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.

Both on minimum wage, cash poor, but we do have assets that bring in some extra income (the equivalent of a third wage, which is a bit more than the equivalent of a minimum wage). We have no debt and no mortgage, so our monthly costs are usually well within budget, and if we sold our assets we'd be doing pretty well for ourselves until retirement.
Grow much of our own food, herbs, with a small orchard and chickens.

Genuinely curious, will you be able to get work that uses your biology degree after you get it if you're forced to work around someone's shifts?

After reading this, I’m so glad we live in the north where it’s ridiculously cheaper. Our income is nowhere near yours and it seems we are much better off!

Our take home pay is about £3.5k per month and all our outgoings are less than £2k per month (including all regular bills, mortgage and food) We get about £170 per month child benefit. We go on one uk holiday per year. We only claim child benefit.

We live quite comfortably on a lot less than you op, but our mortgage presumably a lot lower (small 3 bed in a cheap area, to be honest id rather have the cash than a high mortgage) and we've no nursery expenses, commuting costs or cms.

You say you don't resent your SC but every single post comes across as you absolutely resent the money your DH pays for them! Even blaming the eldest SC for DH having to take a reduced salary. At least you have the self-reflection to admit you are poorer because you decided to marry a man with previous children and then both decided to have DC. If you live in an expensive area neither of you are earning particularly highly, so understandably you aren't well off.

It's nothing to do with what another family earns. The incentive from the government to stop people sitting at home claiming benefits and not working is to top up their income. Awarding 45p in UC for every £1 earned. That's where the phrase 'pays to work' comes in.

I have no experience of the Scottish child payment or why it isn't means tested, so can't really comment on that because in England you wouldn't be getting that sort of 'take home'.

To be completely honest, if someone is out working, I don't care if they're a bin man or an astronaut, I want them all to be able to live to a comfortable standard.

Your mortgage and bills are high in my opinion

That's understandable and entirely your choice just as this is ours :)

you do have options to cut costs. Get rid of your car completely as it seems it’s a luxury you can’t afford, irrespective of your high income.

You will be saving £1000 a month when nursery is no longer required - hang on in there.

So you are hit with a triple whammy - only one basic tax threshold, 40% tax on part of your income and no child benefit.

Can’t do that as I use it to commute to work? We need a seven seater for any trips as a family.

Unless you are planning to send your children to private school this is probably the most expensive time. Childcare costs are a big outgoing which disappear when they start school. Life gets better but living well within your means pays big dividends when you reach retirement. Very few people plan for the future nowadays. Once you get past the “expensive” stage don’t waste money keeping up. Invest in pensions so you can enjoy a comfortable retirement believe me it’s worth it.

Having lived a fairly frugal life and made some good financial decisions we are now retired ( late 50s) and have a monthly income after tax of £4k+. I still work 1 day a week to support DS through uni. I chose a career that is well paid. We didn’t have to adjust to a lower income because we had a plan which included investing surplus income in pensions rather than spending it on stuff we didn’t need.

The option of early retirement was a blessing after both DH and I suffered health problems. It could have been so different.

Worrying about money at your stage in life is normal but maybe worry about the real problems rather than the luxuries. Make sure you have adequate life insurance and a good longterm plan. There is nothing wrong with buying second hand or making do. It’s not a new concept. Rather than buying on credit save the money up until you can afford to buy new. By the time you have the funds you may have changed your mind and have found something else you want.

Always have enough in your savings to replace essentials like a central heating boiler, they always break down when you least expect. We have various small accounts that we use for just in case. For the cost of a couple of coffees a week you can save £500 a year. Add in a weekly takeaway and a couple of bottles of wine and you can save £2-3k a year.

I come from a generation where there was no access to credit so you couldn’t buy anything until you had the money. I remember applying for my first credit card. I now never use the credit, paying the balance off every month. I make money this way by collecting the rewards. It’s not much but allows me to treat myself every few months without feeling guilty.

I bulk buy when our regular food and household items are on offer. I suppose we have never adopted the instant gratification lifestyle. And I often talk myself out of buying stuff I don’t need. I love Vinted and since DS has expensive tastes in clothing it is a godsend. He is now a big fan of vintage clothing and has appropriated a lot of his dad’s old clothes. I’ve just bought some sliders off Vinted. They are a style of Fitflops that were discontinued. I bought a pair several years ago but the dog ate one and I was so excited to find an almost brand new pair to replace them.

If she can’t get to work there won’t be an income.

This!
And you’ll be accustomed to it so you will be able to put a decent wedge of it away in savings 😊

Seems you’ve got reasons for living above your means in every area. I don’t see the purpose of this post.

She answered the question.

Household income is just shy of £200K. I haven’t gone back to work after (still a toddler) DC, or it would be higher. No benefits, obviously.

We’re fine. We live in an expensive bit of London and have a high mortgage/high living costs, so aren’t exactly swimming in it. But, we can afford to do what we want, when we want and have a decent investment portfolio and good pensions.

I’m never sure whether to post on threads like this, as I’m not sure if anyone finds the above helpful.

Where do you get that stat from? I am not disputing btw, just interested how you know, is there a website?

Take home earnings are £1.5k per month. Single mum to two I am still supporting so CB for them. Managing bills ok but no luxuries or assets.

Despised Boomer here who has not had the decency to die yet. I have £1.5k a month made up of my state pension and a small NHS pension, I still pay income tax but my mortgage is paid off. I worked two jobs as a single parent to manage so please don't hate me. I pay £130 a month council tax on my Band A house, £54 water, £130 gas and electricity, about £120 on food though I am finding my bill rises all the time, house insurance and Broadband have just gone up again, shopping around makes minimal difference as it is all much of muchness these days. Holidays are unaffordable and I now socialise far less as it all costs so much. Glad I am old and at the end of my life as there doesn't seem to be any light on the horizon. I had not envisaged my retirement being like this, but the COL hit just after I stopped working. Am loathe to touch my savings for day to day living but can see that happening soon. I feel very worried for young people as things are so tough

@Angrymum22 good post. We have private school fees that we didn’t plan for our SEN child who was so distraught by state school violence that if was private or me stopping work to home school. High unexpected cost. I cheer myself up with the thought that’s it’s the same cost as having a child in a London nursery. And we had no choice whatsoever. I am grateful for the privilege of having the money to protect my child’s mental health like that.

160k combined income (DH full time, me part time).

Approx 9k a month after tax, no mortgage, £800 ish for nursery (will increase in Sept when DC2 starts & we will also have before and after school clubs) about £400 for groceries, £320 for council tax, £120 gas/elec/water, £200 for phones, TV & internet.

We eat out a fair bit and like our holidays, but we’re frugal with things like cars and clothes. Probably save about 4 - 4.5k per month on average.

There is somewhere. ONS or IFS websites maybe? It takes into account your income less your expenses, and 4 children are assumed to be expensive.

I am just stunned when I read about incomes of that level, what does someone do to earn that amount of money? That is significantly more that the PM! I don't know anyone who earns anywhere close to that even couples who combine both salaries.