is spending half your monthly wage on rent doable?

Peter333

Lily-Rose wrote: »

This is such a horrible post!

Seriously, what planet are you living on?!!

You seriously believe that people on minimum wage must have a personality defect or having learning difficulties? This must be one of the most ignorant and ill-informed posts I have ever seen.

Almost 20% of people in the workplace are on minimum wage, for all kinds of reasons; ranging from them not being fortunate enough to have been able to do a degree, to having a degree but STILL only getting a minimum wage job, to being in a family break down or losing a well paid job and being forced to take a minimum wage job. Some people didn't come from privileged backgrounds and had poor education, and are only ABLE to get minimum wage jobs! It doesn't mean they're not right in the head as YOU are implying!

This is one of the rudest, and most offensive posts I have ever read on here. I can only assume you are either a troll or you are incredibly ill-informed and ignorant.

BigAunty wrote: »

So you insist your aim isn't to ruffle feathers or offend but have once again insisted that people only have themselves to blame if they earn NMW, that they are failures and its their fault?

hgotsparkle wrote: »

I'm an adult, I'm on NMW, I get by with what I'm earning and it doesn't worry me too much. I'm just not a 'career type', I'm a do my job for the day and then I'm home to enjoy myself. I work to live, I refuse to live to work like it seems many of my much higher paid friends do. They're exepcted to work saturdays with no pay. Do I get asked to work a saturday? Yes, and sometimes I'll accept, sometimes I won't but I do get paid for it when I take it on.
If someone wants to work hard then good for them, but thats just not for me. I live for my personal life and I'm earning a wage that reflects thats. Don't tar everyone on NMW with the same brush.

I have to agree with the above posts, and cannot decide whether the posts by Gavin83 and geerex are naive and idealistic, or plain offensive and bloody rude. I think I would go for ALL of the above.

To imply that people who are on minimum wage are thick and slow and lazy and have no motivation is horribly inaccurate and extremely offensive to a massive amount of good, honest, hard working people, who have often not had the same chances in life as some others, or who have had some unlucky breaks with their employment, or they perhaps aren't terribly academic.

It seems the post from geerex that Lily Rose quoted has been deleted: hardly surprising, seeing as he/she suggested that people on minimum wage are probably mentally deficient and are utter failures in life. Pretty disgusting attitude IMO, not to mention hideously inaccurate. Being on minimum wage does NOT mean you are a failure. What a vile attitude you have geerex.

j.e.j.

fitnessguy1 wrote: »

just having my own space would be ideal. i know i'm not going to get anything amazing but just my own little space would be cool. it is tough when you leave school and don't know what to do. i left school and just worked up until now, but it's always been in the dead end, poor paying jobs because i needed work. in hindsight i should have gone into something that would eventually pay a good wage , but at the time i had no idea. do you get many bedsits that are bills included?

Don't beat yourself up about it, - even if you'd gone to university chances are you'd STILL be in a low-paying job. There simply aren't enough well-paying graduate jobs around compared to the number of graduates, - something Tony Blair failed to mention when he said he wanted 50% of people to go to university (at their own expense!!)

As I say, a generation of young adults has been utterly failed, and of course it's not just our country. It's even worse in places like Spain, where about 20% of young adults are unemployed.

fitnessguy1

thanks for all the replies. there are too many to reply to but i just wanted to say that by no means am i lazy or don't want to challenge myself. i do so much want to challenge myself in a better job, but over the years i've got stuck in a rut just working in menial jobs with no real idea of how to get out of that situation. i would not know where to start to get myself onto the career ladder in a better company. i haven't always been confident in my academic abilities and intelligence so i think i always just shyed away from the better jobs thinking they're just for the intellectual people who have better qualifications or experience. i do regret not changing things when i was younger but i guess when you're young it's all about earning money and you don't think about a career so much. i still have that lack of confidence in studying when it comes to maybe taking on some qualifications for a better job. even if it is not a degree just small qualifications i tend to worry about if i'll pass them etc.

i actually made a thread talking about my job prospects in another forum/thread or whatever you call them lol but i mentioned graphic design as an area that would interest me. i understand a lot of these kind of jobs are oversubscribed and competitive, but i don't mind competing for this kind of work because it makes me want it because it's something i believe i would enjoy. just having something to work towards and maybe even moving to a brand new location might help ease the situation for me. i don't want to run away from my problems, but if it means bettering myself maybe it's something i need to do.

j.e.j.

geerex wrote: »

I ruffled a few feathers then...

To be fair that doesn't take much on this board :rotfl:

In all seriousness, the point I failed to make is this: barring laziness/stupidity, and accounting for those who are simply incapable of higher skilled work or who are just doing it for "pin money", adults should simply not be in minimum wage jobs.
Those who are either fall into one of the categories above, or have some other major deficiency preventing them from earning money with which they can self sustain.
I'll say it again, hopefully not offending anyone this time - if you're an adult, and are earning close to minimum wage, you really need to take a good look at yourself, as you're failing at life, and depriving someone a job on the first rung of the ladder.
Oh, and some of you really need to look up what trolling means - it's not just someone saying something you don't want to hear.

Meh, the post you made earlier seems to have disappeared, the one where you say NMW should be the preserve of the under 21s. You've lost your authority there, because by definition the under 21s aren't actually entitled to NMW!

Personally I think life deals you a hand of cards. If you're clever you'll play them well, but if you've got a 'hand like a foot' then no amount of luck or hard work will help you.

I know where I used to work it was the brown-nosers who got into the managerial positions, not the most accomplished or competent members of staff, and I suspect it's like that in a lot of office jobs. Not sure about other fields of work.

Manchee

OP, I know you're slightly older but I think tbh you're expecting too much from the first place you go into after leaving home. I lived in shared housing for over 5 years before getting a place to myself, and even then that place was a tiny run down studio flat. It was only when I moved in with my partner that I managed to find a better standard of accommodation. Its really not normal to be able to move straight into 'nice'.

I have to agree with what was mentioned previously, its much better to live with strangers than friends. Over the years I lived with at least 4 different sets of friends, not one of them I speak to any longer; some we just didnt keep in touch with but most I wouldn't choose to be friends with - over that time I ended up with people owing me money left right and centre for bills, I added it up one day and it came to well over 2 grand. Never again.

Even people you think you know really well can be completely different when you live with them, and its much easier to cut someones wifi off if they aren't paying if you haven't got history. If you want to keep your friends (without letting some of them walk all over you) don't live with them!

[Deleted User]

Why not use a SOA (statement of affairs) calculator? Links are on the Debt Free Wannabee boards. That will show you if you can afford it in theory.

I've been living independently since the age of 18 in 1989. Sometimes working and sometimes too ill to work, so on HB.

Private Landlords *can* be a pain in the !!!! but it is better to deal direct with them (ie small ads, word of mouth) rather than with an agency in my experience.

Go for a bedsit or studio flat to save some ££'s. Sometimes these kind of flats include water, council tax etc so worth a look. Lower your expectations for your first solo home. Could you and your girlfriend consider a 2-bed flatshare together? (ie your own bedrooms!)

With regards to NMW jobs, some do can can offer career progression with in-house or self-motivated NVQ training. Care work or catering for example - especially if working in the public sector. A relative started as pot-washer in an NHS kitchen and ended up as head of catering for that hospital!

Are your job skills transferable? Then a geographical move might work, but remember the aim is not to have enough spare ££'s to have a better flat but to be able to save for further education, training, travel or to buy a home.


You will have to ditch some of the 'fun stuff' in order to afford your own place - nights out, takeaways, the latest phone etc etc.

Person_one

OP, approaching it from a slightly different angle here, but how much do one bed or studio flats in your area cost to buy?

How much can you save each month while living at your parents? Can you stay put for a few years with your head down and save like mad for a small deposit on a place of your own, while also looking/studying for better paid work? Think of it as a two pronged plan!

meritaten

Gavin83 wrote: »

I kind of agree with him, although I wouldn't have worded it quite as he did. Ignoring young people or those who just want a job to pass the time everyone else should be earning about NMW. I doubt people have personality defects or learning disabilities like the other poster suggested though. I'd imagine it's more a case of the majority just lacking motivation, either through laziness, a lack of self belief or a lack of skills. I guess some would argue luck can come into it but I believe people create their own luck.

Obviously people do earn more than NMW so I think as a person you should be questioning why other people are earning more and see what you can do to increase your own earning potential. In all honesty most obstacles can be overcome.

No disrespect to NMW earners, if they're happy with their salary good for them but if they're not they need to do something about it rather than trying to get the NMW wage increased (which won't work) or just generally complaining.

well Gavin, most of the jobs around here are at NMW rates. and part time at that. you could get two or even three jobs and earn less than the national 'average' wage. most of them are now 'retail or hospitality'. and tbh - you don't need above average intelligence to 'get on' - just a willingness to arrislick the boss. who is usually a 'corporate twit'.
and 'no disrespect' but you really do not understand how employment works in some areas.:)

Person_one

Gavin83 wrote: »

I kind of agree with him, although I wouldn't have worded it quite as he did. Ignoring young people or those who just want a job to pass the time everyone else should be earning about NMW. I doubt people have personality defects or learning disabilities like the other poster suggested though. I'd imagine it's more a case of the majority just lacking motivation, either through laziness, a lack of self belief or a lack of skills. I guess some would argue luck can come into it but I believe people create their own luck.

Obviously people do earn more than NMW so I think as a person you should be questioning why other people are earning more and see what you can do to increase your own earning potential. In all honesty most obstacles can be overcome.

No disrespect to NMW earners, if they're happy with their salary good for them but if they're not they need to do something about it rather than trying to get the NMW wage increased (which won't work) or just generally complaining.

If it weren't for the people earning NMW, this country would grind to a halt in days, in fact probably in hours. They are essential, we can't afford for them all to move onto better paid jobs within a couple of years of starting.

One thing that we leave to NMW earners is the care of the elderly and/or severely disabled members of our society. I think that's pretty worthwhile work no matter what the wage.

FatVonD

I don't think you're alone in this, OP, but I think your expectation that you should be able to move out of your parent's home and into your own flat are unrealistic.

Most people have to share with others, whether it's while they are at uni or when they are at the beginning of their career. I lived in a couple of flat shares and a bedsit before getting my own flat (with a boyfriend) and I'm glad I did because it makes you appreciate your own space all the more when you get it

I think the problem with your job/wage is that you've never stuck at anything. I firmly believe (like the other poster about the pot washer that ended up running the kitchen) that WHATEVER job you have , if you stick at it long enough, you will progress within that field. You need to stop jumping from one MW job to another.

Re becoming a graphic designer, I work in a related field. In the area I work in you will need at least 3 years at uni and then some paid/unpaid internships before becoming a junior designer on 18-22k and, realistically, you will be 30 then and I can't see many people considering a 30-year-old intern.

Which part of London do you live?