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.

I genuinely hope we never get to a position where the amount our mortgage costs seems as low as two hundred and odd quid does to us now.

I think people often don’t realise just how much higher earners have to pay out without getting anything in return.

I earn a decent salary so have never received a penny in benefits other than 15 hours funded nursery for just over a year as that is universally available to all. I don’t qualify for child benefit, tax free childcare or any other benefits.

I do however pay income tax rates of up to 60% as I receive no personal allowance. I also have no allowance for tax free interest on savings outside of ISAs meaning I lose 45% of all interest earned.

I once received a £20k bonus and didn’t benefit by a single penny due to sky high marginal tax rates plus loss of nursery funded hours and tax free childcare.

I’m not after sympathy but people need to appreciate that many of those who are bankrolling the majority are being forced into situations where it really isn’t worth earning more and in fact in many cases makes sense to earn less.

It’s a ridiculous system that does that and if it doesn’t change the pressure on those relying on benefits will get a whole lot worse. If I earn a 20k bonus I’d accept keeping 10k and giving 10k to claimants however the system required me to give it all to claimants. Why would I bother to earn it under such circumstances?

It’s so degrading watching people saying they’re struggling on £6k a month. Firstly you own your home, you're not poor. Secondly mortgage and bills at £3k, you likely have a lovely home and what have nice car payments or top of the range phones etc? Most people have to have less than £3k for EVERYTHING.

At least it's on your radar and you know you'll need to sort it as a priority when funds allow.

I mean, he’s on 45k, that’s 50% higher than the average salary. But he doesn’t get any of the child related benefits as his ex is the resident parent (4 nights vs 3 each week).

Kindly, you are ignoring a lot of facts like the cost of housing in some areas. They don't own a home- it's mortgaged.
You know nothing about the age or type of car or their phones.

Because I claim for help with my living expenses after being left to raise four children when my husband had an affair? Possibly. I don't think I can take responsibility for the country's economy, but happy to shoulder my portion.

If I could have access to cheaper housing, I could pay my own way. But as it is, I'm stuck.

I also don’t get the sneering at high earners given they bankroll the government spending people are demanding more of.

Agree, if it wasn’t for SC we would leave the country and be paid far more elsewhere.

He's not on anything like 50% higher.

ONS

Median gross annual earnings for full-time employees were £37,430 in April 2024, compared with £35,004 in April 2023, an increase of 6.9%.29 Oct 2024

Don’t marry someone with children if you resent having to pay for those children. Him paying to his children is not a luxury, it’s a standard of living.

75k, take home after pensions is 4k. Single adult with young adult DC (1 still at home). Bills come to about 2k, food about £500. I'm in a much better positon now than I ever have been, but that is because my DC are older and I've progressed in my career as they became less dependent on me.

Sounds like he needs to work a bit harder to support all his children. That's not a high income for 3+ kids at all. Perhaps he can seek a promotion, or a second job on the days he doesn't have his kids?

I wish I lived somewhere the housing was that cheap! I would have to retrain and shift industry though.

Just totted my money in and money out up.

(Single, live alone with 2 cats)

Money in:

Income based ESA support group £12,500 per year
PIP Enhanced Daily Living and Enhanced Mobility £9,500 per year

Total money in (all from benefits) £22,000 per year.

Money out:

Gas, electric water rates, council tax, shopping, tobacco, tv licence, House insurance, Amazon Prime, life insurance, appliance insurance, cleaner, home phone, mobile, internet. No mortgage or rent as own house outright.

Total money out (all above list) £11,400 per year.

Which leaves £10,600 a year (£880 a month, £200 a week) for everything else.

Plus I have around £380,000 in a Trust that doesn't affect my income based ESA as it was a Criminal injuries Compensation Award from the government.

However before this version of my life when I was well, non disabled and working I was on £50,000 a year back in 2005 in a job that came with private health insurance, company car and company credit card and stays in very nice hotels paid for by my employer. I would give everything to be that person again, but it's never going to happen.

I don’t think she resents it. She’s just acknowledging it.

This is mine right now, I’ve just had a promotion but not been paid yet but my budget up to now is
Wages-2750
CB-280
Benefits-177

Total: 3,207

Rent 1400
Electricity 120
Life insurance 40
Internet/tv/2 phones 86
Bin charge 23
Apple 20
Disney 10
DS club 25

Total 1,724
Leftover 1,483

1483 goes to
300 food
240 fuel
200 savings
50 kids clubs/school trips etc
100 treats/coffees/takeaways
100 clothes/shoes
50 birthdays/gifts
50 prescriptions/medicines
150 holidays/trips (either as a payment off a booking or as savings)
I know this essentially leaves over 243 but it gets eaten up somewhere usually and if not it’s put into savings.

Fair enough, I thought it was 30k.

Still, when we met he was on 60k. I (wrongly) assumed he could afford to pay for his DC from his salary without me needing to supplement it then.

I would caution my friends against getting together with single parents. I don’t resent SC themselves, we all get on very well, but it’d be amazing to be able to afford a weekend away once a year.

I understand where you are coming from, I think things are tough for younger people/families and those not on the housing ladder. When I look at the cost of houses and mortgages now its is hard to see how a lot can get started.

Our household income is about £75k, but that has only been that high for the last couple of years.

If I had household income of 90K I would feel pretty well off, BUT i bought my house 18 years ago and have pretty much paid my mortgage off...kids are grown up and no particular child related expenses.

When I bought it I was a single parent and on a part time wage - the interest rate was about 5% and my repayments felt high at the time of about £530 per month but have gone as low as £300ish. Its nothing fancy (3 bed terrace) but I have a colleague who has just bought a similar house and her mortage payments are over £1k, I just can't imagine having to pay that much!

I'm making myself sound ancient now but when I first went back to work after maternity leave I pretty much paid all my wages in nursery fees, even back then, however my partner at the time earned say £30k and our house cost £50k - the difference between wages and housing costs are massively different now.

Once your kids are older and at school things will get easier - financially, these are probably the toughest years of your life!

My household income is 3150 per month , plus child benefit for 1 child. I support 3 children on that - one is a university student on a full loan, one is an 18 year old NEET and one is still at school. I have a mortgage, but no childcare costs. I feel I have plenty. I don't watch what I'm buying at the supermarket and I always have money left at the end of the month. I don't drink, smoke or eat out and I don't shop for clothes etc for pleasure, but other than that I don't really restrict myself.

90k and thinking you are on the bread-line isn't going to go down well. You are well-off and if you are penny-pinching you are budgeting badly and need to go through your spend with a fine tooth comb.

I understood your post to be an explanation for outgoings that could not be cut back on, an explanation as to why you can’t move to a smaller house with a smaller mortgage and why you can’t move to another area to get a cheaper house.

That really shows how much harder it is to be single… I don’t earn far off your household income (£80k) but that equates to 4.5k a month for a single salary and I don’t qualify for child benefit.

She didn’t say it put her on the breadline.

Its all relative; we couldn’t afford any date nights when out DC were babies. In 5 years things will free up, you’re at the most expensive point in your life. Enjoy the decisions you made because they won’t be around for ever (I mean the SC).