What is a good salary in UK at present?

adam cool dude said:
Oh I agree that 125k is a fantastic salary. I was merely stating that two people on a normal combined salary of 80k would live a similar life to one person on a single high income due to tax etc. 2x incomes get the first 25k tax free and none of them pay 40% tax. When you look at it like that the 125k doesn't look so amazing. It's about a grand extra month or 12k a year. Yet the salary in isolation is 45k more before tax.
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adam cool dude said:
Not necessarily. If you are on 125k but are the only bread winner it isn't that special. A couple who are both on 40k most likely have a similar lifestyle if not better.
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Yes, it is that special. It's in the top 2% of earners. Just because you're bad with money or value other things doesn't make it not special.

2 people on £40k a year are bringing home £62k ish between them, one person on £125k is bringing home £76k. Already a 22.5% increase.

That's before you factor in that either the single earner is single, so they actually have 145% more income than the couple per person. Or they have a partner that doesn't need to work, so between them they're working half the hours, don't have to pay for child care and one of them has plenty of time to cook and clean etc.

So 22.5% better off, half the working hours, potentially much lower costs of living. The very fact that you have the option for one person to just not work makes it quite special.
 
adam cool dude said:
Oh I agree that 125k is a fantastic salary. I was merely stating that two people on a normal combined salary of 80k would live a similar life to one person on a single high income due to tax etc. 2x incomes get the first 25k tax free and none of them pay 40% tax. When you look at it like that the 125k doesn't look so amazing. It's about a grand extra month or 12k a year. Yet the salary in isolation is 45k more before tax.
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It's not really relevant though is it? Most people I know on that kind of money still have partners who work. Sometimes even earning similar money.
 
I think the thing people refuse to accept is that when you are on "baller" salaries, you are generally pretty ****** off that you aren't living the life of Scrooge McDuck (as once upon a time, you also looked at those salaries like they were dreamy, you could save so much, travel so much, achieve so much).

I was about to "make a break" from living pay check to pay check this year, December, but interest rates have put me right back in my box.

I also need to live near work as I travel frequently, which means my house costs double what I would be more than satisfied living in elsewhere.

The only people actually enjoying those baller salaries are the ones who got a massive leg up by family.

Give it 30 years and I'll finally be able to enjoy the high salary.........and then snuff it. But my daughter, she'll be someone you all hate - living a baller life on a high salary and I will have given her a massive leg up :D.
 
Rai200 said:
Yes, it is that special. It's in the top 2% of earners. Just because you're bad with money or value other things doesn't make it not special.

2 people on £40k a year are bringing home £62k ish between them, one person on £125k is bringing home £76k. Already a 22.5% increase.

That's before you factor in that either the single earner is single, so they actually have 145% more income than the couple per person. Or they have a partner that doesn't need to work, so between them they're working half the hours, don't have to pay for child care and one of them has plenty of time to cook and clean etc.

So 22.5% better off, half the working hours, potentially much lower costs of living. The very fact that you have the option for one person to just not work makes it quite special.
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You can have two earners who do not need to pay for childcare. We have 2 kids, both work and pay nothing for childcare without help from family.

I wasn't saying it was a bad a salary. It is absolutely fantastic and offers all the benefits that you list. I was merely pointing out that a couple on modest salaries each can live a similar lifestyle compared to a single earner.

Getting a 40-50k salary isn't that difficult either whereas getting to 125k is.
 
I'm in the midlands, both on a little less than average salary for this part of the world. The cost of living would still make it a struggle for a young family on similar money despite the two tax allowances. We have two cars paid off, do very few miles (WFH a fair bit), a dog, a small mortgage and minimal debts and still feel far from well off. Don't get me wrong we don't feel poor but we have to think about what we spend and do that wisely. I reckon if you want to have the stereotypical family with two kids, dog, reasonable home, a couple of cars and one decent holiday a year plus the usual spending on going out, clothes etc you'd need 2 x £50k to feel comfortably off.
 
dlockers said:
I think the thing people refuse to accept is that when you are on "baller" salaries, you are generally pretty ****** off that you aren't living the life of Scrooge McDuck (as once upon a time, you also looked at those salaries like they were dreamy, you could save so much, travel so much, achieve so much).

I was about to "make a break" from living pay check to pay check this year, December, but interest rates have put me right back in my box.

I also need to live near work as I travel frequently, which means my house costs double what I would be more than satisfied living in elsewhere.

The only people actually enjoying those baller salaries are the ones who got a massive leg up by family.

Give it 30 years and I'll finally be able to enjoy the high salary.........and then snuff it. But my daughter, she'll be someone you all hate - living a baller life on a high salary and I will have given her a massive leg up :D.
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I'm up for adoption if you'll have me?

Edit.
I'll even wear this for the right amount.

J4HsPS4.jpg
 
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dlockers said:
I think the thing people refuse to accept is that when you are on "baller" salaries, you are generally pretty ****** off that you aren't living the life of Scrooge McDuck (as once upon a time, you also looked at those salaries like they were dreamy, you could save so much, travel so much, achieve so much).
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This - plus, and I've said this before, it's all set up so the middle class can't really become wealthy on PAYE. Yet other middle class people are happy with that rather than us all agreeing to go after the truly wealthy non PAYE folks to take up the strain. All the while, everyone on PAYE continues to get even poorer thanks to fiscal drag.
 
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EvilRob said:
This - plus, and I've said this before, it's all set up so the middle class can't really become wealthy on PAYE. Yet other middle class people are happy with that rather than us all agreeing to go after the truly wealthy non PAYE folks to take up the strain.
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I was always told you'll never get rich working for someone else. The people with the real money I know are the small business owners. To be fair they take a lot of other risks I wouldn't want and we need them to do well. It's the robber baron multi billionaires with virtual monopolies that aren't contributing enough. Too few big businesses controlling too much. It happened in the 19th century and it is happening again. Some of the practices of the time were:

"exerting control over natural resources, influencing high levels of government, paying subsistence wages, squashing competition by acquiring their competitors to create monopolies and raise prices, and schemes to sell stock at inflated prices to unsuspecting investors"

Sounds very familiar ;)
 
dlockers said:
I think the thing people refuse to accept is that when you are on "baller" salaries, you are generally pretty ****** off that you aren't living the life of Scrooge McDuck (as once upon a time, you also looked at those salaries like they were dreamy, you could save so much, travel so much, achieve so much).
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I earn what some would consider a “baller” salary and I feel blessed that I do. I don’t live in a mansion or own a yacht but I have a financial freedom these days that I never had when I was younger.

I guess it depends on circumstance and outlook. House prices are the real killer, not tax though.
 
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jeffk said:
I earn what some would consider a “baller” salary and I feel blessed that I do. I don’t live in a mansion or own a yacht but I have a financial freedom these days that I never had when I was younger.

I guess it depends on circumstance and outlook though. House prices are the real killer, not tax though.
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How much are we talking? Do you have family?

Let's be honest, if I was on what I am on now, single - I would be balling. The fact is I wanted to develop my life from 1D to 5D chess.
 
jeffk said:
I earn what some would consider a “baller” salary and I feel blessed that I do. I don’t live in a mansion or own a yacht but I have a financial freedom these days that I never had when I was younger.

I guess it depends on circumstance and outlook. House prices are the real killer, not tax though.
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Pretty much this too when looking at salaries. To afford my house I would need a "baller" salary to just live in the same house that I do now with the same lifestyle.

Only 15 years ago that wouldn't be the case.
 
jeffk said:
I earn what some would consider a “baller” salary and I feel blessed that I do. I don’t live in a mansion or own a yacht but I have a financial freedom these days that I never had when I was younger.

I guess it depends on circumstance and outlook. House prices are the real killer, not tax though.
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Agree on house.
Take 60k to mid Wales and you can live really well.
60k in London commuter belt?.. Nope.

Then add things like
kids: yes/no
Car finance: yes/no

And that absolute amount becomes ever more irrelevant
 
If I was single and didn't have a 6 month old I'd be very comfortable on my current salary and probably already own my own home.
As it is a wedding last year (even through very cheap compared to most), a baby this year and therefore wife on statutory mat pay and then us basically using her wage from Jan to pay for childcare means I'm no where near as comfortable as I'd like to be on nearing £60k and don't foresee us owning a home for a long time yet.
 
413x said:
Agree on house.
Take 60k to mid Wales and you can live really well.
60k in London commuter belt?.. Nope.

Then add things like
kids: yes/no
Car finance: yes/no

And that absolute amount becomes ever more irrelevant
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I live in the london commuter belt ( Bexley) and 60k would be a dream. What do you consider "living really well" to be?
 
413x said:
Agree on house.
Take 60k to mid Wales and you can live really well.
60k in London commuter belt?.. Nope.

Then add things like
kids: yes/no
Car finance: yes/no

And that absolute amount becomes ever more irrelevant
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You can do 60k in London (I did 31k in London for a bit), but you need to accept realities - house sharing, chance of stabbing, etc. The trajectory should be immense though. If you aren't living mortgage free, London is simply a springboard or you're an idiot and need to GTFO to the North.
 
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