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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think we CAN live on the mortgage

743 replies

JaneEyre40 · 28/05/2025 09:34

Advice please -

Couple - Earn £10,500 a month
Mortgage - 3,700 a month
Nursery - 1,000 a month

Considering all other possible outgoings, do you think we can afford this and not feel pressured each month. What am I not considering? We've done the spreadsheet but I'm still unsure.

We will have about £65,000 in savings at the beginning of this venture.

Thanks in advance. House of a lifetime.

OP posts:
Viviennemary · 28/05/2025 10:02

If you need to ask on that income I would say no you can't afford it.

MaggieBsBoat · 28/05/2025 10:02

So that’s the same as our income and we would definitely not be ok with it based on the fact that our income is 50/50 and if either lost their job we’d be screwed. Is it the same for you?

Also other outgoings obviously. Our mortgage is around 1000 and other bills around the same and that is as big a risk as we would take.

GasPanic · 28/05/2025 10:02

If you save all your 1ps in a tin they soon add up.

stampin · 28/05/2025 10:03

Bundleflower · 28/05/2025 09:53

It’s just a daft goady boast. I’m not saying that out of envy either as my household income exceeds OPs. But it’s tone deaf and absolutely fucking ridiculous to ask such a question when so many people are really struggling.

Show quote history

So you have even more money than the OP?

Sunnyside4 · 28/05/2025 10:03

Greatest respect, but do you really need to ask. Your utility bills maybe higher than ours assuming you've got a larger house than us and you have an extra mouth(s) to feed but two of us easily live on £2k a month (admittedly this is mortgage free).

ComtesseDeSpair · 28/05/2025 10:03

TheCurious0range · 28/05/2025 09:50

Also how is that money earned, two 60k incomes will feel less of a risk than one 100k income and a 20k one.

I also don't understand the eye rolling and sarcasm, people who earn well can still ask questions, you don't need to be on the bones of your arse to doubt a big financial commitment

Edited

Of course they can ask, but it’s a fairly pointless thing to ask when what the couple in question need to do is review their own outgoings, agree between themselves which of those outgoings are essential and which are nice-to-haves which could be cut if the need arose, and establish their comfort level for savings based on their own circumstances i.e. people who do contracting work in insecure or flighty industries and know they may have lean times with no pay are going to be more conservative than people in secure industries who know they’re unlikely to be made redundant or would get a decent payout if they were. The OP included none of that sort of information so just looks either daft or goady asking.

vinavine · 28/05/2025 10:03

if she doesn’t have the sense to list those then what sort of reply does she want?

Er, posts asking for more detail as opposed to ones telling her she's tone deaf etc. Plus i've seen similar vague posts with lower incomes but that's ok presumably.

vinavine · 28/05/2025 10:04

It’s just a daft goady boast. I’m not saying that out of envy either as my household income exceeds OPs

🤔😆

MmeChoufleur · 28/05/2025 10:06

I often wonder how such obviously stupid people secure such high-paying jobs.

vinavine · 28/05/2025 10:06

So that’s the same as our income and we would definitely not be ok with it based on the fact that our income is 50/50 and if either lost their job we’d* be screwed. Is it the same for you? Also other outgoings obviously. Our mortgage is around 1000 and other bills around the same and that is as big a risk as we would take.*

Bingo, I knew there would be at least one!! 😆

Viviennemary · 28/05/2025 10:06

vinavine · 28/05/2025 10:04

It’s just a daft goady boast. I’m not saying that out of envy either as my household income exceeds OPs

🤔😆

Is that also a daft goady post. Probably.

DismondShoes · 28/05/2025 10:07

Should be ok if you cancel Netflix.

ThisIsMyYearToFindMyself · 28/05/2025 10:08

vinavine · 28/05/2025 10:03

if she doesn’t have the sense to list those then what sort of reply does she want?

Er, posts asking for more detail as opposed to ones telling her she's tone deaf etc. Plus i've seen similar vague posts with lower incomes but that's ok presumably.

Considering all other possible outgoings, do you think we can afford this and not feel pressured each month. What am I not considering? We've done the spreadsheet but I'm still unsure.

If she can’t give basic stuff people need to answer her question then what’s the point? She says here ‘what am I not considering’ without telling us what she is considering.

@JaneEyre40 are you going to tell us more info or not?

mumda · 28/05/2025 10:08

may2025 · 28/05/2025 09:37

Maybe they could take in some ironing Confused

stealth boast

Show quote history

It'd be cheating if their housekeeper did it.

Doornon · 28/05/2025 10:09

We take home after tax about £7k and our mortgage is £2.5k and we can afford it. We earn the same money. We put £2k each from our salary into the main pot for bills/food/repairs/holiday savings etc and keep what’s left over for ourselves.

I can usually save £250pm for myself (I would like it to be more and it’s my aim) but I would like to save more jointly too, DP and I really could be more frugal on our outgoings. We have been doing a lot of DIY recently so once that has calmed down I want to get back to saving or overpaying the mortgage.

I’m not going to complain about money, it really is what you do with it that counts - we can’t have new cars, expensive hols and the house so we have cheaper/older cars and go on cheaper holidays and that’s ok with us. I want to overpay our mortgage but think that might be a year or 2 down the line after our DIY plans.

I find cars on finance to be the biggest burden in this situation as they are SO expensive so I got a very cheap PCP deal a couple years ago, then shopped around for a very low interest loan for the balloon payment and kept the car

PurpleThistle7 · 28/05/2025 10:10

I think you're being unreasonable to post this.

Doornon · 28/05/2025 10:10

MaggieBsBoat · 28/05/2025 10:02

So that’s the same as our income and we would definitely not be ok with it based on the fact that our income is 50/50 and if either lost their job we’d be screwed. Is it the same for you?

Also other outgoings obviously. Our mortgage is around 1000 and other bills around the same and that is as big a risk as we would take.

We have insurance for this scenario as it worries me as well as we are 50/50

AlastheDaffodils · 28/05/2025 10:10

It’s not a stupid question. If that income is gross rather than net then quite possibly they can’t afford the house.

OP I would ask:
What’s your joint net income per month

How much of that is variable (bonuses etc) vs fixed?

Are you paying enough into your pension and could you still do that with the mortgage?

How secure are your jobs? If one of you were to lose your job how easy would it be to find another?

What happens if interest rates go up by 2% by the time you refinance the mortgage? Could you still comfortable pay it?

What will running costs be on the new house?

Are you planning on private school when your child is a bit bigger? If so how much will that be? Would you be willing to sacrifice this for the house?

Given your relatively low level of savings relative to your income, it sounds like you’re currently spending most of what comes in. What sacrifices would you have to make to pay this mortgage and are you ok with that?

AnotherName2025 · 28/05/2025 10:11

Sagegreenduck · 28/05/2025 09:53

Your level of savings on that salary is incredibly low, which makes me think your outgoings are very high. Because of the low amount you have managed to save I would suggest you take a close look at how much of a buffer you have each month

That would be AFTER buying a new house, you don't know what they're out into that it other investments

Shambles123 · 28/05/2025 10:12

I wouldn't be thinking twice! Go for it!

orangegato · 28/05/2025 10:12

The only thing that matters is if it’s one income or two. If just one you’ll be fucked if anything happens to it, but spread across two more evenly you’re much safer. Keep building savings with what is leftover to account for unforeseen circumstances.

yeesh · 28/05/2025 10:12

Knob

NotSmallButFunSize · 28/05/2025 10:13

vinavine · 28/05/2025 09:46

If you can't work this out, how the actual fuck did you even get the job that pays so much?

Why do you think well paid people are good at budgeting?

I would hope one might have a modicum of intelligence to have a well paid job.

Otherwise just reinforcing my view that as a society we value BS jobs filled with halfwits far more than anything that is actually meaningful or useful!

Todayisaday · 28/05/2025 10:13

Yes, will be fine.
It hsed to be on that salary you would be off on 3 ski holidays, have a live in nanny and drive a topof the range rangerover.
Now you can still live comfortably in a nice house and have a decent standard of living in that. You will not be dripping in chanel but youll have money spare.