To think people who live paycheck to paycheck on high salaries are just bad with money?

[QuirkyOchreOP]

If you’re making £50k+ and still struggling, isn’t that just a budgeting issue?

The latter won't get "loads" of UC you get less the more you earn I'm on 30k and the UC is only 60 a month, you really think that brings one up to the same level as someone on 50k?

Did that poster even say she was part time, to work part time enough to get generous benefits you'd have to be earning less than 15k. Even the free school meals you need to earn less than 7k. People on this website seem to think everyone on less than 50k is getting loads of free shit and extra money. The op is right that most of you just can't budget someone even mentioned their 3k mortgage, just move to a smaller house!

Yes, I agree. My point was just that answering the question needs to involve identifying the necessities of a comfortable life, as you are trying to do here, and not just saying "it depends on your outgoings" and "people with bigger incomes tend to have higher outgoings". You can't just say someone isn't "comfortable" because they lack some unimaginable luxury, even if a majority of their peers at their income level have that luxury.

In Scotland the higher tax rate starts at £43,663 and is 42% not 40% as in England. Then the 45% rate starts at £75k. They need lots of money though as they are such a wasteful government.

£50k is around £3k net a month. If you have a mortgage / rent, bills, childcare fees, a car to run (fuel, insurance etc)... that can easily be £2k plus. Not including food, socialising, saving...

Unfortunately, I’m all to aware of our 45% tax rate. I’d be £3k better off a year if I still lived in the south. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be happy about it if I could see it being used but the local hospital has just been closed, the mental health services have just been reduced, the rural library services have been stopped, the transport to the local schools is practically non existent, the councils are going bust and the crime rate is spiralling. Just to clarify, my son isn’t entitled to free uni as we used to live in England.

I think when young sharing a room is fine

Then as they get older you don't have childcare costs so could afford to size up to one room per child

So that's a red herring in a way ?

It depends on what you mean by bad with money. If you have high outgoings some could be unnecessary (overly large car payment, very expensive gym membership, lots of shopping) but some could just be life (mortgage payments going up etc).

Could they downsize/move to a cheaper area/buy a second hand car outright? Yeah probably. And that's what I would do on £50k but I'm used to living on £33k for a family of four so I have to be good with money. For people who've never had such high outgoings to suddenly get them they can't just get out of contracts etc when their outgoings get too high.

I get you OP because sometimes I think 'how the hell am I managing on x amount but they can't manage on x amount with less y to pay for' but it really is a grey area. Some are bad with money, some aren't.

I’m on 39k net. But I’m single with three kids, high rent and high childcare costs. So I find it really hard to make ends meet. I’m just about doing the bills and not much else.

Lol I live quite comfortably on 16k.

Can you do a breakdown of your rent/mortgage and bills please?

Which is OP's point - live within your means.

I will bite. It depends on likely salary increases. £50k is a new grad salary in my industry. I can easily see how a couple in London each earning a lot more than £50k 3-4 years into their careers could easily spend most of what they earn on nursery or nanny, large mortgage etc. But it s an investment to keep both their careers going not poor money management. By their mid 30s they will be on a lot more money and can start to save / invest substantial amounts.

Jointly on £50k... I appreciate I glossed over it as it was tricky to explain- I am on £47k basic but bonuses are common and can give me an extra £3k a year. My husband had a period of retraining to change career (film can be a brutal industry long term!) and then a 6 month unemployment so we've been topped up with some part time ad hoc work he picked up, but this was only a few extra thousand last year. So the last year we probably had something like £54k total combined.

Things are looking up though as my husband has just started a £25k role/ one year contract and we are expecting the first paycheck from that later this month. I'm hoping we will have some more breathing space this year! The insecurity in my husbands paychecks have been really hard to budget, but he has also hugely stepped up on the childcare/ school runs/ housework and helped me to grow my career. I feel I've benefited from him taking on a lead caregiver role in many respects.

Cars are great. People on 12k a year have as much need as those on 50K. So they go for cheap insurance group, if there is a financial/practical need for one. Socialising and savings means that you've chosen to spend your money on those things. Someone on 20K has to live with less of both and might do without completely. When my eldest has said she's skint, I have, at times, said, well yes, you've spent the money you've earned. She used to do nails, botox, designer clothes. They go on good holidays. They do spend out on decent meat. It doesn't compare to the lower WC who are being told to be happy they can just about cover essential bills and hope that there's free community provision for their children. Deciding on a set amount to put into savings and pensions, is still a choice on what your money is being used for. It's surprising how many thick people earn well.

£50k plus is a high salary?

Whut?

Really depends on location. On that much I could not afford to live alone in London. Birmingham however - no problem.

That’s a fantastic new grad salary. I clearly am in the wrong industry!

One of the most sensible things you can do is to avoid lifestyle creep.

My rule is that when I get a salary increase, I take two months of the increase to enjoy it all. I buy some quality items that will last (like shoes or towels). Then after two months, 10-25% of the increase gets added to my monthly expenses budget, and the remainder is added to savings.

I'm happy with my expenditure at the moment, so I just put the whole extra to savings or pension.

Nevertheless 50k is high and substantially more than the median and milllions live in expensive cities on way less

But a lot of people will be on a higher household
income than that once two salaries are combined.

Point is you cannot just say it’s a “high salary and anybody struggling on that has poor money management”.

It depends on a lot of factors.

Oh totally agree with the point that one 50 is less than 2 averages

It's called the middle class trap. Many people live to their income and simply finance and mortgage, holiday and spend it away. I'd say it's really common for people of all salaries not to have spare.

I'm not bad with money. I do save and budget, but truly £50k in the SE as a single parent really does not go far.

@Hummingbird445566

But some of these outgoings are choices and are luxuries you can make given your higher wage, not essential. If you were on a lower wage you wouldn't be able to afford them or have the luxury of being able to decide to support your children in that manner or pay a huge amount for two cars.

Of course. As I said, we lived in a 2 bed flat before my father died, because that is what we could afford. Same mortgage. And the world didn't end.

Holidays were (still are) camping. No car. DD had extras via Scouts and Church youth groups.

It's perfectly doable for less than £50000pa, but you do need to give up extras.

A single parent on 50k with young children and no free childcare isn't being reckless with money

They will struggle to make ends meet

If you are in this situation please don't feel a failure or guilty because some people think otherwise