4 Questions: What’s your household income? What’s your monthly mortgage cost? How many kids do you have? How financially comfortable are you?

[OrangeCarrot]

1. What’s your household income?
2. What’s your monthly mortgage payment?
3. How many children do you have?
4. How financially comfortable are you?

I’m in need of some perspective. I’m planning for marriage/kids/house purchase over the next 2 years. I’ve been planning for this time for 10 years now and my partner and I have lived frugally through our 20s to get to this point.

I want to make sensible life choices so was hoping to learn from others that are perhaps a little older and more experienced. I was hoping these questions may give me an insight into how big a mortgage we should get and still have a good quality of life.

1. Around £58,000.00 (between 2 of us)
2. £300.00
3. 3- 11,8 and 6
4. Really struggling at the moment, a lot of built up debt from when I was on mat leave/part time and we can't seem to get on top of it. Without the debt we'd be comfortable I would say.

Household income 102k. One still paying student loan off. Both contributing to pensions. In receipt of child benefit for two kids.

mortgage 1030/ month
2 primary age children.

we are comfortable but will be significantly more comfortable when student loan is paid off and first child moves on to high school (both scheduled to happen next year) cutting wraparound care costs from 650 to 325

So, you're saying he's working hard to save up for retirement by 58, but then you're also saying you're worried he might not be alive due to stress and you'd happily take the reduced income in order not to have the stress?

What's the point of saving for retirement by 58 if you're genuinely worried he might not make it through the next 2 years? (Unless off course he's only a year away from that early retirement, of course).

And yes, whilst a high income does come as a result of hard work etc, there is also an element of luck that you've clearly never experienced circumstances where you've had to give up that high income (or possibility of it), due to circumstances beyond your control.

32k single parent income
£300/mth mortgage (about to end!!)
15yo & 18yo

I chose to stay in our first home rather than always chasing a bigger home, and enjoy the financial freedom of holidays, going out and home improvements.

It's not as simple as 'luck'
Don't diminish people's talents and hard work.

Household income 450k pre tax / 260k after tax.
Monthly mortgage 5k, soon to go down to 2.5k. Modest 3 bed terrace in need of renovation but in a desirable SW London location.
Two DC 10 and 12 in private school. Moved to private from state because of SN.
Comfortable, yes. But not a luxurious life as we aim to put 100k a year into savings for retirement.

All money earned, not inherited, we both work FT.

In a system where a really good commercial lawyer can earn £100K+ and a really good care worker earns minimum wage or just above, the commercial lawyer is pretty lucky compared to the care worker

How long to qualify as a commercial lawyer? How long at uni? How much student debt? Don't be silly.

@twistyizzy lucky in the sense you have 2 incomes. My husband passed away. If you can live on a lower income and reduce your husband's stress etc please do, being widowed is awful. Xx

Thank you xx

Three years law degree or one year conversion course after first degree; one year vocational course; and then you're into practice. Magic circle trainees earn £75K+ just in training, many can draw down money to support them in their vocational training year, and they can expect to be on £100K+ after they qualify.

Would you prefer a closer comparison? Ok. Criminal lawyers do exactly the same qualification pathway, start out on minimum wage (or for some newly qualified barristers even less in their first year or so) and will earn a fraction over their lifetime of what their colleagues in commercial law earn. You have to have the same eye for detail and forensic skill as commercial lawyers and you have to work the same punishing hours. I guess to criminal lawyers commercial lawyers look pretty lucky.

@MrsKeats Also, can you identify the talent and hard work that @chickensarnie could have employed to avoid being widowed?

Net monthly income after tax approx 6k.
mortgage paid off.
1 adult, independent child.
Savings.
We are comfortable. And lucky, i know that.

@chickensarnie I am so sorry for your loss, I hope you have wonderful people around you to lift you up xx

Joint income around £112k. NW.
No mortgage now for ten years.
Two older DC, 21 and 19.
We are very comfortable. DH is a high earner and we have inherited twice since our mid 40's. Have next to no family though.

Take home of between 4.5k and 6k per month ( both of us have jobs with variable commission). Usually about 4.8k. I work part time and DH full time.

Mortgage 902
Car 269, another car owned outright.
2 children, 1 in nursery and total monthly bill approx 850

We are comfortable in that I don't have a strict food budget or anything and don't panic if there is an unexpected expense one month, but gone are the days of being able to save £1000 a month or more.

Indeed. Plus there's luck in timing of the property market, like a PP who's paying £500 pm because they bought 20 years ago and got a long term fix when interest rates were under 1%.

Compared with today's FTBs, who'd need a deposit of over £30k to buy the same house with a mortgage that would cost them nearly £1800 pm. That's a huge difference in financial comfort, all other things being equal.

I'm on sickness benefits only.
No mortgage as live in family home.
Outgoings are all my income, but I currently don't have any debt. It took me many years to pay those off so I'm very grateful not to have that burden.

Household income - me 44k, husband 120k

Mortgage - £2100 a month

Kids - 1 toddler, looked after by my parents and in-laws, not in nursery at the moment.

Financially comfortable but we should probably stop spending money on travel and start making serious inroads into overpaying our mortgage.

My monthly ‘take home’ is about £2.5-£3k (depending on variable takings from self employment) and child maintenance from XH.

I have 3 DCs, all late teen/early adult.

Mortgage is c.£800 at the moment. Has been as low as £450 and as high as £1200 over the years on a £225k mortgage.

No savings, no pension, just hoping the equity in the house is enough to allow me to live mortgage free in a smaller house once the DCs are all grown up.

I would say I’m comfortable compared to some, but I haven’t been on a proper holiday for ages, shop at Lidl, Primark etc and don’t have any hobbies as such, so no outgoings on top of the basics. I enjoy food and think nothing of spending £20 on brownies from a local business or getting a takeaway once a fortnight, so I know I’m more fortunate than many in that respect, but I’d definitely like a smaller mortgage. It’s an expensive area with excellent schools, which is why we moved here. But then divorced shortly afterwards. I’m lucky XH pays a good chunk towards our DC even though they’re older and buy their own clothes etc.

Household income : annual pre tax - £130k
mortgage monthly :1650
Kids : 2 on mat leave with second currently
Comfortable - comfortable for now, will be more stretched with nursery for 2 but qualify for the free hours

Household income - £165k
mortgage: £2k pcm
DC: 2
yea it feels comfortable at the moment

Single parent here - total income circa £140k inclusive of annual bonus and rental income
1 child at private school
Mortgage £1200
BUT got into lots and lots of debt post divorce so not comfortable for the moment while I try and massively pay it down. Should be done by 2027 then will be comfortable I hope!

Household income just over £100k.
One child at university.
No mortgage.
Very comfortable.

Take home about 5.2k.
Mortgage currently 700 but will go to 1100 on new rate.
2 primary age children.
Lots of work we want to do on the house but now aren’t sure that we can afford!
We feel comfortable at the moment, but less so when the new rate kicks in.