astonished.

'I don't know how people survive on less'

WTF is wrong with you? Us paupers manage just fine thanks.

School teachers and nurses aren't that badly paid, once they have some experience.

Band 5 nurses ( the starting point for a qualified nurse ) with at least 4 years experience and in most cases a lot more than that, are on £34k outside London.

We're on about £45k gross as a family of 4. DP earns about £35k, I earn about £10k (part time)

I would love to go full time and have the potential to earn more but I just can't figure out a way to make it work with childcare. After paying for wrap around and holiday cover I would end up on the same or more likely less than I am now. I feel very trapped.

We are doing ok thanks 🙄

We couldn't afford to feed ourselves when my first child was born, through no fault of our own. Couldn't buy food, petrol, clothes. Really fucking hard depressing times.

We've turned that around now but it gets right on my tits when high earners post that they earn this and that but don't have much left.

I guarantee taking one look at their bank statements they are spending £200+ a week on food shopping, filling up both cars regularly, meals out, holidays, clothed, nights out. Oh but they don't have much left after all this, forgetting about the £800 they've transferred to savings this month as well.

Well, I'm a pensioner with an annual income of about £22k including all benefits and PIP. I'd be fucked without the PIP, tbh, though I'd still rather be fit & healthy.

I used to be in the top 10% earners. It was much better! I've also done lots of low-wage work and, believe me, high earners do not work harder. But you knew that already.

Absolutely. Thank you.

I earn £12 an hour doing something useful, I deal with some of the more vulnerable in society which sums up how we value them really.

I'm in a high income household due to dp's wage though, i couldn't afford to do my job otherwise.

Dc earn from £32k (grad scheme) to minimum wage.

I'm a night supervisor and earn a lot more, now 2 dd's are young adults and working themselves.

I feel like my life is going down the pan with my health issues that have blighted my life for the past decade. Head injury and post concussion syndrome, then an injury from an off label antipsychotic prescribed for severe insomnia and anxiety 😳 I've now got a permanent neurological involuntary movement disorder called tardive dyskinesia 🥺💔

Put it this way, if I'd never had any of that, I might have worked my way up the career ladder in publishing and possibly be earning £35-40k now (although I think I'd be earning less working part time with my children). I haven't been working since 2017 after having my 2 youngest DC but my DH works full time and is earning £38k which isn't even anywhere near what someone who is 53 with 30 years in publishing should be on.

The company he works for are shitty when it comes to pay rises and I get riled just thinking about how there is no real opportunity for career progression or financial gain for him staying there, considering how hard he works.

We're extremely grateful and lucky to get help from my parents and UC top up but I am sure we'd be concerned about our outgoings even more if we didn't have this cushion. We're definitely not in total dire financial straits but we do struggle. I have to say that it scares me about what I might do when I have to start working again but if it means I'll be increasing our household income, it's great. I wish my brain worked properly again though 🥺😥

Nurse here nearly 20 years experience and just hitting 30k depending on your speciality there isn't always promotion available and we do need nurses to nurse not all be managers etc. husband on minimum wage, we're not rolling in it but we manage, increase in interest rate on our mortgage has really hit us though

Your work is so valuable.

Congrats on your new job!

When I retired, a few years ago, I was a classroom teacher on about £36K.

Would be about £40k now. This was after 34 years and jumping through all the hoops etc.

Austerity cost me a bit over £1k/year from my pension.

I honestly normally feel sorry for the higher earners on mn- I think mn is full of people that are quick to jump on anyone who has anything more than they deem normal! I am regularly shocked by how much money some people on here have, but I think there’s more of us on min/low/close to middle than anyway high

A top of pay scale teacher outside London will be on £46.5k this year.

No, apologies for that. I think I got the view about those roles being underpaid for the value of their job mixed up with actual earnings.

People who may not pay income tax:
SAHPs
Students
Pensioners
People with disabilities
People who are carers for family members
People who work part-time

They're hardly freeloaders are they. I think you've been reading too much Daily Mail.

I'm a SAHM, my DH had his own business that I worked in but we had to close it due to the pandemic we did fairly well and were able to save for a decent house deposit. That was pre kids, I have a toddler and one of the way.

DH earns £30k in main job and then around 10k in second job that he does from home. So our household income in 40k. We are renting at the moment but we will buy in the near future.

We don't have a lot left for luxuries but we definitely don't go without. We still have an annual holiday though we'll probably not go next year as the cost of living is having an effect.

Everyone appears to be rich on here but complain that they are poor!

I was going to start a thread similar myself. Thank you!!

I'm single, 2 DC, Cambs so expensive area. My wage is 30k as I work 30 hours a week, FTE is 38k but I just can't make it work with childcare. I already have trouble fitting everything in as it is.

And I'm in a good job, in quite a high grade. I don't think my wage is low but the cost of living is sooo high.

Meant to add I do get a UC top up

I would also point out that this isn't a North-South divide (several posters have mentioned being in the North). This is a London/SouthEast/Scotland vs the rest of the UK divide. Average salaries in the South West are similar to those in the North of England but with more expensive houses.

I have been a headteacher of 3 schools. I have never earned more than £70k and that was a two form primary school in a challenging area. Granted it would be a little more now but nothing like £100k

Are you both working full time?