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? 😩

I'm really sorry you are going through such a tough time. You could apply to your local council for assistance from the Household Support Fund.
Here's some information about it that I found online:

Who is eligible for the Household Support Fund?
The Household Support Fund is for anyone who is vulnerable or is unable to pay for essentials such as food and energy. It can also be used to pay for other items including phone bills, clothing such as school uniform, period products or help with essential transport such as buying a bike or repairing a car.

• You do not have to be in receipt of benefits to be able to get financial support from your local council.
• Your benefits will not be affected if you do get a payment from the Household Support Fund.
• Councils tend to give out cash payments or vouchers towards bills.
• If you have savings it is unlikely you will qualify for support.

You will need to check with your local authority what support is available. How do I apply for the Household Support Fund? Your local authority runs its own scheme to distribute the Household Support Fund so each council will have different eligibility criteria and different ways to apply for it.

15 years ago, my average take home was about £850pm and I lived alone and could afford it easily. That was rent etc too.
Now I am on less than that (UC) and it is a struggle, and I don't even have rent costs now.

I would answer differently if you wanted to start a conversation about costs going up, but YABU to generalise that single people can't afford to live.

I suspect you are forgetting that most of the population of the UK don't live in London or the SE, to start with.
Then most single people aren't supporting a child through University.

I have 2 dc who each earn around the £34K mark who manage very well on their salaries. Both run cars, both go on holidays, both go out and socialise, both have hobbies. Both pay their bills and one over pays their mortgage every month, the other is saving up for some big work on their house. They would roll their eyes at someone generalising that you can't live on a slary that is CONSIDERABLY more that they earn.

I had the situation where DH was a high earner but lost that job when made redundant. Had to take a much lower paid job , about £20k lower and I couldn't see how we could manage . Ironically we had much the same wages at the end of each month as no longer in a higher tax bracket . Plus qualified for help with child care etc.

Yes. The market for one bed flats is pretty stagnant

Is she putting a child through university? If not I don’t see that this post is relevant or helpful.

It is though, because the OP has generalised her question into asking how single people live on a not inconsiderable salary.
The title, and the OP are both asking about 'single people' being able to afford to live, not 'a small subset of single people'.

To be fair, the title got me. Single people... but her post was actually about single parents if you read to the end I didn't.

When you are single you are undoubtedly subsidising the lifestyle of those who have made other choices. The biggest ripoff has got to be council tax which is supposed to be based on an average of 2 adults occupying a house and using local services. Therefore single people should get a 50% discount rather than a miserable 25%. Its even more annoying when there are adult earners living along with parents. You are subsididing these families and getting nothing back in return. It makes you want to leave a big bill behind every time you move house to another authority.

I often wonder how single people manage , particularly those in the SE. The chances are they are still living in their parents home . I have 2 friends who have adult children recently split from partners and are having to move back with parents because they cannot afford accommodation on their own . Affording life as a single is so stressful when you are responsible for every bill that comes in , no help , no sharing the load . It’s a stress in its own right . My electric has gone up from circa £80 a month to now over £300 a month in winter with all electric heating . Luckily I’m older now and have no money worries but as a young person this would have been an impossible hike . It’s not just the day to day that’s a problem , it’ll be a societal problem in years to come because people cannot save for pensions . It’ll be the tax payers of tomorrow shouldering this burden but then there aren’t enough working people coming through , so who knows how this will pan out .

I know how you feel OP. I'm a single mum with a teen and it's become much harder over the last five years.

We did have a holiday this year but we don't eat out at all. I'm on 15k less than you but don't qualify for benefits.

I watch every penny, I've cut back on everything, I make my own bread, cook from scratch, have a log burner and cut my own wood to reduce bills, it's getting ridiculous.

Teen goes to uni next year (unavoidable for his chosen career) and I have no idea how I will afford it. 🙁He's already working and saving. It will have to be a team effort.

Thank you, I thought it was around £80k, that seems ridiculously low.

Sorry - to me it can across as smug and dismissive and maybe that wasn’t how it was intended.

well my Arabella earns a below average salary, is single and manages just fine!

I assume she is young - comparing a youngster scraping by (who ch is what Arabella is doing) with a fully fledged adult isn’t really a far comparison either.

Arabella isnt doing fanatically well, her salary is tiny and after her mortgage she only has about 1300 a month to run a car, buy groceries, pay council tax, pay back her student loan.

i am surprised she got a mortgage of that size on her salary. The proportion of her salary going to the mortgage is very high. I am single and have a similar mortgage (which I sometimes think is too large) but I earn three times as much as your daughter.

I can see how that could just about be manageable for a younger single childless person whose friends are all in the same boat - but she wouldn’t be able to build much savings therefore her car breaks down, boiler goes, could spell disaster

she does not have the financial resilience of a couple - the point OP was making. A couple needs a new boiler, the price is cut in half.

Me too. I’m top of my band now in the nhs and worse off than I was when I was on £32K working for a charity pre covid. I am funding an elderly father and brother which doesn’t help, but it is so hard being single and having to pay for everything out of one salary. As for pension and savings 😂😂😂. If I can get through the month and eat, travel to work, heat the house it’s a fucking miracle.

Same position with dd the same age at Uni, I work two jobs, seven days a week. But still unable to stay out of my overdraft.