It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

mardatha

We are on around £10.300 joint income !

chevalier

just wanted to say that this has been a really interesting thread. I hope that those that are facing possible losses of work, come through unscathed, and may all of your veggies give you bumper crops

chev

pagangirl

Quote from Ceridwen [So I rate less than £20,000 pa as very low and less than £15,000 as "totally shocking".]

That's me totally shocking then !

My basic wage before any deductions is £13233.00 Actual pick up pay for year after deductions is £10580.00 :eek:

With careful planning, stocking up when I see food bargains, and using a lot of the hints & tips I've picked up on this site - I reckon I can save about £3,700 of that this year.

How people can earn excess of £45k and still class themselves as low waged is beyond me - maybe they should do a swop and see how the other half manage !
(no offence to your friends Kidcat)


(PS - I always though my sig was a quote from His Holiness the Dalai Lama too !)

sparrer

Can I just butt in the conversation and ask, if less that £15,000 is totally shocking, what £6,650 pa is classed as? I can think of a few names for it but not printable here. That's after tax btw...over 60's have to pay tax on the company pensions they've been paying in to, which imho is totally wrong. I'd like to be a politician, they can get away with daylight robbery!

ceridwen

pagangirl wrote: »

Quote from Ceridwen [So I rate less than £20,000 pa as very low and less than £15,000 as "totally shocking".]

That's me totally shocking then !

My basic wage before any deductions is £13233.00 Actual pick up pay for year after deductions is £10580.00 :eek:

With careful planning, stocking up when I see food bargains, and using a lot of the hints & tips I've picked up on this site - I reckon I can save about £3,700 of that this year.

Whew - well hats off to you being able to save on that then PaganGirl - we've all (errr....well....some of us...<cough>) got a lot to learn from you managing to save that much on that level of income (particularly as I suspect you are still paying rent or mortgage on your home out of that).....

...steps back in amazement time.....:beer:

ceridwen

sparrer wrote: »

Can I just butt in the conversation and ask, if less that £15,000 is totally shocking, what £6,650 pa is classed as? I can think of a few names for it but not printable here. That's after tax btw...over 60's have to pay tax on the company pensions they've been paying in to, which imho is totally wrong. I'd like to be a politician, they can get away with daylight robbery!

I think the names I would call it as well are of the "unprintable" variety - but suffice it to say that I think every hair on my head would turn grey instantly at the thought of trying to live on that income personally :eek:

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

kidcat wrote: »

I agree with ceridwen, although until today had never really quantified figures exactly, the thing that shocks me is that two of my friends both live in households earning in excess of £45k and consider themselves to be on low income! Whereas we survive on well less than half of that amount. As with anything these things are all subjective.

and I bet you live just as well and moan about it half as much.

kidcat

MRSTITTLEMOUSE wrote: »

and I bet you live just as well and moan about it half as much.

Its not that we live as well, we just dont acquire debt, having managed to clear our debts in Dec 2008, which were from ten years ago, we live within our means, whereas our friends earning over £45k are still taking on new debts all over the place, inc a holiday this summer costing over £6k, all to be borrowed because they cannot afford it otherwise.

I have tried to talk to them about it, but the attitude is that they have to go into debt for these things because the money coming in is just not enough to live on. Yet when you look at how they spend its easy to see places t o make huge savings, not even by making radical changes just small stuff that would make a big difference.

What saddens me is that there are people out there who genuinely struggle to pay their basic needs and who are doing everything they can to survive and that sort of attitude makes a mockery of it all TBH. I am advocating living within their means, but it seems too much for many people. The worrying thing is that if that is the attitude of people across the country what hope do we have for the whole economy?

Primrose

Agree with you kidcat. I simply cannot understand why people put themselves into debt to afford things which are not really essential. It seems to come from a concept that "I'm worth it. I have a right to have it". As we've all seen recently, the day of reckoning has already arrived for many people who've adopted that attitude, and yet some people still haven't learned the hard lesson because they haven't yet been personally affected. They would be the firs to complain if the banks called in the debt they incurred for that expensive holiday, etc. yet still seem to be incapable of understanding the difference between "necessities" and "luxuries".

kidcat

Primrose wrote: »

Agree with you kidcat. I simply cannot understand why people put themselves into debt to afford things which are not really essential. It seems to come from a concept that "I'm worth it. I have a right to have it". As we've all seen recently, the day of reckoning has already arrived for many people who've adopted that attitude, and yet some people still haven't learned the hard lesson because they haven't yet been personally affected. They would be the firs to complain if the banks called in the debt they incurred for that expensive holiday, etc. yet still seem to be incapable of understanding the difference between "necessities" and "luxuries".

It seems to me that peoples attitude is that these things are essentials not luxuries. !!:eek: