Is 22k a year possible to live on for a family of 3

Hi everyone. In a bit of a dilemma. As much as I want everything to go back to normal, it has complicated things further.

My husband has been WFH since March 2020, and it has been a lifesaver because it means we needn't have to pay childcare during term times and I am able to work overtimes if asked. My husband earns 22k AFTER tax/ni/pension etc, and I earn 10k working part-time.

We have no family or friends nearby (never had any support from them when I lived back home any way) so cannot ask for any help. My husband is going back to the office next month permanently, which means I am in a race to find childcare for term time otherwise I have to use my holidays but my holidays will not cover the entire term for the year.

Upon calculating term time fees, transport to work and back etc, I have hardly anything left at the end of the month so effectively I'm working for nothing.. Works out about 2,500k a year to pay childcare so my income will be less than 10k after payinf it. We will spend even more money for my husbands travel cost as he gets the train to and from work.

We have discussed childcare costs but my husband is refusing to do it because they also charge if you don't use childcare service (if I take a holiday for example they'll still charge me). I used UC in the past and I found that they did not pay the amount that they said they would pay when I used the UC calculator so that was useless.

Another option is me working full-time, so I have to find a job pronto, but again that means we still have to pay for childcare as well as after school clubs and most jobs start early, so school runs make that difficult and breakfast club is not running any more.

Last resort is to leave but how can we survive on my husbands salary alone when the cost of everything is going up? I feel guilty that it has to come to this but what other choice do I have? Want to say that the job I do is a dead end. Absolutely no career prospects in it, its merely to pay for the mortgage.

If anyone could tell me if they will find it possible to survive as a family on a salary of 22k after tax with inflation as well, then I would like to know. Thanks.
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Comments

  • sammyjammy
    sammyjammy Posts: 7,885 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I'm sure many families live off that and less.  What did you do before the pandemic?  Surely you can just go back to the same arrangements, if your husband has been looking after children whilst WFH I'm not surprised they want him back in the office!
    "You've been reading SOS when it's just your clock reading 5:05 "
  • I'm sure many families live off that and less.  What did you do before the pandemic?  Surely you can just go back to the same arrangements, if your husband has been looking after children whilst WFH I'm not surprised they want him back in the office!

    Before the pandemic, I worked during the day and my husband worked afternoon til late evenings so our arrangements worked out great then, but then he got a new job with better career prospects hence the situation we are in. But thankfully it did mean we saved a deposit to buy our house. I only have 1, and he is very good and behaved. My husband has no problems looking after him thankfully but of course he still needs to go back to the office eventually.
  • Can you find a job where you can work from home instead? Call centres, bookkeeping, admin support etc - maybe that would be an alternative option, and you could do more flexible hours too. If your husband is the primary earner, you obviously need to work around him to bring in extra income. 

    You will need to do a full budget detailing all your regular outgoings - use the budget calculator on here. Once that is done, you will know what you need to bring in to survive or to thrive
    Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps....
    LB moment - March 2006. DFD - 1 June 2012!!! DEBT FREE!



    May grocery challenge £45.61/£120
  • Spendless
    Spendless Posts: 24,507 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    How old is your child? What sort of hours are you trying to cover? I'm a bit confused by some of your post. You say it costs £2.5K per year for childcare (just over £200 per month - which is cheap) and the 2nd income into your household is £10K less this childcare and commuting costs. How much are these travel expenses? At first sight it seems that your household is still better off with you working than not.

    What does 'we have discussed childcare costs but my husband is refusing to do it' mean? Is he saying he doesn't want your child in childcare? 
  • elsien
    elsien Posts: 35,516 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 17 February 2022 at 7:19PM
    The other option is that you do evening and weekend shifts that mirror the ones your OH used to do and he can look after your child while you are working. 
    He could also use some of his holidays to cover the childcare that your leave wouldn’t cover? 

    There is a budget planner on the debt free board that you could use to put in your current family expenditure and forecast where the cuts would need to be made. 
    All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

    Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.
  • theoretica
    theoretica Posts: 12,689 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Do you have skills or ideas that would let you go self employed during school hours? 
    But a banker, engaged at enormous expense,
    Had the whole of their cash in his care.
    Lewis Carroll
  • Sandtree
    Sandtree Posts: 10,628 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper
    Some families can comfortably live on £22k net whereas others will struggle on £66k net... all depends on your existing commitments, where you live, what your lifestyle is etc.


  • What we need is a real wage. In the `1950s to the 80's, one person working in the family could support the whole family/pay the mortgage, but then we started with neo-liberal economics and wages have been stagnant in real terms since around 1980. All the while cost of living increased so now 2, 3, 4 people in the family have to work to make ends meet and we get the issues we see above. And people keep voting for the people that have the same policies and so it carries on. Corbyn would have changed things a bit for the better for working class poor but alas the elites and their friends in the media were against him. Now we have Starmer who is no different to the Cons. 
  • What we need is a real wage. In the `1950s to the 80's, one person working in the family could support the whole family/pay the mortgage, but then we started with neo-liberal economics and wages have been stagnant in real terms since around 1980. All the while cost of living increased so now 2, 3, 4 people in the family have to work to make ends meet and we get the issues we see above. And people keep voting for the people that have the same policies and so it carries on. Corbyn would have changed things a bit for the better for working class poor but alas the elites and their friends in the media were against him. Now we have Starmer who is no different to the Cons. 
    we had our kids in 89 and 93, my missus never went back to work, and only did part time around school times after the youngest started school.
    We never struggled and I was a labourer.
    If you cant cope you cant cope. But you could cope if you had to.

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