How much would you need to earn....

[spexsavers]

To be comfortable as a single parent in this climate?

I'm on my own, earn 46k. Have a mortgaged modest 3 bed house, no finance on my car, live fairly modestly buying hardly anything extra for me and the kids, 2 young teens. Ex pays maintenance and I'm still not in a position where I'm not shitting myself. How much does it take these days to have a decent standard of living? I grew up in poverty so I'm good at not wasting money. I'd have thought years ago on 46k I'd be on easy street but I dread to think what would happen if I had even one more thing added to my outgoings. There's no chance of luxuries like a holiday. I know I'm lucky to have what I do, and I'm not complaining as I know there's so many struggling worse, I'm more bemused than anything. Hats off to anyone managing on much less than this, I do not know how you do it 😖

I think people think that if they are on 25k and you earn 50k then you must take home double what they do. It's just not the case at all.

I take home just over £2000, get no maintenance and only child benefit in benefits.

I have one teen dd, once all the DDs go out I'm left with around £700 got the month. I try and save £150 of that and the rest goes on food, essentials and fuel.

It's really shit.

I'm a lone parent and your salary is a dream to me 😆. My rent is more than your mortgage. My council tax only has the single person deduction and am band D because there are big houses on my street. I earn around 12k now after a recent pay rise. I run a car although I did not have to purchase it. Dc do swimming and brownies/guides and we have a pony. Before the pony we had holidays, I could get my hair done, we had nice days/ meals out - now there is no chance and that pony is our life but it's a nice one for dc. Struggle to imagine how things are so limited on 4x what I earn tbh

@spexsavers this is massively misleading. Why am I struggling on £46k, is a reasonable thing to query.

The reality is nearly £20k of that goes on your pension and student loan.

Of course it's tricky to pay a mortgage, and all utilities and living costs for an adult and two teens on about £27k

Well you also get benefits so add up the total amount of money that comes into your house and itl make it clearer.

How much total income do you have per month including benefits and contributions towards rent?

Where you live plays a part too though doesn't it? I am on £27k, my rent is £700, car owned outright, 1 child, and, at the moment, I am doing OK. No benefits as I have some savings (which are untouched at the moment).

How much total income do you have per month including benefits and contributions towards rent?

I get £134 contribution to my £790 rent. I receive 120 tax/wtc credit - so around 1800 income in total bit the salary increase is gross so some deductions so not rolling in it with all the benefits as you might imagine

Single parent, mortgage-free, total annual income around £50k. That covers my needs and my two children. We have 3-4 holidays per year, and I run a small car around 8 years old. I have no debt and pay bills as they come in. Monitoring bills, I think my outgoings are around £1k more than they were 1 or 2 years ago. I used to save more money per month, but we are still ok. I feel fortunate that due to my work, and a large inheritance I am able to provide security to my family. Due to my volunteering, I am aware of the many struggles of other families and appreciate the current inflation has a massive impact on their quality of life.

So you take home 1800, OP takes home 2700, that’s not 4x what you earn.

I take home 65% of my 35k. I checked yesterday. Pension, tax plus paying back some as hmrc are incompetent, plus student loan at 9% means 35% goes before I see it. Tbh I had way more spending money years ago on tax credits. Always the way though, we are super generous but not to the middle.

12k? A pony eats money.
Why don't you work full time and earn a higher salary?

So you take home 1800, OP takes home 2700, that’s not 4x what you earn.

No I don't take that home - I already said my wage amount was gross. I see a pp saying they were far better off receiving benefits. I have been too in the past - those days are gone. If I earn an extra 5 then they take 20 away elsewhere. My recent pay rises have caused huge issues and left me with over payments and massively worse off but we are getting by.

12k? A pony eats money.*
Why don't you work full time and earn a higher salary?*

I work 2 jobs 5 days one week and 6 the next and ferry my dc around to all their hobbies etc. if I took on a 3rd it would pay for the extra childcare I guess but stop them doing what they do which is hugely beneficial to them and hopefully give them chances I haven't had. It's working for us - just means I go without but they don't.

How many hours are you actually working for 12k? You're not working 5 days a week full time are you. It's all well and good saying you can't work more cause you need to ferry your kids around to do all their hobbies. The tax payer is supporting you in doing that 🙄, must be nice.

im a lone parent on £33k and struggling. I have 1 teen and also get £150 child maintenance per month ki

I'm a single mum, one ds, earn £52k
Ex pays £190 a month towards ds
No debt, mortgage is £520/month, council tax £220/month

I'm doing ok. No problem paying bills, I'm careful and able to save a little.

I was furloughed during covid and had a take home of £1,900/month. That was my breakeven point. If I watched every penny, and with no commuting costs we stayed in the black but it was very close.

How many hours are you actually working for 12k? You're not working 5 days a week full time are you. It's all well and good saying you can't work more cause you need to ferry your kids around to do all their hobbies. The tax payer is supporting you in doing that 🙄, must be nice.

Oh give over - I work slightly more than school hours 5 days a week plus more when I can get childcare. I do a very challenging but important job - I've had pay rises and extended my hours and taken a 2nd job despite that leaving me considerably worse off as money is deducted disproportionately from any help, take care of 2 dc on my own and generally don't sit down from when I leave the house at 7.50 til about 10 pm most nights and you're still making out like I'm some sort of sponger 🙄

I raised my children as a single mum on less than that, but have never had a car, and have always worked within walking distance - as in within 5/6 miles, so could walk at least part of the week - also a teacher so few school holiday child care costs. No child maintenance ever though, not a penny.

I get that money is a limiting factor on your freedom, but it does not have to be a limiting factor on your happiness.

We did camping holidays by public transport, we did free and cheap activities, we did second hand shops.

What I am trying to say is please enjoy life, and take on the doing it on the cheap as a family challenge.

It is hard to explain what I mean, but we were happy, as my children grew up - in the last couple of weeks we have had more than one conversation about this as I am now off work sick, and my children are helping me out, paying my bills, etc

They have both said they have no idea how we did it, had so much fun on so little, and scraped by

More money is always welcome, but I hope you and your children are having a happy life with what you have got and are going to be able to look back on this stage of their lives with affection

xx

And is also why people are so anti benefits in a way because all they see is people working less and “earning” the same. Especially people who have the social housing so without the stress of paying rent/mortgage as is paid or supplemented and no overhanging threat of evictions or defaulting mortgages plus the horrendous task of trying to find somewhere else to live at extortionate rental.

in some cases if it doesn’t pay to work - or rather it pays to not work - then the system is very definitely broken

This is true. TC used to give you an extra bonus if you worked a certain number of hours I can't remember what it was. I remember my mum doing it though.

It's all relative. I suspect the main 2 things are do you have cheap rent or an expensive mortgage. I don't think £2000 is a life of poverty for 1 adult and 1 child. Unless you have a high mortgage to pay.

I earn 68k. 2 daughters, 1 primary, 1 secondary. No maintenance as 50/50 custody. Mortgage and bills fall around £1500 a month. I don’t have a car but travel is about £200 a month.
I am not great at sticking to a budget and do spend a fair whack on hair extensions, nails, Botox etc and I do love family days out and meals out (pizza express not the Ritz).
I would say I’m living a nice but not lavish lifestyle…. Which is what I thought this salary would bring. I think I’m the current economy I would need another 1k a month (approx) to start saving/ not have to think about outgoings at all.

I'm not single but joint income is roughly 70k. But our mortgage is only £500, we drive not new cars, we shop at Aldi (approx £100 per week) we usually go on a fairly cheap holiday once a year. Go out a couple times a month. We are comfortable with a small savings pot.

Middle earners will have there salary to themselves once kids have grown up, they will have a house possibly going by this thread. Pension and a half decent job....

A lot is down to money management or lack of.