is this a reasonable amount to live on?

[ilovehens]

Or would it be classed as a small amount?

£20,280 (net) for a family of four - 2 adults and 2 children under 12.

This is after small housing costs.

Just want opinions really.

Sounds fine to me.

Basic clothes and no holidays or going out in the evenings, no horse-riding or dancing for the DC, no gym membership - admittedly we have a bit more coming in due to my son's DLA (and we spend that on him) but this sort of lifestyle is quite normal I hope?

Honestly, it's doable OP

ohexpletive thats good to know . An example really of how you can earn good salaries in good jobs and yet not really have that much disposable income (but enough). And we are lucky enough that our childcare costs wont always be that high I hope!

After housing then it looks ok to me, not luxury but that isn't what matters. (I say that whilst living in a very expensive area so I know it isn't easy.)

Our monthly income once mortgage and childcare costs have gone out is £1000. That's for me and DH, 3yo DS, 14mo DD and 2 big cats who eat us out of house and home. That pays everything else - all household bills, food, nappies for DD, petrol, car service etc. etc. It's tight, but I've started to enjoy trying to make our money go further (e.g. clothes for DCs from asda, rather than Next as I used to buy for DS when it was just him! - what was I thinking???) and me and DH ask for money/vouchers off family for birthday/Christmas, so we can buy clothes for us. I always meal plan anyway, so have managed to cut our food bill down and do a strict budget every month and once I've deducted all bills and food shop estimates out, we know how much cash we can take out for the month (usually about £50 left over). We try to plan a treat for the end of the month, as that makes us more likely to stick to the budget. And take advantage of good offers at M&S for meals in as a treat - sounds expensive, but if you don't ever go for a night out, then £10 at the end of the month on takeaway stuff is a good treat!!!

I would think £1700 after housing costs would give you a fairly decent standard of living, I would say it is more than the average family, but not rich. It is more than we have, but not loads more. We will also feel any loss of CB and CTC.

In terms of luxeries I would expect you to have some e.g. be able to have a holiday a year plus buy something nice for special occassions (but probably basics rest of the time) plus have a couple of days out/meals out a month. If it's a struggle then get over to moneysavingexpert.com, it is handy.

It will be ok if it is after housing and tax.

Kate that's quite inspiring. When we first bought this house I was a dedicated MSEer (MoneySavingExpert.com) but with kids and time and tiredness etc I've lapsed a lot. I used to meal plan.

I've got a big credit card bill due to some unavoidable bills (our car died, we've had to use grocery budget etc to buy replacement, hence groceries on card) and I really need to bite the bullet over the next couple of months. Your post's given me a good kick in the arse

The whole thread is actually an eye opener re how different people's expectations of an acceptable standard of living are.

They aren't going to cut tax credits/childbenefits for a family of 4 on that income.

In theory it would be fine and dandy to live on.

Yes , we manage oK on a bit less than that.

rents cheap in our rural are tho, but council tax in Band D and we run 2 cars.

I'm SAHM though and neither of us spend much on going out, clothes and alcohol.

thanks Ohexp. - we have no savings ourselves, so we're praying nothing goes wrong with house or car in the next year or so!!! - Once DCs are in school we'll be £900 a month better off - we won't know what to spend it all on!!! but I keep telling myself, that to have more cash means DCs are older and more time has gone by, so we'd rather be poorer and live for now

We live on £7918 for a family of three, plus big dog and small cat - after small housing costs.

Are tax credits and child benefit for the chop then? Surely that's going to plunge a good proportion of the country into abject poverty (I know it will me). I work part time and am studying for a degree (OU so it's paid for), but DD and I live on WTC, CTC and CB (HB pays most, but not all, of the rent). We don't have holidays, I don't have any luxuries, but I make sure DD doesn't miss out. She's only three, so isn't yet asking for things like dancing lessons etc, but it will break my heart to have to tell her no because I can't afford it when she does. I, like a lot of people, paid into the system for a long time before DD was born, and will again once she's at school, so have no qualms about taking benefits now. I have also always voted Labour, even when I was a home-owning high-earner who would have been better off under the Tories. I just wish the rest of the country had too

We live on less than that. We manage in fact we are off to Turkey on holiday next month.

Our income has just been upped to about £16k. We feel rich . You cannot miss what you have never had.

in terms of employment earnings, we have c. £500 left after rent has been paid. We get about £400 CTC and WTC. Without this we would probably starve. i have jyst finished my degree and am looking for a job. I am not entitled to any other benefits.

We've done okay up till job but had student loans to pay for the nice bits in life and have raced through our savings in the last couple of years. I think disposable income is a relative concept though. if we earned 50 grand, we would buy a house, then we would need smarter cars, then we might need to consider private school for the dcs. We would probably still be skint.

seven, Labour is the reason for these proposed cuts. Also I believe the plan is not yet agreed but ni the budget later this month (22nd?) it may well be that CB is taxed or removed either for people on over £26,000, not below or possibly removed for children over 13 but I think that's less likely.

I've never got a tax credit as I earn too much but you can get them if your family income is up to I think about £50k. The suggestion is that that £50k be lowered quite a bit.. which might benefit women as the man on £50k non working wife loses it whereas if they both share childcare and earn £25k a year and he does more house cleaning and help at home they keep it.

I am pretty sure that there will however be some changes on CB and tax credits but until we know people who are on lowish incomes should not worry too much.

The average UK gross wage is £25k I think which is about £1600 a month after tax. Whereas full time minimum wage for 40 hour week is about £13k is about £900 a month after tax.

Charles Dickens' Mr Micawber summed it all up best:

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."

I think that amount is fine. I'm pretty sure we (2 adults, 2 children and 2 cats) survive on less. It can be a struggle, especially as I love to spend money, but we get through.
I think the thing is, when they cut the benefits, we're all going to be in the same boat, and further sacrifices will be needed to ensure survival.
We will all be ok though, because we'll have to be [niave emticon please]

I think that is a fine amount, if housing costs have already been taken care of and motoring costs are low (e.g. you are running one economical car for shorter journeys rather than two gas guzzlers etc).
Of course, it depends on whether or not you also have loan payments to make etc.

I don't really understand the point of the thread either.

If that's what you've got to live on, then that's what you'll have to do! It doesn't really make any difference if any of us say 'It's a lot' or 'it's peanuts' - we will all have different views due to how that amount compares to our own circumstances. If you are asking how it compares to average earnings and average housing costs - well, all that information is readily accessible on line.

But as I say - it doesn't make much difference. That's what you have to manage on - if you feel you are struggling, you need to earn more and/or cut back. If you feel it's ok, then no worries.

thanks to David Cameron, we're all going to get screwed over financially so perhaps that amount may not suffice a family of 4 in the near future.

We earn just a bit more than that and live fairly comfortable life, but we are also frugle too. Only spend where necessary.

We live off that fine. We run 2 cars etc. If I want something I save up and buy it. I obviously don't have expensive tastes!

I think it is thanks to Gordon Brown and the Labour govt that DC is having to make all these cuts.

Maybe it's time to stop getting your weekly shop delivered from Fortnum's.

We are on approx. that - 2 dogs, 1 horse, the odd foreign holiday (incl. Mark Warner one) and run a car - and believe me - things are a LOT more expensive on mainland EU than they are in the UK.

I would kill for a weekly whiz around Asda!

so 1690 per month for food, clothes, holidays, saving, phone bills ?? does that iclude major bills? cant say unless I know!