Are we on a low income?

[biganlittle]

I earn 33.5k pro rata’ to 4 days a week.
DH full time of 48k, I know there’s some high earners on here but I’m guessing the majority earn less, maybe not as little as us.

We have a little one in nursery still which I think makes us feel that much more skint!

Are we low paid? Both in jobs that we needed qualifications for and I have a degree but part time for years and 2 maternity leaves I think has held me back.

Ha! Yeah, I was a bit surprised when I saw that post too!

Don't be silly.

I'm on roughly £22000 and that's for me and the child and no other adult helping with money at all. I think you're fine.

I was going to say this, I earn just more than their combined income but am single so have less take home pay!

Well your household income is more than 3 times mine so I'd say your well off/above average but that doesn't really mean much. I am ill health retired (since my 30s due to an operation that went wrong).
You cut you clothe accordingly, look for what you can do not what you can't. I make sure my dc get what they need (but they dont always get what they want). I dont like my situation (I'm constantly worried I'll have my benefits taken away) and when dc are 18 they will have to move out (or pay substantial rent) as I'll not be able to afford to heat/maintain our house. However I still am better off than some as I have £1000 a month ill health pension for life (becauseI had a professional job and payed into a pension from aged 21), it means I get my benefits reduced but it also means that worse case scenario I have £1000 a month to live off (if /when the government takes my benefits away). I think we shouldn't look at what others have, but should see what we do have. At present I can feed my dc (on a strict budget but its a healthy diet), provide appropriate clothes and shoes, a roof over their head, heat my home (if I'm careful), provide the extras they need for school, be there emotionally when they need me to guide them. There's always going to be someone better off than you.

UK state pension is approx 12k per person

Your income is higher than this

Is it really expensive to live down south? I understand London and surrounding areas but I live in the most northern city in England and still think it’s expensive. Most people I know are surviving. We live outside the city and mortgage is still £1500 a month, CT £208, gas and electric £200, nursery (without the government funded hours) average £80 per day I spend £450 on food a month and I don’t eat meat, I use £150 petrol per month and that’s mainly driving to and from work and trips to the supermarket. Where are people living in the north that’s cheaper? Would love to spend less, it’s dire!

Scotland.

You're in the top 10% of earners.

You're doing just fine op...

Nursery years are very hard.

Honestly you're on the higher side of average. But as neither of your are subject to 40% tax, probably do take home a reasonable amount whilst still qualifying for things like child benefit and tax free childcare and 30hrs funding for childcare. Which probably is a boost of an extra 6k a year on top of your salaries minimum.

Also depends on your outgoings and other living costs!

I would say pay not to much attention to where you sit in % of household income because it really doesn't factor in big outgoings, nursery and mortgage variences. A family with your take home may have half the living costs and no nursery fees. Your income doesn't nessarily correlate to disposable income.

Some families will have higher salaries and take home much less than you if it's from one income as they'll pay more tax and not be entitled to TFC, CB etc.

Try not to compare. You really don't know the backstory or everyones situation and income before tax is only a teeny indicator of affordability x

then you are both well above average salary and are very far from being "low" earners.
Politics of envy springs to mind
Try running your family on sub 25k each and then you will understand "low", there is a HUGE difference between "my every aspiration is not met" and "I have to choose between feeding the kids or eating myself".

There’s always someone who earns more and always someone who earns less. I’m the poor relative in my family and friends but we have a roof over our head and food in our stomach- plenty in the world do not

Why is this always the default answer on MN? Parts of Scotland are cheap, parts are very expensive. Its an entire country.

Rent of a 3 bed house in my very normal commuter town is £1600+ for something really rather small and scruffy. My mortgage is £2200 for a 4 bed semi detached. It's a Victorian house so in the winter heating bills are high, one month last winter was £770.

Towns like St Andrews, Linlithgow, much of East Lothian and Edinburgh are extremely pricey. Council tax, nursery fees, food, utilities, car loans etc is all the same as elsewhere. And flights are way more expensive than much of the South.

Edit: and we (high earners) pay more tax!

This is true. If I even want to visit Edinburgh you’re talking £300 a night for a hotel in the city centre. My friends in Scotland who are both decent earners can’t afford to live in Edinburgh.

I could move to a shithole town in the North East or a horrible area in Newcastle but be scared for my life with the high crime rates. I’ve witnessed first hand what it’s like through the job I do and it’s a scary thing. If I drive ten minutes up the road it’s a better postcode but probably £800 more a month on the mortgage. I do wonder whether it actually is more expensive in some parts of the south, as that seems to be the general consensus. But doesn’t every city have rough, cheaper areas?

You’re on a very low income. minimum wage for a 35 hour week is £22,222 annually

People commenting saying they earn less, do you get universal credit? Or other government support? Because I technically and £45,000 a year however I am entitled to nothing benefits wise as a single parent of two children with a mortgage however, if I rented and took a part-time job I would be better off a month

You get child benefit I presume? Clues in the name.

@yonem I certainly am. I work in a school kitchen. It's liveable, just, we have a very small flat so bills are low, no car, no debts, caravan holiday once a year or we stay with family.

No, you’re a dual income household with decent jobs. Life is expensive these days but there are people who are much much much worse off.

I'm a care worker, working part time for disability reasons, and I'm also on an extremely low (lowest 20% of the country) income. People on here are so often genuinely shocked that an income can be that low. But it can.

Ahh the good old humble brag

You're earning a lot more than my income I work minimum wage on almost full time hours earning just over 17k yearly before tax and national insurance. Im low income but apparently not low enough to qualify for free prescriptions dental care or opticians. I wouldn't say your combined wages are necessarily low income

Universal credit and child benefits. I pay almost full council tax(only really get the single person discount and a small amount of council tax benefit) and I have to pay for all of my prescriptions dental and opticians cos I apparently earn too much to qualify for it to be free-care worker on minimum wage working 108 a month on average

I'd say you are well paid. Perhaps not "well off" but very comfortable. Many people earn nowhere near that amount.