2018: What's considered a decent wage within reason?

[Freddie1980]

Got a job offer of arround ~30-35k in London and was wondering if I could live in zone 1-2 by my own.

Just go on rightmove and look at the rents for properties in those areas. If your on that sort of money your probably clearing around 1900/2000 a month. A 2 bed in zone 2 around Brent will set back about £1,100 each month, with council tax and bills no car you will probably have about £400 left over each month. If you chose to move outside the M25 to somewhere like Brentwood rents will drop to about £900 a month for but then you have transportation costs to factor in. If you would consider a flat share with someone you could save a lot of money and still live very comfortably in Zone 2.

 

[Skidder]

I live in one of the most expensive parts of Surrey and have a lovely lifestyle but I am permanently broke in terms of liquidity. Sounds like I should move up north and do something for a fraction of the income and double the easy life.

 

[bloodiedathame]

I live in one of the most expensive parts of Surrey and have a lovely lifestyle but I am permanently broke in terms of liquidity. Sounds like I should move up north and do something for a fraction of the income and double the easy life.

I'm in the same boat, would do it in a heartbeat if the wife would let me.

 

[CaptainComedy]

east side is cheap side.

that said - you can move to the commuter towns outside of m25 if your office is close to the landing station (like kings cross, victoria etc)

 

[Delvis]

Give me 30k and I'd be reasonably comfortable I believe.

No kids, no house, pay cheap rent currently.

Want a house though long term.

 

[terley]

22.5k+ id say is an expected wage for anyone 25+ unless they have achieved nothing.

 

[Luckystrike123]

Wife earns £28k and I get about £7.5k from student finance.

We have a 1 year old, a £95k mortgage, a £6000 loan and one car. So ~£35k is enough to cover us but we are not by any stretch well off. If I were to have an income similar to my wife's I think that we would feel rich (graduation cannot come soon enough).

 

[413x]

Give me 30k and I'd be reasonably comfortable I believe.

No kids, no house, pay cheap rent currently.

Want a house though long term.

Same. But I want to be in an area I love before I get something.
That being in South West of England or Wales.
Because all my hobbies outside revolve around sea and rivers.

 

[krooton]

London Zone 3
£70k mortgage (shared ownership)
£28k debt (loans taken out for wedding/honeymoon this year)
Combined salary of £80k
No kids
No cars
3 cats (surprisingly expensive with insurance, food, litter)
2 holidays a year
Eat well, but at home

When I was single and on £30k, I was comfortable living in Zone 2 London, but I had to house-share to do so (£750 all inc is way cheaper than even a studio on your own).

 

[413x]

London Zone 3
£70k mortgage (shared ownership)
£28k debt (loans taken out for wedding/honeymoon this year)
Combined salary of £80k
No kids
No cars
3 cats (surprisingly expensive with insurance, food, litter)
2 holidays a year
Eat well, but at home

That's a lot of debt for a cost like that with no asset to back it up. Is it a worry?

 

[Randomface74]

Around here it would boil down to getting a mortgage. Small houses are about 300k. So what's that, about 70k?

 

[Glaucus]

£28k debt (loans taken out for wedding/honeymoon this year)
.

insane, why do people do that to themselves.

 

[IC3]

insane, why do people do that to themselves.

I see it as showing off, no offence to anyone of course just sharing my opinion. If two people have feelings for each other, than why do they have to prove it to anyone?

 

[Glaucus]

I see it as showing off, no offence to anyone of course just sharing my opinion. If two people have feelings for each other, than why do they have to prove it to anyone?

or just be sensible, had mates that have done the expensive wedding and can afford it, some who have taken debt.
one who got married in a registry office, then had a proper fake wedding for friends and family and because that wasn't legally binding no stupid wedding surcharges, and another who did the 7k Groupon deal. So many ways not to spend obscene money.

 

[Spook187]

You need about 150k to live in London just to pay the mortgage, what's a bedsit nowdays in London about 300 notes a week lol.

 

[krooton]

insane, why do people do that to themselves.

£10k of that was pre-existing debt that we had, £18k for an elopement abroard, reception abroad, 2 week honeymoon, and another reception in the UK (we have friend and family kinda all over the world) actually is pretty damn cheap compared to just a normal wedding+reception in the UK

 

[krooton]

That's a lot of debt for a cost like that with no asset to back it up. Is it a worry?

We can clear the debt in just over a year whilst still having a life, and in 10 months if we live poverty-like, plus we have £150k equity in the flat. No worries here.

 

[UTmaniac]

Where you want/need to live makes a huge difference, due to how wildly house prices vary around the country. In the Southampton area, you would need at least £25k gross to get on the lowest rung of the mortgage ladder, living alone with no kids.

 

[Buffman]

North of Milton keynes, Cambridge, bristol etc (ie fairly ok house prices) probably about 40k ok for a single bloke.

Id be after more as a couple. To be honest I wouldn't be massively comfortable on 70k combined so in ideal world would want more with kids! :X (obv not achievable for most..)

Edited a couple times! :X. I changed up to 40..

 

[DXP55]

After reading this thread I am now convinced I live in abject poverty and that's after 40 yrs in work with a final salary pension - It all depends on what rung of the ladder you got up to - The company cut off the rungs above me so was stuffed - They also had a policy where if you were crap at the job they promoted you out of the way - Those that could stayed and those that couldn't became useless pen pushers.