Are other full-time working families finding there is nothing left?

[fatface001]

Alarm went off at 5:30 this morning, then an hour stood on a packed train into London for the commute. We are a normal family: one child and two full-time jobs. I’ve always enjoyed working and have always worked hard, and I don’t mind that at all — but I do expect that full-time work should still mean there’s something left at the end of the month for a normal life.

But that really doesn’t feel like the case anymore.

There’s nothing left at the end of the month. Everything has been stripped back, all non-essentials have gone, and even basic things around the house are being put off or done ourselves because there isn’t spare money for trades. It’s just constant cutting back.

What’s hard is that we’re both working really long hours and doing everything we’re “supposed” to do, but it still feels like we’re going backwards rather than getting ahead.

When I hear talk about “those with the broadest shoulders” contributing more, I honestly don’t recognise it anymore in real life. It doesn’t feel like anyone in our position has anything left to give — it feels like the pressure is entirely on ordinary working households just to stand still.

I’m not looking for luxuries — just the sense that working still gives you a bit of breathing room. Right now it doesn’t feel like that at all.

Is anyone else feeling the same?

Quite.

I'm talking about people here "able" to get back on their feet and "able" to work and people deciding to have more children and then expecting others to pay for them or to have their wages topped up because they're a low earner, yet they have thousands of pounds in the bank in savings. It isn't people's jobs to help others save for their boiler or their new car. If they have thousands in the bank they shouldn't be getting a bail out from the tax payer.
I wouldn't wish being disabled on anyone, I have zero issues with any benefits going to people who are disabled, i'm happy to be helping them. I don't know what individual disabled people's daily costs may be to cover what they need or what they need to spend on care but i'm sure the system will be providing for them fairly in the various benefits that they can receive and the amount of savings that they're allowed to have should be fairly capped at what they need for their particular disability.

I don’t know if this helps anyone but have started putting the odd fiver onto gift cards so later in the year will be able to buy eg moisturiser. Have a fifty euro gift card saved for the local petrol station since last year ready in case have run out of petrol and I put an extra fiver/ tenner onto a gift card in our local supermarket weekly so I’ll have a cushion.

Yes, exactly. 👍
Life is about choices, in this part of the world.

WTF is wrong with you? You think genuinely disabled people should have nothing beyond mere basics in their lives?

Ok so to get "free prescriptions and free dentists, free school meals" etc you need to have a household income of UNDER £935 A MONTH.

To get UC top up you need to earn over £1000 a month. So noone working on UC now can qualify for those things.

So the only people who get those things are households who have under £935 income a month.

Just read that. £935 a month. In total. Could you live on that?!

Would you claim DLA?

Would you be able to afford to adapt a property for your child's needs? Especially if you are talking about a smaller place? Wet rooms, extra wide doorways etc can be tricky in smaller properties.

We are suffering from all the increases in recent years and its now impacting the cost of everything.

When fuel & energy went sky high a few years ago that would have impacted the cost of everything - everything is made in a factory, or delivered by vehicle etc. every cost going up at every level slowly slowly and then all of a sudden quickly.

we have had negitive economic impacts from:
Brexit
all that Covid spending/increased debt
then the shut canal with the stuck tanker
Ukrainian war
Now the Irainian/ME conflict
Increased taxes/NHS etc for businesses
etc

All of these events lead to increase in costs for consumers, & thats before we get to increase in taxes. This in turn leads to higher family spending on basics, everything goes up, and this sucks a huge amount of what was previously "disposable income" out of every single family it evaporates! poof its gone. Country wide this depression of disposable income must be having a massive impact.

Successive UK Govt have fucked us, left us vulnerable to energy shortages, left us carrying more debt that ever before, swathes of the country aren't working, so many workers aren't being paid enough to live and get topped up with UC, and we are not doing economically as well as we used to.

Tesco, (for example) makes many many millions in profit each year yet so many of its workforce will need UC to survive. This isn't right. Tesco & other porfitable companies etc should be paying its workers a proper living wage so tax payers don't need to subsidise their workforce.

I just had my 24/25 tax expenditure statement from HMRC - you probably did too. take a look at it. I paid 30% of my income in tax (single parent but I earnt £90k in that year - end up with £60k). its eye opening - 44% of the tax I paid went on welfare/pensions/debt interest. That is 44% of taxed income just keeping the country treading water.

Plus NHS, tax, VAT, fuel duty, etc. Its a huge amount we pay in tax to what increasingly seem to be incompetent govts.

Plus I have had to go private for medical treatments - geting my DD diagnosed with dyslexia and adhd so she can access support she needs at school cost over £2k just for the diagnosis. If I wasn't able to pay for private she would be out of school & probably aged out before she could get the diagnosis & support she needs. We have been advised she is probably AuADHD but I can't afford about £2k to get tested right now.

How are families that can't pay private getting on? How long are their children taking to get diagnosed? PLUS if we want DD to have medication we also have to do that privately (cost several £100pcm) as the NHS won't accommodate her private diagnosis or supply her with medication. All the NHS will do, if we beg & beg, is stick her in a very long line for support that will likely come when her GCSE's are done & dusted. Its a shitshow.

I'm having dreadful problems with HRT etc but my GP can't offer much help at all so I will probably have to pay privately for some proper advice if I want to stay sane-ish. I was referred to an NHS specialist and have to wait over a year for my appointment.

On my £60k in hand I still pay nearly a third of that in mortgage for our very modest house. We do OK but we live frugally. I don't often buy coffees out - certainly not like I used to. I'm not happy but I'm not going to complain about my income - we do OK.

For those saying their car is old etc I do think that there is an idea that we should all have everything new all the time. This used to be called "keeping up with the Jonses'" but its normal to budget your income, its normal to drive an older car, its normal to watch how you spend and not fritter money away on coffees/expensive lunches etc. There seems to be some thinking that this is hardship or punishment but its really not.

So just because they earn far less than someone like me I have to contribute to their UC when they actually have more money than someone like me in the bank. It beggars belief how crazy that sounds.
Someone can have £15,999.99 in the bank and I have to as a tax payer give them some of the money that I earn just because their monthly wage slip is less than mine.

Once they no longer have all those thousands in the bank and they can no longer afford to pay their bills, then yes, i'll be happy to give them some of my money for their UC. Before then, they should be on their own and use their own money to pay their own bills... just like the rest of us.

In central London many of the super rich are tourists that are the wealthy citizens from their own countries, hence theatre tickets sold out etc. Or even if you visit some of the wealthy areas like the Kings road, those who own the homes are not from the UK so it's not a reflection of UK wealth levels.

Yes pensions.
And you are right, private sixth form is a choice (and maybe one we won’t feel sufficiently secure to make.) We’ve not been private since nursery.
Holidays - so this Easter we’re having a long weekend in an AirBnB in Chester!! It’s not exactly living the high life.
My parents used to take me on 10-day hotel holidays in nice places (think lakes & mountains) abroad. Our household income back in the 80s was less than £15K.
This is too costly nowadays - we either go for a week in a hotel or do AirBnb if it’s longer.

I forgot the attachments. If you log into HMRC you can see your tax expenditure breakdown

Totally agree.
I’m really worried about the coming 10 years and the economy.

I think it's very clear that if you are in a salaried job, even if you are doing very well at it, the tax burden is huge and getting worse. The government has to ensure that tax works to incentivise the behaviours we need to see for the economy to thrive or there will be nothing left for any of us. Unfortunately though, that seems to be the situation we are heading towards. There has to be jobs and there has to be social and financial pressure for all physically able people to get out into the workplace to support the economy. It is just not enough to work three days a week for work/life balance or take time off for minor things. I've worked for 45 years full time and I'm sick of taking on so much of the burden.

Bottom line is this isn't sustainable. You can talk 'til the cows come home about the deserving poor but if less tax is coming in than needs to go out, something is going to have to give. People on £50k a year shouldn't be in the higher tax bracket. It should be about £80k if it had kept up with inflation.

Yes, we earn over 6 figures as a household and this week I got my hair cut at Supercuts the discount hairdresser at a walk in price as I can not afford my hairdresser anymore and havent had it cut for 6 months, I booked a The Sun caravan holiday for 100 quid as we can't afford a holiday and bought my kids their summer clothes from Shein.
We were earning similar money ten years ago and shopping in waitrose and john lewis, holidaying in the carribbean and I had my hair and nails done reguarly.
I do know I am fortunate enough to be riding out the storm with food in my cupboard and shoes on my kids feet.. but it does feel bloody pointless sometimes to keep trying.

previous tax years expenditure on welfare/pensions/Debt servicing:
2021/2022 39% of my taxes
2022/2023 41.9% of my taxes
2023/2024 44.4% of my taxes
2024/2025 44% - so down slightly

I don't see this trend improving

What is your income, and what are you outgoings - given you are in the ‘broadest shoulders’ camp?

'Broadest shoulders* refers to those who bother to go to work, someone needs to support all those who know the right words to say to get signed off work.

Yes, but there are really niche cases. How many people have wheelchair using children? Do you think this is common?

But if you have a high wage and can afford to you can salary sacrifice up to £60k tax free into a pension fund just for you, so you can benefit in later life and if you save enough get off the hamster wheel with a decent income 10 years before state pension age.

There are no disadvantages to higher earning.

We are small businesses owners and it is hard right now. People are spending less. The outgoings are extortionate (wages, rent, electricity etc.). The quality of staff is abysmal.
We’ve taken to working over 100 hours a week between us because the staff just aren’t worth the expenditure.

I think there’s a real mix. It’s also heavily 1) salary dependent 2) outgoing dependent.

My husband and I have three children, a sizeable 4 bed detached house in the South East and savings in the bank. That’s not to boast, we both started with nothing and were conservative spenders. No abroad holidays yet, no new clothes (love Vinted) and no gym memberships (we run) or debts. We were lucky to both stay at home until we had deposit money so haven’t had to rent.

Had we not been able to stay at home and save, we’d probably also be feeling the pinch. Or if we had low incomes. I also know lots of families who are still holidaying multiple times a year.

One thing is for sure, there’s less disposable money than there was.

I am 10 years before state pension age.
Where is this £60k a year into my pension coming from?

I don't understand your point?

Good to see the OP @fatface001 is engaging with their thread