Can two people live on one person's wage?

MSE_Laura_F

MSE spotted a tweet from someone who asked:

Can two people live on one person's wage, provided the wage is £20k+?

Like all the best hypotheticals, this one opens up all sorts of questions about the depending factors. Many of them have been discussed on this board before.

So what are your thoughts? What are the factors that matter?

KxMx

Yes absolutely, but it might not be the lifestyle desired such as big house, holidays, eating out loads and multiple cars.

Our household income for 2 is 14k annually, no cars, social rent, can usually manage to save for a holiday once a year and eat out occasionally with a couple of takeaways each month.
We eat well and heathily day to day, meat from butchers and lots of fresh fruit & veg every week. 
No alcohol or tobacco. 
Clothing/shoes when needed (have lost several stone) not an issue. 
Both have decent (for income) amount of money saved. 
Plenty of money for heating in winter as it's high on our budget priorities. 

MovingForwards

Yes

Own home, with mortgage, make overpayments and it's a sub prime lender.
Own / run a car.
Save each month.
Pay into a SIPP.

Council tax is paid over 10 months, not 12.
Gas and electric costs are negligible.
Insurances are paid in full annually.
I'm SIM only, OH is on a full contract.
Have a pet too.

Not into pubs, clubs, restaurants, do like chippy night.

Frequently use a local butcher and buy from a deli.

Enjoy day trips.

Rarely shop at Aldi, do use Tesco.

I don't drink, OH does, neither of us smoke. 

The only savings I'd make as a single person is on the council tax, everything else I'd barely notice.

Did it on under £21k.

(Edit, new car came recently while on a slightly higher wage, removed reference to it as old one wasn't on HP finance.)

Brie

How much + is there??  There's a big difference between £20,001 and 29,999!!

Location will be a huge factor as that will affect rent/mortgage.  Add to that is there a garden to grow veg, are both happy not buying clothes for a couple of years.  Can they walk to work?  And the shops??

tacpot12

I don't think two people can live one one person's wage, even if the gross wage is £20,001, and neither do the government. A couple earning that little would be entitled to c£178 per month in Universal Credit - assuming that they were renting their home and paying a lowish rent (£460 pcm). 

£20K gross is £1,438 per month net of tax and NI.

Assuming the non-working partner is able to claim Class 1 NI credits, we can ignore the cost of providing a pension for this person as they will receive a state pension based on their NI credits. 

Their basic monthly expenses are likely to be: 
Council tax is likely to be £100
Water: £30
Electricity & Gas: £100
Food: £360
Broadband: £25
2x Mobile Phones: £20
+Rent: £460

Total: £1095 pcm.

If they couldn't receive any UC because they paying a mortgage instead of renting, this would leave them with £343 pcm or £40/week per person for clothes, entertainment, travel, presents on family birthdays and other occasions, replacing appliances and furniture, and maintenance on their home. It would certainly not allow them to run a vehicle, so if the working partner needs to travel to work, it would have to be accessible by bus or foot. I don't think that you can provide for all these costs from that little.

If they are renting, then with the contribution from Universal Credit they would have £521 pcm or £60/week per person to cover these costs. This is much better but still very tight. I could not save for a holiday if that was my income.  

So that factors are: 

• Renting or Owning own home
• Energy efficiency of the home 
• Necessity to travel for work (living within walking distance of your work is a major benefit)
• Ability to save carefully for major costs such as replacing appliances and furniture (and maintenance on the home if you own it)
• Frugality when it comes to food, clothes, entertainment, and buying presents 
  
• Ability to use the internet to get good deals on Broadband, mobile phones, appliance replacements (some of the best deals are available on eBay where the better-off are shifting nearly new appliances following a kitchen makeover.

Marvel1

I live alone so cannot see why not.

There will be more food - downbrand.

Council tax will be 100% instead of 75%

Mobile - sim only little as £5 or less.

TV licence - simple don't watch live/record/use I player - plenty of other cheaper alternatives.

Ditzy_Mitzy

Yes and no.  The key thing is cost of accommodation; what is possible in the North would be complete fantasy in the South East and Greater London, no matter how much one scrimps and saves elsewhere.  Using @tacpot12 's figures for everything else for my manor, where the cheapest one bedder is £600 a month ex. and that's a small flat above a shop, the 'basic' total comes out at £1,260.00.  I've stuck an extra £25 on the electricity bill as the flat referred to has storage heaters and have taken off the mobile telephone bill.  

Our hypothetical couple would be left with £178.00 per month for everything else.  Literally everything else.  That's only £2,136.00 per annum or £1,068.00 per person for clothes, insurance, savings, holiday, going out, mobile telephone, appliances and capital goods, transport, repairs, furniture, property maintenance, you name it.  

There's also the matter of pensions, which hasn't been covered yet.  One ought to put something away for retirement.  Let's say each makes a contribution of £30.00 per month to a private pension.  That leaves £118.00 left per month, or £1,416.00 per annum or £708.00 per person for all of the above.  Think too about prescription costs, where necessary, the dentist, the optician, glasses (spectacles), toiletries, cosmetics, crockery, glasses (drinking), etc.  

MovingForwards

Save me editing my other post (again), monthly outgoings on under £1400 per month at the start of this year, taking into account tax, NI and works pension deductions:

Mortgage and overpayment £530
Gas, electric, CT and water £185
Phones, net and Netflix £70
Food, toiletries, cleaning products £150 
Petrol £70
Subs £15
SIPP £100
All car bills and home insurance £100
Savings £170

In Scotland, therefore prescriptions are free, as are eye tests every 2 years and the dentist exam. - the biggest saving for me is prescriptions, but I used to pre-pay in England.

Anniversaries and birthdays would see me pay less into savings that month, or with Christmas the 3 months on the run up to it. All balances out due to the 2 months CT free.

Clothes don't need to be replaced on a monthly basis. Glasses don't need to be replaced each year. May have broken one cup in 5 years.

OH does his own hair, I dye mine at home and randomly have it cut to shoulder length when I get fed up with it (£25 ever 12 - 24 months). 

Holidays are day trips or visiting family. Not as if I've even had proper time off in nearly 3 years. 

Whether my OH works or not, one salary living is possible due to our lifestyle. 

london21

Depends on the quality of life they want.

Depend on where they are based and costs of living.

Always better for both to add value in case one loses their job to prepare for the unexpected.

It is doable.

sheramber

It would depend on what the one person's salary was.

Some people earn more than other couples have as a joint income.

JGB1955

Until the late 1980s it used to be normal for 2 people to live off one wage - those were the days of SAHMs.