What do you consider a 'decent' salary (non-London)

Pete111

ringo_24601 wrote: »

Meh, quit whining. This site isn't specifically for anyone. It's for anyone trying to get advice on their financial situation and who wants to make the most from their income. I know some very rich people who still use the vouchers from this site.

Well said

I'm on a decent wedge and I have recently used MSE to find out what credit cards give the best discounts etc

I now have a tesco credit card and teh points I accumulate will enable us to take a couple of nice hotel breaks each year free of charge. Free stuff is still free stuff!

On the downside however , I now have to flash a tesco credit card.....

FakeIrish

Oh, and I do understand how £50K pa may not be enough if you have a huge mortgage and living on your own - but this isn't the case. Like you, I have also done the expensive holidays travelling down under etc - but there comes a point when you need to think whether you can afford to continue do so. I've decided I cannot afford this types of holidays at the moment and havemade sacrifices for now. Surely you could curtail the type of holidays you have until you have sorted yourself out?

In all seriousness, your posting is a bit weird by stating your full salary and complaining it's not enough when you know full well there are people here who would love to be in your position. Your salary is more than double the national average - consider yourself lucky especially as the future looks bright. Rationlise your spending, and be content with what you have - and not focus on things you don't have.

missworks2jobs

jojo90 wrote: »

What does the expenditure of someone spending say £10,000 per year look like? My mortgage is pretty much equal to that for starters hence wanting to move home. If I look to rent a room somewhere that's like £350 just to start with or £4,000 p.c.m. I think this country is just too expensive .

I want to retire by 40 and figure I need £750,000 - £1,000,000 in assets to generate £28,000 pre-tax accounting for inflation. Right now with current income that's just pie in the sky. Just seems to me like things work against those wanting to escape early.

To me that is a bloody fantastic salary!! £50k+ outside London and it depresses you? (my 2 jobs consisting of 52+hours a week earns me £22k max which is HALF that).

Also jojo90: Retire by 40! Again, its probably just the green eyed monster talking but are you serious? I'm only 30 and have worked since 16 and i'm fully expecting to have to work til I keel over dead. I never have a decent enough chunk of spare money to put into a pension fund and the state pension is shocking....plus if they keep raising the age, in another 30years time when i'm at retirement age (what I consider) there probably wont even be such a thing.

jojo90_2

Person_one wrote: »

Can I ask why you want to retire at 40? What will you do after? Do you not enjoy your job? If you don't do you not want to find one that you do?

Working can be very positive and satisfying if you have the right job, it gives you structure and purpose. I can't begin to imagine stopping at 40 and not doing another days work potentially 40 or 50 more years!

Unless you were retiring at 40 to realise your dream of opening a school for scientifically gifted children in the favelas of Rio, or something like that wouldn't you be bored and unfulfilled pretty quickly?

There are many many things I want to experience in life and 6 weeks of leave per year isn't even remotely enough free time. Travelling the world by bicycle, motorbike, and sailboat is one of those dreams. Living the good life in SE Asia is another (28k will go a hell of a long way there). Charity work is another thing I would like to dedicate a few years of my life to.

It's more about freedom and financial independence than retirement. There are plenty of lower paid jobs I'd want to try however doing them now would mean being trapped until 65 .

Anyway, I've so far spend zero money this week and all my food has been covered by company expenses . Off to Asda in a mo as they've got cheap petrol and going to see how little I can spend on food for the week.... Only planning BBQ with friends as entertainment this weekend so should stop me spending as well!

On the negative side my promotion at work included a car allowance that I took as cash. Unfortunately I failed to realise this meant a reduction in the amount I could claim per mile for petrol! Compounding this is my equally unfortunate decision to buy a car with a 2.9 litre straight 6 twin turbo charged engine... 30mpg .

snowqueen555

The big chunk of your money is going to entertainment and holiday and misc. It seems pointless to talk about saving pennies on petrol etc.

I guess perspective helps. Did you ever earn minimum wage? Its not surprising OP has this spending habit, if they started out on 28k.

I'm from a poor family and everyday I see my parents with little money, I guess this kind of environment makes me see money in a different way.

I take home about £900pm after tax, rent and bills come to £300, food/entertainment etc is £300 and I save £300 (only just cleared my debt lol).

I'd slowly save, if you jump into the deep end you'll probably give up.

Why don't you try saving a set figure like 20% a month and build it up

Person_one

jojo90 wrote: »

There are many many things I want to experience in life and 6 weeks of leave per year isn't even remotely enough free time. Travelling the world by bicycle, motorbike, and sailboat is one of those dreams. Living the good life in SE Asia is another (28k will go a hell of a long way there). Charity work is another thing I would like to dedicate a few years of my life to.

It's more about freedom and financial independence than retirement. There are plenty of lower paid jobs I'd want to try however doing them now would mean being trapped until 65 .

Does your employer offer sabbaticals? Have you considered merely taking career breaks instead of completely retiring? Earning 50K you must be fairly skilled and would probably be able to find employment on your return from your travels/hobbies. As for living it up in SE Asia, what about working out there? Would it be a possibility? What better way to integrate into another culture!

PassedAtFailing

jojo90 wrote: »

There are many many things I want to experience in life and 6 weeks of leave per year isn't even remotely enough free time. Travelling the world by bicycle, motorbike, and sailboat is one of those dreams. Living the good life in SE Asia is another (28k will go a hell of a long way there). Charity work is another thing I would like to dedicate a few years of my life to.

It's more about freedom and financial independence than retirement. There are plenty of lower paid jobs I'd want to try however doing them now would mean being trapped until 65 .

Anyway, I've so far spend zero money this week and all my food has been covered by company expenses . Off to Asda in a mo as they've got cheap petrol and going to see how little I can spend on food for the week.... Only planning BBQ with friends as entertainment this weekend so should stop me spending as well!

On the negative side my promotion at work included a car allowance that I took as cash. Unfortunately I failed to realise this meant a reduction in the amount I could claim per mile for petrol! Compounding this is my equally unfortunate decision to buy a car with a 2.9 litre straight 6 twin turbo charged engine... 30mpg .

Nope, I don't think 6 weeks of leave a year has bought you any sympathy either.

Oldernotwiser

PassedAtFailing wrote: »

Nope, I don't think 6 weeks of leave a year has bought you any sympathy either.

Everybody gets 28 days leave which is only 2 days short of 6 weeks.

jojo90_2

Hmmmm.

I am starting to get a little peeved by some of the comments that I've ignored so far however probably time to respond. If you took the time to read through my posts I’m looking to hear from other people to get a sense of perspective and advice.

Personally I’ve not been out of work since the age of 14 and that includes working right through my time at University. Some of my more affluent friends just lived off mum and dad however my parents aren’t well off. The jobs I’ve worked in the past have been totally !!!!. Minimum wage at McDonalds is no fun in anyone’s book. Mind numbing data entry jobs are almost as bad. Repetitive bank call centres are just plain awful. I’ve had exactly the same opportunities as the majority of the population (although I acknowledge some people are in unfortunate family situations and have my sympathy)… in fact a lot less opportunities than my friends... their parents funded their education and gave large amounts of cash for housing deposits. I'm not bitter about this becuase it taught me the value of hard work early on in life... something those same friends haven't learnt and now, without that support net, some are struggling .

Point is I always had a target in my mind - £50,000 by 30, then I would be rich! All it would need is a bit of a plan a A LOT of hard work! After working my !!! off to get 1st class BSc. and MSc. with distinction in a science from Red Brick university (all self supported) I’m finally there early! At 29!

Unfortunately it’s not how I expected it to be.

Perspective and advice is what I’m after and I’m grateful to those who have taken the time to provide it . Yesterday was the first time I think I’ve ever looked at the price of the things going into my shopping trolley… and it shocked me! Managed to get a whole week’s shop for £20 versus the £65 I used to spend! I have also been looking at ways to tone down the holidays while still having the same experiences and at other expenses too. I think for me personally a few tweaks here and there will really add up and help me re-learn the value of money as I used to understand it earning £3.60 per hour at McDonalds at 16.

jojo90_2

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Everybody gets 28 days leave which is only 2 days short of 6 weeks.

Yep - I get 28 and I'm contracted to work 36 hours per week, but usually put in 60, so the boss let's me take TOIL when I want it so that usually works out as 6 weeks leave and the odd long weekend (I could in theory take a lot more... but in today's modern workplace that's just not how things go... most places would go under if people stuck to contracted hours).