To be in this job and feel poor?

[fedippp]

I trained for seven years, reasonably large student loan etc, to end up age 35 on 58k, and barely anything left at the end of the month!!! Mortgage is 1300 for a 2 bed semi, (up from 800 last year). Student loans are still hundreds a month. I have a car on finance as I couldn’t save house deposit and car deposit, need car for work. I eat beans on toast 3 nights a week. I feel like an idiot. I missed out on so much in my twenties to get into a decent job that I thought paid well and it seems to have been a waste of time! Does anyone else feel this way? I feel so disheartened.

Well unless the OP states her take home, how much her car finance (and other costs like tax, insurance etc), along with where her money goes then it's all speculation.

She says she feels 'poor'. This shouldn't be because she can't cover the basics and some discretionary spending, so it would suggest that she does have room to cut back so her money goes further. For example, she had to buy a car, but did she get a small, cheap to run one, or is it an expensive one, that costs a lot to fuel, tax and insure?

Likewise, people will often say they 'feel poor' and 'never have anything nice' then you see their mobile phone bill is £40 pm, they buy their lunch out each day, spend £300 pm on car finance etc. Their 'nice' is the expensive version of day to day essentials.

I voted YANBU as it’s possible to feel poor on quite a high income if your outgoings are high enough

I mean, I understand your frustration, but what is your AIBU, exactly? Do you think you should have done something differently, or is it just a moan about COL (which is fair enough!)?
You must realise you're on significantly more than most of your age group (£37544, https://www.forbes.com/uk/advisor/business/average-uk-salary-by-age/) or just the population in general, so if you're struggling with your current job, then surely you understand you'd be struggling a lot more in most other jobs.
Do you regret going to uni? Student loans repayments are a lot, but do you think you'd make more/similar amount to your monthly salary minus deductions if you hadn't gone?
Most people feel a bit frustrated when they work hard and don't have a lot left over, but at least you're frustrated that you can't afford luxuries because your essentials are so high, you could be frustrated about not being able to afford luxuries but also not afford rent or a car. And at least there will hopefully be a point in the future where you will have more money - interest rates reduce, student loan paid off, car finance paid, etc. Rent costs are likely to only ever go up.

58k is a huge salary, but it's not if her student loans are huge

I'm on about 28k, but I have no student loans.

My net income could be similar to the ops.

It does bring up the question of - are the long medical degrees worth it, for the huge student loan debt"?

She said she studied for 7 years so she must have a medical degree

Depends. It sounds like OP did 7 years of study, so likely 7 years of tuition loans. She (and you) don’t mention the additional Cost of Living Loan, which is based off of your parents’ income and whether you study while living at home with your parents, in London, or outside of London. OP doesn’t say whether she took the COL loan for the 7 years, and whether where she studied/her parents’ income meant that she got anywhere between £3k-£13k/year. Your total loan amounts could be very different. She may be nowhere near paying hers off.

So you earn almost £4.5k/month, is that before or after tax? Sounds like you need to downsize and live within your means if you’re unable to afford your outgoings on such a large salary.

@fedippp So how much are you having to pay each month for your student loans? That could make a huge difference to the answers you get here!

I trained for 7 years for my job and I earn 40k if that's any consolation

At some stage it will change op, once your loans go you will start being sble to save etc so in that way you’re better off than most but yes, seeing wages go into a bank account and then literally start disappearing into loans is awful. We were poor poor for years, loans, car, mortgage, childcare, we used to pick a bill not to pay monthly! But when the loans start disappearing it’s literally like being able to breathe again

I think many people are missing Op's point.

OP is complaining that she spent years training, studying and is on £58k without much salary change in the offing.

Sounds like many people saying they wish they had £58K 1) didn't spend years studying (of course, you worked have hit the jackpot in that case) or 2) tried to do all things right.

I know OP hasn't said, and maybe she doesn't want a family, but at 35 yo she is probably also wondering about starting a family/partner and wondering if her new unit would manage. All after spending years studying to qualify!

I actually understand your point OP.

being single is very expensive. I am the only single person at my level at work. Others have a much higher lifestyle - better cars, bigger houses, amazing holidays!

when you cover all the bills alone it puts a real dent in even a healthy salary. My lifestyle is not what I expected it would be when I reached this income level!

But didn't she do her research into:

How much debt she would get into

Versus how much she would earn?

I wouldn't do a medical degree as its a very long time studying and the pay is not great

I think lots people brought houses thinking interest rates wouldn't go up. When we brought our house 5% to 6% was pretty standard mortgage interest rate. Then years of being lulled into low rates thinking they would never increase

Are you an Architect?

You know, I want to sympathise with anyone who says they are struggling but this seems like such a high salary compared to mortgage. Would you do a breakdown of your outgoings please?

Sorry this message was wrong

Do you have to own your own house Op?

It can be very hard to do as a single person.

Western european society sells us the idea that we should be owning a house. once we are over 30.

In a lot of other countries, people rent for their whole lives

I bought a house in my mid thirties by myself, and it wasnt the right move for me.

Owning a house was crippling me.

I decided to sell the house.

I moved back into shared rented accommodation, and I feel much better off financially and I also feel much happier

Owning a house wasn't for me

I earn 63k and can’t even afford a property until I can move out of the south east in 2yrs when youngest DD goes to Uni. I’m 47 and it’s pretty depressing I’ll be paying a mortgage until retirement. It’s hard on your own, I earn a good wage and I’ve been on benefits as I was a teen mum so I’ve seen both sides and it’s frustrating when you work hard and don’t see much for it

I think a SENIOR public sector solicitor. Or senior solicitor in the region.

I think doctor

can you not get 5x your salary? That would be around £330K so can get a property in London or are you looking for a house? And maybe your childcare outgoings disadvantage you when it comes to affordability calculator. Sorry to hear.

Probably the 7 years of studying. Guessing it was might have been something like medicine or laws

@fedippp my mortgage company is offering mortgages to the date of predicted retirement. Why not extend current deal to 35 years or so, and build up a cushion?

It would change it if it is was a loan for a post graduate study or masters. That wouldn’t be an income dependent loan.

I can borrow 280k max so with my 40k deposit I can buy for 325 absolute max, but that is 50% of my take home pay, and would buy me a 2bed flat. At the moment I’m sleeping on the sofa bed when DS2 is home from Uni as I’m renting a 2 bed flat. I want a place big enough for my 3 kids to stay (youngest 16 so all be adults soon). If I go back north I’m going to be able to buy for much less than 325 and get a house not a flat.