What is your household income, how much is benefits, and how are you coping?

[Gabrilla]

Genuinely curious after so many threads on here about benefit changes. Please feel free to name change!

I’ll start:

Salaries for both of us total 90k. Only benefits are £102 month child benefit, though we also get tax-free childcare and 15hrs free at nursery.

Total income is about 6k a month, mortgage and bills 3k, nursery 1k, commuting costs £500, groceries cost £500, husband pays CMS and other bits to his children totalling about £500 leaving us about £500 for everything else.

Feels like we’re constantly penny-pinching.

A penny pinching thread at 90k income never goes down well

Oh OP. I would be standing by for a bashing. 90K ( plus STILL being able to get child benefit) is not going to get you ANY sympathy here!!

If both are under the high income threshold they can easily get child benefit

Not looking for sympathy, but I’d have expected a better lifestyle on 90k.

We get by but can’t afford holidays or to get my hair dyed at a salon. MOT months are very stressful (car is seven years old). Clothes are mostly second hand from Vinted.

To be fair to the op here, she isn't saying that the income she has is a problem - it looks like her outgoings are huge. Nursery fees plus CMS plus commuting.. I'm guessing the mortgage is pretty hefty too at a combined £3k for that plus bills.

We're on a similar combined income and don't have anywhere near those outgoings and feel very well off.

I’m in Ireland. Single parent. I rent and it’s quite a bit.
my salary is 50k
child benefit is 280 per month
i also get 40 per week from our benefits but I’m assuming as my salary has increased that this will stop in October when it is due for renewal
I don’t feel like I’m penny pinching but i watch my money, I save a bit but it gets used eventually like this month my car broke down 🤦🏻‍♀️ anyway it could be worse, we’re not cold or hungry and we don’t go without.

10k disabled mother on legacy benefits no money for my son, only child benefit. I don't really cope just exist. Get child benefit just pays for fresh fruit, bead, cheese milk. Birthday Friday doing nothing can't afford it........last job 50k a year. Husband separated earns high wage but not as high as yours, he gets nappies, takes son out etc.

Kindly - I would delete your post! This is going to attract a lot of unpleasant posts.

Oh. Really? Why would you have a 'better lifestyle' when you have made choices that result in large outgoings?

yes i know that, but one household income over 80k can't, really rubbish system for lots.

( i don't get a penny in benefits so it' s not about me , rather how everyone will respond!)

Bit less than OP, child benefit and DLA come to about 5k a year, and we're fine. I'm keenly aware how much of that is luck though. That our child's condition hasn't prevented one of us from working. The DLA doesn't cover the costs!

Income of £120k, combined rent and bills £3000 a month zero benefits.

Your mortgage/ bills are high so I assume you live in an expensive area, as are your commuting costs.
But your husband has multiple children, living in at least two households ( guessing here) , so that is going to cut into your lifestyle

Not judging here, but the reality is you have significant outgoings, so until the DC are grown, it’s going to be expensive.

But is not as if you can't see where your money is going

At a time when you don't pay childcare/CMS you will be 1500 a month better off. That should sort your haircuts out.

Life is tough at this stage but it's no different to the choices that everyone else has made and has got to endure.

Wages, plus benefits, cms etc my income is £2100. No childcare costs (teenager) but I do have a rather large monthly bill for extra curricular approx £200. Bills £600 a month (home owned outright) food approx £400. I manage to treat us and build savings

You have to cut your cloth. It's always been that way unless you have inherited wealth or a big salary. Neither of which I, sadly, have.

I'm single, take home under half of what you do. No benefits. Mortgage + bills takes up pretty much all of it. Haven't been on holiday since 2018 and have to save up to do things like go to the theatre. It's shit but what can you do? At least once you've stopped paying childcare your disposable income will massively increase.

Our household income is approximately £80k.

We pay £3k a month in bills - that’s the total including household and personal bills such as car payments and credit cards etc.

My stepson gets DLA that is halved with his mum, we don’t touch it and save it up for things for him.

Each month we have circa £2k left, after food we’re looking at about £1500 disposable income. Which we dispose of in various ways!

Looking at your list - nursery and commuting are your “issues,” but having £500 left after you’ve paid to house and feed everyone also isn’t bad going in this climate.

I'm on £46k plus £1,300pa child benefit. Single parent, working full time.

Out of that I pay my mortgage, all bills, support my ds16. My ex contributes about £160 a month.

DS won a 50% scholarship to a private school so I also pay his school fees. (What was I supposed to do, say No after he had won it?) Money is tight as a result. My last evening out was the works Christmas party.

The only reason ds is still at his school, after Labour's VAT on fees raid, is I was made redundant last August, received a payoff, then managed to find another role very quickly. My payoff will cover the VAT plus increase in fees. DS's lower sixth so we have 4 terms to go. We're hanging in there, just. I won't let Labour disrupt his A'levels

I recognise we are financially secure and very lucky compared to others.

I'll manage a week's holiday this summer and to get my highlights done in a salon. OP, I think you need to decide on your priorities

Income nearly 1500 a month. Rent 850. Other bills around 150. Storage fees approx 280. Cat food around 20. The rest is all mine. For everything. HTH.

Looks round thread. Ah, sorry, I'm in the wrong class. I do beg your pardon. Tugs forelock and backs out.

Our “luxury” is DH’s children, really. We have to stay in an expensive area to be close to them, we have to pay CMS, we have to have a big enough house and car for them. We can’t cut back on any of their costs so here we are.

I guess a few years ago I’d have thought our salaries would mean having a far higher quality of life.

I sympathise. When you have to pay full living costs (no subsidised rents or council tax reduction for example) you aren’t entitled to 85% off your childcare bill, well when you frankly aren’t entitled to sod all, it isn’t surprising that you have to penny pinch on this salary due to high taxation and cost of living. This country isn’t a very desirable place at the moment.

3000 on mortgage and bills on an income of 90k is really high 😳 we are on similar income and but our mortgage is only 1100 - no way we could afford that much! No wonder you don’t have much money left.

Sorry but something is off here. £90k and you can only afford second hand clothes from Vinted??

We earn just under £100k between us (roughly £5,800 a month net) no benefits or childcare costs, mortgage and all bills £2k, fuel £500, CMS and dog sitter £500, food shopping for us and dogs between £500 and £700. So left with about £2k for everything else.

It sounds like your mortgage is unaffordable to be honest. £3k for mortgage and bills would suggest your mortgage is at least £2k which is where the problem is.