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

lostinrates

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

My OH is a site agent at a lower school on £10,500 pa plus he does a cleaning job for £4,000 pa. He took this job after being made redundant after working as an area manager for a cleaning company. He did so many hours his wages didn't even meet the minimum wage, so better living with less money than not living at all

so, the cleaning company was private sector and he got less per hour than he does now in a management role?

Butterfly_Brain

That is correct because he was doing on average 62 hours a week over six days for £25k pa

lostinrates

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

That is correct because he was doing on average 62 hours a week over six days for £25k pa

I pity the people he was managing. Their wages per hour ust have been much worse than the public sector then, as were his.


As a matter of interest, does he look for better paid work or is he happy now where he is?

MrRee_2

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

My OH is a site agent at a lower school on £10,500 pa plus he does a cleaning job for £4,000 pa. He took this job after being made redundant after working as an area manager for a cleaning company. He did so many hours his wages didn't even meet the minimum wage, so better living with less money than not living at all

That is an absolute dissgrace - I haven't seen such terrible wage numbers since the late 1980's.

I am shocked and humbled in equal measure.

[Deleted User]

michaels wrote: »

Net pay is just under 1600, as anticipated I get 300 wftc and 200 child benefit. Expenditure: 2.5%, interest only (=£525), £100 petrol, £400 food, £150 gas and electric, £150 council tax, SAHW so no child care...and I exaggerated as I boost my income by a few hundred tax free via stoozing, matched betting, cashback etc.

So, you agree? If you only had your £25k income, you'd be in trouble... You get benefits and have additional sources of income? 500 quid tax free bonus.. Nice

Interest only mortgage. Guess you don't plan on living in that house in your old age

Jimmy_31

MrRee wrote: »

That is an absolute dissgrace - I haven't seen such terrible wage numbers since the late 1980's.

I am shocked and humbled in equal measure.

Does this mean you are going to stop banging on about how rich you are and how its a piece of pi55 to save a grand a month ?

Let me know when one of you decides.

macaque_2

MrRee wrote: »

That is the question posed by the BBC.

Just £40,000 is the average that families have to live on per year - I cannot believe it is that little ...... it must be a struggle if it's true - maybe the information is a couple of years old?

Anyway ... interesting read:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15197860

Apologies if this has been pointed out but the OP is based on a false assumption.

The average income for a British family with two adults working is £40,000 a year.

The "average that families have to live on per year" is not £40,000 since the average family does not have two adults working. I don't know what percentage of families have two working adults but it is not 100%.

Butterfly_Brain

MrRee
Now you know why so many low paid public sector workers are really really peed off at everyone thinking that they earn high wages and low hours ...In the majority that is not the case, and as for gold plated pensions DH will be lucky to get £2,000 pa and he has to pay £100 pm into it, that is a real hardship some months when bills come in, but the only other option is not to have a pension at all, at least we are trying to help towards our retirement. I took out a private pension 25 years ago and it will only be worth £1 a week when I retire.

real1314

MrRee wrote: »

That is the question posed by the BBC.

Just £40,000 is the average that families have to live on per year - I cannot believe it is that little ...... it must be a struggle if it's true - maybe the information is a couple of years old?

Anyway ... interesting read:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15197860

Head out of the sand? Get into the real world? Cloud Cuckoo Land?

A benefits processor in jobcentre plus gets about £17-19k a year. So a couple made up of 2 JCP staff would be on a bit less than that. And if the info is a couple of years old, what difference would that make? :cool:

real1314

chewmylegoff wrote: »

i wouldn't want to even try bringing up a family in london with less than £100kpa personally. i'm sure it's possible on less, but that's not how i want to live.

And yet you complain about people who get paid £20k per year wanting a decent pension?

The irony of it. :cool: