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.

If that’s for one adult, you’ve got about the same left over as we do each. And we pay for cat food out of that!

Put it this way, my gross earnings last year were around £45k. I'm single, no kids, but also no mortgage. On the down side, as a self-employed person, clients tend to pay me as and when the spirit moves them. But I have nowhere near the lifestyle I would expect on that salary given my circumstances.

So I can see why a family on £90k with kids and more outgoings would not be living in the lap of luxury. You were still brave to start this thread though - and me for replying! 🔥🚒🧯.

My leftover covers my groceries sweetie. Just.

That’s a bit unfair. Isn’t your own child a “luxury,” because you did say the nursery fees are £1k?

I’m on a similar income to you, and don’t have childcare fees to pay - that money also comes out of your disposable income?

The mortgage is £1800, so yes, really high. But that’s how much a mortgage on a three bed house costs in our area. We can’t downsize or we’d have no room for SC and rent here would be comparable to the mortgage (SE).

Our “luxury” is DH’s children

Just your DHs children??? Not yours (that costs at least £1k a month in nursery fees??)

we have to have a big enough house and car for them

Um yeah that's kind of what you do when you have kids!!!!

Total monthly income is around £1800. Rent is £800. Council tax is £110. Debt management plan is £120.
Me and 2 teens so no childcare costs.

It's shit. I'm too ill to work but not ill enough for PIP/LCWRA.

My rent is incredibly cheap, and I'm constantly terrified that my landlord will put it up, despite his constant promise that he won't.

No. Absolutely not a luxury. His children were there first and are an essential responsibility. You don’t get to describe him simply being a half decent parent to children he fathered before you were even in the picture as some sort of “extra”.

If anything your choice to have further children knowing he already has existing financial commitments and responsibilities and thus incur nursery fees and a bigger car etc was a luxury.

True. Only four years until she’s at school!

It sounds like your shared children came after DHs children.

That makes your shared children the 'luxury'

You’ve chosen to have (at least) four children, that’s surely something that is an expensive choice.

Give it a rest with the "too sad to work" stuff.

Exactly this. No one forced you or him into this.

Joint 98
Take home after deductions and nursery salary sacrifice 4200.
Mortgage 1600
Other bills 600 including council tax, car insurance etc
Food shop 700ish including nappies, toiletries etc
One commute 260
Leaves 1k for all non essentials, yearly bills, luxuries, spending money, kids clothes, kids clubs, holidays, Christmas, visits to family etc.

It’s not an income that covers a bougie lifestyle like 2 week abroad holidays or fancy cars.

🔥 🔥

Husband earns 27k a year. UC about £200 a month. PIP of circa £550 a month.
We are ok at the moment but if my PIP goes we will struggle.

Single adult household of £60k
Benefits sweet FA
Mortgage £600 (I don't live in a cheap area but had equity from a previous property that was luckily bought before a big boom)
I really I don't feel any better off than when I earned half what I do now because everything else has gone up proportionally more so my pay rises are effectively a pay cut. I have savings and now pay more into my pension than I used to but I don't live a lifestyle that I would expect from that salary.

£26K ish (£33 pro rata)wage and sometimes an extra £2-300 from freelance work.

None, not entitled to anything unless single person's discount on council tax counts.

I'm not really. Always in overdraft by second week.

I put luxury in inverted commas, because obviously SC are not a luxury, but an essential responsibility. Ultimately having SC is the reason we can’t downsize, move areas, get a cheaper car, all the stuff that’s usually recommended to save money.

It is what it is, but I suppose people would assume we are doing well financially because of our salaries. And that’s not really true!

Oh OP, I hope you've got your hard hat on, this is not going to go well.

How on earth are your DH's children a "luxury" when he's only paying £500 CM for multiple children but childcare alone for your shared child is £1000??

Are you single and living alone though?

We have £1000 for everything including groceries, for six people - so actually less than you per person, despite a 91k household income.

I think we can all also accept that household bills don’t usually come to £3k unless you’ve got non-essential bills in there.

Ours are £3k - £1200 of that is rent (Cheshire) but the rest for the house make up another £300 maximum.

To get up to the £3k we’ve got a car on finance, we’ve got a second car that needs insuring, we’re got previous debt/cards that need paying off, 2 phone bills for newish iPhones - lots of things.

If we really wanted to, we could cut costs on things and live more frugally. That’s a fortunate place to be.

I think it’s disingenuous to live to your extended means, and then complain about it.

Particularly without acknowledging that your means are higher than others, and you are in a fortunate position.

The problem is supporting so many children really, isnt it? You chose to be with a man who already had children, you chose to have more.

Pre tax £120k

I had more disposable income as a student than I do now! More holidays, more expensive clothes. I got max loan, a scholarship and had a part time job.

Income is around the same as yours but our mortgage is less than half of what your paying. Other bills are roughly 300 a month. We have no childcare fees as child is in school, groceries between 300-500 a month depending on what we need. We have a good standard of living go on 2-4 holidays a year, are able to save and get work done on the house when needed.