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?

I have a disabled child. 5:30am is a lay in.

Definitely not winning here.

Well this has decended into fucking chaos hasn't it ladies. Anyway....back to what OP created the thread about....

Because a PP said benefits claimants were winnings. (We’re not).

I'd imagine it's your mortgage/rent. I lived in Kingston for years and remember well the dreadful percentage of take home pay and the cost of trains season tickets. My cousins in the North earn less but their houses were half of what property is in the south and round london and its commuters towns, and palatial in comparison too. They eat out loads, kids are always on weekends away with them to mini spas or massive activities, money stretches further there.

I feel it needs to be legally challenged how little they give to single people with no dependents. It often doesn’t cover rent and bills let alone food.

We are on one very low wage in the SE. Although we occasionally get into trouble when a car needs a 2k repair it seems like we are more comfortable than others on this thread on over 100k. I am presuming that's because we bough the most basis house we could in the best part of a rough area decades ago. Once we had a house it was easier to move again. We absolutely went to our limit of what we could could afford to buy it putting down a big deposit. We couldn't of bought that house today.

We both drive 12 year old cars, don't go out, only go out to eat for birthdays. Second hand clothes mostly. Not had hair cut in years. Dd 11 has been to the hairdresses once in her life. Most splashing of cash is days out with the kids. Even then we have annual passes. Maybe it's because our accommodation is secure or maybe it's because we never did splash out in the first place. I don't resent my old car. It's reliable. I do worry about food and fuel increase.

What I do measure myself on was that we grew up as a working class family in a deprived town. It's still famously deprived. So maybe my measure of happiness is set back in my roots of growing up with just the basics.

But I was never cold and hungry as a kid. Something I can't always say about my own. We can not get our house warm and it's been low as 11 over winter and as high as 18. That's the time I feel the col hurt most.

The top 50 wealthiest families are richer than the bottom 34 million people in the U.K. we need to tax the super rich . They won’t just up and leave over 1% they have UK assets. The problem isn’t and has never been those on benefits.

I thought the same thing.

A nice sunny day at the park? If only.

What does your monthly budget look like OP? Are you putting a lot into pensions, savings, investments? Will things look a lot different after nursery is finished, do you go on holiday, what's your mortgage?
We are two full time workers on min wage, no top.ups, and doing ok, so it's hard to tell without seeing your budget whether this is a post to wind people up, or a genuine I struggle to budget post.

No thats everything and I don't get free dental or council tax reduction or free school meals

I think in some parts of the country people are screwed whatever they do but I live in the NE and feel pretty comfortable on a relatively low wage. We come out with around 4k net a month. Our mortgage is £480, we have a small, slightly banged up 10 year old car, our house is pretty small so bills are pretty small.
We have around 2k per month spare after all food petrol etc, I work part-time.
We go on holiday 3-4 times a year (my husband loves to find a bargain), we have a good chuck in savings.
We are considering getting a bigger house with around 900 a month morgage but I've never gave into lifestyle inflation before so thinking about it carefully.

My friend was baffled how I have just been to Asia for 2 weeks, which cost us about 4k but then proceeded to announce they just got a second 30k car, on finance, she now pays £750 a month for 2 cars on finance, I wouldn't dream of doing that! So yes I think some people are screwed with house prices but a lot of people expect what they want and don't consider a more frugle, cheaper option.

You are angry at billionaires? Please explain in what way they are "making mugs of all of us". @Ilovemsrachel

Absolutely, for the simple reason that you are being taxed extremely heavily to fund non working/low earning families.

Also wanted to add. I might be doing OK now but my son is nearly a teen, I've been there paying the nursery bills.
I've been through some horrendous times financially where I would be crying in a heap on the kitchen floor with another bill I couldn't pay.
But people's lives change over time. You are never going yo have a lot of money with nursery bills. I see my parents feeling quite comfortable these days but I know they used to borrow tins of beans from family to feed the kids for the day.
Lives changes, sometimes your up, sometimes your down x

What have billionaires done wrong? On the whole they’ve founded businesses that employ lots of people and pay all due taxes. Whats the issue? You want them to pay more than 45% of their income in taxes? That’s a decision the government could make but they have no doubt been advised by their economists that doing so is unlikely lead to a higher level of tax take due to people deciding to leave the country.

Take a deep breath and stop being so angry.

Yeah its funny how people are still managing to afford that

Having been a single parent on benefits and now a higher earning income household, I do think I see it from both sides and where people miss the point is how comfortably off a family is depends very much on their individual circumstances rather than whether they are a UC claimant or higher earner. I have friends who have a low mortgage on a a lovely house, minimal commuting costs, family that give cash gifts towards holiday and home improvements. They are sensible and frugal with their money but manage a fairly modestly comfortable standard of living and afford a lot of things we can’t afford like holidays. I have another friend who has shared care of children but due to shift work cannot have 50/50 care and earns a good salary but after high rent on substandard housing near to children , child maintenance payments, high commuting costs is on a huge deficit each month and spiralling into debt despite doing deliveroo work after a full days work just to have enough money to try and
feed children when they are with him. We’re a higher income earning household but with being a blended family so needing a large house, child maintenance costs etc then we are just about managing, definitely had a higher disposable income as a single parent but then suppose didn’t have the long term investment of being home owners and did have to move at one point due to landlord wanting to move back into house. I worked hard as single parent but also work hard now. I’m glad we have a welfare state but people do massively overestimate how much better off people not on benefits are (my DH was shocked when he first me as expected I’d be really poor but had a more expensive car than him) but at the same time most people on benefits have lives just as hard as those who are working

I'd imagine it is because tax payers are paying for a proportion of their payroll - via working tax credits. Just a guess. Not paying inheritance tax. Spending their money on paying a tiny proportion of tax on the money generated for them by others. We are going back in time. The poor are staying poor and the middle are getting poorer in real terms. If you can't see what is being done to us, I give up.

I think it’s completely unreasonable to expect that someone working full time should be happy just to afford the absolute basics of life.

Yup.

Absolutely this. Otherwise, why bother. There should be a huge difference in lifestyle between working a minimum wage job and not working. At least a holiday abroad once a year and not having to think about how to afford a meal out regularly. Not much to ask for giving up 40 years of your life to work.

I agree with so much on here.
Life is a drudge without any sparkle.

No money to eat out. No money for nails. No money for hair. No new clothes. No theatre. No concerts. No drinks out. No fancy ingredients (love cooking). No 'little luxuries' like nice handwash. No holidays. No treats. No takeaways.

No wonder so many people spend ££s trying to win the Lottery. It feels like the only way off the treadmill.

We have an average household income for where we live. We have a fairly comfortable life in terms of a nice home, and a good reliable car. However, we are at a life stage where I would have expected we would go on holiday every year and have savings. We don’t, which is disappointing (much of our disposable money is now taken up by the mortgage interest rate hikes and food price increases). We live frugally on what we have left. I do feel privileged in comparison to the situation many are in, but I also feel disappointed that our lifestyle and financial security isn’t better than it is.

Yep the “green levies” we’re all paying have made the billionaires MNetters are all sneering at!
And how are the green levy punishments going to pay down ££££trillions of debt I ask?

Your children are going to be paying that if someone doesn’t figure out a way to get out of this doomloop. The IMF beckons.

Educated adults , your children are going to be getting out of this country, they’re not going to accept this failed State a moment longer than they have to.

We need radical change.

A clearing out of the civil service so they do as they’re told.
And a Government with fiscal prudence to run the country, not the unelected back room boys sitting securely in their WFH offices dispensing socialist policies.

Why? Because if we look at the world, the majority of the population would envy just that? I'm happy to have a secure roof over my head. I'm happy not to worry about paying my bills. Many on this thread can't. My parents couldn't. I know that is a luxury.

Since when has having an expensive car, a pricey holiday, £150 hair & £40 nails or a ridiculously over priced coffee been the standard to aim for? It sounds like conspicuous consumption to me, AKA a waste of money. 1 or 2 on that list occasionally is great. But expecting a full-time job (unless you're a lawyer or a stockbroker) to pay for all that has more or less always been unrealistic.