To struggle on this salary?

[Unfff]

Or more to the point… think it’s just not worth the hard work anymore?

Had enough. I earn 3,100 a month. My mortgage is 900 and car finance 300. Student loans 300. Nursery is 800 and I get 400 child maintenance. By the time I’ve paid bills… this months heating was 150! Water another 50. Phone bill and Netflix… I’m left with barely anything. My job is really full on and I work late or weekends often… I do t strictly have to but it’s the sort of job where you just do… otherwise things fall apart.

I don’t do expensive things. Can’t actually remember last time I went on holiday! AIBU to find it utterly miserable that taking home this much money means you still can’t just buy a coat or even new jumper etc without having to think twice?!

I agree with you, your life should be comfortable on the money you’re on. I do not understand at all how you’re not living comfortably on that amount of money per month with the size of household you have. I believe that’s because you’re mismanaging your money, and I’ve made suggestions of how to manage your money better. Because if we were bringing in the money you are, with our 5 person household we would have a lot of spare money. If we were on that money with only 1 adult and 1 child, I’d be very very well off and living very very well.
so I am agreeing with you, you have a high income and a small household, you should be living very comfortably. That’s the entire point I’m making.

@saffy2 I could suggest that if you can't afford heating and keeping your kids warm you shouldn't have had a third child. You chose another child, OP chooses netflix and heating. 🤷 Maybe give it a rest?

My kids are fine 😂👍🏼 im not the one complaining I’ve got no money 🤷🏽‍♀️ we have a really good life 👌🏼 I’m on maternity leave, this isn’t our normal circumstances and
after realising how easy it is to
keep people warm without using the heating Willy nilly during the cost
of living crisis, now i do that until it’s too cold to do that. It’s not that cold yet 🤷🏽‍♀️😂
we didn’t even have central heating when I was a kid…it’s not the be all and end all you know 🤦🏽‍♀️

Yeah I am aware of that. I didn't have central heating for 30 plus years. We had a gas fire. You live in London don't you? I like in the North of England. It is cold up here.

I think it really depends on your house/flat etc. Normal house, I'm paying between 360-400+ per month for gas and electricity, family of 5

Now you're being ridiculous OP. Without a degree you'd likely be stuck in an entry level job. Stuck renting because you wouldn't be able to afford to buy. I'm genuinely confused about why you think you're so hard done by - your salary allows to you pay your mortgage and bills, feed and clothe your child, and drive a (presumably) new car. So you have to think about whether you can afford a new coat? So what? We all do that (well, pretty sure most of us do).

A good life isn’t not being able to put on the heating on in late November while spending £4.99 on Netflix. Even if it’s temporary, it’s a very interesting choice to make!

I don't understand the weird bragging about sitting in a freezing cold house. It's unhealthy and will cause problems that might cost tens of thousands to repair - e.g. damp, woodworm, black mould, wood rot, etc.

We run our heating 24x7 and our actual gas bill is £790 + standing charge of £110. That works out at an average of £66 a month. It's double what we were paying a few years ago, but it's hardly a crippling cost.

My heating system has a cost simulator and I could, apparently, save £18.50 sitting in a home that's only heated to 15°C. Fuck that shit.

People seem to have a weird understanding of how heating works - e.g. only heating a single room. If you do that, you'll turn the internal walls into cold 'outside' walls and lose heat from all sides. You might as well heat the entire house and only lose heat via the external walls. The cost difference will be negligible.

(3 bedroom 1930's semi with double glazing and 10cm loft insulation)

new bedding £500

You didn’t get that from Tesco I take it?

@saffy2 I get you are on Mat leave at the moment but surely when working /last winter you had the heating on for the kids you mind

That's the problem with high mortgage/rent, it takes a huge part of your income so a non negotiable, unless you can move.

Car lease seems to be typical now, I used to and still do try to buy a good one and pay off, but those 0pc interest rares rarely exist anymore. As with everything, few bargains seem to be available.

The support with childcae is good, but still high, this won't last forever once at school.

It comes down to just cutting back a bit in every area possible. Using community shops, buying second hand, lowest tv package deal, water metre etc, it all adds up. Still able to live comfortably on your salary with a few tweaks. Yes, many will agree it's a great income, it is, going on benefits wouldn't pay as much, plus pensions, opportunities for progression, self worth. Xx

I'm late to the party and risking everyone piling on me here, but @Unfff I think you have a really good point. I think it is perfectly understandable to occasionally have the hump about this!
I am in my early 40s and grew up in a household where my Mum barely worked whilst I was at primary school, only occasional very part time roles for "pocket money", my Dad was not a high-flyer and more like middle management. They had a mortgage on a very decent house, we went on overseas holidays when I was a child, then later they bought a (new) caravan, before upgrading to a holiday home in France. We didn't have the top end of everything, but did have lots of treats (takeaway once a week, decent food the rest of the time, regularly got new furniture / decorated the house). They ran two cars. They went to gigs, concerts, days at the races etc and entertained friends regularly. Nice bottles of wine etc were bought and consumed as a matter of course every week.
I EXPECTED THIS LIFE. I worked hard and ticked all of the boxes, went to uni, applied myself at work, got promotions etc. but I have nowhere near this life.

Wow. Never a truer comment on Mumsnet. You have hit the nail on the head of how lots of us feel. It's shit.

I get £1600 a month! I'd love to be on £3100

You need to write down everything your spending. Look at what your outgoings are, what you can cut, and really budget hard. Cancel anything that's not essential like netflix, write lists for shopping so you don't over buy.
Also don't forget you get child benefit which is over £100 now.
Also a single parent with very similar income and outgoings to you and I'm still saving about £500 a month.

unlikely on that wage, it is above average so I don’t think will be eligible for UC

Can I clarify, you mean £3100 before or after tax? For us, the childcare was the most expensive item (for two kids). When they started going to school, things literally change dramatically over night. I knew two women who stopped working from our office, as it was financially not worth it while the kids were in nursery. They started working again when the kids went to school. It looks bleak, but I have to say it is impressive that you do work and try your hardest for yourself and kid. The only thing I can say, when your kid goes into reception, you will see how much better finance will look like. The first years are the hardest, without doubt.

We swapped to netflix with ads

brave little soldier

This.

Check all expenditure. Money can add ip from takeaways, coffees, clothes, etc. Check where savings can be made.

Hi. Your student loan seems high per month. So I can only assume you have a post grad loan as well as undergrad. Because if you just have just an undergraduate loan you only pay the 9% on amount over £2274 per month in your salary. Which works out as £74 per month. Double check you are repaying the correct amount and if not get a refund on all the overpayments. If you have a postgrad loan though repayment kicks in at a lower salary at 6% excess on top of your undergrad loan. Still seems excessive ! Do not overpay a student loan , not worth it. It only lasts a fixed number if years then is written off! So no need
to overpay

I know what you mean, you want to see some tangible reward for the effort you're putting in, not just purely surviving.

I would begin by questioning why you're working quite so hard. Are you doing too much? You shouldn't really be working late into the evening on a regular basis.

It’s a salary of £47k if no pension taken off and is net. It’s a good salary.

If after food, insurance, gas and electric and other now essentials she has to budget for a trip to the hairdresser, yeah I can see why she’d be pee’d off.

i have no designer stuff, just a healthy amazon habit of £5/10/20 max items. I spend a lot. It is shocking how much on a monthly basis.

Life is now very expensive. My bf is on over £50k with a low-ish mortgage and lives hand to mouth half the month after loan payment. It’s very hard.

I've had similar earnings at one time and another and I'd never dream of spending 300 a month on a car.

You can get a decent secondhand car in decent condition that will last a good few years for not a huge sum of money, and the cost averages over the long term will be well under 100 per month.