To wonder how single people are meant to live nowadays?

[Cadogan66]

Just that really! Life seems impossible these days without a joint income.

At the moment I earn the best wage that I’ve ever had (senior AHP, ~£60k pa) yet making ends meet is harder than ever. I’m usually left with nothing at the end of the month after paying the mortgage/utilities/groceries/insurance etc and am having to dip into credit cards. I by no means live a luxurious life (haven’t been on holiday in years, limited eating out, only buy clothing off Vinted) so it’s just so bloody depressing to feel like I’m effectively working for nothing. I can just about get by and that’s it.

I’ve got a 21yo DD who isn’t cheap to run - she gets minimum student maintenance loan (due to my income being relatively high) and I am therefore expected to help out with her living costs/rent at uni. I don’t begrudge it for a second, she’s a hard worker and does as many hours as possible at her part time job alongside balancing a tough uni course/placements/maintaining a social life but it’s absolutely crippling me. Trying to keep the two of us afloat feels impossible.

Any other single parents feel the same way? 😩

My DD is single, earns 34k, has a mortgage of just under 1k a month on her flat in London, pays all her utilities and student loan, runs a car, and seems to manage. She does have to be careful, though.

The issue is that the minute you are classed as a high earner any benefits stop and you are expected to fund your child more, despite paying a high tax. It doesn’t add up. And being single means everything effectively costs double.

£60k and hard to keep afloat........Makes you think.

Makes me think..! We were far more comfortable 10 years ago when I was making £36k. Able to go on holidays, out for dinner every week, pay for expensive hobbies etc. None of that now!

that’s about £875 a week. Wow

i know gas and electric have gone up - id be curious to see how your spends breakdown is.

Your daughter won’t be at uni for too much longer though, and maybe it’s time to look at changing things like mobile phone contracts to companies like smarty at £8pm, and going through the wardrobe and see what can be sold on Vinted, and looking at other “do I need this?”, and try to do a “no spend January”.

whatever u decide, best of luck

Good luck

Inflation has been massive. The number of pounds you earn is higher than its ever been because each pound buys you less.

Your £60k salary now is equivalent to what £43k bought you 10 years ago (and thats using cpi as a measure of inflation, which has various limitations around housing costs and doesn't recognise the rampant shrinkflation and quality reductions in many goods sold).

Furthermore, the tax thresholds haven't moved in line with inflation, so you are paying relatively more tax on the 60k than you would have been on the £43k.

People really struggle to understand how constant inflation is, and that if your wage isn't at least keeping pace with it, you are getting worse off/essentially getting a pay cut.

She must have had a large deposit to put down to have a mortgage of under £1k a month in London. How did she save that on £34k a year?

Council tax is also likely to be less for someone living in London, so that probably helps a bit.

Being single is absolutely fine. I'm band 7 out of London but in a fairly expensive part of the country. 50k salary is enough to pay the mortgage, eat moderately well, pay for multiple hobbies and have a cheap holiday.
What's not fine is financing another person out of that money. Which makes me grateful for my decision not to have children. I really don't know if I could manage (well, I could but my lifestyle would be very very different). Is getting a lodger an option? 7,5k tax free could be quite a good way to get your kid through uni.

Once your daughter has finished and starts work you should be better off. You’ll need to prioritise your own budget; I’ve found it makes a huge difference to be mortgage free. The tax limit changes mean you’re poorer than you would’ve been.

Frugally

Yeah I was single through my 20s/early 30s. my salary gradually went from £35-50k in this time. Expenses were £1400 not including petrol/food. I was fine living month to month but found saving to be tricky. I could save a couple of hundred a month but really hard to save for a house etc.

The part where being single really hits, I think, is how much more tax you pay than a couple whose earnings add up to the same.

But things have got a lot worse for most people over recent years thanks to inflation. It really is a killer.

I earn more than I ever have, but I feel much worse off.

You are able to financially support your daughter through uni, so you are hardly struggling. This is a choice and seems like an expectation nowadays.

But otherwise, surviving on a single income is difficult, yes, and I wish the council would give 50% off the council tax!

This is a choice and seems like an expectation nowadays.

It’s only an expectation because the ridiculous student loan system restricts maintenance loan based on the resident parent’s household income. If OP’s daughter was able to have a full maintenance loan OP possibly wouldn’t need to support her.

I live fine on my own, then again my child as moved out so its just me now.

Have you a room to rent out?

I don’t have much of a choice to be frank. Her maintenance loan doesn’t even cover her rent, never mind any other necessities.

I worked through a-levels and uni, 25 hrs a week got me just over £1k a month which when added to the minimum student loan was more than sufficient and my parents never paid a penny. Whenever I read a thread about supporting kids through university the expectation seems to be that they couldn’t possibly work and study but that’s ridiculous, and why so many leave university and fail miserably 8n their first jobs.

But otherwise, surviving on a single income is difficult, yes, and I wish the council would give 50% off the council tax!

This. Council tax should be 50% off, not 25%.

Was this recently?

It depends how full on their degree is though, you have to admit. One child has 3 lectures a week, the other has 20 hours worth.

These really are the hardest yards. Both of my kids are grown and gone now, and I can live on so much less. Hang on in there.

My dss rent is over 1k a month for a small room in London.
How is a mortgage possible for that??

a choice? To support your own children? Blimey, standards are low.

Why is she getting the minimum loan support? I thought the threshold for minimum support was £80k?