You aren't missing anything, it's impossible on your salary. You need a working partner these days sadly and even then home ownership and kids are a dream for many.
Aye that's why Manchester is now full of southerners with London wages and rent in the towns around it has gone unaffordable to the people living and working there.
I'm in the north, I could live comfortably off £2000 a month but factor in kids and I wouldn't be able to provide them with what I would want for them. Unless I had paid off my mortgage and even then I wouldn't consider myself well off if I had kids to provide for.
Great way to phrase it. Right or wrong, it seems more of a practical requirement to have a partner even without kids if you want any money left after bills
Same boat as you. Take home £2k a month and my car just went wrong and isn’t worth anything, including scrap so had to take a loan to get a new one.
Leaseholder flat management company wants more and more money each year but can’t afford to move. Now paying £750 a month.
I live on £450 a month after bills, so food, fuel (ha) and fun money. I have a cat so also their food and litter plus a little on monthly medication.
Less than 6k saved and 4K on a credit card.
I’m barely surviving let alone living!
You need to look at career options to earn more and ideally take a job with a good pension scheme. This will help enormously with your future. Civil service, local authority, railways etc. that takes the stress off re long term. I only buy second hand cars, just replaced my old car with a lovely 11 year car that's been well cared for for under 5k. I felt exactly the same as you ten years ago and the only thing I could change was the career situation. Most people are in debt and have finance for their cars and in the south east pretty much every single person I know who owns property had support from family (actual cash, living rent free etc).
I just had a big argument with my partner's stepfather. He raised 5 kids, took early retirement, have anice 500K home and go on a holiday every other month.
He thinks people are lazy and don't want to work nowadays.
I have two degrees and was self-employed for 15 years before my business failed. Took 8 months to get a job that was just above minimum wage.
We are in our 40s and a DINK household, and I inherited my family home in my 20s, yet I have terrible financial anxiety about being able to retire comfortably.
Admittedly, I am in a position loads better than most people, but it shouldn't be this hard.
I feel so bad for people younger than me. Everyone is fucked (unless you are born or married into wealth).
Well, I have had a couple of businesses fail over the years. Started out in online marketing, but then became a tech blogger - Google and AI killed it off. Work in IT support now :(
Not sure why you’ve been heavily downvoted, obviously a higher income is better. The OP stated they’re on a low income so they need more money, end of.
Ha, ha - I didn’t notice until you said, it is mostly because they don’t have the mindset to do what I have done. I have needed no money/gifts from friends or family, I went from growing up in a council estate (no judgement) to owning my own freehold house and car outright whilst being single - all from an honest living too. I’m not like most people, I don’t feel the need to be paired up or dependent on a partner to do what I want in life, I don’t follow the status quo. Most people don’t like to hear others doing better or different from them as it shines a light on their own lives. There’s so many people in this world paired up with the wrong partners because they cannot be financial stable by themselves. We should be encouraging people to aspire for more. Rather than the crabs in the barrel mentality.
Exactly. I also went from council house to my own place and a decent salary, I’m very comfortable now despite being divorced and living on my own with my son 50% of the time. Meanwhile most of my mates are spending half their money on drugs and booze at 50 years old, renting shared houses. I made my decision when I was any 14 years old and although I’ve made plenty of mistakes and had the odd bit of luck along the way I am confident I’ve got where I am by making good choices and working hard (when needed).
Good on you, this is it, I don’t smoke or drink or go on lots of holidays. I guess everyone has their an addiction to something, mine’s is my work. 🥴 if people are happy with their lives, good for them, but no need to be miserable about how others decide to live. All the best ❤️
Ha ha, and so is have you thought about getting a partner as if that solves all the problems too, shall we talk about the breakups and how high divorce rates are.
Unfortunately not everyone is in the position to earn much more money
This is a fundamental issue with the UK currently that isn't talked about enough. Upwards mobility is stunted across many areas of the country and industries.
EVERYONE should be able to earn more money. The country should make it the priority to allow this for every person of working age. The fact we have people raring to go with a proper graft but nowhere to place them is frustrating.
Where do you live and what are you spending your money on?
I bring home about £1600 a month, i work 4 days a week (dropped a day), am married with 1 kid, live in a 3 bed house, pay the mortgage and we have a car each and I have money left over to spare every month. We have 2 fly away holidays each year. Wife earns about the same.
I get that married life makes things easier, but I don't get what people are spending their money on.
Well here is a rough breakdown of my expenses in Scotland:
Mortgage (120k, 20 year term): £800
Bills (Water, gas, electricity): £200
Council tax: £330
Commuting (£11 return): £220
On your salary that would leave £50 per month for food, clothing, transport, home maintenance and general expenses for 3 people. Honestly I don't see how you could make that work even without entertainment or holidays. I'm guessing you have additional income/support.
Re-mortgage your house to 35 or 40 years instead of 20 - you'll have far more income - £800 a month for a 120K property is insane. It will also buy you more freedom to overpay if you wish, when you can. For reference our mortgage is £400 a month and we split that again between us.
Your commuting bill also seems high. £220 just to get to work... can you carpool? Can you cycle? I spend about £30 a week which is around £120 a month but that's because I have to drive a long way.
Your water and energy is a lot more than ours - we pay £35 for water and about £90 for energy.
Council tax is what it is - obviously almost halved when you're married.
Seems to me your biggest issue is your mortgage which you could re-negotiate, and your commute.
Lenders (understandably) don't like it when you extend a mortgage beyond retirement and so they charge higher interest rates. That's why 25 year terms are common and 40 year terms are usually ill advised.
It sounds like you are coasting along on debt without considering the long term.
No, I'm not. I am living my life by extending my mortgage and making my monthly payments affordable - leaving me with enough disposable income to actually enjoy myself. We also overpay each month so the total repay time will be nowhere near 40 years. On our current trajectory it will be gone in 12 years, and we have been here for 8. I do appreciate again that being married helps because you can share the debt.
But, you're paying £800 a month and I am paying less than £400 (before splitting between us). Our property values are THE SAME. There's £400 right there. Do you really want to live miserably for ten, fifteen, twenty years?
I'm in the same boat friend - I have a decent job 46k but that only just gives me 2.500 after tax so there's that! My husband earns 30k you'd think we have bags of savings - nope nothing! It all goes on expenses, fuel, bills, the kids helping his parents who are on state pension ( we can only give the £100 a month - better than nothing but still we can't help more)
The idea was to live off mine save his - never happened.
So now I'm working on a side business and looking for all ways to earn additional income - it's sad to think that for the sake of safety I will always be earning. Unless I suddenly get a windfall I'm going to be grinding until I drop dead.
Be kind to yourself. Remember that more and more people struggle to secure a roof over their head nowadays. Our economic system has been increasing inequality for decades now.
Living in an area where houses are more affordable, not having credit card/loan debt or hire purchase agreements, living within your means not getting everything on finance because its new and fancy, cooking at home only eating out as a treat, budgeting ..
Someone I know earns a little less than you. This is how they bought a house...
Live with your parents. Contribute to buying and cooking food, help with the housework. Watch TV, play games, join a sports club. Hardly ever go out on the town, instead invite your friends round for a drink and a chat. Don't have a car. Go on cheap holidays. If you keep your spend well below £100 per week you could save £20k per year!! then after 5-7 years you will have enough deposit to buy a modest house and enough income to pay the mortgage.
Buy furniture on FB market.
While this is actually good advice for buying a house in the UK today, it paints a bleak picture of life nowadays and goes some way to explain why people are having children later in life, if at all.
I’d guess that until about 20-30 years ago a single average salary in the UK could be reasonably expected to raise a family, including at least the rent if not mortgage. Might be no frills but you could put food on the table/keep the lights on etc. I’d expect this would be quite common for people in their 20s rather than their 30s. Certainly if you go back 50 years.
I’d be interested to see if there is any data on when that became unattainable. My guess would be somewhere around the 2008 financial crash.
Yeah, your timing’s about right, post 2008.
- At that time interest rates inc mortgages fell through the floor up until 2021/22. That’s 15 years of cheap money.
- Governments, Treasury and BofE being blindsided/shit scared to put rates up to a reasonable level for fear it would damage the economy. On the other side estate agents and the media kept on ( and still do) telling us higher house prices are good.
- whilst everyone loved ‘cheap mortgages’ very few people took a step back to understand that house prices and rents would obviously grow on the back of this to levels we see today.
- if only house price inflation had been kept in check…. I know hindsight is easy but…
I was mortgage advising in 2008, and that was when it started going "downhill." I bought a family house in 2018, and I believe that was the last chance year most people had to buy with reasonable effort to save, etc.
I don't think I'd be able to buy my own house today if I had to purchase with a 10% deposit.
I would go as far as to say home ownership and children will be impossible for most people moving forwards. I think it is that serious.
If your loan amount is only £130k your monthly payments are going to be much lower than £1k a month. Nationwide currently offering 4.61% interest rates if you have a good LTV
OMG, don't take out a 35 year mortgage. The total interest is £93k
If you pay off a grand a month, your mortgage is gone after 15 years, and you only pay a total of £51k interest.
Why is this important? Apart from saving £42k...
If you have a family, then you are going to need a bigger house when the kids become teenagers. If you had borrowed £130k on a 35 year mortgage, after 15 years of repayments you would still owe £88k!!! so you won't be able to afford it.
Also, as you approach middle age, you need to save a lot of money for your retirement, which is difficult if you are still paying off a loan.
I don’t think anyone disagrees that a shorter mortgage is ideal if you can afford it. The problem is that many people simply can’t.
OP is taking home £2k a month after tax. Realistically, what lender is going to approve a mortgage where repayments are 50%+ of take-home pay? They won’t, it wouldn’t pass affordability checks.
Longer mortgage terms aren’t about people making bad financial decisions; they’re often the only way to keep monthly payments manageable and actually get on the property ladder in the first place.
Your argument basically comes down to “pay more now and you’ll save more later,” which is true, but it assumes people have that extra money available, and many don’t. When you’re working with tight margins, reducing monthly risk often matters more than minimising total interest.
It’s not that people don’t understand the math, it’s that they don’t have the financial flexibility.
Not to mention the average mortgage length in the UK today is 32 years. A 35 year mortgage is not uncommon and total normal today. It's not 1990 anymore sadly.
I think your take is a little outdated and makes you come across a bit out of touch. If people could afford a year 15 year mortgage when they take home £2k a month, they would do just that, unfortunately that reality doesn't exist.
I can see where you are coming from, but a couple of things you may want to consider...
Rent for a house is close to £1k a month, some friends of mine are paying £880 rent for a 2 up 2 down semi in Wakefield.
Total bills for a house per month including food for one person (cooking at home, not eating out) is about £550, which leaves a few hundred a month disposable income
I can understand banks wanting to lend 35 year mortgages because they make far more profit, but it is a terrible financial trap for the unsuspecting homebuyer.
I was planning on doing the same, but then was offered a job for a much better and had to move out. Still managed to save about 39k, but could have stayed and saved even more I guess.
As someone who lives in a part of London where I'm surrounded by some of the richest people in the country, I can tell you that the culture is to never stop working and never stop being in an industrious mindset. A lot of people are deeply unhappy that they can't get off the ride because they fall behind the moment they stop. Marrying into wealth can shortcut the issue but that means finding someone who is earning 3-4x the average and there is only so few suitors.
I want to give you hope, I was once in your shoes, when I started to increase my income I was able to buy my car, then my house as a single person. I didn’t want to wait on doing things just because I don’t have a partner, and I wanted things to belong to me for my our security, if I can do it, you can do it too.
People earning more are not necessarily feeling better about their finances, due to lifestyle creep. People usually spend close to their max and so one is always trying to keep one's head above water.
As a result, earning more doesnt necessarily mean the budgeting worries go away, just that you have slightly more stuff that wanted to have.
Do you have childcare costs? Those are crippling.
Have you written out all your expenses and tracked them? Where can you save?
Lots of people live off what they have and that's that. It's an issue when you feel you're living below where you should be. Nothing wrong with that, it's necessary if you want to move up, but it also generates a lot of anguish.
Look at career moves: can you rise up where you are? Can you move to a new job? Need a career change? Are there ways to earn additional income?
Can you reduce your outgoings? Insurances, bills, subscriptions, eating out/takeaway, clothes, toys, electronics, days out, etc.
Not buying anything that carries interest. Get the lowest mortgage you can. Get a cheap and cheerful car that is unlikely to need maintenance (Kia's are super for this).
Switch supermarkets. Buy wholesome cheap food (beans, pork, cabbage are all cheap and great).
Do you take holidays? They are a killer! Theyre important too but they are a heavy weight on the scale so have to be very mindful with them.
Hey OP. 49 year old married father of two - financially stable with kids and house.
You won’t want to hear this, but it just takes time and patience, professionally and personally.
I don’t know how old you are, but I wasn’t in a really financially stable position until my late 30s. To be clear - financial stability to me means able to pay all of the bills without thinking, cover unexpected emergencies and also save toward my retirement.
It took me until my late 30s for it all come together as follows:
Professionally - like it or not, it can take a long time to get the experience, knowledge and skills to get into higher-paying jobs. That’s for people with PhDs and those leaving school at 16. Experience matters.
Personally - this sounds very traditional, but finding and marrying a person who shared my values and views was a big part of becoming stable. We got married when I was 37 and our joint income and mutual support makes us more than the sum of our parts.
I know that’s not what you wanted to hear - it takes time and intentional building - but that’s what it took for me to
Quick story which I am hoping will help. I left the military 6 years ago - I was earning £24K prior to discharge. I came out, joined a tech company doing an entry level admin job on less money - £22K. Spent a year there then got offered to join an AI start up offering £28K. Fast forward five years and an internal transfer, completing qualifications and enrolling on multiple training courses, I am now a global compliance lead earning £115K.
The point of me being so forthcoming with my earnings and journey is that you can change your circumstances. I’m not gifted, I’m from a working class background and shit I don’t even have a degree but I’ve done okay!
Location matters massively. We are a two income home in a cheap part of the north, I earn under average UK wage and he earns just over. We are pretty comfortable, I am able to put some savings away every month whilst maintaining mortgage and cars and still have extra to spend.
I will say though we do not have any other large debts.
Two people can financially live much better than one. It also depends where in the UK you are. It's much more attainable to get on the housing ladder in the North East compared to London (the two extreme ends of the scale).
Since graduating 20+ years ago i always had a side hustle. Not necessarily that sophisticated, the kind of things you can find in the beer money subreddit. It shouldn't be necessary and given my time again i'd strive much harder on the education front so I wouldn't need to be scrabbling around for £20 here and there.
Your salary is pretty much the bottom end of the bottom end, so that being said, the feeling of barely getting by is normal for someone on your pay level (especially recent times).
Going to get hate here, I earn around £200k, and while I appreciate it’s a lot, my life isn’t all yachts and ski’s.
I have a nice house and a leased car on the drive, but I’m not living like a rockstar. I don’t worry about grocery bills and my utilities are all paid, but that’s something everyone should be able to have. Message is it shows the state of the country when you need to earn around 10 times minimum wage to be able to have a nice life.
Honestly? You need £100,000 combined pre tax income in the UK to ‘get ahead’ I think.
My fiancé earns around £32k a year, I clear around £75k but much of that is made up of overtime and expenses. We live comfortably and save a decent amount, but I still worry about the ‘what ifs’ high interest rate and job loses etc.
Love it when people on the internet just assume that others are living beyond their means. I care for my retired father. I never go on holiday, always cook at home, never go out for drinks (don’t drink) have a 2008 plate car which I actually only just bought recently. I only started working about 10 years ago so this is the time I have had to put together savings/investments at all etc.
I don't know why people downvote this stuff to be honest.
Where I live 100K after tax is not buying you a house. By definition then you are not "ahead", you haven't even started, if you are living in a flat you are below average.
Same it's almost a bloody necessity now in the UK to earn a ton of money just to live nicely. People are saying it's possible but they aren't giving their ages, what help they had, if their cars are on finance, how much debt they have, do they pay for childcare etc like op was wanting to know.
In Scotland where I live houses are insanely expensive for no good reason. We don't have the infrastructure, not enough schools, not enough gp's or dentists, hospital is shit, crime everywhere. But it sells because it's pretty up here. That's all. Our council tax went up yet again for very little in return. Fuel prices are extortionate now, food has been constantly going up, house prices keep going up, and this is common across the country. It's no wonder people can't afford to live without help.
It's very tough and I don't know anyone that's done it without some level of 'help' or subsidisation, even the guys that I grew up with that had 20k engineering apprenticeships back in early 10's, before going into 40/50k jobs. They may have bought their own houses etc, but they managed to save whilst living at home with minimal expenditure (like I did).
Obviously splitting bills with a partner helps A LOT and that's what allowed me to get out of my flat into a house with her, but that also coincided with my wage 3X'ing over the 6 years we've been together.
Well how old are you and what’s your living situation? If you’re making 2k a month and living with parents, you’re in the best position to set yourself up for the future. You can save aggressively for a big down payment on a property up north and mortgage the rest. Assured, you’d have to move from where you currently live but for all we know you could already be living in the north or the midlands.
Gen X started in 1965 so it would have taken them a lot of financial foresight to buy houses in the 1970s.
From my Gen X perspective, life was bloody hard then and it's bloody hard now. Nothing has really improved for normal income people and if something gets cheaper they just make something else unaffordable to compensate.
The jobs situation now is horrifying and I'm very worried for my younger relatives. As well as myself.
It's a sarcastic take, but actually not that far from being good advice. I should have been throwing myself at wealthy middle aged women in my teenage years.
It’s also sarcastic but all of my female friends who got divorced (30s to early 40s) have ended up with older, wealthier men who are dull and fairly unattractive. But they seem genuinely happier and less stressed.
Second job. I'm single and it's definitely more difficult than my married friends who both work. My second job pulls in about 5/600 a month but its not easy and I'm always tired! Its the only way to save and have money for 'fun stuff' as well though
Are you living at home or renting / sharing a house? Thats usually 60% of the financial drain?
I’m not the all knowing as this was 10 years ago, I purchased a studio apartment and lived there for 5 years saving sold that for what I paid for it but was able to afford a slightly larger deposit as I’d paid off a tiny bit of principal and some savings
I have friends who want their first home to have a garage a garden… 10 years later they’re still saving and renting
I earn 40k a year and live on my own in a 3 bed semi that I have a mortgage on in a relatively nice area of a small city in the north west, with a 25 plate car and a awesome dog.
Could I do that in 75% of others regions in the UK? Nope, but whilst I’d probably live somewhat payday to payday I don’t think I’d struggle a lot as I’d live within my means.
Very similar scenario to you. Except South Yorkshire city in a nice area next to the Peak District. I earn £37k,single person household, have mortgaged terraced house & a dog. I limit my take home pay to £2k a month because I pay the excess into pension & share plans. Drive a 24 plate car fully paid off, live comfortably.
My biggest boost to my quality of life was starting investing in a stocks ISA & salary sacrifice into the work share match scheme so I now have investments earning their own income & capital.
West Scotland. 2 bed flat. Take home 2.3k a month. Struggle some times. I do spend frivolous at times though. After mortgage, daughter other bills of course
When i reached 35 years old and found that property in the area I lived in (Hertfordshire) was still financially unreachable I moved from my shared flat in a nice area to one of the cheapest bedsits in Slough, near where i worked.
For 5 years I did nothing but save money, study, develop my career and get outdoor exercise (its free)
At the end of that 5 years, I had saved over £40K - which would have been enough of a deposit to buy a small house in Berkshire on my salary alone. i ddnt do that as I'd met the right person and we bought together instead, but even as a single guy, property in the south-east was attainable. just difficult
As for cars. Older but reliable types, and learn to service them yourself. its what I did for a very long time.
Here's a witty yet genuinely helpful comment that will get upvotes and build karma:
High Upvote Potential (Witty + Honest)
You're not missing anything - the maths genuinely doesn't work for most people.
The ones who "afford" it are usually:
→ Dual income households (the real cheat code)
→ Got help from parents (Bank of Mum & Dad funds roughly 1 in 3 first-time buyers in the UK)
→ Bought before 2015 when prices were half of today
→ Silently drowning in debt and just look fine on Instagram
£2K/month in the UK in 2026 is survival mode, not building mode. That's not a you problem - that's a structural problem.
What actually moves the needle:
1. Income increase > expense cutting (optimising £2K is a ceiling, earning £4K has no ceiling)
2. Skills that command higher pay — trades, tech, finance, anything specialist
3. If possible — dual income before committing to a mortgage
You're not bad at money.
The game is just genuinely rigged until your income crosses a certain threshold.
You’re on a low salary and single. I don’t think many/anybody is affording a house, car and family in your situation. Many people get family help as well e.g. living rent free with their parents or given a lump sum for deposit to buy somewhere.
You’re single and in many areas it’s always been hard to get a house and stuff on just one income. About the only saving you get is council tax discount which even in a nice house is going to be about grand a year saving, so you very other bill you’re paying for being alone…
I started my first job in 2021, taking home £1850. I already had savings from summer jobs while at uni, and I was able to keep adding to those after I started working. About 2.5 years later I could afford to buy a flat. I couldn't afford to waste money, but I never felt like I was struggling.
For me it was just a question of setting and keeping clear priorities, and being smart about my finances and bills. In concrete terms that meant making do without a car, learning how to manage my money and making use of schemes like the Lifetime ISA, and not spending beyond my means on rent (which was achievable, even in a city on the south coast).
It takes time to build something, in my 20’s i was like you earning 2-3k a month paying london rent. But slowly investing each month, getting a mortgage in the outskirts and getting pay rises, by 40yr old i am able to do the things you mention
What's your living situation and what do you spend your money on?
You're only on around 20% over minimum wage, unless you live somewhere that has really cheap housing, it's going to be mean compromises and choosing between saving and other spending - for a lot of areas you'd be firmly in being a lodger in shared house salary.
You'll be 'competing' for housing with people earning significantly more than you as it is.
Obvs where you live makes a big difference. However, I was recently able to buy in Brighton (expensive city), by myself, without help, mainly due to the fact I lived in house shares for over 10 years, post uni. I also don't live excessively with new wardrobes etc, I've been on holidays, travelling is where my money was going other than in savings.
Good luck, it is doable depending on what your outgoings are like.
Yep, I was the same. You pay a massive premium for living alone, particularly renting. It makes sense when you consider that the difference between a 1 bed and 2 bed flat is often just adding one extra bedroom, the rest of the floor plan is more or less the same.
Eh well…yeah…these people with cars and houses have better jobs. I take home 3.4k but I have severe adhd, autism, depression and my mental health is overall dogshit and I’d want to be adopted haha. Just let me click in that stupid computer, collect the paycheck, and the other person does the adulting. I’m fed up.
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Benjibob55@reddit
You aren't missing anything, it's impossible on your salary. You need a working partner these days sadly and even then home ownership and kids are a dream for many.
dbxp@reddit
Not in the north you don't
Okthen8008@reddit
I always see this take and I hate it. live in the north on £2000 a month, rent+bills alone is £750. I feel like I’m just getting by each month.
buginarugsnug@reddit
Home ownership is certainly more attainable, but raising a family is still financially difficult for two people with average salaries.
RBXXIII@reddit
Aye that's why Manchester is now full of southerners with London wages and rent in the towns around it has gone unaffordable to the people living and working there.
Flat_Development6659@reddit
Where about in the North? I live in Yorkshire and £2k as a single person would be shite.
AttersH@reddit
I’m in West Yorkshire & the cost of living is very cheap compared to just about anywhere in ‘the South’, where a lot of my family live.
agoentis@reddit
This is the answer: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/173119004
Far_Kaleidoscope_102@reddit
Those house looks like it was won in a competition but the winner couldn’t afford to live in it.
333333x@reddit
I'm in the north, I could live comfortably off £2000 a month but factor in kids and I wouldn't be able to provide them with what I would want for them. Unless I had paid off my mortgage and even then I wouldn't consider myself well off if I had kids to provide for.
dbxp@reddit
Single parenting does certainly stretch resources but I don't think OP is in that situation
Tough-Oven4317@reddit
Great way to phrase it. Right or wrong, it seems more of a practical requirement to have a partner even without kids if you want any money left after bills
torihe@reddit
Same boat as you. Take home £2k a month and my car just went wrong and isn’t worth anything, including scrap so had to take a loan to get a new one. Leaseholder flat management company wants more and more money each year but can’t afford to move. Now paying £750 a month. I live on £450 a month after bills, so food, fuel (ha) and fun money. I have a cat so also their food and litter plus a little on monthly medication. Less than 6k saved and 4K on a credit card. I’m barely surviving let alone living!
anaba29@reddit (OP)
Same here bro.
laviaja@reddit
You need to look at career options to earn more and ideally take a job with a good pension scheme. This will help enormously with your future. Civil service, local authority, railways etc. that takes the stress off re long term. I only buy second hand cars, just replaced my old car with a lovely 11 year car that's been well cared for for under 5k. I felt exactly the same as you ten years ago and the only thing I could change was the career situation. Most people are in debt and have finance for their cars and in the south east pretty much every single person I know who owns property had support from family (actual cash, living rent free etc).
Remarkable_Pound_214@reddit
You’re missing a partner to have a shared income with. Most things are set up to split between two people to work imo.
BlueFlowerWallpaper@reddit
This is it. I spent 10 years in the UK and ended up leaving when I realised I'd never be able to live on my own on a single income.
Open-Butterfly-5288@reddit
Even with a partner, I'm struggling. Every month seems to bring new expenses that I either can't or barely manage to afford.
piernut@reddit
Yep, agreed.
I just had a big argument with my partner's stepfather. He raised 5 kids, took early retirement, have anice 500K home and go on a holiday every other month.
He thinks people are lazy and don't want to work nowadays.
I have two degrees and was self-employed for 15 years before my business failed. Took 8 months to get a job that was just above minimum wage.
We are in our 40s and a DINK household, and I inherited my family home in my 20s, yet I have terrible financial anxiety about being able to retire comfortably.
Admittedly, I am in a position loads better than most people, but it shouldn't be this hard.
I feel so bad for people younger than me. Everyone is fucked (unless you are born or married into wealth).
253011@reddit
What business was it and what was the reason it failed after so long?
piernut@reddit
Well, I have had a couple of businesses fail over the years. Started out in online marketing, but then became a tech blogger - Google and AI killed it off. Work in IT support now :(
253011@reddit
Certainly wouldn’t say you failed, you had a business running for 15 years. Sounds successful to me.
piernut@reddit
Thank you :)
It is just difficult adjusting to going from a quite a high paid business that I spent years building to earning not much more than minimum wage.
Thankfully, I was obsessively saving for retirement as I feared Google would screw me over one day, so it's not all bad.
253011@reddit
I can imagine, you got cracked on and kept working though. Keep your mind open and you will probably find your next business venture.
Good luck!
Which_Implement8952@reddit
I have my own house and car and I’m single, the person needs a higher income. I wouldn’t say a partner
Broad-Raspberry1805@reddit
Not sure why you’ve been heavily downvoted, obviously a higher income is better. The OP stated they’re on a low income so they need more money, end of.
Which_Implement8952@reddit
Ha, ha - I didn’t notice until you said, it is mostly because they don’t have the mindset to do what I have done. I have needed no money/gifts from friends or family, I went from growing up in a council estate (no judgement) to owning my own freehold house and car outright whilst being single - all from an honest living too. I’m not like most people, I don’t feel the need to be paired up or dependent on a partner to do what I want in life, I don’t follow the status quo. Most people don’t like to hear others doing better or different from them as it shines a light on their own lives. There’s so many people in this world paired up with the wrong partners because they cannot be financial stable by themselves. We should be encouraging people to aspire for more. Rather than the crabs in the barrel mentality.
Broad-Raspberry1805@reddit
Exactly. I also went from council house to my own place and a decent salary, I’m very comfortable now despite being divorced and living on my own with my son 50% of the time. Meanwhile most of my mates are spending half their money on drugs and booze at 50 years old, renting shared houses. I made my decision when I was any 14 years old and although I’ve made plenty of mistakes and had the odd bit of luck along the way I am confident I’ve got where I am by making good choices and working hard (when needed).
Which_Implement8952@reddit
Good on you, this is it, I don’t smoke or drink or go on lots of holidays. I guess everyone has their an addiction to something, mine’s is my work. 🥴 if people are happy with their lives, good for them, but no need to be miserable about how others decide to live. All the best ❤️
piernut@reddit
I am sure he hasn't thought about trying to be richer.
Unfortunately not everyone is in the position to earn much more money.
A partner does help, a lot.
So do rich parents. Especially dead rich parents.
arenaross@reddit
My favorite Reddit-ism is, 'Have you just thought about being richer?"
Which_Implement8952@reddit
Ha ha, and so is have you thought about getting a partner as if that solves all the problems too, shall we talk about the breakups and how high divorce rates are.
Milky_Finger@reddit
This is a fundamental issue with the UK currently that isn't talked about enough. Upwards mobility is stunted across many areas of the country and industries.
EVERYONE should be able to earn more money. The country should make it the priority to allow this for every person of working age. The fact we have people raring to go with a proper graft but nowhere to place them is frustrating.
OrangeGrouchy179@reddit
That’s because 2k a month isn’t enough to live on. You need to earn more.
GrabbedByTheGhost@reddit
Where do you live and what are you spending your money on?
I bring home about £1600 a month, i work 4 days a week (dropped a day), am married with 1 kid, live in a 3 bed house, pay the mortgage and we have a car each and I have money left over to spare every month. We have 2 fly away holidays each year. Wife earns about the same.
I get that married life makes things easier, but I don't get what people are spending their money on.
HoundParty3218@reddit
Well here is a rough breakdown of my expenses in Scotland:
Mortgage (120k, 20 year term): £800 Bills (Water, gas, electricity): £200 Council tax: £330 Commuting (£11 return): £220
On your salary that would leave £50 per month for food, clothing, transport, home maintenance and general expenses for 3 people. Honestly I don't see how you could make that work even without entertainment or holidays. I'm guessing you have additional income/support.
GrabbedByTheGhost@reddit
Re-mortgage your house to 35 or 40 years instead of 20 - you'll have far more income - £800 a month for a 120K property is insane. It will also buy you more freedom to overpay if you wish, when you can. For reference our mortgage is £400 a month and we split that again between us.
Your commuting bill also seems high. £220 just to get to work... can you carpool? Can you cycle? I spend about £30 a week which is around £120 a month but that's because I have to drive a long way.
Your water and energy is a lot more than ours - we pay £35 for water and about £90 for energy.
Council tax is what it is - obviously almost halved when you're married.
Seems to me your biggest issue is your mortgage which you could re-negotiate, and your commute.
HoundParty3218@reddit
Lenders (understandably) don't like it when you extend a mortgage beyond retirement and so they charge higher interest rates. That's why 25 year terms are common and 40 year terms are usually ill advised.
It sounds like you are coasting along on debt without considering the long term.
GrabbedByTheGhost@reddit
No, I'm not. I am living my life by extending my mortgage and making my monthly payments affordable - leaving me with enough disposable income to actually enjoy myself. We also overpay each month so the total repay time will be nowhere near 40 years. On our current trajectory it will be gone in 12 years, and we have been here for 8. I do appreciate again that being married helps because you can share the debt.
But, you're paying £800 a month and I am paying less than £400 (before splitting between us). Our property values are THE SAME. There's £400 right there. Do you really want to live miserably for ten, fifteen, twenty years?
HoundParty3218@reddit
That's a lot of bold assumptions.
I think our financial situations are very different.
GrabbedByTheGhost@reddit
Advice sought, given and the rest is up to you.
EasilyExiledDinosaur@reddit
1 - be supported by parents and save for a few years. 2 - inherit. 3 - marry a rich person 4 - give up and leave the UK.
I took option 4.
dangerous_service_BU@reddit
I'm in the same boat friend - I have a decent job 46k but that only just gives me 2.500 after tax so there's that! My husband earns 30k you'd think we have bags of savings - nope nothing! It all goes on expenses, fuel, bills, the kids helping his parents who are on state pension ( we can only give the £100 a month - better than nothing but still we can't help more)
The idea was to live off mine save his - never happened.
So now I'm working on a side business and looking for all ways to earn additional income - it's sad to think that for the sake of safety I will always be earning. Unless I suddenly get a windfall I'm going to be grinding until I drop dead.
urgentassistance@reddit
If you are unable to live for free with your parents the next best thing is to be in a couple, if not for love for survival.
Ok-Garage-1684@reddit
Be kind to yourself. Remember that more and more people struggle to secure a roof over their head nowadays. Our economic system has been increasing inequality for decades now.
anaba29@reddit (OP)
True dat
Ok-Interaction-274@reddit
Living in an area where houses are more affordable, not having credit card/loan debt or hire purchase agreements, living within your means not getting everything on finance because its new and fancy, cooking at home only eating out as a treat, budgeting ..
Desperate_Cook_7338@reddit
You are correct the maths isn't working, go somewhere where the country values you. UK wages have gotten trash.
UnCommonSense99@reddit
Someone I know earns a little less than you. This is how they bought a house...
Live with your parents. Contribute to buying and cooking food, help with the housework. Watch TV, play games, join a sports club. Hardly ever go out on the town, instead invite your friends round for a drink and a chat. Don't have a car. Go on cheap holidays. If you keep your spend well below £100 per week you could save £20k per year!! then after 5-7 years you will have enough deposit to buy a modest house and enough income to pay the mortgage. Buy furniture on FB market.
sawn-off-snotgun@reddit
While this is actually good advice for buying a house in the UK today, it paints a bleak picture of life nowadays and goes some way to explain why people are having children later in life, if at all.
I’d guess that until about 20-30 years ago a single average salary in the UK could be reasonably expected to raise a family, including at least the rent if not mortgage. Might be no frills but you could put food on the table/keep the lights on etc. I’d expect this would be quite common for people in their 20s rather than their 30s. Certainly if you go back 50 years.
I’d be interested to see if there is any data on when that became unattainable. My guess would be somewhere around the 2008 financial crash.
rb4457@reddit
Real-terms average house prices in the UK have actually been pretty static (although volatile) since the mid-2000s, but house prices doubled in the 10 years before that: https://rationanalytics.com/uk/house-prices-inflation-adjusted . Real-terms weekly pay has been fairly constant over the same period: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8456/
UnCommonSense99@reddit
My parents bought a 4 bedroom detached house years ago on a single non professional wage 55 years ago, but they had to scrimp and save.
I bought a half share of a small flat in a undesirable area of London.... on a new graduate salary in 1990!!!
The house I bought for £160k in 2000 is now worth over 400k, but salaries have not even doubled.
egismzkobv@reddit
Really? unless you were on decent money in 2000s, I think wages grew a lot.
My first hourly rate on minimum in 2011 was 5.93, now it more than doubled.
UnCommonSense99@reddit
In engineering in the UK, salaries have doubled since the year 2000, but house prices have nearly trebled.
SalaryHorror7220@reddit
Yeah, your timing’s about right, post 2008. - At that time interest rates inc mortgages fell through the floor up until 2021/22. That’s 15 years of cheap money. - Governments, Treasury and BofE being blindsided/shit scared to put rates up to a reasonable level for fear it would damage the economy. On the other side estate agents and the media kept on ( and still do) telling us higher house prices are good. - whilst everyone loved ‘cheap mortgages’ very few people took a step back to understand that house prices and rents would obviously grow on the back of this to levels we see today. - if only house price inflation had been kept in check…. I know hindsight is easy but…
GreenComfortable927@reddit
I was mortgage advising in 2008, and that was when it started going "downhill." I bought a family house in 2018, and I believe that was the last chance year most people had to buy with reasonable effort to save, etc.
I don't think I'd be able to buy my own house today if I had to purchase with a 10% deposit.
I would go as far as to say home ownership and children will be impossible for most people moving forwards. I think it is that serious.
aarontbarratt@reddit
If your loan amount is only £130k your monthly payments are going to be much lower than £1k a month. Nationwide currently offering 4.61% interest rates if you have a good LTV
£130k, over 35 years, at 4.61% is £666 a month
UnCommonSense99@reddit
OMG, don't take out a 35 year mortgage. The total interest is £93k
If you pay off a grand a month, your mortgage is gone after 15 years, and you only pay a total of £51k interest.
Why is this important? Apart from saving £42k...
If you have a family, then you are going to need a bigger house when the kids become teenagers. If you had borrowed £130k on a 35 year mortgage, after 15 years of repayments you would still owe £88k!!! so you won't be able to afford it.
Also, as you approach middle age, you need to save a lot of money for your retirement, which is difficult if you are still paying off a loan.
aarontbarratt@reddit
I don’t think anyone disagrees that a shorter mortgage is ideal if you can afford it. The problem is that many people simply can’t.
OP is taking home £2k a month after tax. Realistically, what lender is going to approve a mortgage where repayments are 50%+ of take-home pay? They won’t, it wouldn’t pass affordability checks.
Longer mortgage terms aren’t about people making bad financial decisions; they’re often the only way to keep monthly payments manageable and actually get on the property ladder in the first place.
Your argument basically comes down to “pay more now and you’ll save more later,” which is true, but it assumes people have that extra money available, and many don’t. When you’re working with tight margins, reducing monthly risk often matters more than minimising total interest.
It’s not that people don’t understand the math, it’s that they don’t have the financial flexibility.
Not to mention the average mortgage length in the UK today is 32 years. A 35 year mortgage is not uncommon and total normal today. It's not 1990 anymore sadly.
I think your take is a little outdated and makes you come across a bit out of touch. If people could afford a year 15 year mortgage when they take home £2k a month, they would do just that, unfortunately that reality doesn't exist.
UnCommonSense99@reddit
I can see where you are coming from, but a couple of things you may want to consider...
Rent for a house is close to £1k a month, some friends of mine are paying £880 rent for a 2 up 2 down semi in Wakefield.
Total bills for a house per month including food for one person (cooking at home, not eating out) is about £550, which leaves a few hundred a month disposable income
I can understand banks wanting to lend 35 year mortgages because they make far more profit, but it is a terrible financial trap for the unsuspecting homebuyer.
3speechnotallowed@reddit
This sounds like.me. I lived with parents until 30, worked every hour I could and saved well over 100k. Bought my first house with cash
dimman117@reddit
I was planning on doing the same, but then was offered a job for a much better and had to move out. Still managed to save about 39k, but could have stayed and saved even more I guess.
Capital-Stay-5657@reddit
You can’t in London on that salary. Either find a partner asap get a better job or move to north east.
Milky_Finger@reddit
As someone who lives in a part of London where I'm surrounded by some of the richest people in the country, I can tell you that the culture is to never stop working and never stop being in an industrious mindset. A lot of people are deeply unhappy that they can't get off the ride because they fall behind the moment they stop. Marrying into wealth can shortcut the issue but that means finding someone who is earning 3-4x the average and there is only so few suitors.
iffyClyro@reddit
I earn about £300 more than you each month. I have a pretty decent standard of living.
My guess is you live somewhere with a very high cost of living.
anaba29@reddit (OP)
Yeah London
Which_Implement8952@reddit
I want to give you hope, I was once in your shoes, when I started to increase my income I was able to buy my car, then my house as a single person. I didn’t want to wait on doing things just because I don’t have a partner, and I wanted things to belong to me for my our security, if I can do it, you can do it too.
anaba29@reddit (OP)
Thanks mate
BugBottleBlue@reddit
It's absolutely brutal.
People earning more are not necessarily feeling better about their finances, due to lifestyle creep. People usually spend close to their max and so one is always trying to keep one's head above water.
As a result, earning more doesnt necessarily mean the budgeting worries go away, just that you have slightly more stuff that wanted to have.
Do you have childcare costs? Those are crippling.
Have you written out all your expenses and tracked them? Where can you save?
Lots of people live off what they have and that's that. It's an issue when you feel you're living below where you should be. Nothing wrong with that, it's necessary if you want to move up, but it also generates a lot of anguish.
Look at career moves: can you rise up where you are? Can you move to a new job? Need a career change? Are there ways to earn additional income?
Can you reduce your outgoings? Insurances, bills, subscriptions, eating out/takeaway, clothes, toys, electronics, days out, etc.
Not buying anything that carries interest. Get the lowest mortgage you can. Get a cheap and cheerful car that is unlikely to need maintenance (Kia's are super for this).
Switch supermarkets. Buy wholesome cheap food (beans, pork, cabbage are all cheap and great).
Do you take holidays? They are a killer! Theyre important too but they are a heavy weight on the scale so have to be very mindful with them.
anaba29@reddit (OP)
Good advice. Understood
yearsofpractice@reddit
Hey OP. 49 year old married father of two - financially stable with kids and house.
You won’t want to hear this, but it just takes time and patience, professionally and personally.
I don’t know how old you are, but I wasn’t in a really financially stable position until my late 30s. To be clear - financial stability to me means able to pay all of the bills without thinking, cover unexpected emergencies and also save toward my retirement.
It took me until my late 30s for it all come together as follows:
Professionally - like it or not, it can take a long time to get the experience, knowledge and skills to get into higher-paying jobs. That’s for people with PhDs and those leaving school at 16. Experience matters.
Personally - this sounds very traditional, but finding and marrying a person who shared my values and views was a big part of becoming stable. We got married when I was 37 and our joint income and mutual support makes us more than the sum of our parts.
I know that’s not what you wanted to hear - it takes time and intentional building - but that’s what it took for me to
anaba29@reddit (OP)
Thanks buddy. Every advice matters
JKO-1991@reddit
Quick story which I am hoping will help. I left the military 6 years ago - I was earning £24K prior to discharge. I came out, joined a tech company doing an entry level admin job on less money - £22K. Spent a year there then got offered to join an AI start up offering £28K. Fast forward five years and an internal transfer, completing qualifications and enrolling on multiple training courses, I am now a global compliance lead earning £115K.
The point of me being so forthcoming with my earnings and journey is that you can change your circumstances. I’m not gifted, I’m from a working class background and shit I don’t even have a degree but I’ve done okay!
anaba29@reddit (OP)
Good for you mate. Got it what you wanted to say
ancientspacewitch@reddit
Location matters massively. We are a two income home in a cheap part of the north, I earn under average UK wage and he earns just over. We are pretty comfortable, I am able to put some savings away every month whilst maintaining mortgage and cars and still have extra to spend.
I will say though we do not have any other large debts.
buginarugsnug@reddit
Two people can financially live much better than one. It also depends where in the UK you are. It's much more attainable to get on the housing ladder in the North East compared to London (the two extreme ends of the scale).
Potential_Lettuce_98@reddit
Since graduating 20+ years ago i always had a side hustle. Not necessarily that sophisticated, the kind of things you can find in the beer money subreddit. It shouldn't be necessary and given my time again i'd strive much harder on the education front so I wouldn't need to be scrabbling around for £20 here and there.
PhilosophyFormer4609@reddit
What are you buying? I don't mean to sound judgmental but im able to save at least 300 a month and im on 1600 a month after taxes.
fundytech@reddit
Your salary is pretty much the bottom end of the bottom end, so that being said, the feeling of barely getting by is normal for someone on your pay level (especially recent times).
therealstealthydan@reddit
Going to get hate here, I earn around £200k, and while I appreciate it’s a lot, my life isn’t all yachts and ski’s.
I have a nice house and a leased car on the drive, but I’m not living like a rockstar. I don’t worry about grocery bills and my utilities are all paid, but that’s something everyone should be able to have. Message is it shows the state of the country when you need to earn around 10 times minimum wage to be able to have a nice life.
Turbofox_89@reddit
Honestly? You need £100,000 combined pre tax income in the UK to ‘get ahead’ I think.
My fiancé earns around £32k a year, I clear around £75k but much of that is made up of overtime and expenses. We live comfortably and save a decent amount, but I still worry about the ‘what ifs’ high interest rate and job loses etc.
CockroachNo803@reddit
Can relate to this. I’m on 50k and living in the north. Single and no kids but it’s not smooth sailing at all
3speechnotallowed@reddit
50k in the north goes a LONG way, you're clearly living well above your means, simple as that.
CockroachNo803@reddit
Look at my response and tell me what it is that I am doing that is beyond my means?
AttersH@reddit
If you live in the North, that should be easily enough to be comfortable. If it isn’t, you live well beyond your means.
CockroachNo803@reddit
Love it when people on the internet just assume that others are living beyond their means. I care for my retired father. I never go on holiday, always cook at home, never go out for drinks (don’t drink) have a 2008 plate car which I actually only just bought recently. I only started working about 10 years ago so this is the time I have had to put together savings/investments at all etc.
bars_and_plates@reddit
I don't know why people downvote this stuff to be honest.
Where I live 100K after tax is not buying you a house. By definition then you are not "ahead", you haven't even started, if you are living in a flat you are below average.
Ok_Young1709@reddit
Same it's almost a bloody necessity now in the UK to earn a ton of money just to live nicely. People are saying it's possible but they aren't giving their ages, what help they had, if their cars are on finance, how much debt they have, do they pay for childcare etc like op was wanting to know.
In Scotland where I live houses are insanely expensive for no good reason. We don't have the infrastructure, not enough schools, not enough gp's or dentists, hospital is shit, crime everywhere. But it sells because it's pretty up here. That's all. Our council tax went up yet again for very little in return. Fuel prices are extortionate now, food has been constantly going up, house prices keep going up, and this is common across the country. It's no wonder people can't afford to live without help.
GrabbedByTheGhost@reddit
Fucking hell, I'd not be worrying about anything if I brought home 75K. That's crazy money were I am
Indigo_Leaves@reddit
Can I be your fiance too? 😏😅
CNRADMSN@reddit
It's very tough and I don't know anyone that's done it without some level of 'help' or subsidisation, even the guys that I grew up with that had 20k engineering apprenticeships back in early 10's, before going into 40/50k jobs. They may have bought their own houses etc, but they managed to save whilst living at home with minimal expenditure (like I did).
Obviously splitting bills with a partner helps A LOT and that's what allowed me to get out of my flat into a house with her, but that also coincided with my wage 3X'ing over the 6 years we've been together.
Jinx-Put-6043@reddit
The UK personal finance sub is good for reading and seeing how to manage your money to make it go further. There is lots of helpful advice and info.
Distinct_Sir_9086@reddit
Well how old are you and what’s your living situation? If you’re making 2k a month and living with parents, you’re in the best position to set yourself up for the future. You can save aggressively for a big down payment on a property up north and mortgage the rest. Assured, you’d have to move from where you currently live but for all we know you could already be living in the north or the midlands.
Joshouken@reddit
If you want a clearer answer then head to r/UKPersonalFinance and give them a breakdown of your monthly income and outgoings
West_Yorkshire@reddit
Get a job, partner, and move up north
Mindlesszz@reddit
Massive wealth transfer from Boomers and Gen X who purchased houses in the 60/70s.
Impressionsoflakes@reddit
Gen X started in 1965 so it would have taken them a lot of financial foresight to buy houses in the 1970s.
From my Gen X perspective, life was bloody hard then and it's bloody hard now. Nothing has really improved for normal income people and if something gets cheaper they just make something else unaffordable to compensate.
The jobs situation now is horrifying and I'm very worried for my younger relatives. As well as myself.
DameKumquat@reddit
You should have chosen your parents better. Failing that, find a wealthy partner.
gregd303@reddit
It's a sarcastic take, but actually not that far from being good advice. I should have been throwing myself at wealthy middle aged women in my teenage years.
ViscountGris@reddit
It’s also sarcastic but all of my female friends who got divorced (30s to early 40s) have ended up with older, wealthier men who are dull and fairly unattractive. But they seem genuinely happier and less stressed.
mdmnl@reddit
75% of the way there...
Sad-Basis7411@reddit
Careful now, people without money that want you date them will call you gold digger.
Lunaspoona@reddit
Second job. I'm single and it's definitely more difficult than my married friends who both work. My second job pulls in about 5/600 a month but its not easy and I'm always tired! Its the only way to save and have money for 'fun stuff' as well though
RetroDando@reddit
Are you living at home or renting / sharing a house? Thats usually 60% of the financial drain?
I’m not the all knowing as this was 10 years ago, I purchased a studio apartment and lived there for 5 years saving sold that for what I paid for it but was able to afford a slightly larger deposit as I’d paid off a tiny bit of principal and some savings
I have friends who want their first home to have a garage a garden… 10 years later they’re still saving and renting
Different-Use-5185@reddit
I earn 40k a year and live on my own in a 3 bed semi that I have a mortgage on in a relatively nice area of a small city in the north west, with a 25 plate car and a awesome dog.
Could I do that in 75% of others regions in the UK? Nope, but whilst I’d probably live somewhat payday to payday I don’t think I’d struggle a lot as I’d live within my means.
Consult-SR88@reddit
Very similar scenario to you. Except South Yorkshire city in a nice area next to the Peak District. I earn £37k,single person household, have mortgaged terraced house & a dog. I limit my take home pay to £2k a month because I pay the excess into pension & share plans. Drive a 24 plate car fully paid off, live comfortably.
My biggest boost to my quality of life was starting investing in a stocks ISA & salary sacrifice into the work share match scheme so I now have investments earning their own income & capital.
dbxp@reddit
Dog tax?
el_pieablo@reddit
West Scotland. 2 bed flat. Take home 2.3k a month. Struggle some times. I do spend frivolous at times though. After mortgage, daughter other bills of course
CarpeCyprinidae@reddit
When i reached 35 years old and found that property in the area I lived in (Hertfordshire) was still financially unreachable I moved from my shared flat in a nice area to one of the cheapest bedsits in Slough, near where i worked.
For 5 years I did nothing but save money, study, develop my career and get outdoor exercise (its free)
At the end of that 5 years, I had saved over £40K - which would have been enough of a deposit to buy a small house in Berkshire on my salary alone. i ddnt do that as I'd met the right person and we bought together instead, but even as a single guy, property in the south-east was attainable. just difficult
As for cars. Older but reliable types, and learn to service them yourself. its what I did for a very long time.
Widebody_lover@reddit
You need to careermax
Become a Henry , 4X your income and enjoy
Pyrex_Living@reddit
I mean it’s a simple equation - either earn more or spend less. Or both.
Do what you can to leverage either, higher paying job, weekend work, cut out unnecessary expenses
Old_Peanut3486@reddit
Here's a witty yet genuinely helpful comment that will get upvotes and build karma:
High Upvote Potential (Witty + Honest)
croissant-of-dreams@reddit
Qwsdxcbjking@reddit
Real-Apricot-7889@reddit
You’re on a low salary and single. I don’t think many/anybody is affording a house, car and family in your situation. Many people get family help as well e.g. living rent free with their parents or given a lump sum for deposit to buy somewhere.
NoCold3997@reddit
It's just circumstances to oneself that's all ..it happens all over the world ..there isn't no easy answer and so many variables to consider.
imSlashing@reddit
Hard to do all those things on minimum wage
Tim_UK1@reddit
You’re single and in many areas it’s always been hard to get a house and stuff on just one income. About the only saving you get is council tax discount which even in a nice house is going to be about grand a year saving, so you very other bill you’re paying for being alone…
nivlark@reddit
I started my first job in 2021, taking home £1850. I already had savings from summer jobs while at uni, and I was able to keep adding to those after I started working. About 2.5 years later I could afford to buy a flat. I couldn't afford to waste money, but I never felt like I was struggling.
For me it was just a question of setting and keeping clear priorities, and being smart about my finances and bills. In concrete terms that meant making do without a car, learning how to manage my money and making use of schemes like the Lifetime ISA, and not spending beyond my means on rent (which was achievable, even in a city on the south coast).
bars_and_plates@reddit
You are pretty much earning the minimum wage.
You get a financially stable life by earning a proper wage/salary or having some other form of income e.g. business/investments that go well.
It might not be what you want to hear but it's the truth.
Puzzleheaded_Wish330@reddit
It takes time to build something, in my 20’s i was like you earning 2-3k a month paying london rent. But slowly investing each month, getting a mortgage in the outskirts and getting pay rises, by 40yr old i am able to do the things you mention
geeered@reddit
What's your living situation and what do you spend your money on?
You're only on around 20% over minimum wage, unless you live somewhere that has really cheap housing, it's going to be mean compromises and choosing between saving and other spending - for a lot of areas you'd be firmly in being a lodger in shared house salary.
You'll be 'competing' for housing with people earning significantly more than you as it is.
no-tea_no_shade@reddit
Obvs where you live makes a big difference. However, I was recently able to buy in Brighton (expensive city), by myself, without help, mainly due to the fact I lived in house shares for over 10 years, post uni. I also don't live excessively with new wardrobes etc, I've been on holidays, travelling is where my money was going other than in savings. Good luck, it is doable depending on what your outgoings are like.
dbxp@reddit
Yep, I was the same. You pay a massive premium for living alone, particularly renting. It makes sense when you consider that the difference between a 1 bed and 2 bed flat is often just adding one extra bedroom, the rest of the floor plan is more or less the same.
kingkarl123@reddit
Live within your means.
aBlastFromTheArse@reddit
If you had a partner that also brought home 2k then you'd see how 👍🏼
SkarbOna@reddit
Eh well…yeah…these people with cars and houses have better jobs. I take home 3.4k but I have severe adhd, autism, depression and my mental health is overall dogshit and I’d want to be adopted haha. Just let me click in that stupid computer, collect the paycheck, and the other person does the adulting. I’m fed up.
Various_Extreme_8773@reddit
Get a better job. 2k a month these days will get you nowhere.
Lots-o-bots@reddit
Can you get a lodger? Their rental income is tax free under £7.5k / year under the rent a room scheme.
dbxp@reddit
What are your expenses and in what part of the country do you live?
£2k a month isn't mind blowing up north but you can make progress if you live within your means
Acceptable-Sentence@reddit
Where do you live? Cost of living varies hugely
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