Salary Reality Check

ruggedtoast

Loughton_Monkey wrote: »

Goats & Monkeys!

Did you think this was a secret known only to 'rentiers'? Of course it is obvious that tenants are paying mortgage+. So why do it? We afforded a house for the main reason that we rented a cheap [and I mean cheap] 1-bed top floor hovel so that we could soon take on a mortgage at less cost than renting the same property that we bought first time.

Everyone is different, and has different priorities. It is not uncommon, and nothing wrong with choosing to rent a reasonable place - if that's the priority. But it clearly has implications. Don't be surprised at the implications.

Isn't it the same as cars? A car has costs, depreciation being a significant one. If I save up and buy my first, then I can afford to save up [i.e. pay depreciation monthly] and buy another one for cash in 5 years. If I buy my first on credit/HP, then of course I'd struggle to save up for a replacement, and would then have to have the next one on credit as well....

This is mathematics. It is common sense. It is life. There is no magic wand.

It's a free world and I have no objection to people making specific choices. I do, however, have little time for the view that 'something should be done...' or 'isn't this a sad plight...' when the outcome of any choice is reasonably foreseeable.

It has nothing to do with buying cars. It has everything to do with people trapped in unsuitable over priced rented accommodation with no realistic chance of escaping because they will never earn enough to save no matter how hard they work.

Thrugelmir

black_taxi wrote: »

taxman must know the average wage,anyone outside this by a margin will raise red flag,you can maybe claim very low wages,but how do you then get a mortgage

HMRC has based investigations on "average" earnings for years, likewise gross margins for years. The penalties are so severe that it's not worth doing a major scale. For many it often ends in bankrutpcy.

As for plumbers. There was one I used who refused large cash jobs. As he was investigated by the taxman. The taxman tied up the number of bathroom suites purchased to the jobs billed. Those unaccounted for were assessed for taxable income with no right of appeal.

Thrugelmir

self-employed city plumbers could easily earn £50,000 - making it one of the better-paid trades.

Still a van to pay for and run,, tools to purchase, no sick pay or holiday pay etc etc. If self employment were that easy.

ukcarper

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Still a van to pay for and run,, tools to purchase, no sick pay or holiday pay etc etc. If self employment were that easy.

I wouldn't have thought it was hard for Gas Safe plumbers to earn £500 a day in the south east.

But as you say that's not all profit and in addition to above there are trade fees and retraining.

Thrugelmir

ukcarper wrote: »

I wouldn't have thought it was hard for Gas Safe plumbers to earn £500 a day in the south east.

At £500 a day. Knock off £83 VAT for starters.

Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity but cash is king.

So many people jump on a headline figure without understanding how business in any form works.

ukcarper

Thrugelmir wrote: »

At £500 a day. Knock off £83 VAT for starters.

Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity but cash is king.

So many people jump on a headline figure without understanding how business in any form works.

I did that a boiler service is about £65 plus VAT

MacMickster

A hard-working young single bus driver on a basic £22k (around £30k in London) should be able to save a year's salary as a 20% deposit within 3 to 4 years if still living with parents. It will take longer if they have to rent a room in a house share whilst saving.

Even in London it is possible to find a 1 bedroom flat for £150K (although not necessarily in the most desirable areas).

As Michaels points out, should the young bus driver meet a young partner who is also hard working in a job paying below average wages, then they should be able to save enough to trade up to at least a 2 bedroom place before starting a family.

It is certainly doable. Those who expect it to be easy and feel entitled to an average family property in a decent area from the outset will, of course, find it much harder.

chucky

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Still a van to pay for and run,, tools to purchase, no sick pay or holiday pay etc etc. If self employment were that easy.

What a happy view of life you have.

This is a picture of you:(

Loughton_Monkey

ruggedtoast wrote: »

It has nothing to do with buying cars. It has everything to do with people trapped in unsuitable over priced rented accommodation with no realistic chance of escaping because they will never earn enough to save no matter how hard they work.

I was just giving an analogy.

You are entitled to your opinion. I'm entitled to mine.

There are no government benefits (as I understand it) aimed at people 'trapped' in over priced rented accomodation. If the landlord is holding you there at gunpoint, then it is a matter for the police, and not this forum.

[Deleted User]

MacMickster wrote: »

A hard-working young single bus driver on a basic £22k (around £30k in London) should be able to save a year's salary as a 20% deposit within 3 to 4 years if still living with parents. It will take longer if they have to rent a room in a house share whilst saving.

Even in London it is possible to find a 1 bedroom flat for £150K

and due to the distinct lack of progress available in his job, and none existent salary inflation, they will stay trapped in their tiny flat, surrounded by drug dealers and pimps. They'll have 2 kids, be unable to put them anywhere and end up in council accommodation unable to afford 'the next rung of the ladder'