Is £40,000 really a liveable income for families in the UK?

RenovationMan

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

We're not allowed to do either. I'm NDG trading as Miss NDG of Counsel.

Just fill in a self-employed tax return adn VAT return.

I think you end up with a reduced state pension when you're self-employed as you pay a reduced stamp. Not that it matters as I'm sure you've got your personal pensions all in hand. Are you registered for flat rate VAT? You can save quite a bit of money as I doubt you buy much equipment to be able to claim VAT back against.

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Hence the large deposit. We've also spent £60k on necessary work to the new flat.

What sort of age is the property, is it one of the Georgian properties that you mentioned before? Our property was built circa 1750 and we've had to spend some money on necessary work and some on niceties. I have no doubt though that we could pour endless thousands into the house if we were so inclined.

Jimmy_31

RenovationMan wrote: »

I think you end up with a reduced state pension when you're self-employed as you pay a reduced stamp. Not that it matters as I'm sure you've got your personal pensions all in hand. Are you registered for flat rate VAT? You can save quite a bit of money as I doubt you buy much equipment to be able to claim VAT back against.

What sort of age is the property, is it one of the Georgian properties that you mentioned before? Our property was built circa 1750 and we've had to spend some money on necessary work and some on niceties. I have no doubt though that we could pour endless thousands into the house if we were so inclined.

Thats me starving or freezing to death when i retire then if thats the case.

Im self employed and dont earn enough to pay into a pension, everybody i work with has no pension set up either.

Our wages dont even cover the basic bills anymore never mind saving for the future.

Come to think of it, the only person i know who has a pension is a fella who works on the maintenance for the local council.

Cleaver

Jimmy_31 wrote: »

Come to think of it, the only person i know who has a pension is a fella who works on the maintenance for the local council.

I don't think I know anyone without a pension. I guess it depends which circles you move in.

Do you have any friends who smoke or drink down the pub? I always think that if you can afford to do this then you can probably afford a pension instead.

ukcarper

Not 100% sure I believed that a self-employed stamp is enough for the state pension.

Jimmy_31

Cleaver wrote: »

I don't think I know anyone without a pension. I guess it depends which circles you move in.

Do you have any friends who smoke or drink down the pub? I always think that if you can afford to do this then you can probably afford a pension instead.

My friends and workmates dont socialise anymore, its been that way for the last few years.

I can see what you are getting at (my mates pi55 all their wages up the wall) but this is not the case.

I do have a couple of friends who collect scrap on a weekend, they have recently started doing this due to their van insurance doubling so have to find the money to pay it or lose their jobs.

RenovationMan

Jimmy_31 wrote: »

Thats me starving or freezing to death when i retire then if thats the case.

Im self employed and dont earn enough to pay into a pension, everybody i work with has no pension set up either.

Perhaps its time to look at a different career?

phototest

The life a family on £40k gross can enjoy today would be the envy of the average family thirty years ago.... ahh we will actually return to the living standards we had half a generation ago.

Voyager2002

phototest wrote: »

The life a family on £40k gross can enjoy today would be the envy of the average family thirty years ago.... ahh we will actually return to the living standards we had half a generation ago.

It all depends on their housing situation...

If work commitments oblige them to live within striking distance of Central London, and they didn't have a substantial deposit to buy a home, then they might well be really struggling after servicing a mortgage on more than 90 per cent of the market price of a family home in that part of the world, or (even worse) paying free market rents. If they live anywhere else, or are able to control their housing costs, then they will be extremely wealthy by any realistic standard.

Cleaver

Jimmy_31 wrote: »

My friends and workmates dont socialise anymore, its been that way for the last few years.

I can see what you are getting at (my mates pi55 all their wages up the wall) but this is not the case.

I do have a couple of friends who collect scrap on a weekend, they have recently started doing this due to their van insurance doubling so have to find the money to pay it or lose their jobs.

Blimey. It's safe to say Jimmy that I've never come across anyone before where pretty much every single person they know is minimum wage or unemployed, constantly unlucky in life, completely unskilled and frankly hapless at making anything good happen in their lives. It's like you all exist in some tenement slum in 19th century Lancashire.

jfh7gwa

Cleaver wrote: »

Blimey. It's safe to say Jimmy that I've never come across anyone before where pretty much every single person they know is minimum wage or unemployed, constantly unlucky in life, completely unskilled and frankly hapless at making anything good happen in their lives.

It's quite a depressing state of affairs, but I have known whole groups of people who fit into that category on the edge of my family ties (uncles, aunts, cousins, etc) - depressing stuff. Not sll of the people I know - but whole collections of folks where it's not unusual.

Cleaver wrote: »

It's like you all exist in some tenement slum in 19th century Lancashire.

That one tickled me! :rotfl: