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Can't live on £50k a year

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    #11
    Originally posted by sal View Post

    This is the biggest problem, with 2 kids, for most mothers it makes no financial sense to work.
    Exactly, earns 1 grand, spends 1 grand on child care.

    They could live equally well on his salary and have a lot less stress if she managed the household.

    They can cancel the gym membership, sky subscription and sell the second car.
    I'm alright Jack

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      #12
      £1180 for utilities? What the hell are they doing, hydroponics?

      We survived (Mrs LM, Miss LM and I) on my first salary of £14,500 at the back end of the 90s. Basic broadband, no Sky TV, 1 car. Mrs LM didn't work so we didn't need childcare. It was tough but you cut your cloth accordingly. It's very simple - don't try and keep up with the Joneses if Mr Jones is on 100k a year and you're on 50k a year.
      The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn't exist

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        #13
        Yeah some of the figures seem a bit odd

        1180 per month for bills for an end of terrace?
        250 per month for birthdays and Christmas?
        300 for a Mini Countryman AND a Kia Sportage?
        Gym membership? Go running instead or buy a bike
        Sky? FFS!

        Yeah 50K is hard to live on, made much harder if you're a spoilt infantile adult.

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          #14
          Originally posted by CretinWatcher View Post

          Gym membership? Go running instead or buy a bike
          Gym membership sounds a bit extravagent, but meeting people in the gym is a good way to network, and that may be important for this woman.

          Ditto young people with expensive iPhones and suchlike. Old fogeys can scoff, but it is important to look the part and stay in touch.

          Anyone can live on peanuts if they sit at home all day every day like a pensioner, but that isn't the point, especially when you're young.

          Sky? FFS!
          I'd love to know a cheaper alternative, seriously. I pay £90 a month for hundreds of channels which are mostly complete tosh! Freeview perhaps?
          Work in the public sector? Read the IR35 FAQ here

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            #15
            Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post
            I'd love to know a cheaper alternative, seriously. I pay £90 a month for hundreds of channels which are mostly complete tosh! Freeview perhaps?
            FreeView + Netflix/Amazon Prime - The only thing you miss is live sports

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              #16
              Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post
              Gym membership sounds a bit extravagent, but meeting people in the gym is a good way to network, and that may be important for this woman.
              Bollux.


              Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post
              I'd love to know a cheaper alternative, seriously. I pay £90 a month for hundreds of channels which are mostly complete tosh! Freeview perhaps?
              We have freeview, for some years we didn't have a telly.
              Why anyone would pay that scum Murdoch (or even Branson) for 100s of channels of complete crud is beyond me.
              Particularly if you claim to be short of money.

              Comment


                #17
                Originally posted by sal View Post
                FreeView + Netflix/Amazon Prime - The only thing you miss is live sports
                WHS. free view is all you need. Obviously I don't get to watch sports, but of course I'm always out doing Triathalons and Iron Man races with my mate Dallas, so don't have time anyway.
                What happens in General, stays in General.
                You know what they say about assumptions!

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                  #18
                  Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post
                  WHS, plus emergency repair bills, such as when the boiler goes caput or the jam jar needs expensive new parts.

                  I mean my last Jag service was nearly £2K (four new tyres, four new brake disks, pads, plus a few other bits and bobs, not forgetting 20% VAT!

                  The Rangerover service (in progress) is looking even worse, autocooler blown, fuel injection leak, EGR valve fault, etc. God, I'm looking at anything up to £3K!
                  I'll admit time can be a factor, but some of this you can do yourself. I do most of the servicing on the cars myself - Merc, Land Rover and Jag - and most household things are fairly straight forward. The door lock packed up at Christmas. Used a bit of wood to keep it secure and managed to change the locking mechanism (I discovered it's called the gearbox) for £17 with a bit from eBay.

                  Same with the leaking ball valve in the cold water tank two weeks back. A new valve and ball was £11 from Screwfix. Okay, if you're on a good daily rate you might prefer to spend your free time and cash on other things, but once you've ar5sed about arranging for a tradesman to appear and waited while they fix it it'll probably be no slower.

                  Comment


                    #19
                    Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post
                    Gym membership sounds a bit extravagent, but meeting people in the gym is a good way to network, and that may be important for this woman.
                    Depends on who uses the gym membership. I know some families use it to take the kids swimming.

                    However if you need to save money that gym membership needs to go. You can either join a gym for £20 a month OR join a running club.

                    Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post
                    Ditto young people with expensive iPhones and suchlike. Old fogeys can scoff, but it is important to look the part and stay in touch.
                    Expensive iPhones etc are used instead of computers and landlines.

                    Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post
                    Anyone can live on peanuts if they sit at home all day every day like a pensioner, but that isn't the point, especially when you're young.

                    I'd love to know a cheaper alternative, seriously. I pay £90 a month for hundreds of channels which are mostly complete tosh! Freeview perhaps?
                    I use Freeview but have Amazon Prime and sometimes Sky Now.

                    Other people have Freeview, Amazon Prime and Netflix. It depends whether you prefer watching series or films.
                    "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

                    Comment


                      #20
                      Originally posted by The_Equalizer View Post
                      I'll admit time can be a factor, but some of this you can do yourself. I do most of the servicing on the cars myself - Merc, Land Rover and Jag - and most household things are fairly straight forward. The door lock packed up at Christmas. Used a bit of wood to keep it secure and managed to change the locking mechanism (I discovered it's called the gearbox) for £17 with a bit from eBay.

                      Same with the leaking ball valve in the cold water tank two weeks back. A new valve and ball was £11 from Screwfix. Okay, if you're on a good daily rate you might prefer to spend your free time and cash on other things, but once you've ar5sed about arranging for a tradesman to appear and waited while they fix it it'll probably be no slower.
                      Some people don't have the skills to do that or any DIY tasks.
                      "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

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