MMR 11: The Wheeler Family

Faith_2

black-saturn wrote:

I live on 10k a year with 2 kids!!!

It's even more difficult on 10K!!

calleyw

black-saturn wrote:

I live on 10k a year with 2 kids!!!

Please don't take this the wrong way.

But you don't have a mortgage do you black saturn, I thought it was paid off (or am I confusing you with someone else)? And is that £10K before or after tax we are talking about. And please do tell me to mind my own business but are there any other benefits that you get for yourself being on such a low income. As that can take a chunk out of someones wage paying perscription charges, help with council tax etc.

Because if me and my husband had no mortgage we could easily live on 10K before or after tax. As no mortgage would free up a lot of money and would allow us a lot of extra money per month to live off.

And if it is £10k before tax then after tax etc then it is £720ish a month. And if it is £10K after tax etc then that is £833 a month. Which should make it a little easier to live.

I hope you don't think that I am having a go but just pointing out that it does make a lot of difference if you are on low income but not got a mortgage or having rent and council tax partly or fully paid for. Not that there is anything wrong with claiming the benefits that you are entitled to. I am all for claiming for what you are entitled to and would encourage people too.

And £20k a year is approx £1300 a month after tax etc. Sounds a lot but not when you have rent/Mortgage, council tax etc to pay. And two bottomless pits called teenagers to feed.

We are two adults and at the moment we live on £15k a year. Sounds a lot but we have mortgage and run a car and husband has to pay CSA money as well. So we don't have as much cash as you might think.


Yours

Calley

black-saturn

Actually I'm on £600 a month take home so it's a little under 10k. I dont have a mortgage but I do have all the same bills as all of you do. I did sacrifice a car though to be able to live within my means. Perhaps you should think about that?

Faith_2

I would love to have my mortgage paid off. That would be £300 extra for me every months. Then I wouldn't complain about all the other bills, because we all have to pay them, whether we have mortgage or rent to pay. And my car is my means to get to work as I couldn't use public transport to do my job. If I didn't need a car for work, I wouldn't think it a big sacrifice to be without one.

Bogof_Babe

Black-saturn, I think you replied to a question of mine on another board, to the effect that you do not pay Council Tax, as you are on benefits.

Council Tax is quite a considerable bite out of a low-ish income, for those who do have to pay it, so this might go some way to explaining how you seem to manage, while others contemplating such a meagre income might struggle.

If we didn't have to pay Council Tax we'd consider ourselves rich beyond our wildest dreams. As it is we just about break even. There's two of us, on early pension + savings interest = total income around £800 per month, and dependent on interest rates staying above 4%! After Council Tax, that's £650 a month .

Spendless

I think its impossible to say cos many things have to be taken into account. Hubby has a bit higher than average salary, but we are heavily taxed on his company car but we have a lower than average mortgage, no debt but no savings either. We bought this house 18 months before we were ready too, and we still owned my house which at the time was in neg equity. Fortunately we found tenants for my house, and then the housing boom happened, we made on my place. If we'd waited our mortgage would be a lot more, I'd have probably had to return to work and possibly we'd never have been able to have our youngest.

I do think that the MMR series needs to show this, that they may have a £50K salary but they have a mortgage of 'x' and debts of 'y'. I also think as I have said before they need to show more people on around average salaries. Unfortunately I missed this episode-cos I was shopping in the sales for next years pressies:money:

calleyw

black-saturn wrote:

Actually I'm on £600 a month take home so it's a little under 10k. I dont have a mortgage but I do have all the same bills as all of you do. I did sacrifice a car though to be able to live within my means. Perhaps you should think about that?

Begging your pardon but you don't have all the same bills to pay as all of us.

Most of peoples wages go on housing costs which is rent/Mortgage and council tax. You have worked and saved and paid off your mortgage which is good for you and you are claiming benefits that you are entitled to that allow you help with some or all of your council tax.

So prehaps you need to think about that before suggesting what other people should be able to live on. £21k a year with rent/mortgage and council tax to pay does not leave you with a lot to live on to pay other bills and feed and cloth two growing teenagers. If there rent and council tax comes to £600 a month(which is low) that is the same amount as you are living on per year. So that leaves them about £600ish a month to live off which is the same as you. And if they male teenagers they are bottomless pits and about £200 a month would be about the right figure to feed them every month. And then clothes as they are bigger they need adult size clothing, which costs more as they most of them will not wear charity shop clothes (not there is anything wrong with them).

So that now leaves £400 a month to pay all other bills and run a car which may well be needed to get to from and work as not everyone can walk, cycle or use public transport. And try and save a little if possible.

We have one income coming in at the moment and half of that wage goes to covering the mortgage and household bills. Then there are CSA payments to be made, pensions to paid in to etc, we just about have some money left at the end of the month and it is not a lot. And my husband earns thousands less than the national average of £25K a year. I have given up a lot more than just a car. Going out and having a social life, New clothes, oh I did buy myself a two pairs of value pants today for 65p as I have lost weight and my other pants will not stay up. I sit and shiver in the cold rather than turn the heating on, we have no telly. We run one car that is needed for my husband to see his children because at the moment husband works 5 min walk from home. So that we can live within our means. So please don't talk to me about sacrifice. I have made them and still do to keep heads above water.

And in the next month or so we may have no income at all because of a loss of a job due to health reasons. And benefits would not even cover the cost of the heating and food let alone the mortgage.

This is not and was never meant as an attack on you black saturn and I am sorry if you see it as that, as personally I think you are doing very well and I am amazed at how much little you spend on feeding yourself and children well. And you are well respected on the Oldstyle board. But you are missing my point that you cirumstances are not the same as others so you are not comparing like with like. You are trying to compare apples and pears. I mean 3 of you living on £7200 cash a year would make a good newspaper headline. But when you dig deeper it is different story. No rent/mortgage, no council tax to pay that makes a huge difference.

My husband and I could live on £600 a month cash with neither of those to pay. It would be a little tight and yes the car might well have to go. But we would manage.

Mind you it amazes me when people go on Martins show and they are earning a combined income of over £50k a year and they are still struggling.

Again I am sorry if you think that this is a personal attack. And if you do feel it is then please feel free to report it.

Yours

Calley