15k-18k in London. Is it good enough?

cashbackproblems

I have a friend who bought a one bed in zone 4 earning 18k (help from parents with deposit + shared mortgage), he paid bills/council tax/mortgage fully/transport etc was just breaking even but had his own place

Simon11

I'm from London and did a placement between 2nd/3rd yr at uni on £15k. After uni I jumped straight into a £22k job and after less than a year,i've moved companies to £28k. I've just put down deposit for a flat in the centre of town which is only 5 minutes walk to work and for train station to visit the family in London.

What it has taught me is that salary's are generally the same than compared to London but you get so much more for your money in terms of property prices!

cashbackproblems

Simon11 wrote: »

I'm from London and did a placement between 2nd/3rd yr at uni on £15k. After uni I jumped straight into a £22k job and after less than a year,i've moved companies to £28k. I've just put down deposit for a flat in the centre of town which is only 5 minutes walk to work and for train station to visit the family in London.

What it has taught me is that salary's are generally the same than compared to London but you get so much more for your money in terms of property prices!

i dont understand...u bought somewhere in central london? where do u get more for ur money?

Simon11

Sorry, moving to Birmingham. I'm right in the city centre, new build, 10th floor, 5 mins walk from work only £125k for the place. Compare that to my previous work location in London,where if I brough a similar place i would be looking at £750k, which is nutz!!!

londonlydia

I'd say wait for Islington, but take the job. Have you considered living further out (zones 3, 4) and commuting in?

MissSarah1972

cashbackproblems wrote: »

I have a friend who bought a one bed in zone 4 earning 18k (help from parents with deposit + shared mortgage), he paid bills/council tax/mortgage fully/transport etc was just breaking even but had his own place

A one bed flat ex council where I live in zone 4 go for about £150k and I could never afford the deposit for that so goodness only know who lent someone the money for a mortgage on £18k a year.

Mischa8

persa wrote: »

[sarcasm]Ah, tax evasion. Fabulous advice.[/sarcasm] It's only very illegal.

Top tip: if you are employed full time and need to steal to support your lifestyle, consider spending less rather than stealing more.

Why would I be stealing here?! don't make me laugh.

Haven't you heard of the *Up Your Income* board, indeed some posters here advocate 2nd jobs if they are in debt or they need/want to *up their income*.

As I've said, the OP will be able to afford London on the salary mentioned, but only if they make some compromises, particularly with housing. Some of your comments were helpful, but encouraging illegal activity really is not.

Well millions do it every year. and I meant what you do earn (depending on the work you get) declare it as and when.

I was looking at cash in hand babysitting jobs (yes through a reputable agency) - BUT when all's said and done after getting references, approved etc and weighing up my spare time and if I really wanted to babysit after work and at weekends, I decided not to do it but depending on the amount of work I got and how many times a week/month I doubt it would be considered taxable. If it were regular, every week etc then I would declare it but the odd what £30 a night earned from one night, would I declare this, no way Jose!

I ebay but always sell at a loss, not taxable, and I do this every 6 months or so. My brother does car boot sales every so often and has made enough to cover some credit card bills but really does he need to declare this to the tax man?? it isn't a regular income and is merely going towards his CC bills and nothing else. he's employed 3 days a week, college the other 2 days and so does declare normal paid work.

persa

Mischa8 wrote: »

Why would I be stealing here?! don't make me laugh.

Haven't you heard of the *Up Your Income* board, indeed some posters here advocate 2nd jobs if they are in debt or they need/want to *up their income*.

I refer you to your original comment:

Mischa8 wrote: »

Even better get a cash in hand job so you don't need to declare as taxable.

You have advocated earning money without a paper trail to avoid paying tax on it. Deliberating not paying tax you owe is essentially stealing from the government and all the other tax payers.

A second job is a good idea when you're struggling, but knowingly trying to slip through the system to avoid paying any tax on it is against the law. I don't for one second believe that Martin Lewis would condone that.

As for eBay and car boots, if you are clearing out unwanted odds and sods, chances are, you're not trading. If you're buying things on to flog on, or doing up old bits of junk to make them more attractive, well, you probably are and should be declaring. Plenty of people think eBay sales are not taxable, which is why HMRC are currently targeting eBay traders for unpaid taxes.

Mischa8 wrote: »

My brother does car boot sales every so often and has made enough to cover some credit card bills but really does he need to declare this to the tax man?? it isn't a regular income and is merely going towards his CC bills and nothing else. he's employed 3 days a week, college the other 2 days and so does declare normal paid work.

Again, it depends on whether he's trading or not. If he is trading, he should be declaring it, "normal" work or not.

I'll bow out now rather than risk derailing this thread, but my point is simple: all taxable income should be declared with the correct amount of taxes paid on it. London may be expensive, but that's no reason to try and cheat the system.

I agree with londonlydia, moving slightly further out and commuting in is a good idea. If you live out in Zones 3 to 4, the cost of housing will be much lower, but you'll still be close enough for the commute to be reasonable and for you to be able to get home easily after a late night in central London. I know several people who live outside London and get the train in, which actually doesn't take that long, but it does mean they have to think more carefully about getting home and can't necessarily socialise in London itself as much as they'd like to.

As porlock says, there's a lot of free stuff to do in London. It's worth being able to take advantage of it.

Callie22

persa wrote: »

As porlock says, there's a lot of free stuff to do in London. It's worth being able to take advantage of it.

I agree - that's one of the things I miss most about London. It actually is possible to have a really cheap day out - free museums, free events, cheap places to eat, really the main cost would be a travelcard. I live in the south-west now and it's impossible to do the same things for free/cheaply - public transport is ridiculous, museums etc are expensive, it's hard to find good cheap food. I really miss that part of London life.

bombata

18-20 k for a starting salary is normal!

18 month ago I was on 17k and I still managed to get by with a mortgage of about £500 and a £120 travel ticket. I even managed to save between 250-300 a months. I did not have much expendable income; but i wanted a security net to fall back on.

6 months later I was on 22k and then 1 year later they put me onto 26k. I know if I left my company I could get more. Its not how much you earn but what you do with it and there are a lot of people who survive on less in london.