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Income brackets: what is prception of low/middle high
Comments
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People just spend what they have, don't they? Higher income = bigger house, higher mortgage, more expensive holidays, bigger cars. Then that becomes the 'norm' and life appears unaffordable. Spam Valley syndrome
I think for the most part this is very true. I have a tiny car though. And currently live with my parents while DH lodges closer to his work on weekdays so we save more rather than spend more.....to spend more in the furture though, so your point stands.0 -
People just spend what they have, don't they? Higher income = bigger house, higher mortgage, more expensive holidays, bigger cars. Then that becomes the 'norm' and life appears unaffordable. Spam Valley syndrome
In the main yes...I still had my budget head on even when both my husband and I were earning good money (well good to us anyway). We still had caravan holidays in the UK, purchased the reduced food in the supermarket, shoes that were no more than £10 (fiver if I could find it!) and we did without brand new expensive sofa suites, fitted kitchens etc.
Which meant that we had a nice little slush fund, no credit card or loan debt and felt pretty comfortable.....I didn't even have to work as we could do that on my husbands salary alone but I liked working as it gave me a sense of purpose and got me out of the house and with adults.
On the other hand, my colleagues had husbands earning more than myself and hubby put together plus their own salaries (which was the same as mine) but were finding it a struggle, even with less children. Unfortunately, they also liked expensive holidays (5k for a holiday! What!!), new expensive kitchens (10k+), sofa suites (4k), expensive clothes for them and their children and shoes which started at £50 a pair......and they had loans and credit cards coming out of their ears and were forever stressing about how little they had and how they would cope in paying everything back if one of them lost their job.
They just couldn't see my way of thinking either......We made it! All three boys have graduated, it's been hard work but it shows there is a possibility of a chance of normal (ish) life after a diagnosis (or two) of ASD. It's not been the easiest route but I am so glad I ignored everything and everyone and did my own therapies with them.
Eldests' EDS diagnosis 4.5.10, mine 13.1.11 eekk - now having fun and games as a wheelchair user.0 -
My wife works part time, around 12k a year. My money is all over the place, from £800 in a month to £6.5 k.
My income's like that.
Two months in 2008, I received less than £400 (July and August, I think). One month, I got £11,000, mostly from a Court of Appeal case I did in January to June 2007....much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0 -
PasturesNew wrote: »I'd say £2k take-home is loaded
But at £1k take-home it's hard to cover the basics of rent, bills, cost to get to work, food, a basic life (no holidays, no posh outings, watching the pennies to the point where people in couples call you tight because they just don't realise you don't HAVE the money, they think you're just tight)
My sister's on £13k, I think, something like that, anyway. Which I think is crap. She's a journalist, and has only been in the job 18 months. She is always totally broke.
She lives at my parents' house, and does pay rent, but not that much. Her food bills are very, very high, for a single 29 year old, because she has coeliac disease and can't eat anything with even a speck of gluten in it....much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0 -
In my area a family home of 3/4 bedrooms would be anywhere from £650 - £850 per month. So again, where I live that £2k would still go very far.
If you had a wife / husband staying at home with, say, 3 kids, I'm not sure £2k would feel like a fortune, though....much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0 -
skintchick wrote: »
Super-high: 70k plus
I've done it like this as I consider medium wages to be those on which you can just about manage to live in a single-wage household, low where you struggle, high where you are comfortable and super-high where money is not a concern.
OH and I earn well over £70k between us, but we are still careful about money and what we do with it.
From our post-tax income, we pay £1,200 a month for rent and water, aprox. £250 a month in other bills, and £2,100 a month for childcare. That takes a reasonable chunk straight away - £3,550 a month, or £42,600 a year....much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0 -
skintchick wrote: »So has my brother! And he is still earning a fortune in the Wharf so he's a lucky guy. He's been a super-high earner since I can remember.
Maybe he's the same chap (-:...much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0 -
People just spend what they have, don't they? Higher income = bigger house, higher mortgage, more expensive holidays, bigger cars. Then that becomes the 'norm' and life appears unaffordable. Spam Valley syndrome
Yes, but no, but yes...
We have taken care not to do that....much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0 -
Unfortunately, they also liked expensive holidays (5k for a holiday! What!!), new expensive kitchens (10k+), sofa suites (4k), expensive clothes for them and their children and shoes which started at £50 a pair....
I've never bought a kitchen, agree that £5k is an extraordinary amount to spend on a holiday, and we've bought one sofa (£450, I think, 6 years ago, and it's still lovely).
Children's shoes can end up costing a fortune, even if each pair isn't that pricey, because the damn things get too small so fast!...much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0 -
Interesting thread...
What is Low, Middle and High?
Im 25 and earning a fairly good income with a basic salary of around £52k. Perhaps a little more if i get some O/T. Our joint salary is at around the £85k mark, possibly £88k with OT factored in. Usually around £5200pm will hit our bank account with a further £80 or so in CB.
I would definitely consider this as a middle income. Split it down the middle and it 'only' equates to £42.5k apiece. How anyone can state that as a high income at an average £42.5k is wrong.
However, If my wife were to stop working and i had to bring in £5200pm by myself i would be required to earn a singular salary of £96k with the obvious reasoning of the tax bands and personal allowances, and i would consider a singular salary of £96k to be that of a high income.
But overall to me, in a singular sense...
Low £0-18k
Average £18-32k
Middle £32-75k
High £75k
In a couple sense...
Low £0-22k
Average £22k-£45k
Middle £45k-£120k
High £120k+
I/we still have to watch our pennies like everyone else does on much lower incomes. The more you earn the more commitments you are likely to take on. My childcare bill is around £1k pm and we pay around £1500pm towards our mortgage (overpaying by around 25%) When you take that off our totals, it soon dwindles away.
There are plenty people earning a far lot more than us. We dont see ourselves as rich or wealthy, just 2 ordinary people with decent paid jobs and a steady comfortable lifestyle. We dont live in a mansion, we dont drive supercars, and we dont have 5 foreign holidays per year.
Mitchaa0
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