I remember back in 2017 when I lived in London where I just about scrapped by paying rent and food on £26000. Probably was able to save £100 per month. God knows how I would be able to survive now in London (currently in US atm)
I know you can’t compare 1 to 1 the US dollar and the pound in terms of salaries/wages and cost of living. But 30k doesn’t sound like a lot.
I think it’s very location dependent. I earn slightly more money, prob the median wage, and I’m very comfortable right now. But I also have no children and only my mortgage and bills to pay.
[removed]
I’m not sure about the first woman. Why is she asking for a stamp duty holiday if she’s a first time buyer?
The numbers don’t seem to add up. £30k is around £2k per month take home and her rent is £675. So just over £1300 a month. Sounds like her non working partner was an issue, but he now has a job so household income must be £3k+ per month at least.
Then the mother says it’s £400 a month for 2 days childcare and she wouldn’t make that much working? What job is making under £12k per annum? Then her partner is struggling to find work in an economy with such low unemployment?
These people seem to lack personal accountability.
I know people on £45k who are struggling. The cost of living crisis is pretty horrendous.
Variables even in my area rent for a 2 bed home can be 650-1150 the homes are similar not real difference it’s about area and school access. In fact you’ll usually find the lower rent home may even have a garden and the more expensive has a small plot front and back.
I work with people that are entirely relying on mum and dad to help them get deposits fees etc and sometimes even rental deposit as they don’t earn enough to afford this. Also can we talk about how useless estate agent/management firms are I can’t believe how many hidden fees they charge and get away with but they know people don’t have a choice.
There is so much to unpack here that is a direct result of Tory policy over the past decade:
Rising food costs – our food system is broken; underpaid and undervalued British farmers, >50% of U.K. food is imported, mostly from our biggest trade partner the EU, which Brexit has made harder and more expensive to trade with. British land is used unsustainably – 70% of land is used for meat products.
Exorbitant rents – we have an unregulated rental industry with landlords charging whatever they can get away with; buoyed by scrupulous money hungry estate agents that screw tenants and landlords. Low housing stock and a lack of plans to increase stocks nationwide. Low council house stock with those we do have full of problems – cold, damp, infested with mice etc.
Spiralling fuel costs – energy firms are making bumper profits while the government refuses to increase corporation tax in a way that can properly subsidise the cost of fuel for consumers. We don’t have a national energy company to put profits back into citizens pockets. We do have a measly 5% fuel duty cut which retailers don’t pass on to the consumer anyway.
Underpaid public sector – Elle works in public health and isn’t paid enough to get by. Nurses are turning to food-banks across the country. The government needs to tackle the above issues or increase public sector salaries to enable people to respond to the above.
High childcare costs – monthly costs equate to a second mortgage for a single child; two or more children is often too much to make it worthwhile. The result is the mum becomes a stay at home parent – is taken out of the economy – with long term implications for mum and society. It’s not just those on benefits that need help with childcare costs – it’s everyone that doesn’t have a stack of cash or family nearby to help with childcare.
Low and late state pension – a state pension isn’t enough to live on; again the government needs to increase this or deal with the above issues. Pension age is now 66/67 and will likely continue to increase. We’ll have a nation of pension age folk working themselves to death or living in squalor.
Thanks for reading my cheery note : )
Everyone remember. They only publish these articles to make you focus on the working class who earn marginally more than you rather than the actual rich who are laughing at you bickering.
>Ellie has been the sole earner until recently.
Itll be fine then.
We’re a low income, high tax country. Everyone is supposed to struggle and no one should be happy
£30k a year is nothing in the uk in this day and age I’m afraid.
I’m 50, just graduated with my second degree (this time in computing science), and I’m on £19,500, supposedly going up to £22K when I start my new job (subject to clearing vetting).
Is there a problem with the mentality that X is a good wage? When did 30k become the definition of a good wage, or is it the average that we assume as good?
Having a fixed notion doesn’t account for things that aren’t fixed such as rampant inflation.
If you’re a couple and you’re earning less than £66,000 between you, you’re below average.
£30K is not a lot of money, and if it’s your household income, you’re way worse off than most.
I hate these sort of articles. There are people earning this amount who are genuinely struggling due to high cost areas and being the main income in single parent families. Then they roll out these absolute idiots to create a knee jerk reaction of “OH everyone on 30k should get by because look at these idiots spending habits”. I’m not saying they’re without their own problems sure but fucking hell the bbc sure do chose some choice people for these articles to flame up hate and bitterness. Can we just have an actual article looking at wages in various parts of the uk and how liveable they are without bias or agenda. Just the numbers. That’s all you need.
For everyone saying 30k is a below average salary, while technically true, that’s a median for *all workers*. For someone in their 20s that’s an above average pay.
More to the point, you still shouldn’t have to struggle *that hard* on a slightly below average wage…
>Ellie Monajemi is 27, she has a good job earning more than £30,000 per year, but is struggling to make ends meet.
Okay, sounds a bit odd.
>Ellie has been the sole earner until recently. With monthly rent at £675, plus energy, fuel, food and other bills, they are struggling to balance the books.
>
>Ellie said getting a good education and job “feels a bit pointless in a way,” adding: “It feels like we’re a cog in a machine that’s failing.”
Oh so, you’ve been supporting a man child who can’t get his own job. That’s why you’re struggling, because you’re trying to support 2 adults on a single fairly average wage.
>She said the government could help more people onto the property ladder by making it easier to save for a deposit, and by bringing in another stamp duty holiday.
First time buyers don’t pay stamp duty on houses under 500k (? possibly 350k outside of London)
>Emily, 30, works as a mental health professional in Buckinghamshire, and has been on maternity leave looking after her eight-month-old son Michael.
>
>But she has given up her job as childcare costs are so high she would have effectively been paying to go to work, she says.
Right….
>Her partner is struggling to find work and everywhere they’ve seen to rent in the area is too expensive.
So, both of them are out of work.
Why exactly could she not go back to work, and her partner stay as the stay at home parent?
No, instead 2 people are complaining because neither of them are working. and instead relying on benefits.
​
The last person has zero details, just that they’re struggling on £30k a year, which is ridiculous if they’re a single person.
Why is everyone here so bitter? How about no matter how much you earn, you don’t struggle? How crazy would that be, wages in the UK are a fucking joke. Don’t be mad at the guy struggling even if they earned 50k. Be mad at the billionaires who have stagnated our pay.
Hard conversation to have. I’m on £31k a year, 30 years old, have a degree, 6 years of experience in a field that generally offers a lot of jobs, and there’s not much in the way of vertical movement for me now. I’m pretty much wage capped until I manage to get a management position. Some months are a struggle, and I often feel like £31,000 is a disappointing wage to resign myself to.
But if I was to complain, the 27 year old on minimum wage at a supermarket would scoff. The 45 year old receptionist on £25k would think I’m being mental.
People see ‘Median Wage’ and assume that means ‘average’. It does, technically, but it’s the median for ***all workers***. That’s your 50+ people with dozens of years under their belt, the 17 year olds in their first job, the millionaires, the business owners, and just about everything in between.
£30,000 is much more than the living wage, but it doesn’t always mean you can live. People have every right to complain. Arguably, they could complain a bit more vigorously.
I earn £31k and I’m down to pennies by the end of most months, any unexpected expense can push me over the edge and into months of debt cycles and repayments. But, I live in London so my experience is probably not the norm.
We shouldn’t live in a society where earning slightly less than the national average (median 33k) leaves you struggling to make ends meet.
This person is struggling because the cost of essentials (rent, utilities, food) has spiralled out of control.
Their position is sadly no longer rare.
30k is enough, its our country that is the problem.
Because, with current cost of living, £30k is definitely not what could be called a good salary any longer. The National Average just means “the bulk of UK no longer earn enough to live on”.
That’s simplifying it a bit because it depends on circumstances, like whether you own your home outright, whether you have to use all-electric or other fuels that are 3-4x the price of gas heating. For example: someone paying rent likely to increase because mortgage rates are higher than they were, and stumping for all-electric is probably in an impossible situation right now. My all-electric bill is now £450 a month (I run just two storage heaters but work from home with a PC on all day). I’m okay – I earn a fair bit more than £30k currently, but there’s no way I could afford this on a £30k salary.
I earn £41k and I’m still struggling and I don’t have kids, or a car, and my rent is good for my area. Cost of living has become insane. I do manage to save a bit of money each month but this should be normal – I shouldn’t be an exception. Everybody should be able to save a bit for a rainy day fund each month. I’ve had vet bills and multiple white goods failures recently and I don’t know how I’m keeping it together.
>Emily, 30, works as a mental health professional in Buckinghamshire, and has been on maternity leave looking after her eight-month-old son Michael. Her partner is struggling to find work and everywhere they’ve seen to rent in the area is too expensive.
so her partner doesn’t work and won’t look after the child while she carries on working? I believe I have found the problem!
26 comments
I remember back in 2017 when I lived in London where I just about scrapped by paying rent and food on £26000. Probably was able to save £100 per month. God knows how I would be able to survive now in London (currently in US atm)
I know you can’t compare 1 to 1 the US dollar and the pound in terms of salaries/wages and cost of living. But 30k doesn’t sound like a lot.
I think it’s very location dependent. I earn slightly more money, prob the median wage, and I’m very comfortable right now. But I also have no children and only my mortgage and bills to pay.
[removed]
I’m not sure about the first woman. Why is she asking for a stamp duty holiday if she’s a first time buyer?
The numbers don’t seem to add up. £30k is around £2k per month take home and her rent is £675. So just over £1300 a month. Sounds like her non working partner was an issue, but he now has a job so household income must be £3k+ per month at least.
Then the mother says it’s £400 a month for 2 days childcare and she wouldn’t make that much working? What job is making under £12k per annum? Then her partner is struggling to find work in an economy with such low unemployment?
These people seem to lack personal accountability.
I know people on £45k who are struggling. The cost of living crisis is pretty horrendous.
Variables even in my area rent for a 2 bed home can be 650-1150 the homes are similar not real difference it’s about area and school access. In fact you’ll usually find the lower rent home may even have a garden and the more expensive has a small plot front and back.
I work with people that are entirely relying on mum and dad to help them get deposits fees etc and sometimes even rental deposit as they don’t earn enough to afford this. Also can we talk about how useless estate agent/management firms are I can’t believe how many hidden fees they charge and get away with but they know people don’t have a choice.
There is so much to unpack here that is a direct result of Tory policy over the past decade:
Rising food costs – our food system is broken; underpaid and undervalued British farmers, >50% of U.K. food is imported, mostly from our biggest trade partner the EU, which Brexit has made harder and more expensive to trade with. British land is used unsustainably – 70% of land is used for meat products.
Exorbitant rents – we have an unregulated rental industry with landlords charging whatever they can get away with; buoyed by scrupulous money hungry estate agents that screw tenants and landlords. Low housing stock and a lack of plans to increase stocks nationwide. Low council house stock with those we do have full of problems – cold, damp, infested with mice etc.
Spiralling fuel costs – energy firms are making bumper profits while the government refuses to increase corporation tax in a way that can properly subsidise the cost of fuel for consumers. We don’t have a national energy company to put profits back into citizens pockets. We do have a measly 5% fuel duty cut which retailers don’t pass on to the consumer anyway.
Underpaid public sector – Elle works in public health and isn’t paid enough to get by. Nurses are turning to food-banks across the country. The government needs to tackle the above issues or increase public sector salaries to enable people to respond to the above.
High childcare costs – monthly costs equate to a second mortgage for a single child; two or more children is often too much to make it worthwhile. The result is the mum becomes a stay at home parent – is taken out of the economy – with long term implications for mum and society. It’s not just those on benefits that need help with childcare costs – it’s everyone that doesn’t have a stack of cash or family nearby to help with childcare.
Low and late state pension – a state pension isn’t enough to live on; again the government needs to increase this or deal with the above issues. Pension age is now 66/67 and will likely continue to increase. We’ll have a nation of pension age folk working themselves to death or living in squalor.
Thanks for reading my cheery note : )
Everyone remember. They only publish these articles to make you focus on the working class who earn marginally more than you rather than the actual rich who are laughing at you bickering.
>Ellie has been the sole earner until recently.
Itll be fine then.
We’re a low income, high tax country. Everyone is supposed to struggle and no one should be happy
£30k a year is nothing in the uk in this day and age I’m afraid.
I’m 50, just graduated with my second degree (this time in computing science), and I’m on £19,500, supposedly going up to £22K when I start my new job (subject to clearing vetting).
Is there a problem with the mentality that X is a good wage? When did 30k become the definition of a good wage, or is it the average that we assume as good?
Having a fixed notion doesn’t account for things that aren’t fixed such as rampant inflation.
[According to the ONS, the average full time salary is £33,000.](https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2022)
If you’re a couple and you’re earning less than £66,000 between you, you’re below average.
£30K is not a lot of money, and if it’s your household income, you’re way worse off than most.
I hate these sort of articles. There are people earning this amount who are genuinely struggling due to high cost areas and being the main income in single parent families. Then they roll out these absolute idiots to create a knee jerk reaction of “OH everyone on 30k should get by because look at these idiots spending habits”. I’m not saying they’re without their own problems sure but fucking hell the bbc sure do chose some choice people for these articles to flame up hate and bitterness. Can we just have an actual article looking at wages in various parts of the uk and how liveable they are without bias or agenda. Just the numbers. That’s all you need.
For everyone saying 30k is a below average salary, while technically true, that’s a median for *all workers*. For someone in their 20s that’s an above average pay.
More to the point, you still shouldn’t have to struggle *that hard* on a slightly below average wage…
>Ellie Monajemi is 27, she has a good job earning more than £30,000 per year, but is struggling to make ends meet.
Okay, sounds a bit odd.
>Ellie has been the sole earner until recently. With monthly rent at £675, plus energy, fuel, food and other bills, they are struggling to balance the books.
>
>Ellie said getting a good education and job “feels a bit pointless in a way,” adding: “It feels like we’re a cog in a machine that’s failing.”
Oh so, you’ve been supporting a man child who can’t get his own job. That’s why you’re struggling, because you’re trying to support 2 adults on a single fairly average wage.
>She said the government could help more people onto the property ladder by making it easier to save for a deposit, and by bringing in another stamp duty holiday.
First time buyers don’t pay stamp duty on houses under 500k (? possibly 350k outside of London)
>Emily, 30, works as a mental health professional in Buckinghamshire, and has been on maternity leave looking after her eight-month-old son Michael.
>
>But she has given up her job as childcare costs are so high she would have effectively been paying to go to work, she says.
Right….
>Her partner is struggling to find work and everywhere they’ve seen to rent in the area is too expensive.
So, both of them are out of work.
Why exactly could she not go back to work, and her partner stay as the stay at home parent?
No, instead 2 people are complaining because neither of them are working. and instead relying on benefits.
​
The last person has zero details, just that they’re struggling on £30k a year, which is ridiculous if they’re a single person.
Why is everyone here so bitter? How about no matter how much you earn, you don’t struggle? How crazy would that be, wages in the UK are a fucking joke. Don’t be mad at the guy struggling even if they earned 50k. Be mad at the billionaires who have stagnated our pay.
Hard conversation to have. I’m on £31k a year, 30 years old, have a degree, 6 years of experience in a field that generally offers a lot of jobs, and there’s not much in the way of vertical movement for me now. I’m pretty much wage capped until I manage to get a management position. Some months are a struggle, and I often feel like £31,000 is a disappointing wage to resign myself to.
But if I was to complain, the 27 year old on minimum wage at a supermarket would scoff. The 45 year old receptionist on £25k would think I’m being mental.
People see ‘Median Wage’ and assume that means ‘average’. It does, technically, but it’s the median for ***all workers***. That’s your 50+ people with dozens of years under their belt, the 17 year olds in their first job, the millionaires, the business owners, and just about everything in between.
£30,000 is much more than the living wage, but it doesn’t always mean you can live. People have every right to complain. Arguably, they could complain a bit more vigorously.
I earn £31k and I’m down to pennies by the end of most months, any unexpected expense can push me over the edge and into months of debt cycles and repayments. But, I live in London so my experience is probably not the norm.
We shouldn’t live in a society where earning slightly less than the national average (median 33k) leaves you struggling to make ends meet.
This person is struggling because the cost of essentials (rent, utilities, food) has spiralled out of control.
Their position is sadly no longer rare.
30k is enough, its our country that is the problem.
Because, with current cost of living, £30k is definitely not what could be called a good salary any longer. The National Average just means “the bulk of UK no longer earn enough to live on”.
That’s simplifying it a bit because it depends on circumstances, like whether you own your home outright, whether you have to use all-electric or other fuels that are 3-4x the price of gas heating. For example: someone paying rent likely to increase because mortgage rates are higher than they were, and stumping for all-electric is probably in an impossible situation right now. My all-electric bill is now £450 a month (I run just two storage heaters but work from home with a PC on all day). I’m okay – I earn a fair bit more than £30k currently, but there’s no way I could afford this on a £30k salary.
I earn £41k and I’m still struggling and I don’t have kids, or a car, and my rent is good for my area. Cost of living has become insane. I do manage to save a bit of money each month but this should be normal – I shouldn’t be an exception. Everybody should be able to save a bit for a rainy day fund each month. I’ve had vet bills and multiple white goods failures recently and I don’t know how I’m keeping it together.
>Emily, 30, works as a mental health professional in Buckinghamshire, and has been on maternity leave looking after her eight-month-old son Michael. Her partner is struggling to find work and everywhere they’ve seen to rent in the area is too expensive.
so her partner doesn’t work and won’t look after the child while she carries on working? I believe I have found the problem!