40 grand a year

[Howmanytimeshasshesaidimnotgonnalie]

Would you consider this a good wage?

Could you live on it fairly comfortably?

Two adults, one dc and dog, South west, renting

They...they don't think about any of that - we're not real ppl you see.

This thread really is nauseating.

Our mortgage is 12k a year and our childcare bill is another 12k, then bills, food, cars, clothes, London commute.... if that was our household income then one of us would have to give up work to cut out the childcare bill and move to a cheaper house I guess. We are in the south east.

It’s the rent I have to try to get right down

I don't even own a drier (or a dishwasher or microwave). So you burning cash on drying clothes etc is a luxury to me. It's about priorities - yours are different to mine.

A three bed house isn’t that modest if there’s only one couple living there. Even if you work from home.

But everyone has different priorities. I live in a very safe, albeit dull area in the catchment for an outstanding secondary school. If I moved across town, I could have an spare bedroom, a bigger garden and lower council tax.

At what point did I use the word skint?

There are residency rules you would have to meet. How long have you lived elsewhere?

Now that's sensible, same here, no drier or dishwasher, both very power hungry. I do have a microwave though.

If you've calculated correctly and it's £40k after tax, then it's possible, but you would really have to budget and probably won't have enough for saving a decent amount.

Since your coming from abroad, be prepared for other bills such as council tax (amount depends on the council and property- we pay £200 for a tiny 2 bed flat), car tax/insurance/MOT/fuel if ypu plan on driving. Public transport is pricey, especially trains. Food and household cleaning products are expensive, realistically its probably £400 min a month for a well thought out meal planned food shop for 2 adults.

Don't forget about any pension deductions. I believe all employees in the UK now automatically have a percentage of their salary taken for a pension, and you need to opt out of you don't want to contribute.

have you tried asking your family about bills in the UK rather than mumsnet? Also you need to be really clear that its 40K AFTER TAX. that's quite different to a salary of 40K. I'd update your original post as you're not being very clear at all.

Oh seriously get a grip. You earn a lot more than average. Things have got a lot more expensive of late so unsurprising it’s noticeable to you but people being worse off than you is not just priorities. We earn less than double that net and manage to cover thee cost of both holidays & appliances. The appliances cost very very little vs the holidays

I retired recently but I never earned as much as 40k a year in my whole life, so I'd have to say it is a decent wage!

Rent in Cornwall, especially anywhere coastal, is way of control vs wages, and it's not getting better. Unfortunately you have to factor in that it's not unusual for landlords to switch to Airbnb here & turf tenants out - so security is quite low. House prices, to buy, are outrageous, there's no other way of saying it.

Public transport where you're looking to be is about as good as it gets down here so long as you aren't in one of the small villages, but a car is a necessity, not a luxury.

Water rates are highest in the country - so much so that we all get £50 off our bills a year from the government & we are STILL significantly more expensive than anywhere else.
Fuel costs are markedly more expensive than up-country.
We've one major hospital for the entire county that is never not on its knees.
The population doubles over the summer months & travelling around then is a nightmare.
There. Are. No. Dentists.

BUT - the crime rates are embarrassingly low, the air quality is fantastic & the wellbeing is second to none despite the fact most of us are skint most of the time :)

We also have our own weather system here, that's always fun.

You'll manage on whatever your income is if this is what you really want to do. We manage on less than your projected with 3 kids (2 resident), 3 dogs & 2 cat but our mortgage is a 3rd of that rent.

I haven't denied people earn less, however the question was about being comfortable.
I live without appliances you rely on as my kitchen is too small for them, but you claim I need to get ta grip when you clearly have space for a dishwasher AND a drier.
Maybe you need to get a grip about your privilege

When we relocated we went basic until we got the lay of the land, jobs etc.

2 bed terrace, 600 pcm. No car, found somewhere commutable. Bills another £500.

don’t forget you’ll have your rental income as well- what will your house rent for?

So you burning cash on drying clothes etc is a luxury to me. It's about priorities

Just to make it clear this is the comment that’s caused me to say you need to get a grip. Nothing to do with the original post but a ridiculous suggestion from you that you can go on holidays due to “different priorities” than someone running a dryer. It’s utter rubbish. You can go on holidays because you have got the money for it because you earn a lot more than average. We do too but I’m well aware we are fortunate to do so. Seems you are also talking utter bollocks generally as you previously didn’t burn cash on the luxury of a dryer but apparently now don’t have room for one (by the way you absolutely do unless you are operating without a washing machine as well since you could get an integrated one like ours)

How utterly absurd, unaware and self important you are. Don't even pretend you've caught me out with your "utter bollocks" statement. I don't burn cash on a drier as we didn't prioritise a drier as they are absurdly expensive, I'd rather spend money elsewhere and we lacked space. If you are offering to remodel my kitchen, go ahead, I'd be delighted (although feel you'd have atrocious taste)

Honestly please keep going with this nonsense as this is hilarious.

As others have already said, I think it's all relative/subjective, because "good" and "comfortable" mean different things to different people... I guess the key thing is probably to figure out what those things mean to you and then figure out a plan to achieve (or perhaps mitigate current circumstances) if not within reach already.

Totally do-able. May be a bit hard to save for emergencies and camping only holidays but should be fine.

It really isn’t worth as I’m not about to change my mind that the cost of running white goods is anything like the equivalent of going on holiday several times a year because it just really, really isn’t. If you genuinely think it is and it’s just about priorities then we can agree to disagree.

Depends. Is that 40k after tax? Depends on your outgoings really. If kids in school and don’t do clubs then that 3.3k a month. How much do you spend on rent/food? There probably wouldn’t be much left for fun after that. So yes you can survive but really depends on your outlook on life on what needs to be spent on?

🍪

for me , yes certainly

Until my partner moved in I was supporting myself and two kids on that before tax, but I own and my mortgage is £1,000 less a month than you’re looking at for rent. So think I would really have had to cut back in your situation. It’s very hard finding places to rent in Cornwall, I feel for you. Places like Camborne and Redruth which are inland are cheaper.

We don't earn as much as that and get by fine. Larger family too. I really don't understand people who say they are struggling when they are on £40k plus. What the hell are you spending money on, especially once your child is in school.