What is the figure you think of when someone quotes a "comfortable salary'?

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Reasonable-Fee8802@reddit

I'm on £60k and certainly feel comfortable - I can save around £1k per month. When I was on £42k things definitely felt tighter

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100k is ‘comfortable’ as a combined household income - but by no means living a life of luxury and definitely still struggle to save or make large purchases. 2 small kids, 2 adults working full time. Private child care for youngest is 1k per month… though negligible nursery costs for eldest, as still qualify for tax free childcare and 30 free hours per week. Mortgage rate is disgustingly high, and food and bills eat considerably into the monthly budget. Living in South East.

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Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

How do you quality for tax free childcare considering 100k?

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ASY_Freddy@reddit

You don't or you salary sacrifice to stay under £100k

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ChocolateSnowflake@reddit

The 100K is individual not combined.

This is the problem with it.

Breaking it down very basically, a household with 1 parent earning 100K and a stay at home parent wouldn’t be entitled to childcare help.

But 2 parents in a household earning 99K each would be.

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8DecoyOctopus8@reddit

As long as an individual you earn under 100k net you still qualify.

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charlatanfrompast@reddit

More than 120

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dry_omen902@reddit

I’m in the north of England(major city), one child and another on the way.

Share all bills with my partner and still have a mortgage, no car or pricey monthly subscriptions and I’m on £39k pretty comfortable however if asked, I’d probably say £50k to have that larger stop gap and ability to put more into investments for me and my kids futures

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Zu1u1875@reddit

80-100k to be comfortable these days.

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Psychological-Sea785@reddit

£40k-£45k, No kids, (Outside of London)

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Medical-Fox2471@reddit

50k

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Nice_Back_9977@reddit

True in lots of the country, but as someone on 48k who does live comfortably I wouldn't want to do it in London or the South East!

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mdmdmdmdmdmdmdmdmdm@reddit

50k is the baseline of comfortable in London.

People under 50k are being pushed out if they are not comfortable sharing a place.

It'll be 70k soon enough.

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mimivuvuvu@reddit

50K & London & comfortable?

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mdmdmdmdmdmdmdmdmdm@reddit

Eh, look at my other reply.

London is huge.

I can rent a studio for 1/3rd of the take home on a 50k wage in NW2, which is now 25 minutes to where I work in the city center.

£2000 spare is pretty comfortable to me.

I said baseline. As in I have no kids and nothing else to pay for.

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liptastic@reddit

Pension? Student loans? Take home from 50k is not what you think based on the above. Also a studio for £1060? There's like 2 options on rightmove

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mdmdmdmdmdmdmdmdmdm@reddit

I said its the baseline for comfort.

The baseline. Its almost like im not trying to say that 50k is comfortable.

You can find a studio for 1100 on spareroom. My last house share was a 3 bedroom flat with each room at 500.

Which is a 3 bedroom flat for 1500.

Again, london is huge and it depends on what people define as london.

What seems to be true is everyone is real fucking shit with their money apparently

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Sparkson109@reddit

Nobody in this country is serious anymore

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ReflexArch@reddit

Depends on stage of your life. Kids moved and and mortgage free.... Why not.

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Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

50k isnt really comfortable in london?

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MerryWalrus@reddit

Depends on your expectations.

As a single person in a house share it's fine.

As a single person living by themselves they be spending ~3/4 of their income on housing a bills.

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mdmdmdmdmdmdmdmdmdm@reddit

Where???

Where are you spending 2500 on rent?

Surely someone of 50k would just move to the many places in london where you can find a one bed for <£1400

London is huge.

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mdmdmdmdmdmdmdmdmdm@reddit

Yeah tbh this was the figure I had in my head when I moved back here, but that was years ago. Time flies.

I think i am also so used to the struggle that "comfortable" means something different to me.

Comfortable is paying rent in a place without sharing in a location within a convenient distance to work. Able to put money away without worrying and still have money to spend on whatever. Entirely achievable on 50k if youre ok with a 30-50 min commute.

I guess my real point is, spend a few years on 30k in london and 50k is super comfortable.

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Lonely-Job484@reddit

Yeah but I am not sure 'comfortable' and 'can probably live alone rather than in a flat share' are the same thing.

Renting with no other assets, 50k probably isn't hitting most people's idea of comfortable. Around £3100 a month net after tax and 5% pension, and you're probably paying £1500+ a month of that in rent if you want a half decent 1 bed flat, or you're making compromises that limit comfort.

So I think we're agreeing really, just I'd think 'comfortable' means easily affording fairly good housing, food, holidays etc rather than just that they can survive living in town without sharing.

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mdmdmdmdmdmdmdmdmdm@reddit

£1500 on rent if you want to spend £1500 on rent.

Comfortable is a loose term because you might not want more than a 5 min commute to work.

Or you might be ok with 1 hour.

If used to house share for £500. The whole 3 bed flat would be £1500. 5 min walk from a jubilee station and about 25 minutes to central london.

Even if you were paying 1500.

1600 spare for the rest of the month is £400 a week spare. Thats plenty to feel comfortable with.

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jack_watson97@reddit

Our household income is 65k ish and having a small place in Kent is pretty tough

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Medical-Fox2471@reddit

Yes you do need a lot more in London and the south east

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sgst@reddit

We're in the south east and our household income of £55k is just about enough to get by with 1 kid. We can't afford much in the way of luxuries and we're paycheque to paycheque, so we can't save anything.

Personally I'd consider a good salary £55k for one person.

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BigGingerHexagon@reddit

As someone on 48k in the South East can confirm…could do with a little bit more 😂

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The_39th_Step@reddit

Agreed - I’m on 50-60k (depending on yearly bonus) and my partner is on 48k. We have no kids and no dependents. We live in Manchester and have a good life, we’re buying our first house in a nice area. If I lived in London, which is where I’m from, I’d go from comfortably middle class to struggling more.

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Ok_Plankton_4150@reddit

I was able to rent a decent place in southeast on £50k when working from home, 1 bedroom flat that was cosy enough. While saving money for a deposit, it was another 3 years until I could buy a house and by that time I was on £70k.

3-bed house, mortgage cheaper than rent on similar places. I don’t really want for anything, though I’m not making massive purchases very often, save a decent amount each month (£500-1000) still to put towards rainy day fund. I’d say that’s pretty comfortable.

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Nice_Back_9977@reddit

I bought my 3 bed house with a big garden when I was on 25k 10 years ago, I bought the 1 bed flat before that on minimum wage which was about 11k at the time, just after the crash.

I think living in London skews what you think is acceptable in terms of living conditions for certain wages!

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AngryTudor1@reddit

It's also the distribution of that household income

I earn 70-75k

But my wife works only a couple hours a day as we have a disabled child and she can't do more.

So because of tax rates, we are far, far worse off than a household who earns the same more evenly split between two parents

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Bossman_Mike@reddit

Part of me wonders if tax benefits and allowances should be levied on the household, not the individual.

Two people on £35k each are better off than a single person on £70k.

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BirthdayBoth304@reddit

Strong agree.

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11chaboi@reddit

They also qualify for full child benefit

2 adults earning 60k each get the full amount, but a household earning 80k plus 20k get nothing, despite earning 20k less

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b3mus3d@reddit

Fucking bullshit isn’t it

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TomVonServo@reddit

Where is this a comfortable salary?

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Sparkson109@reddit

This country is finished man

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Awkward_Aioli_124@reddit

Couldn't agree more, I'm not rich but feel comfortable as low mortgage, no car finance no child care etc. Other families earning x 2 as much possibly have less left at the end of the month due to these bills

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lostandfawnd@reddit

Now imagine childcare was free.

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Medical-Fox2471@reddit

To be honest it’s a lot better most people are entitled to 30 hours free now

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1115955@reddit

It's not free hours, it's "funded" hours, and nurseries where we live have simply increased their prices to make up for them. For one child, full time, including the 30 hours and the 20 percent tax free top-up, we're still paying nearly £1000 per month. It's ridiculous.

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Medical-Fox2471@reddit

The other option is not putting your child in nursery full time but going part time at work

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Strong-Pie5091@reddit

In Wales you only get 30 hours free (48 weeks per year) the term after your child turns 3.

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lostandfawnd@reddit

If there is a limit, it isn't free.

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Medical-Fox2471@reddit

Ok?

There has to be a limit

Parents still need to you know parent

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lostandfawnd@reddit

Parents still need to you know parent

Oh you mean like, after work?

Do you work 30 hours a week?

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Medical-Fox2471@reddit

I work 34, we compressed hours so we get a day at home.

That’s part of parenting sacrifice, putting them in nursery 5 days a week is not a good idea for most children as they need to be with their parents

It’s normal to not work full time and parent

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lostandfawnd@reddit

That’s part of parenting sacrifice

I don't have kids, but I believe parents shouldn't need to sacrifice anything

It’s normal to not work full time and parent

When one parent can earn enough to support, yes.

You think having children means "your choice, lump it"

Thanks for confirming 👍

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Medical-Fox2471@reddit

The point of having children is sacrifice they become more important than anything else

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lostandfawnd@reddit

Sacrifice what exactly?

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Medical-Fox2471@reddit

Anything so they get the care and love they require

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lostandfawnd@reddit

So you are saying that parents should sacrifice pay in order to top up the missing childcare.

Thanks for confirming you didn't understand the point.

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Medical-Fox2471@reddit

If they chose to work full time sure

Or they go part time and spend time with their children.

That’s life

The 30 hour free childcare is generous

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lostandfawnd@reddit

That’s life

Doesn't have to be, thats the point 🤣

Parenting through is sacrifice you can’t just do what you want the child comes before anything else

You mean like not turning up to work because you need to teach your infant child about sesame street?

No dear, education is already catered for

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techbear72@reddit

I mean there has to be a limit. It can’t be 168 hours a week.

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lostandfawnd@reddit

Sure.

Are you saying parents should only have to work 30 hours a week?

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techbear72@reddit

Holy strawman, Batman.

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jpdonelurkin@reddit

Our household is at around 80k & kids are past childcare age. I don't fret about bills & get to invest a big lump each month despite living in the South. Nothing financed apart from the house.

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IronSkywalker@reddit

Our combined is 100k. We are not comfortable, but that is down to mistakes we made before our income was what it is

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Emergency-Tax-7534@reddit

Household income of £75k plus would say minimum

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Comfortable-Lab-7201@reddit

As others have said really depends on situation. I would say as a single person with no dependents £45-50k.

Throw in a house (outside of London) or a kid and I would say £75-85k

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shakesfistatmoon@reddit

It depends what you mean by comfortable

There will be people on £100K plus, with several cars, a house, multiple holidays and a lifestyle they feel they have to follow. But they feel they don't have enough money and need more.

On the other hand there will be people on £25K who have everything they need, a happy lifestyle, food, heating and somewhere safe plus still save money.

So comfortable comes down to expectations.

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Terrible_Tap_4385@reddit

100k, several cars, multiple holidays? The 1990s are calling and they’d like their economic valuations back….

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Complex_Box_7254@reddit

I mean I have multiple holidays a year and my salary is £34k. So £100k I'd definitely say it was possible.

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Jeffuk88@reddit

This is the point, there will be a lot of people on 100k who will probably think youre idea of a holiday is beneath them. Im happy going to Scarborough for a weekend but I have friends who need to say theyve been skiing in the alps at least yearly

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saccerzd@reddit

I go on multiple foreign holidays/travel every year, plus a ski trip to the french Alps, and I earn a lot less than £100k. I don't spend much in day to day life but I prioritise travel.

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Jeffuk88@reddit

Yeah my wife is Canadian so we need to make sure we can afford to visit her family. Most people on our household income (40k) dont understand how we can afford a transatlantic flight every year

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Complex_Box_7254@reddit

I mean I just went on a cruise. Spent Christmas on the island of La Palma. Mallorca for 10 days in October and next April going to Napoli. So doubt that would be beneath anyone. I'm just not a materialistic person. Never buy clothes, tech etc. Don't have an expensive car lease. Not having kids obviously helps as well. If I was earning £100k I wouldn't even know how to spend it.

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Bossman_Mike@reddit

I know someone who did this. He got more holidays than Michael Palin, but he was living in a house share and couldn't afford to heat his room.

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semicombobulated@reddit

What planet do you live on where someone on 100k is not rich?

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Terrible_Tap_4385@reddit

When you grow up and get married, mortgage, children and live it the adult world, it’s not a huge amount

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shakesfistatmoon@reddit

I think you've rather proved my point, there are people (including some replying to you) that multiple cars and holidays on less than 100K, but others don't think that's enough.

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ughhhghghh@reddit

I earn 60k, have a sports car, a semi converted camper and a motorbike lol. I just don't do the multiple holidays, but my hobbies cost a fortune. However, I do have a wife so our combined income is 108k.

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thegerbilmaster@reddit

I mean we do that on 70k a year house hold income?

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ExcitingRest@reddit

I earn 105k. My partner works part time on min wage, we have 2 kids.

We have a 4 bed semi detached in a nice area with ~175k left on the mortgage. We have 3 cars on the driveway, 2 paid with cash, one through a work lease. Last year we went to Greece, cologne, Cornwall and the lake district. We still have cash left over, make good pension contributions, savings etc. We live very well.

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The_2nd_Coming@reddit

Lol this. Try one car, a couple of holidays and 50% higher pay. Having a mortgage and starting a family is expensive.

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Medical-Fox2471@reddit

I am on less than this and have cars and holidays ?

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ZestyData@reddit

You're not getting that on 100k mate.

100k salary you're almost certainly living in London. You have zero cars or a clapped out entry level 10 year old hatchback, you may own or rent a 2 bed flat, and may go on a holiday each year.

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notevenr@reddit

I’d say 15-20k PCM, of course it is subjective, but I feel that is the ideal amount to not need anything else

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Xsyfer@reddit

I mean, there's really no such thing as I can think of several life style creep things to have to cover any uplift. Bigger house, long haul holidays, private school, second home,...

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Spirited-Praline-195@reddit

250k

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AnxEng@reddit

Without factoring in housing costs it means nothing.

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Adorable_Orange_195@reddit

I’m in the north UK, early 40’s, single property owner and no kids.

Until last year I was on £32-36k but really struggled to cover anything but the basic necessities.

Currently on £46500 + basic PIP daily living and mobility and it’s comfortable enough, that I enough to live on, pay most disability related costs (couple of more expensive things I’d like but aren’t possible at present), as well as have a monthly takeaway and a book box subscription.

To be properly comfortable I’d say between £60-£70k as that figure would allow me to cover all my living costs, disability costs without PIP, the odd little luxuries, to move from a 1 bed property with no garden to a larger property with my own garden, & driveway, plus have annual holidays, wardrobe updates and savings.

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Superb-Ad-8823@reddit

It all depends on your commitments.

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mantequilla69420@reddit

This is the only good answer.

If someone was earning £50k in London whilst renting alone, I would not think that to be a comfortable situation. Where as £50 in the north whilst mortgage free would be extremely comfortable.

Totally dependent on other factors

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omniwrench-@reddit

Cost of living differences are largely driven by housing costs, so if you’re mortgage-free you could be almost anywhere and feel comfortable on 50k IMO

“The North” isn’t some monolithic entity where we’re all laughing at the south whilst drinking 25p pints, smiling at our bank balances lmao

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BirthdayBoth304@reddit

Yep. City centre Manchester and outskirts of Sunderland are not comparable...

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ihateyournan@reddit

Lol what?! Have you forgotten that the people in the North also have to pay for bills like electricity, water, food, fuel like every one els? They're not all cooking on coal fires and getting their water from a well

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RaidersGuy85@reddit

Damn! The north is cheaper than I thought 🤣

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thefogdog@reddit

Wey we don't have electricity bills up here as everything is powered by coal and a single large hamster.

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RaidersGuy85@reddit

Still living costs and a mortgage for £50 a year...

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thefogdog@reddit

We also never adopted decimalisation so a few farthings and shillings go a long way

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BirthdayBoth304@reddit

70k

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Emotional-Wish3638@reddit

I earnt 88K last year and currently live paycheck to paycheck.

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Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

Wtf????

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Emotional-Wish3638@reddit

Why so surprised?

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Legitimate-Leg-4720@reddit

Depends if it's supporting a family... I feel pretty comfortable as a single person on £35k in London, but I would never consider having kids with this salary if I was our sole income

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Ok-Information4938@reddit

What are your living circumstances though?

Sharing, living with family?

Renting a one bed is impossible on that? If you can't rent a one bed, is it really a comfortable salary?

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Legitimate-Leg-4720@reddit

Sharing with friends, i haven't had any issue with it, I just assumed it's the norm in London unless in a loaded profession like finance/law

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Ok_Plankton_4150@reddit

It’s not the norm in the rest of the country…

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farr2211@reddit

Yeah I thinks it’s sad that now hmos are basically normal. Literally houses that were slightly above average 40 years ago have to be split between 3 or 4 people and that’s become normal

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Miserablist@reddit

£35k in London is absolute poverty isn't it?

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Legitimate-Leg-4720@reddit

With house sharing I feel like I've got a decent amount leftover for an active leisure / social life

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Ok_Plankton_4150@reddit

What’s your living arrangement? I can’t imagine 35k in London gets you much

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urgentassistance@reddit

80K

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Fun-Yam2210@reddit

In the North: £50k+

In the South: £80k+

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Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

80k would do for london?

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HAH-PAH@reddit

You can certainly survive on £80k or lower in London, but you'd want to be on a career trajectory taking you over £150k if you want the trappings of a "nice" lifestyle by which most people mean: not living in a share, living in a nice area, long haul holidays, Waitrose/M&S and active social/cultural activities. That's for singles, will need higher still if children/schooling in the mix.

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TomfromLondon@reddit

Depends what we mean by London, zone 3+ you can get nice very 3 bed houses for 750k or less

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Fun-Yam2210@reddit

Honestly this is entirely arbitrary/ subjective. If you’re childless £80k in London is plenty. Depends if you’re a home owner or renter: where you live in London: if you share with a partner etc, etc

If you live in Chelsea with 3 kids at private school then no. Make up your own number.

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TomfromLondon@reddit

£80k but I'm in London and in my 40s, so is all relative

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Acceptable-Ant-9231@reddit

£150k

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5ubredhit@reddit

Comfortable for who? A single person with a cheap mortgage or rent and not many outgoings? Or comfortable for a man or woman with 5 kids, big mortgage/rent, and the sole provider of the family?

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Haunting-Spite5622@reddit

56k household income. We live okay but wouldnt say comfortable 2 adults 1 toddler north England

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Previous-Ad7618@reddit

It's all relative.

My wife and I are both on £75k each and it feels harder now with three kids and a big house than it did 5 years ago on half that just living without kids in a terraced house

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craigybacha@reddit

As a single person, I'd say £65k+ mostly just because of living costs.
As a couple as long as both are earning, I'd say 50k (90k+ between the two of you).

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Original_Document748@reddit

That depends on sooo many factors aha but if were talking about me living comfortably with my partner and no kids then id say a joint salary of 60k

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AXX-100@reddit

I feel like this needs to be categorised differently by London or not, and children or single

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Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

For london what would you say

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AXX-100@reddit

If single in London I would say £65k

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Icy_March_8166@reddit

East mids. Single bloke. 40s, no kids. Own house, vehicle, dog. £35k. Living comfortably. Surpless each month that goes on mortgage and/or savings. Regular trips, UK and overseas.

Lifestyle is busy with hobbies, gym, archery, hiking, photography.

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torihe@reddit

I remember being a teenager (\~15 years ago) and thinking I’ll be doing well when I earn £2k per month.

Well I take that home now and it barely covers anything. It’s so close to minimum wage and middle salaries seem to stuck.

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trixta001@reddit

Depends on what your level of comfort is. I act the same on £50k as I was on under £30k.

Currently on £50k in Yorkshire, late 20s, married, wife is a SAHM with our 2 kids (infant and toddler), £2.5k car, bring home £3k net, monthly bills around £1200 other spending like groceries, petrol, bits for kids, random Amazon purchases, eating out equates to around £300. So got £1500 ish to save/play around with.

Wife not worked in 4 years and I’ve only just got a £50k role in the new year but always been on <£30k for the last 6 years and it was still manageable including a holiday away every year.

I would say that’s more than comfortable. On the other hand my brother in law has 3 kids. Both him n wife working (wife works weekends only so can see to schools and childcare during week, bringing home around 4k net per month is barely making ends meet, car on finance, grocery shopping on uber eats, fine dining takeaways, home improvements on finance, they struggle every month.

It’s more around how you wish to live your life and how you decide to budget.

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neilm1000@reddit

50k.

50k is the new 30k.

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Ok-Place9385@reddit

You'll get lots of answers - many of those quoting silly low numbers handily ignore the housing benefit, UC and all sorts of benefits they get on top.

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Express-Speed-3408@reddit

70k isn’t enough, joint salary of 130k isn’t enough

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RaidersGunz@reddit

50k

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Professional_Elk_489@reddit

£100K

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BugBottleBlue@reddit

Massively depends on where you live.

We're comfortable on 80ish total household income gross with 2 kids, but I genuinely believe that at 90k we'd feel a world of difference.

When I got a major jump in salary some years ago, I was earning way less, but it was so much more relative to our costs of living at the time that we felt well off.

Obviously lifestyle creep has shifted the goalpost, however at this point I couldnt want for too much more. I am not a major spender so 10-15k add'l income would mean we'd manage it all without quite the same nail-biting tension at the end of many months.

I think if we were the type to need fancy car, expensive or even just decent holidays at every opportunity, name brand clothes etc., we'd be needing a fair bit more money.

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Clockwork-Armadillo@reddit

Depends on your situation, lifestyle, wants and needs etc

I've paid off my mortgage, have no kids and I'm a pretty boring person tbh so for me minimum wage would be pretty comfy. For others it would be a death sentence.

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Bossman_Mike@reddit

If I cleared my mortgage, I could probably cover my current lifestyle for £1200 a month at most.

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random_username_96@reddit

To me, a comfortable salary means you can afford to live alone without stress. You can cover all your necessary expenses and not-stricly-necessary-but-ubiquitous things like streaming services, are able to save a fair bit each month, and also have money left over for some socialising, hobbies, etc.

I am in a relationship, no kids, and live in the Scotland countryside. We're both on about £35K and are very comfortable together, but should one of us lose our income (or we broke up) then we'd have to make several lifestyle adjustments. So I'm going to say £40K.

And I can only imagine how much more you would need to live in an expensive city - would £50K do? £75? And if you wanted kids too? I don't honestly see how you could do it on less than £75K (whether that's one earner, or two earning £38K and above).

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Green_Lychee8221@reddit

Why not look at the results of this question from yesterday? Or the day before? Or the day before that?

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Agile-Calligrapher10@reddit

I'm single in Glasgow. Earn 65k I would say it's comfortable enough. I shop at Lidl and have a sh1t car. Definitely not a flamboyant lifestyle. Have to watch all my bills and can typically have 3 nights out a month. That allows a little bit of saving too

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romeo__golf@reddit

£60k or more.

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Bigman21352@reddit

I feel comfortable, I’m Bristol based on about £50k, paid off car that is very cheap to run worth about £1200. Some of my colleagues are not comfortable at all on the same money as me. High rent, cars on finance, eating out a lot etc

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BasisOk4268@reddit

45K+ I would say. But even then there are extenuating circumstances. For example I make £50K in my 9-5 but that covers my entire family in a single income household, so because of tax thresholds I make less than two people on minimum wage

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send_in_the_clouds@reddit

I would think a household income of at least £70k in most places. Mine is a lot less but we get away with it by having a small mortgage and solar panels

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Historical_Project86@reddit

If a company is telling me, maybe £60-£70k. They're trying to persuade me of something which simply isn't true. By comfort I am assuming:

Yearly 2-week all-inclusive holiday; 2 dogs; no worries about the weekly shopping or bills; Netflix, Prime, Spotify etc.; 2-yearly phone upgrade; a take-away night every month; modest spending on hobbies / clothes; a meal out every 3 months.

In that case I would say £100 - £120k.

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doconline76@reddit

It all depends on your outgoings. Out income is over 3 times our basic monthly outgoings (all bills, food, subscriptions etc) so we are pretty comfortable. But then we live in Lincolnshire. If we were in London it would be a different story and would probably be about 1.5 times our outgoings.

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Nervous_Designer_894@reddit

70k

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Monster213213@reddit

75k

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gato_taco@reddit

200kusd/annually

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11theman@reddit

Depends where you live. I’m on mid 50s and in Teesside that’s very comfortable (get a decent house for 150k) but I’d be a pauper in London.

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jsbaasi@reddit

Thread is full of boring "depends..."

100k plus for me

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Dry_Winter7073@reddit

Depends very much on where in the UK you are. 45-50k could be comfortable if you are in a lower cost of living area, however 50k in London i wouldnt consider "comfortable"

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JustmeandJas@reddit

This. My thoughts for around here would be £40k single income household would be fine (rural Lincolnshire). But then £40k isn’t much above the median and I know most people couldn’t live on it

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Money_Afternoon6533@reddit

Depends where you live. In the north east, you’d live very comfortably on £50k. In London, you’d probably be flat sharing still…

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Melendine@reddit

Depends if it’s a 2 income household and if you have to pay a mortgage/ rent.

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kevsavesuk@reddit

It’s a strange one cos I earnt slightly less last tax year than this one and seem to be living more comfortably

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Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

How do you mean?

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kevsavesuk@reddit

Just seem to have more money this year than last year even though got paid less overall for the year

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itsfeckingfreezing@reddit

100k

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mierneuker@reddit

99k is a much better wage. At 100k you lose some funded childcare and between 100-120k you are effectively on 60% tax. 99k keeps the childcare and you don't have to worry about losing any of the personal allowance.

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Safarianon@reddit

Sorry, 100k is a better wage. You just adjust your pension contribution or something to that net income is not >100k

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Sea_Pomegranate8229@reddit

Nothing. I have been on 200k and 24k. I am now comfortable on 9k. People lie. They have a huge mortage and two car loans, credit cards and a coke habit. So they might be on a 100k but they are not comfortable. Iost everything a couple of times. I now have zero debt and live comfortably on just over 800/month.

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Safarianon@reddit

You sound like you’ve had an interesting life!

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g00gleb00gle@reddit

Really depends on part of uk. I live very well. But live in north. Somebody wirh same job and salary in London area are skint. Mortgage payments been the killer for them.

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ImTalkingGibberish@reddit

60-80

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PlusNeedleworker5605@reddit

£100k London; £75k elsewhere

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stopfuckinstalkingme@reddit

I'm in the Highlands, so maybe £50k? The answer seems to be 'a wee bit more than what i earn" no matter what, though. I've had intense salary growth in 4 years (£13ph -> £70k salary, plus going from being single to dual income, means household has therefore gone from ~27k to about 114k) but I feel I have had to back-fill for everything I've never been able to buy (like a house!) and my fiance and I are getting married on Thursday so life feels particularly expensive at the moment. I hope we manage to get over the 'needs investment in every corner of our lives' hump before our salaries also feel no longer 'comfortable'.

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shadow__boxer@reddit

£40K as an individual. £60-70K HHI

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sleepyprojectionist@reddit

I’m single, live alone, have albeit cheap car payments, about £10k in debt, and a job that pays under the UK average for full-time employees.

I have no savings and I’m renting the absolute cheapest place that allows me to live alone.

To mitigate the debts and car payments I’d like at least another £500 a month after tax. That would ease the pressure. Maybe another couple of hundred a month and I could afford a holiday every year or two. So that’s £8400 after tax. So with tax, NI, and student loans that’s probably around £11k.

I’m on £32k now, so £43k would be enough that I wouldn’t feel like I’m living paycheque to paycheque, and would allow me to have some semblance of a life outside of work.

My car is actually paid off this year, and if I didn’t have any debts I would say that I would be relatively comfortable as is. It wouldn’t be a life with many luxuries, but I could put some money into savings.

If I had a partner with whom to split the bills I would be just as comfortable.

As it stands, being single is expensive, living alone is expensive, and being in debt is expensive.

Comfort to me looks very different to someone who is in a long-term relationship and has paid off their mortgage.

My mum constantly complains about how expensive everything is and then in the next breath tells me that she has bought a new kitchen and has just booked her third foreign holiday of the year.

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4tunabrix@reddit

Depends entirely on individual and situation. As a 28 year old guy with no kids I’m pretty comfortable on just over £30k. Admittedly still house sharing but can afford to do all the things I want to.

If I wanted to move into a place with my partner on our own I’d probably want us both to be on ~£35k each.

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ReflexArch@reddit

What is comfortable? Dual income household? So many variables on location, family, mortgage etc etc. Plus choice of lifestyle. How many and what type of holidays we talking?

60k in Hull vs 60k in Chelsea is rather different.

I think comfortable is if you can live a reasonable but not flashy life AND save well for long term goals/retirement.

50k living reasonably well but saving nothing long term and/or for retirement is so different vs earning 75k and putting 25k into pension.

Short answer to try cover all major variables: Anything over 100k gross.

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onceuponawebsite@reddit

The one that gets you the things you need without discomfort and provides you with the things you want with only a little discomfort.

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Thamesider@reddit

It's as much about expenditure as income. A paid off mortgage, decently insulated home with heat pump, solar panels and batteries, no dependents, a car you own rather than lease, the desire and ability to cook from scratch, and £30k is very comfortable.

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KidA82@reddit

This is the correct response.

Also, that second paragraph hit me deep within. I’ll never recover from this.

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unbelievablydull82@reddit

I live in London, so around £50,000 a person is comfortable if not in social housing.

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Kris0r@reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/search/?q=good+salary

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VodkaMargarine@reddit

Salary is only one half of the equation. You can be on £100k but crippled with debt and student loan.

Or you can be on £12k/yr state pension but have zero debt and three buy-to-let properties paying for your monthly cruise to the Caribbean.

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Mac_n_Ch33se@reddit

Having lived in the South West I would say around 37- 40k unless you are living in Bristol which I would say 45k. Currently live in the East Midlands and I would say 35K would be great. To preface this to support one person with no kids.

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Pretend-Meeting-9736@reddit

very location, situation based. But honestly even the word ‘comfortable’ sounds like a euphemism that a rich person would say. So maybe £60k individually, £120k for household income

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Unusual_Sherbert2671@reddit

A take home of £4.5k a month

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Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

Why

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Unusual_Sherbert2671@reddit

Assuming monthly bills are around 2.5k (mortgage being 1.2k)

Having 2k leftover each month is what I call comfortable, I went from take home of 1.6k to 6.5k and when I got to 4.5k I would say I was comfortable..

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TroublesZoo@reddit

For us, when we hit a household income of 80k was when we really felt like we never had to worry about unexpected bills or if we will have money sitting for upcoming gig tickets going on sale or whatever.

In our case, no kids and living in a commuter town outside of Glasgow where house prices are not crazy insane (we bought a four bedroom semi a few years back in a quiet cul de sac for £240k).

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floorsandwalls@reddit

90k per person because shits got too expensive now.

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Complex_Box_7254@reddit

Our household income is less than that and we live very comfortably. At least 2 holidays a year. If you need £180k to feel comfortable you have a spending problem.

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ultimateberk@reddit

It used to be what im on now....

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Willing_Parsley_2182@reddit

Completely depends on where you live, surely?

In Inner London, parents with a child will likely feel the pinch on £50k each (£100k HHI). That’s ~£6k takehome… and probably £4.5k going straight to household bills and childcare. That’d be before food, travel, gym, etc.

In Middlesbrough, you’d be living like a king.

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Mr_Bumcrest@reddit

Depends on the person and their circumstances.

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Fattydog@reddit

Depends on where you live, how many dependants you have, and what comfortable means to you.

There’s no correct answer.

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Puzzled-Barnacle-200@reddit

I'd say 35-40k per adult for a family, 30k with no kids.

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quick_justice@reddit

There isn’t a number. Depends where you live, how large is the family, if you own your own home, mortgage, or rent.

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Icedtangoblast@reddit

With a partner, over 30k each. Unless you’ve got children lol

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duluoz1@reddit

Over 100

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lostandfawnd@reddit

£60,000

When you are able to actually save after bills and debts.

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Derfel60@reddit

60-80k

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eatgrapes@reddit

East midlands, 130k household income, one kid, paid off car and but a 180k mortgage. We live very comfortably.

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ooould@reddit

200k+

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ViscountGris@reddit

A few years ago I got to a place where I knew I could live a great life as a family of 4 on a net monthly household income of £4k. That’s probably £5k now. So I think gross that’s like £90k. Including paying a fair sized mortgage.

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TheRebelPercy@reddit

Whatever it is, we have to move away from thinking people earning £50k are part of the problem. It was a decent salary in 2017 but inflation has really bitten into it.

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bronsonrider@reddit

South wales here and we get by fine on 35k between us, 1 18 year old son and we have no mortgage. Neither of us drink, relatively healthy, had same car for 10 years and won’t be changing it soon. My only luxury is a vinyl habit but I allow myself one new album a month

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Active_Doubt_2393@reddit

Around 65k

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oscarx-ray@reddit

Comfortable is ~£40k to me. More than I earn, but enough for a house and a family holiday in my area.

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odintantrum@reddit

You take your family holidays in your area? Do you live somewhere particularly nice or just not like flying?

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RoutineAbroad3486@reddit

😂😂😂

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

[removed]

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oscarx-ray@reddit

I can translate into German or French if that would help.

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oscarx-ray@reddit

I like to fly to a land where they don't speak English as a first language and pedantry is unheard of.

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AJMurphy_1986@reddit

I make 40, Mrs makes 35.

No kids, we're probably the definition of "comfortable". Not living like royalty, but not really worried about the cost of going somewhere or doing something, within reason of course.....

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Boboshady@reddit

it's so dependent on the individual tbh, I know plenty of people who wouldn't be comfortable on anything less than 100k, others who are more than happy on 30k.

Really, it's down the word - comfortable. If you're earning more than you're paying out with enough left over to save for a rainy day, have the holidays you want, not ever really have to struggle, then you're comfortable. I know plenty of people who can achieve that very cheaply, and others who break out in a sweat if they can't upgrade their car every 2 years.

If one had to generalise it, then it would still be based on geography - comfortable would be how much it costs to survive in a particular area. For example, the number would be significantly different in Blackpool than it is in central London.

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RoutineAbroad3486@reddit

Me and my Mrs (both 32) bring in about ~70k & living in the Midlands (North Worcestershire) we seem to have everything we want and would class our situation as comfortable.

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EcoNorfolk@reddit

Household income for a couple, no kids at home, of at least £100k is the minimum to be comfortable once the state has sucked its taxes imo. To be comfortable a fair chunk more than that.

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welshdragoninlondon@reddit

Depends on expenses I was comfortable then have a kid in nursery and suddenly not so comfortable

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whodunnit20@reddit

It’s very hard to say as depends whether you have a mortgage or rent, how many children you have. What loans or similar commitments you have.
If you are a single person renting a flat with no car or debts, I would say £24,000.
If you are married, two children, renting house, car on finance, don’t have luxuries in life, I would say £40,000.
Married couple with mortgage, kids at home, two cars on finance etc I would say you need at least £48 to be a bit comfortable.

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Redvat@reddit

£85k household income

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maksigm@reddit

125k

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Apsalar28@reddit

What ever leaves you with about £1000 a month after housing for a single person.

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ClockAccomplished381@reddit

Really depends where they live. But let's say £80k +/- £20k.

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geeered@reddit

As well as location, may depend on family wealth or other housing costs - if you're in a council house in London you were given the option to buy at a good price you might be a lot more comfortable than a friend on twice the salary who's got shared ownership of a newish flat in a more central location.

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Peppy_Tomato@reddit

You think of a figure that reflects your lifestyle and current circumstances and your aspirations. It's one of those "everyone has a different number games", and usually the specific number is not even the point of the conversation.

The number also shifts because as soon as you attain that number, you start wanting more.

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Squeak_Stormborn@reddit

Really depends on circumstances. Our household income of £85k would be very comfortable without debt and rent. As things are, it isn't.

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MathematicianSea563@reddit

Depends completely on your circumstances.

I am 35, live alone. I earn 32K a year, and that is fine for me, but wouldn’t cover a bigger house or kids.

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Beartato4772@reddit

Depends entirely on where they live.

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CoffeeIgnoramus@reddit

Completely depends on where they live.

I know places where household could be £70k and be comfortable and others where it needs to easily be over £100k.

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adamlbrown3@reddit

Think of it per person as well. Kids are expensive. A family of four probably needs twice the income of an individual to be comfortable

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JobAnxious2005@reddit

It’s all about HHI.

One of us earls 40k, the other 120k

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OurSeepyD@reddit

Completely depends on where they live and what their arrangement is. Outside of London, single, 50k. Inside London, maybe 80k. Add a family and a partner that's not earning and you'll need a lot more to be comfortable.

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BLightyear67@reddit

In Surrey I would say a household income of over 100k is comfortable. Depends how big your mortgage is .

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zombiezmaj@reddit

Combined we are on 60k and living pretty comfortably- 2 adults with mortgage

It'll depend on individuals what is their comfort level

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