Page 3 | How are people surviving?

Chewbecca · 30/09/2026 17:44

Westfacing · 30/09/2026 16:07

In the 80s couples on modest wages e.g. jobbing builder & shop assistant, nurse & firefighter, two factory workers, etc could afford to buy a house, even in London

Those days will never come back - younger people today are totally screwed by the cost of housing relative to income. The terraced house in Chiswick where my DCs childminder lived with her builder husband is now occupied by corporate lawyers

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The example couple jobs you quote would bring in quite a bit more than £45k between them in 2026 so they would be much more comfortable than OP.

Ihateboris · 30/09/2026 18:04

I have zero left over after paying rent, utilities etc...and don't get me started on the cost of fuel. I need my car as I'm a self employed cleaner and all my clients are rural. Haven't had a holiday since before covid. It's so hard and I'm just glad that I don't have kids to feed. But it's OK...Andy is scrapping vat on our Leccy bills and reducing bus fares to £2 (no bus routes where I am) , so all is good in the world.

TankFlyBoss · 30/09/2026 18:09

@ThisWiseRobinwhat a kind and thoughtful post

Westfacing · 30/09/2026 19:15

Overthebow · 30/09/2026 16:21

The average nurse salary in the UK is £39k (top of band 5), so a household with two nurses would have a joint income of £78k. Ok they may not be able to buy a house in London but in plenty of places in the UK they would (including parts of the south east). OPs problem is that they have two very under average wages including one part time and term time only.

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Yes I do understand that the OP and DH are not earning the full potential of two minimum wages so that's why they're are struggling. My point was that even with two good average wages, say a nurse & firefighter, a couple today wouldn't be able to easily afford a house in London, based on salary alone, certainly not in Chiswick!

Ihateboris · 30/09/2026 19:26

ThisWiseRobin · 30/09/2026 07:57

Can I say that as a nearly 70 year old, my heart goes out to hardworking, double income parents who are struggling. There seems to be no end to the digging behind the sofa for spare change.
I get particularly frustrated when older folks like myself bang on about how they managed in their day etc etc.
You are both on a half decent wage in my eyes and yet the cost of living and giving children a comfortable upbringing seems to just get harder.
I guess by now, as you come across as capable, that you are already frugal. Problem is budgeting is pointless, as prices just continue to rise.
I know I'm not offering a practical solution but my utmost sympathy.
Holidays are the one thing I can maybe comment on, having never been taken on holiday as a child. There was no entertainment as such for me growing up, or my kids as we were in Namibia in the middle of a ruddy great desert, but kids are resilient and can find things to do I'm sure. I know it's hard when friends are going on sunshine holidays but hopefully they will remember being loved and cared for which is so important....with the odd bus trip to the coast maybe. Do check out travel specials for children.
More power to you my lovely.

Such a lovely, kind, thoughtful post. You sound truly amazing x

Itsnotallaboutyoulikeyouthink · 30/09/2026 19:29

ThisWiseRobin · 30/09/2026 07:57

Can I say that as a nearly 70 year old, my heart goes out to hardworking, double income parents who are struggling. There seems to be no end to the digging behind the sofa for spare change.
I get particularly frustrated when older folks like myself bang on about how they managed in their day etc etc.
You are both on a half decent wage in my eyes and yet the cost of living and giving children a comfortable upbringing seems to just get harder.
I guess by now, as you come across as capable, that you are already frugal. Problem is budgeting is pointless, as prices just continue to rise.
I know I'm not offering a practical solution but my utmost sympathy.
Holidays are the one thing I can maybe comment on, having never been taken on holiday as a child. There was no entertainment as such for me growing up, or my kids as we were in Namibia in the middle of a ruddy great desert, but kids are resilient and can find things to do I'm sure. I know it's hard when friends are going on sunshine holidays but hopefully they will remember being loved and cared for which is so important....with the odd bus trip to the coast maybe. Do check out travel specials for children.
More power to you my lovely.

Does your heart only go out to double income parents? What about us solo/ single parents ? This married couple could try and earn more. With one person in the household we are more limited as to what we earn.

Westfacing · 30/09/2026 19:30

Chewbecca · 30/09/2026 17:44

The example couple jobs you quote would bring in quite a bit more than £45k between them in 2026 so they would be much more comfortable than OP.

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Yes they would but they still wouldn't be able to afford a house in London on two modest salaries, whereas that was possible in the 80s

My point was about the increase in housing costs in relation to earnings

IDontHateRainbows · 30/09/2026 19:31

We have one decent income and one min wage income, but additional income equivalent to min wage from a property inheritance.

Kids are too old for childcare, too young for uni.

6 years left on the mortgage at £600/ month

Old bangers so no car credit (expensive repairs tho)

Modest uk holidays

DiscombobulatedHedgehog · 30/09/2026 19:44

I’m on my own with my children, have a horrible ex and have zero family to help with childcare - also live somewhere with no afterschool care in the schools…so I work term time and accept I’ll always be poor.

The place I can pare back the most when I need to is on shopping (porridge pretty much every day, it can be at lunch or dinner too, lots of hearty lentil soup and stews with barley/quinoa etc). It’s also on little bits that you almost forget about, the “top up shops” that also include a bar of chocolate for example. I don’t drink alcohol, have no subscriptions, I rarely go out and have fun, rarely spend on myself even if it is secondhand. We’re happy though, the house is full of laughter and we’re healthy, so I try to count my blessings.

KookyFish · 30/09/2026 19:48

Itsnotallaboutyoulikeyouthink · 30/09/2026 19:29

Does your heart only go out to double income parents? What about us solo/ single parents ? This married couple could try and earn more. With one person in the household we are more limited as to what we earn.

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What a wierd response to a lovely post by a caring, empathetic lady offering her kind thoughts....

Ihateboris · 30/09/2026 19:50

KookyFish · 30/09/2026 19:48

What a wierd response to a lovely post by a caring, empathetic lady offering her kind thoughts....

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I thought exactly the same...

kxeil · 30/09/2026 19:50

@ThisWiseRobin I thought your post was so lovely.

beautifuldaytosavelives · 30/09/2026 19:59

Maomee · 30/09/2026 07:42

£150 is not a lot of money for a family at all. It's not even much disposable income for one person living alone. Is this after your savings?
Unfortunately most workers in the UK now live in relative poverty due to bills and other unavoidable costs such as commuting, it does seem like if you're not entitled to any benefits and don't earn huge amounts you're the most worse off of all.

Many of us on better salaries than that aren’t able to prioritise saving.

OttilieKnackered · 30/09/2026 20:04

We have a household income of more than that (comes to about £4400 a month) but we then spend £700 on childcare and save about 1k a month. We’re fairly frugal but can afford an occasional takeaway, coffee out, caravan holiday.

Depends how much your rent is but I can’t imagine there’s much in it when I take our savings out of the equation. I don’t feel that poor.

Whenever there is a thread like this there always seems to be a really obvious way to save money that the OP won’t budge on. Eg I have a horse that costs £500 a month but my daughter loves her. Or we pay £400 on car finance cos my husband wanted a brand new car. Anything like that?

What is your rent?

everyoldsock · 30/09/2026 20:09

KookyFish · 30/09/2026 19:48

What a wierd response to a lovely post by a caring, empathetic lady offering her kind thoughts....

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I don't think it's weird at all. OP is CHOOSING to work part-time and complaining her and her partner don't have much disposable income. They have the capacity to earn much more than some people who only have one income coming in.

Shatenoeuf · 30/09/2026 20:18

Snowbear96 · 30/09/2026 07:14

We are on a household income of 45k a year. I work term time on a support staff salary, and partner is full time on a basic salary. After all out bills have been delegated this month (inc all bills and food etc) we are left with £150 to play with. This is for days out, treats and bits and bobs for the kids. I am grateful we do have some left as I know some don’t , but how are people affording nice things like holidays? It honestly baffles me that on minimum wages people can’t love comfortable anymore.

Have you thought about upping your hours or training/looking for better paid work?

Support staff & term time only tends to equate to only about 50% of full time work and its often barely more than minimum wage.

foursquares · 30/09/2026 20:28

WhatNextImScared · 30/09/2026 08:35

We have a joint income of over £100k and we only have about £300 left after all bills and food are covered. We barely make savings. We have two kids. It’s exhausting. We both work hard in professional jobs and neither of us have enough saved for retirement. Life has turned out to be one long miserable slog. If I’d known how things would turn out financially for us (that we could work so hard and still have to be this constantly careful and anxious about money) I absolutely would not have had children. I took the decision before things got so tough. I can absolutely understand why we’re in a birth rate crisis.

Hmmm..we earn less than you, and manage to save a decent amount each month. Have you over leveraged yourself with mortgage??

thislittlelife · 30/09/2026 20:33

I was hoping to remain part time until our children finished primary school, but I've gone back up to full time several years earlier than planned. It's fine, we have a comfortable (though not luxurious) life and it's worth it. But we just couldn't afford to give our children the opportunities and experiences we want them to have without two full time salaries (public sector, middle earners). Although we're exhausted and never fully on top of the housework!

foursquares · 30/09/2026 20:50

Heysham1 · 30/09/2026 14:23

A genuine question….if you could rewind the clock, would you have preferred to not have children (and therefore enjoy your dual income) or would you have preferred to have children but managed with say, one full-time and one part job and lowered your standard of living?

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You can have a good life on £100k with children..

foursquares · 30/09/2026 20:50

thislittlelife · 30/09/2026 20:33

I was hoping to remain part time until our children finished primary school, but I've gone back up to full time several years earlier than planned. It's fine, we have a comfortable (though not luxurious) life and it's worth it. But we just couldn't afford to give our children the opportunities and experiences we want them to have without two full time salaries (public sector, middle earners). Although we're exhausted and never fully on top of the housework!

How much do you earn?

KookyFish · 30/09/2026 21:09

everyoldsock · 30/09/2026 20:09

I don't think it's weird at all. OP is CHOOSING to work part-time and complaining her and her partner don't have much disposable income. They have the capacity to earn much more than some people who only have one income coming in.

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So it's fair to give a dick response to a lady who was just being sympathetic to the struggles of almost every young family these days?
Fair enough if you think OP should work full time but what's that got to do with a nice lady who took her time to offer her kind thoughts on today's cost of living struggles?

everyoldsock · 30/09/2026 21:26

KookyFish · 30/09/2026 21:09

So it's fair to give a dick response to a lady who was just being sympathetic to the struggles of almost every young family these days?
Fair enough if you think OP should work full time but what's that got to do with a nice lady who took her time to offer her kind thoughts on today's cost of living struggles?

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Yes, it’s fair because that sympathy was, in my opinion, misplaced.

Seasonofthesticks · 30/09/2026 21:34

My income is £33k yearly and I have around £600 to play with before savings, after all
bills, debts, groceries, travel costs, pet costs, internet, mobile phone and tv subscriptions. I have one disabled child who is not cheap to feed or look after! (ARFIDs and still in nappies) are you entitled to UC?

Seasonofthesticks · 30/09/2026 21:36

ThisWiseRobin · 30/09/2026 07:57

Can I say that as a nearly 70 year old, my heart goes out to hardworking, double income parents who are struggling. There seems to be no end to the digging behind the sofa for spare change.
I get particularly frustrated when older folks like myself bang on about how they managed in their day etc etc.
You are both on a half decent wage in my eyes and yet the cost of living and giving children a comfortable upbringing seems to just get harder.
I guess by now, as you come across as capable, that you are already frugal. Problem is budgeting is pointless, as prices just continue to rise.
I know I'm not offering a practical solution but my utmost sympathy.
Holidays are the one thing I can maybe comment on, having never been taken on holiday as a child. There was no entertainment as such for me growing up, or my kids as we were in Namibia in the middle of a ruddy great desert, but kids are resilient and can find things to do I'm sure. I know it's hard when friends are going on sunshine holidays but hopefully they will remember being loved and cared for which is so important....with the odd bus trip to the coast maybe. Do check out travel specials for children.
More power to you my lovely.

Just to say you sound lovely 🥰

MeetMeOnTheCorner · 30/09/2026 21:47

@Westfacing It’s supply and demand in London. It’s not purely about affordability. Most people on average salaries don’t live in expensive areas and, frankly, Chiswick is mixed in terms of desirability.

Jobbimg builder is an interesting term. It implies working when you get it. In reality a builder now is turning away work! They can earn very well. Firefighters often have second jobs and earn well. These people can all afford homes outside of London if they choose wisely and there’s two of them.

The op needs to consider teacher training to earn more. People with limited qualifications have never earned well but that can be changed!