It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

Onebrokelady

Bluegreen143 said:

Onebrokelady said:

I went looking for videos on being frugal just now and came across someone living on a low income showing people how to live on not much money but she was earning over £1,300 a month 🙀 that's £400 more a month than I earn,I would feel me I had won the lottery if I earned that much money 

Depends on what their fixed expenses, family size, where in the country they live and other circumstances are though (especially if they have tons of debt), just looking at income doesn’t tell you if someone is better off. 

Do share if you find any useful vloggers, I’d be interested 🙂

She is a single mum of two who lives in Wigan and now has about £5000 pounds worth of debt. June income was £2,209 but she took some money off that which left her with £1,300 for her cash stuffing I'm not sure what the money she took off was for, she sent £72 on getting her hair done so that tells me all I need to know😀
i was trying to find someone on the same sort of income that I am on but can't find anyone 

Onebrokelady

London_1 said:

Bluegreen143 said:

Onebrokelady said:

I went looking for videos on being frugal just now and came across someone living on a low income showing people how to live on not much money but she was earning over £1,300 a month 🙀 that's £400 more a month than I earn,I would feel me I had won the lottery if I earned that much money 

Depends on what their fixed expenses, family size, where in the country they live and other circumstances are though (especially if they have tons of debt), just looking at income doesn’t tell you if someone is better off. 

Do share if you find any useful vloggers, I’d be interested 🙂

Indeed I was listening to LBC this afternoon and one chap said he was struggling on £40 k a year, and was finding it hard to make ends meet also a young woman who earns around £33 K a year as a researcher in Oxford and says her parents help her out with the tax and insurance on her car. I guess it depends what you class as priorites
Mine is a roof over my head and food on the table and being warm anything on top of that is a bonus  

Wow I can't imagine what it must be like to have £40,000 to live on 

weenancyinAmerica

I think that is why a lot of us come to this site. I'm saving up for a visit to a thrift or charity shop next month. Even $5 is hard to come by. The equivalent of 40,000 pounds would be a fortune to me too. Does anyone have some debt-free diaries they can recommend on the DFW Board? 

Floss

Onebrokelady said:

London_1 said:

Bluegreen143 said:

Onebrokelady said:

I went looking for videos on being frugal just now and came across someone living on a low income showing people how to live on not much money but she was earning over £1,300 a month 🙀 that's £400 more a month than I earn,I would feel me I had won the lottery if I earned that much money 

Depends on what their fixed expenses, family size, where in the country they live and other circumstances are though (especially if they have tons of debt), just looking at income doesn’t tell you if someone is better off. 

Do share if you find any useful vloggers, I’d be interested 🙂

Indeed I was listening to LBC this afternoon and one chap said he was struggling on £40 k a year, and was finding it hard to make ends meet also a young woman who earns around £33 K a year as a researcher in Oxford and says her parents help her out with the tax and insurance on her car. I guess it depends what you class as priorites
Mine is a roof over my head and food on the table and being warm anything on top of that is a bonus  

Wow I can't imagine what it must be like to have £40,000 to live on 

That is pre-deductions, actual would be around £2,500 a month. 

But if it was on LBC then rental is likely to be at least half to two-thirds of that, plus travel costs on TFL aren't cheap.

Bluegreen143

Floss said:

Onebrokelady said:

London_1 said:

Bluegreen143 said:

Onebrokelady said:

I went looking for videos on being frugal just now and came across someone living on a low income showing people how to live on not much money but she was earning over £1,300 a month 🙀 that's £400 more a month than I earn,I would feel me I had won the lottery if I earned that much money 

Depends on what their fixed expenses, family size, where in the country they live and other circumstances are though (especially if they have tons of debt), just looking at income doesn’t tell you if someone is better off. 

Do share if you find any useful vloggers, I’d be interested 🙂

Indeed I was listening to LBC this afternoon and one chap said he was struggling on £40 k a year, and was finding it hard to make ends meet also a young woman who earns around £33 K a year as a researcher in Oxford and says her parents help her out with the tax and insurance on her car. I guess it depends what you class as priorites
Mine is a roof over my head and food on the table and being warm anything on top of that is a bonus  

Wow I can't imagine what it must be like to have £40,000 to live on 

That is pre-deductions, actual would be around £2,500 a month. 

But if it was on LBC then rental is likely to be at least half to two-thirds of that, plus travel costs on TFL aren't cheap.

Yeah that’s what I was thinking too. 

Our mortgage, council tax, life & home insurance, energy bills and internet (essential as I mainly work from home) are £950 a month all together. Obviously if someone has rent or mortgage alone of £900 a month they’d need to earn much more than me to be have the same disposable income. In fact tbh I think it costs nearly £900 for the family next door to rent their house, same as ours with a much smaller garden, it’s so much more expensive to private rent here than pay a mortgage but not everyone can afford that initial step on the housing ladder.

EssexHebridean

Noticed a further 6p increase on a 4 pint bottle of milk yesterday - but nothing else significant on the items I bought. Diesel, meanwhile, has leapt up again after a slight fall back earlier in the week - the supermarket PFS’s here are now only a whisker off £2 a litre. 

London_1

Onebrokelady said:

London_1 said:

Bluegreen143 said:

Onebrokelady said:

I went looking for videos on being frugal just now and came across someone living on a low income showing people how to live on not much money but she was earning over £1,300 a month 🙀 that's £400 more a month than I earn,I would feel me I had won the lottery if I earned that much money 

Depends on what their fixed expenses, family size, where in the country they live and other circumstances are though (especially if they have tons of debt), just looking at income doesn’t tell you if someone is better off. 

Do share if you find any useful vloggers, I’d be interested 🙂

Indeed I was listening to LBC this afternoon and one chap said he was struggling on £40 k a year, and was finding it hard to make ends meet also a young woman who earns around £33 K a year as a researcher in Oxford and says her parents help her out with the tax and insurance on her car. I guess it depends what you class as priorites
Mine is a roof over my head and food on the table and being warm anything on top of that is a bonus  

Wow I can't imagine what it must be like to have £40,000 to live on 

neither can I and I expect neither can many of us on here either

JackieOxx

Northern_Tribe

London_1 said:

Bluegreen143 said:

Onebrokelady said:

I went looking for videos on being frugal just now and came across someone living on a low income showing people how to live on not much money but she was earning over £1,300 a month 🙀 that's £400 more a month than I earn,I would feel me I had won the lottery if I earned that much money 

Depends on what their fixed expenses, family size, where in the country they live and other circumstances are though (especially if they have tons of debt), just looking at income doesn’t tell you if someone is better off. 

Do share if you find any useful vloggers, I’d be interested 🙂

Indeed I was listening to LBC this afternoon and one chap said he was struggling on £40 k a year, and was finding it hard to make ends meet also a young woman who earns around £33 K a year as a researcher in Oxford and says her parents help her out with the tax and insurance on her car. I guess it depends what you class as priorites
Mine is a roof over my head and food on the table and being warm anything on top of that is a bonus  

I think many people transport is essential too. Most of the county is not like London, public transport is poor or nonexistent so a car and all associated costs are essential.  This isn't just in rural areas but includes many urban areas as well. To your list, I would add transport which for a lot of people is a car.  So, a roof over my head and food on the table, being warm and a way to get around, anything on top of that is a bonus 

EssexHebridean

Onebrokelady said:

London_1 said:

Bluegreen143 said:

Onebrokelady said:

I went looking for videos on being frugal just now and came across someone living on a low income showing people how to live on not much money but she was earning over £1,300 a month 🙀 that's £400 more a month than I earn,I would feel me I had won the lottery if I earned that much money 

Depends on what their fixed expenses, family size, where in the country they live and other circumstances are though (especially if they have tons of debt), just looking at income doesn’t tell you if someone is better off. 

Do share if you find any useful vloggers, I’d be interested 🙂

Indeed I was listening to LBC this afternoon and one chap said he was struggling on £40 k a year, and was finding it hard to make ends meet also a young woman who earns around £33 K a year as a researcher in Oxford and says her parents help her out with the tax and insurance on her car. I guess it depends what you class as priorites
Mine is a roof over my head and food on the table and being warm anything on top of that is a bonus  

Wow I can't imagine what it must be like to have £40,000 to live on 

But if you are on that money, you don’t “have that to live on” - there is the usual tax and NI deductions for a start, then most folk on that sort of money will be paying into a pension as well, so more gone there even before it hits your bank. Then of course rent or mortgage - in many cases another £1000 gone. Other bills - the priority stuff. Someone in that position may well be managing a team with an expectation of a smart work appearance so suits and smart shoes - those lead to needing to budget for dry cleaning and cobblers costs, neither are cheap these days. There may also be an expectation that once a month or so a team are taken out for drinks or another form of socialising, and often a person in a management role will be expected to put their hands in their pockets for some of that expenditure, too. It’s easy to see a headline figure and somehow see it as “disposable income of 3k+ per month, but that’s rarely going to be the case. 🤷🏻‍♀️

KxMx

Many households have to manage without a car. 
My family never had one while I was growing up nor do I now I live alone.
My income is £160 a week due to ill health. Even with rent and council tax paid, I simply couldn't afford to run one. I don't live in London but obviously where I live is primarily influenced by the availability of public transport. 

Over the years my family and now I have had to manage all the normal stuff without one. 

Obviously it's a lot easier for me never having one, than someone who would need to deconstruct a car enabled lifestyle, but many households have to live without one and manage just fine. 

Mine is never a popular viewpoint among car owners mind you 😉

I know of a car owner who insists it's absolutely essential and normal that they do a 25 mile round trip so their kid can attend rugby club at a particular venue, even though there are many closer to home to choose from, yet a married friend with 4 kids (two have additional needs) also manages without one like me.