Familys need to earn £36,000

pink_princess

bankhater_1965 wrote: »

this is just for the basic living costs as seen on sky news !

Don't believe everything you read/view on television :cool:

We earn just under that a s a family of 5 and we enjoy a good standard of living. Far from what I would deem basic.

themull1

We earn about that, i cant afford a holiday on our wages, and we dont really have any debt, i think that the mortgage, utilities and groceries have become much more expensive, salaries hardly go up, and every year we're getting progressively worse off.

kerrypn

Reports like this are so misleading because people have different ideas on what "socially acceptable" lifestyle is.

Personally I think a good standard of living can be achieved on much less-I think nearer the 21/22k mark would be sufficient really, but I suppose it depends on the aspirations and needs of that family.

I might feel differently if I aspired to designer clothes/foreign holidays and regular trips out etc, but for a simple person with simple tastes, far less will suffice.

We are far far below the figure in this report and we have to budget but we arent poverty stricken or deprived, just thrifty :money:

chichi75

Hubby and I earn less than that combined even with Tax credit (child element) and child benefit!!! We live in Notts, and manage to live a decent life. We holiday once a year, and spend loads of time with the kids. Not saying its easy, but we budget and make do. I would rather be happy and healthy than Rich. I can say this with a big smile coz I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer last year and I'm still here, with my family and that is all that matters at the end of the day.

Arfa__

Wasn't this the figure that included the cost of childcare for two kids, so both adults could pursue a career and live comfortably. For a single parent, it was much less: £17K ish.

Childcare tends to be the killer though, often making it pointless striving for two incomes in the family.

The real issue of this story, wasn't so much the figure, which hasn't really changed in real terms over the last few years, but the fact there's around 3 million who now no longer earn that figure...

Full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18777101

MikeR71

Hooloovoo wrote: »

Both parents working full time on £18k pa gross? Sounds about right to me for a reasonably comfortable lifestyle with two kids.

I am afraid it doesn't.

Two parents working with two kids means childcare for two which will cost on average £250 a week. That's roughly £1000 a month. There is absolutely NO WAY you can get that from a joint £36000 gross salary, on top of rent/mortgage, council tax, food, bills etc.

Hooloovoo

MikeR71 wrote: »

I am afraid it doesn't.

Two parents working with two kids means childcare for two which will cost on average £250 a week. That's roughly £1000 a month. There is absolutely NO WAY you can get that from a joint £36000 gross salary, on top of rent/mortgage, council tax, food, bills etc.

I suggest you read the full article, because they did take child care into account.

http://mis.jrf.org.uk/

icklemissus

well no 1 that stands out as wrong is that they have only factored in 82.67 a week rent?! I couldnt rent my 2 bed flat for that! and I live a fairly cheap area.

Also...

on further inspection, cost for kids school shoes, only factored in enough for 3 pairs for the whole year for 2 children.

Baby products.. 8p a week? are they having a laugh?

Toys, apparently we only buy 1 baking set for £2 for the year!

Who knows who these people are that these people asked, but its a load of rubbish.

Yes you can live on less than £36k a year but it isnt a breeze!

quatrofromageo

When I was a kid in the 80s recession and my parents were both suddenly out of work we had to make do. That said, as a kid I happily sat with a pencil and paper drawing for hours or went out riding on my bike. I didn't need expensive video games, Sky TV, holidays or designer clothes. In fact, I remember only having fish fingers and chips most nights. But we were happy

mrsyardbroom

Two parents working with two kids means childcare for two which will cost on average £250 a week. That's roughly £1000 a month. There is absolutely NO WAY you can get that from a joint £36000 gross salary, on top of rent/mortgage, council tax, food, bills etc.

Before we retired we each worked part time, just 25 hours a week and we had an income of £24000 a year. We were very junior office people and not on managers' salaries. Lots of people in the same office who had children used to arrange their shifts so that they didn't need to pay for childcare. Some were able to work full time, and by working weekends and evenings they freed themselves up in the day to look after the children. It's hard but it can be done.
Two of us lived extremely comfortably on that salary. Now that we're retired our income has been halved and we find it hard going sometimes. We have to run a car and living in a rural area it can be very expensive as we have to use the car all the time for travel. Nevertheless we manage to have a holiday every year.