What level of income do you believe you’d feel like you’d “made it”?

Posted by HorseFacedDipShit@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 1129 comments

I’m turning 30 in a couple of weeks, and honestly I think my life has turned a coroner in a good way. Just got an above inflation raise at work and am still due a pay review raise later this year. Wife is loving her PhD and after this raise we’ll be bringing in well over £5000/month after taxes and pension. This isn’t a humble brag, it’s just a bit of midlife crisis acknowledgement. A couple of years ago we were just scrapping by. Now it feels like we’re in a place to buy a nice little fixer upper and maybe think about kids.

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TurbulentStorage2445@reddit

[https://youtu.be/7-F40LOS1YM](https://youtu.be/7-F40LOS1YM) different levels of wealth

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Moonfief@reddit

Living in the South East and I feel "poor" on £6K per-month (averaging £7.5K including bonus period). Granted I am a single-earner and have 2 dependents and more debt than I would like. This year my gross per month sans bonus should be closer to £7K. I like to think I'll feel comfortable once I hit £8K per month but with cost of living steadily increasing I don't think it's a safe bet. Best way for me to think about it is instead about experiences. I'll feel like I've made it when I afford to buy a decent sized house for me and my family, go on 2+ holidays abroad per year and not have to look at my bank account.

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CiderDrinker2@reddit

I am currently on 85K, plus private healthcare coverage, plus school fees allowance. But I spend 9 months a year away from my family. 'Made it' for me would be 60K, but I can live at home and read my kid a bedtime story every night.

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Monkeylovesfood@reddit

Then do it. You're skilled enough to pick and choose those £60k jobs. You're earning enough to give you the time to look into a career shift. You are likely far enough into your current career that you could progress or shift into a position with less travel. Most corporate jobs offer private healthcare even at the very low end these days. School fees are a tricky one. Is providing your children with a superior education worth only having a dad for a quarter of the time? For them, and for you? We all want the best for our kids and there's no right way to do these things. A public school education will statistically mean your kids have a higher earning potential but also have a higher risk of psychological distress later in life. In terms of happiness there is no difference between public/private/state educated pupils. It's a difficult decision that has no right or wrong answer..

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CiderDrinker2@reddit

I am in the process, actively applying and interviewing. My specific field is niche, but I think my experience and skills are quite transferable.

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Monkeylovesfood@reddit

At that level of pay you really can afford to pick and choose. You're already well on your way to moving on already so apologies for the preachy advice. Best wishes to you and your family. I'm rooting for you!

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ProgrammingTheFuture@reddit

Oil/gas?

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CiderDrinker2@reddit

International development.

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Kind_Ad5566@reddit

I have a small house and old car. Until 5 years ago I made average wage. But I was at home to see my kids grow up. I did school runs. Never missed a Chrismas play (however painful that can be) Would I like more money? Yes. Would I trade the time I had with my family? Absolutely not.

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Otherwise-Event-8036@reddit

Wow! Hats off to you

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Banditofbingofame@reddit

Underrated response. I left a high profile job running a charity that you will have heard of for this reason and happily took a pay cut for for. I was doing 80 hour weeks every week and after a weekend event I slumped on the sofa, my son asked to play and I said not just yet, I needed to rest, he walked off saying I never played with him anymore. That was it, I was out the door within a month.

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green_tealeaf@reddit

I'm an academic (at a university you will have head of), but my research, subject, and training puts me firmly in the 'tech sector' bracket. Several of my friends, with almost identical backgrounds, work in tech, with accompanying astronomical salaries. I research and lecture for a fraction of what they earn, but I work from home nearly every day and have the chance to spend meaningful time with my children every day. Every time I think about how (relatively!) underpaid UK academia is, and much I could earn by going into industry, I remind myself that I'm effectively paying to have this time to spend with my children. Wouldn't change it for the world. Now, if I could get the same pay, job-for-life stability, and chance to work at home whilst just doing the fun research bits, we'd be talking. :)

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cmdrxander@reddit

I feel like I've read this comment before on another thread. Hope life with your son is still treating you well!

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CiderDrinker2@reddit

I am actively looking. I interviewed recently for a 55K position that would have been home based. I didn't get it, but the fact that I got the interview gave me a bit of encouragement. I need to be with my family.

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simonsail@reddit

What line of work are you in? (Just curious, feel free to not answer if you'd prefer not to)

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CiderDrinker2@reddit

International development

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jr-91@reddit

32 years old, never made more than £26k. Was completely burnt out on £24.7k before Christmas and hit the eject button for my mental health. On what will be £23.7k in April whilst I retrain and sort myself. Maybe it's just because it's all I've ever known but I'd honestly be happy on £35k+, at least at the moment.

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kurihara_cr@reddit

30 and on 20k just outside London, 35k would be a dream come true

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Mundane_Pin6095@reddit

Its crazy how different our perceptions are on this sub. A majority are not earning over 40k and thats what ive seen until i came to this comment..salaries are generally stagnant in this country and most of us are earning between 23k and 27k. 35k would be perfect for me( live in Northampton) even if i had skills and qualifications certain sectors are generally low paid..fk knows where thers people are working

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keto_emma@reddit

We have a combined income of £7.5k net a month and about £150k in salaries and honestly I don't feel like we've made it yet. Our monthly bills have increased substantially in the last couple of years, with higher energy, mortgage rates and childcare costs contributing to what feels like we are poorer. Our monthly bills have increased from around £2.5k which felt very comfortable to over £4k in just 2 years. We save about £1.5k a month, but have had a few large outgoings that do eat into that, car repairs, Septic tank repairs, house repairs/renovations. We spend about £600 on food, animal food and baby formula each month. Which leaves us about £650 each for fuel/everything else/general spending. So whilst we don't worry about not being able to pay something, we still have to watch what we spend and be mindful of spending frivolously.

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barriedalenick@reddit

I remember getting a huge pay rise from about 40K to over 50k in my 30s (late 1990s) and thinking I had "got there". It allowed us to not worry about paying the mortgage and gave us spare cash to fritter on holidays and whatever we wanted. Obviously not rich but at the time it felt like it for a while. My wife had a reasonable salary too and we have no kids. We ended up overpaying the mortgage so by the time we hit 50 it was gone. Then we really did feel rich for a while - the difference not having to pay the bank every month was enormous.

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Pargula_@reddit

50k in the late 90s must have been a pretty good salary no?

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Dry_Pick_304@reddit

50k now, at least in in most of the country, is a good salary. In the 90s that must have been wild to get that much!

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BaBeBaBeBooby@reddit

50k isn't a good salary - try supporting a family on it. Sad, but true. Yes, it's higher than average for most of the country - about average for London - but will not enable you to buy a house, have an overseas holiday, and raise a couple of kids, in most of the country. Something has to change to make work pay.

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gravityhappens@reddit

The reality is that most people don’t support a family on one income these days.

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BaBeBaBeBooby@reddit

The reality is most people can't support a family on one income these days

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gravityhappens@reddit

But if you have two people earning 50k it is a good salary, salaries aren’t based off your ability to run a household on a single income

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BaBeBaBeBooby@reddit

Salaries have never been based on the ability to run a household, that's irrelevant to the salary payer. Salaries are a market, supply and demand, with govt interference at some levels, impacting both supply and demand. However, the govt want everyone working PAYE. The govt would much prefer both parents working and paying for someone else to look after the kids. More tax revenues & higher GDP. In fact, govt actions suggest they prefer we don't have families and they import workers instead.

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gravityhappens@reddit

I’m glad it’s normal for both parents to be working. If one person doesn’t have income they have to rely on the other person for money which can lead to abusive and controlling relationships that are impossible to leave

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BaBeBaBeBooby@reddit

horses for courses. There's an equally strong argument, perhaps even stronger, saying it's better for young kids to be raised by a parent at home than by nursery workers.

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gravityhappens@reddit

Which takes a whole gender out of the work force, so may not be the solution

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BaBeBaBeBooby@reddit

It would be better if life was affordable with 1 parent working

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gravityhappens@reddit

Of course it would, but it’s never going to be the reality. We can’t support the huge amount of pensioners etc by effectively removing half of the work force

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DeifniteProfessional@reddit

That's actually a really sad fact though. 50k to me is only slightly over what I would need to live comfortably, without tickling my overdraft each month, or worrying that a new tyre is going to send me into spiralling debt

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Possiblyreef@reddit

Mate I'm on 55k, live by myself in the SE, have a student loan and absolutely piss money up the wall and still hundreds left at the end of the month. Either you're buying everything on tick or shoving it up your nose

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simonsuperhans@reddit

Definitely up the snout

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DeifniteProfessional@reddit

I miscalculated how much extra the Government takes in tax between 40 and 50

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MagicCookie54@reddit

Then you really need to evaluate your spending. Unless you're also caring for multiple other people then 50k is way over what you need to avoid an overdraft and debt every month.

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Brauenite@reddit

Bank of England inflation calculator says £50k in 1998 would be around £92k now

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TheToolman04@reddit

50k today is decent today tbf, so yeah, in the 90's it would have been amazing.

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Zennyzenny81@reddit

Definitely, I started working in 1999 and was on I think £19k before overtime and stuff as a junior electronic engineer!

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barriedalenick@reddit

Yes - not bad at all. The job came with a lot of stress at times but I enjoyed it.

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cmdrxander@reddit

I just looked back at average house prices and it was about 55-60k in 1990. I can't imagine my annual salary being almost the same as the average house price, that's like earning 250k today.

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barriedalenick@reddit

Well I lived in London and bought my house in 1999 for 110,000 or thereabouts - still crazy by todays standards. What seems odd now is that we wouldn't have ever considered looking at places that were 125,000+ because it seemed like an absolutely insane amount of money.

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ProgrammingTheFuture@reddit

What's your place worth now?

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barriedalenick@reddit

No idea really but over 800k probably

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FungoFurore@reddit

£50k in 1998 is equivalent to just over £92k in today's money. Obviously property prices have increased way beyond the rate of inflation, too.

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cmdrxander@reddit

Yeah I was thinking more in terms of mortgage total as a multiplier of salary. Easier to overpay it aggressively, you could probably do it in less than 10 years with that income! Although I’m aware interest rates were also pretty high back then

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2023mustgo@reddit

You were rich mate

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GoatyMcGoatface100@reddit

I think it massively depends where you live. Me and my partner pull in £5.5k after tax but we’re in London and it doesn’t go as far as I’d like! As I hit 30 last year, I think my idea of “making it” is less about salary, and increasingly about control over my money/time. Looking to start a new business as a consequence of that realization.

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villiers19@reddit

£5.5k after tax not enough in London? Oh, i need to start a business into personal finance counselling.

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aemdiate@reddit

£2500 of that could easily go on a mortgage for a small 2 bed place in the South East, £550 train fare not including tube is my season ticket, 2 of those is another £1100. That's 3600 pcm off before Child care? Council tax? Electricity? Food? It costs 5.60 for a return tube journey, if a couple both do that every day it is over 200£ a month. It isn't breadline, but if you are paying your own way in the south and want a child and a home it is by no meams a lot of money.

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villiers19@reddit

Add a Limo and its insurance since you started listing all possible costs..

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Kazizui@reddit

Housing, commute, childcare, council tax, electricity and food are scarecely in the same category of expenses as a limo, and the fact that you've had to resort to such a desperate comparison betrays how aware you are of the flimsiness of your argument.

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villiers19@reddit

Sorry you can’t accept that you the reason of your own failure! Grow up and take responsibility! Sell thag car, wear primar, ear Tesco Value! Don’t blame me for shoving it on your face! Pathetic

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Kazizui@reddit

Dunno what you're on about mate, I have no problem paying my bills.

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wheatamix@reddit

>Oh, i need to start a business into personal finance counselling. Probably work on your people skills before setting up.

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villiers19@reddit

Maybe you should work on your spending skills mate. Like they say, beggars can’t be choosers! If you can’t manage £5k a month, then you are immature! Just give up your job to an immigrant who would make it meaningful because you don’t. £5k after tax and you can’t live! 🤦‍♀️ 🤣 joke

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GoatyMcGoatface100@reddit

Mate, what are you being antagonistic for? I obviously don’t drive a limo haha. I also never said that I’m on the breadline or anything. Just that it doesn’t go as far as I’d like. We do alright though!

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villiers19@reddit

No. The last comment was meant aemdiate.

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aemdiate@reddit

What are you talking about? These are standard daily costs?

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Ody_Odinsson@reddit

Don't put words in their mouth. They didn't say "not enough". And you don't know anything about their commitments or aspirations. Some people need to stop jumping up and down on the judgemental jumperoo.

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GoatyMcGoatface100@reddit

It’s certainly “enough” - but the question was when you feel like you’ve “made it”. Which are two completely different things.

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wobble_bot@reddit

Good for you, I’d encourage anyone to do the same, but don’t underestimate how little control over your time and finances running a business actually accomplishes. Until you’re 5+ years into a running something that’s making a stable profit, you’ll be doing the job of about 5 people, and it’s not until you can afford to hire someone else to effectively take over the majority of day to day operations that you can really begin to work on that work/life balance. That’s obviously a bit of generalisation, every business is different

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Magneto88@reddit

I'll never cease to be amazed by people who think running their own business allows them more control of their time, if anything it makes you responsible for dealing with things at any time of the day and often comes with more work.

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GoatyMcGoatface100@reddit

Of course. But all being well it eventually allows you to decide - for example - to take those two hours on a Friday to go play with your kids without justification. Everyone I know who’s made moves towards it has felt the benefit. Most people work all hours and deal with things all the time anyway. It’s about giving yourself the ownership over the results of the hard work for me. Still need to get started though!

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YouGotTangoed@reddit

You can do this by being a contractor, or other other jobs where your scheduled time is more relaxed. I don’t understand why people jump straight to starting a business

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Opposite_Tax1826@reddit

Had my business for over 15 years and I would rather be homeless than work a salaried position ever again. The freedom I have is pricelessw not having to answer to a boss, or to anyone for that matter is the best feeling in the world. Sure I work a lot at times but there are also times when I don't feel like working and then I don't work. When I was a kid my mom told me: in life you don't always get to do what you want to do. Sorry mom, you were wrong. There is never a time when I am not doing exactly what I want to do.

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mo_tag@reddit

Do you mind if I ask what kind of business you have?

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Opposite_Tax1826@reddit

I won't go into details but I am a software developer and I have apps (2 at the moment) tht giv free features with paid extra features with a yearly subscription.

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mo_tag@reddit

I'm in tech too.. How are you finding the business side of the work? Customer service, sales, etc.. do you have a co-founder or is more like a one man show.. I struggled a lot with finding good cofounders in the UK

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bishcraft1979@reddit

I see it as the ability to offset - you can take those 2 hrs on the Friday and you choose when that time needs to be replaced

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Immediate_Cabinet725@reddit

I run multiple confidence I don’t never work for anybody and I’m middle-age, I must say even if I was just running one of them, this is far from reality. Sure some friends might tell you some stories where it works out that way, and there are times in fact where I can go play tennis with my brother in the middle of the day, but there are many many times where I have to work in insane hours that no company would have me working for. Then again, I’ve never worked for another company and don’t think I ever want to, I wouldn’t even know how to fit into that culture at this point. But just know, most businesses and I’m talking the vast vast majority of new businesses fail in the first five years, just google the numbers gonna blow your mind, and newer businesses that were starting to fail and even ones that are doing well getting them off the ground, that things gonna require everything you got, much more than 9 to 5 most likely, especially if you want to keep it from failing and still might loose. It’s not an easy gig

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mo_tag@reddit

Lol I don't understand the downvotes, the difference between the demand is insane, it's not on the same level whatsoever.. it's not even just about working longer hours, you just don't have the option of ignoring emergencies or dealing with them later... If you plan a holiday, you can't just check out.. when shit hits the fan your holiday is cancelled.. I've moved from entrepreneur/start up space to corporate and my stress levels have gone way down.. yeah there's times I gotta work longer but it's not on the same level at all.. at the end of the day I can switch off and when I feel like I'm doing too much I just need to remind my employer what my contracted hours are, plus I get compensated for extra work.. obviously it's not as exciting working for someone else and I'm often dreaming of trying again but the furthest I get is early discussions and proof of concepts before I ultimately decide that I'm just not passionate enough about the product to justify the insane amount of work and sacrifice that I know would be heading my way.. There are definitely some businesses that are much easier to set up or run like soletrader doing a trade, contracting, locuming, legal etc.. but those are really just businesses from a tax perspective and involve very little actual business operations.. obviously that's different from running a construction company or legal firm or tech consultancy, but they would both be considered "businesses" in the same industry but the former are just employees that get to choose their hours and make more money at the expense of job security, while the latter are actually running business

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TroubleThat9470@reddit

We have friends who run their own businesses one thing they always claim is that they are doing it for their children to give them a better life and to afford to be able to take time off to be with their children. Interestingly these same people are less involved with their children's lives than my husband and I are with ours. We both work for companies but manage to coach their sport sometimes, make their games, be at home with them at night not stressed out by work and make most school events.

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MeatFit1822@reddit

That's called taking a half day, I can take over 50 of them!

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teerbigear@reddit

Tbf once you've got a senior enough white collar job then, unless you work somewhere bonkers, you can generally do what you want. I was offline for a couple of hours around lunchtime because I went to get a key cut, have a quick squizz round TK Maxx, and got something nice for lunch. It's all very circumstantial though.

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hitch21@reddit

An overwhelming majority of businesses fail in the first couple of years so I doubt most who make moves towards it feel the benefit. Statistically most end up back working a job again.

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3between20characters@reddit

I work for a business less than 3 years old. It was running from day one. If you have a lot of capital to start you can just go straight from nothing to something. Especially selling online, it's basically pay to win with PPC, Google ads etc.

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Suitable_Physics_514@reddit

Yes but you're doing it for yourself rather than someone else. You are literally in control.

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FrostyAd9064@reddit

It really depends on each individual - sure, you have more control. But if you set up your own business because you enjoyed being a therapist/PT/consultant/whatever…you quickly realise that you are actually now a bookkeeper and marketing manager 40% of the time and not the thing you actually enjoy,

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IceAntique2539@reddit

But at the very least you don’t have to answer to anyone

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FrostyAd9064@reddit

For me that was massively offset by the stress of not having a regular income every month and having to ‘hustle’ to get clients in. I’m glad I tried it as now I can stop thinking the grass is greener (for me) and am much more grateful for what I have

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Neala123@reddit

You can build a business and hire someone to run it for you so you take a profit share as the owner….

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Magneto88@reddit

This is underestimating the amount of work needed to get a business to that level and the amount of people who are actually that successful.

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Neala123@reddit

Of course, but your previous comment made it seem this isn’t applicable in any case

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Ouakha@reddit

My wife is going self-employed after 18 yrs in the NHS. Has to learn IT, sales and marketing, build a website, put together documents, network etc. There's more work around her actual profession than that itself entails. Of course, I got rigged into doing the website and tax returns. On top of my own full time job

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yannberry@reddit

Having run my own business before; this!!

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IM2N1NJA4U@reddit

Lol not my bosses. I was at the pub this one time, 11pm, smashed, and they gave my mobile to a client who rang me spitting feathers to make a complaint about service at my call centre (I reported directly to the owner) so he got to enjoy his Saturday whilst I had to find a quiet corner, pen and paper, and pretend to be sober enough to care about this fella’s problem 😂

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the_englishman@reddit

Yhea I work for myself and whilst its nice to manage my own time as I would like, I am also never off and always working. If something needs to be done I have to do it, there is no one else to pick up the slack. Even when on holiday I will check my emails once a day and take calls when needed. I used to work in the city and one of things I did not realise at the time and I sort of miss was the weekend was the weekend - no work - and when I sign off to go on holiday my email out of office went on, work phone turned off and I stopped thinking about work until I was back in the office.

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Immediate_Cabinet725@reddit

America on a show called Shark Tank, which is exactly like dragons den out here I believe Lori Grenier, has a great quote, might be misattributing it but basically it is “being an entrepreneur is working 80 hours a week so you don’t have to work 40 for somebody else.” Another great one, this one for my father who started a small empire that started in the flea market “never forget son, 15 years is an overnight success” Alluding to the fact that we hear so many stories about entrepreneurs making it big quickly, but the reality is if you’re extremely successful you would’ve made it in 15 years working your butt off, the truth be told, if you’re successful, which statistics show, unfortunately, if you look into them, new businesses survival rates past five years, and this is an America, forget about Britain, are ridiculously low, and in my experience, when the boss leaves the business to somebody else, if they’re lucky enough to get to a point where they can try that, the business tends to fade away and fail. Best of luck to everyone though, as a fellow entrepreneur I never want to see anybody fail. People don’t understand the challenges that come with the risks that are taken the sacrifices that are made they just see the end result if you’re lucky enough to happen to be successful And often it comes with envy, thinking you have it easy. Hats off too Anybody who gives it their all…

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Jimmy90081@reddit

Only the job of 5! Sign me up!

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Quick-Wonder-7306@reddit

I took the plunge at 30 and this has been my experience. If you go self employed and are open about being a one person op. you might maintain some control. I set it all up like a proper business and jumped on big government contracts/frameworks. Keeping the facade of being a big capable business going for years with just me and a couple of employees has really taken its toll. On the bright side, if I want 10k, I get on the tools for a month. But I haven't had a holiday without my laptop for 6 years, I'm currently in bed with a fever and clients are chasing up quotes. Sometimes you'll be £70k in the red until you get paid and then are £70k in the green then the tax man comes along. and yeah you need to be good at everything to keep costs down. Software, hardware, networking, web development, app development, marketing, sales, accounting, management and of course, be an effort in the field you are actually selling.

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GoatyMcGoatface100@reddit

Thanks. Completely agree and I know it’ll be a slog. But it’ll be slog for my own benefit rather than my employer. And that’s just about as good a thing to work hard for as I can think of.

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PlatformFeeling8451@reddit

There are **loads of positives** to working for yourself, but as said above having time where you can switch off from work is not one of them. It's by far the biggest downside. I was self-employed for 10 years, now I work for a company and am still getting used to having weekends and bank holidays off. I also earn more and am not terrified of getting sick and earning nothing. Don't be discouraged if it's something that you really want to do, but if you're doing it so that you have more free time to spend with your kids then I'd advise against it. You won't.

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GoatyMcGoatface100@reddit

I’ve expressed myself poorly in this thread I think. I don’t expect to do less work, I fully expect to work harder and longer as I work to get it set up. But it will be on my terms and my schedule. And fingers crossed, if it goes well, I’ll have something to support me later in life.

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PlatformFeeling8451@reddit

Best of luck with it mate, I don't want to discourage you from going for it. It could be the best decision you ever make.

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LisaandNeil@reddit

To coin a dreadfully old phrase, just go for it. Sure there are drawbacks but managing your own time and destiny as best you can feels much more reasonable than working for some horrible corporation and being treated like dirt. The caveat? We only really know about doing something we like with people we enjoy working for, so perhaps our view is naive and a bit limited...but then, we're mad happy so who cares. Hope your find your thing and make a go of it.

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Mattythebrush@reddit

soo true. Businesses age like children. New born to 4years, keeps you awake at night, needs constant attention can’t leave it alone for more than 5 minutes. 4-11 needs less nurture and more guidance can be left alone for a few hours. 11-16 doesn’t need much nurture but a lot of guidance and can’t yet be trusted to make its own big decisions. 16 onwards, you can leave it alone for a week and alls well when you return! I started my business a year before the first born arrived and it kinda fits along with their development!

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notwearingatie@reddit

I'm butchering the quote but it's something like "entrepreneurs will work 100 hours a week to avoid working 40 hours for someone else".

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ItemAdventurous9833@reddit

1000% agree. I want to consult. If I could do that and earn over £30k I'd feel like wow, I've made it

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SignificanceOld1751@reddit

How far is not as far as you'd like? Because we live in Zone 2 and bring in about the same, and I've got money coming out my arsehole, I can't spend it fast enough

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JayR_97@reddit

Yeah, theres a massive difference between £5k/month in London and £5k/month in some northern town

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pomm_queen@reddit

5K in a northern town is a pimp level of money

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Stomach_Brave@reddit

Yup area is everything. I’m 34, partner 35 and we make the equivalent of £15k after tax living in nyc and we definitely aren’t ‘comfortable’. $600k pre-tax is the aim for feeling “we’ve made it”. Will move back to the uk before we hit that

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sobrique@reddit

Yep. IMO it's much more a question of disposable income than of actual income. I feel I have 'made it' when: - I've got a house, and the mortgage payments are 'comfortable' and on track for retirement. - I've got a pension, and that's growing well enough to be on track for retirement. - My bills are paid, and I don't have to feel any anxiety about 'unexpected' costs. - I've enough surplus to enjoy a decent quality of life (which is admittedly very much a question of how much any person likes to 'live it up') with maybe a bit left over for savings. - I feel fairly secure that if I lost my job/got ill, it wouldn't be an _immediate_ disaster. That number shifts around a lot of course.

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Starsinthedistance24@reddit

Totally agree. Two households could earn the same income but depending on their disposable income one could have a completely different lifestyle.

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rosiet1001@reddit

Sooo many people don't understand this. If you earn £1k a month and spend £900 month, you're in a far better financial position than someone who earns £5k a month and spends £6k a month.

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jordsta95@reddit

Very much this! My wife and I are bringing home around £3.5k, but live in the East Mids. I don't think we've "made it", but that's not because of money. We seldom need to talk about money, because we earn more than bills and food. If we have money issues, it's because we chose to spend too much. And that's perfect for us. However, we haven't made it because we don't own a house yet (hopefully will change soon) and we haven't started a family yet. I'll only consider us as having "made it" once the eventual kid(s) are in their 20s, have been living independently, and want to keep regular contact with us because we were good parents. Wife and I both have iffy relationships with our families. So if we can ensure our child(ren) don't have the same issues as us... then I'll know we've made it

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rocuroniumrat@reddit

Wanted to say -- I think this is a super heartwarming reply 🫂

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jeadon88@reddit

Is the 5.5k each or between you and your partner ?

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barbarossa1984@reddit

I was considering starting my own business a few years ago for similar reasons. That was until I looked into it and realised it would have to take over my life to even break even in the first few years and it's such a competitive market that lasting 5 years and achieving profitability is basically a pipe dream unless I was willing to ditch my moral scruples. I'm happy enough as a worker bee doing 40ish hours a week. Now I'm just looking to reduce my commute to have more time to myself.

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evthrowawayverysad@reddit

>increasingly about control over my money/time This, times a million. I started a business when I was 20, and I just turned 30. I've spent my 20s working 1-2 days a week. There absolutely existed avenues for me to double my wealth by doubling my working hours, but I've bought a modest house, bought a nice car... and I just can't bring myself to exchange more of my free time for more income.

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---x__x---@reddit

What kind of business if you don’t mind me asking?

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iAmBalfrog@reddit

Similar here, just outside of London, we bring home around £9k after tax, it still gets eaten up. Once we both have paid off our plan 2 SLs it'll feel very freeing, essentially an extra £1k after tax for me and £600 for my partner. If I can answer yes to the following i'm generally happy \- Can I pay all my bills \- Can I match my employers pension \- Can I invest £500/m \- Can I chuck £500/m into holiday/frivolous funds Obviously I can save more, I can max my pension funds, theres plenty more I can do, but if I can maintain the above with a job I like i'm good.

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romase@reddit

Hate to break it to you but starting a new business will very likely not give you more control of your time, it often (but not always) leads to you being owned by your business for at least the first few years

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Awordofinterest@reddit

>I think it massively depends where you live. Also circumstance - I'm in a very lucky position where I don't pay rent or a mortgage. My monthly outgoings are the standard bills, Phone/internet, Water, gas, electricity, council tax, car + a few more and other bits that are quality of life. I could literally be on £12-15,000 a year right now and live very comfortably with actually a fair chunk of change to put away for a rainy day. That being said, to get to this point, it took me 10-15 years of struggling, I stayed home when my brother went to university. My mum and I would live on £10-20 a week food budget whilst I would put 95% of my incoming into the mortgage and bills, and would have £50 to spend a month on myself if I was lucky. Whilst, my brother studying, got grants, all his food, Holidays, and a new car/bike. (At this stage, I got very resentful, Which I soon learned to fix, He was going make it big ofcourse...) Now, honestly, I can relax a bit. But not completely, If I let my guard down i'm sure i'll get shafted.

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Matthewjamesfield@reddit

34 and girlfriend is nearly 30. We pull in £6.5k and feel like we can’t afford to do a lot of the things we’d like. London is expensive as fuck.

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ClingerOn@reddit

This is the realisation I’ve had, but at times I feel like this might be a defence mechanism against the feeling of helplessness, economically speaking. Life can beat the ambition out of you as you get older and I think a lot of people settle in to making the best of what they have and focusing on managing their time outside work because it creates the feeling of control where there is none.

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dothecamcam@reddit

I do agree in general, but I think the framing is quite pessimistic. If it’s about control, then realising what you can and can’t control has made me a lot happier. It’s not exactly that I have less ambition, more that I now know what I can do and I am ambitious for those things.

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dannibon@reddit

Massively agree with this comment, we pull in just under 4k a month but we are in the south east so similar prices to London. However we have a 2 year old. Spent the last 2 years scraping by and now finally about to buy house so yeah we made it 🙌🏼

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BritshFartFoundation@reddit

Me and my partner are on a similar level as you but with no kids, couldn't imagine raising a kid on our current income. It's fine for just us, but I imagine it's very tight with another mouth to feed who doesn't understand what money is

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S4h1l_4l1@reddit

Would you think about moving out of London? Manchester and Leeds may not be as good as London but they are major cities of your still after the city life and they’re way cheaper than London.

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number1ddrfan@reddit

Salary would drop too though.

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S4h1l_4l1@reddit

Yh you’re right. I found a job outside London that paid £27k a year, then the EXACT same job in London that paid £32k a year.

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GoatyMcGoatface100@reddit

People who don’t live in London often fail to realize how much you need that weighting in the salar! Anecdotally I could probably double my salary instantly by moving abroad - pay in my industry is a lot higher in Middle East, USA, Germany and Australia (as examples). But the family/cultural ties to where you live are strong! UK workers are in dire need of a salary bump.

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GoatyMcGoatface100@reddit

I enjoyed studying up north and seeing Manchester. But my whole life is in the south. Friends, family, job, knowledge of “how things work”. I could move. But if I was going to uproot my life for financial gain, I’d move abroad tbh.

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Stage_Party@reddit

I'm on £1900 a month and when my wife finally starts work she will only be on £18k annual. NHS sucks ass for pay.

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Live_Service6963@reddit

I did this. I used to earn about £40k but realised I’d hit a ceiling based on how much work and effort I was willing to give (I’d just had kids) I built a business and now have an easy part time paye which covers ni. My business can afford to pay me £3k a month but I normally survive on £1.5k (helps the business grow) and my paye pays me £1k too. I sacrificed a lot for that £40k which seems absurd in retrospect. And to have got to £60k+ I’d have had to sacrifice time with the kids and the mrs. I do the school run most days. I go to everything with my bigger kid. I’m sure everyone thinks I’m a right trampy dad at the school gates relying on my Mrs but I probably could pay myself more than most of them earn..😊 nice feeling.

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Any-End5772@reddit

Been running a business in London throughout my 20’s. You’ll have more control but absolutely no free time for a long time.

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wewerecreaturres@reddit

Honestly mine is less about a specific number and more about having a refrigerator that makes its own ice. Sounds silly, but in NYC I’d say that’s a solid “I made it”

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Zennyzenny81@reddit

It was when I hit £40k that I realised one day I no longer have any background "worries" about money or how much I have left. I know if something on the car breaks or our boiler packs in or whatever then I have money to sort it without eating into longterm savings. I'm now on £60k and to be honest it doesn't really make a big difference to being on £40k, at least with the lifestyle I live. I just save more every month! Dual income, no kids, your mileage may vary!

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rammedearth@reddit

dual income definitely makes a difference because 40k single income is still less than a couple on minimum wage together and you wouldn't consider them well off at all

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doraisexploring27@reddit

Christ, I didn’t realise how broke I actually was until I read this thread?! My wife and I’s annual income is about £22k between the pair of us.. we’re lucky that we now live in one of the cheapest areas in the UK in terms of cost of living, but I must be mad because my attitude has been ‘we’ve got a roof over our heads and food in the fridge so we’re in a better position than some’. Perhaps it’s the cycle of growing up in poverty making me totally blind to it all, it’s just ‘normal’ to me.

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RaggyBaggyMaggie@reddit

Totally agree. Living in poverty growing up is your norm so when you get older you never really expect to be not poor.

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doraisexploring27@reddit

Literally this. I grew up in severe poverty and was forever terrified we’d suddenly become homeless, my clothes were all far too small for me and the school ‘food collection for the poor’ always got distributed between me and 1-2 other kids. I have memories of bursting into tears to my teacher because the bailiffs had been knocking again the previous night. Anything better than that feels ‘comfortable’ to me!

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RaggyBaggyMaggie@reddit

That’s awful. I was always the last in the class at school to be able to buy books (back then the teacher ordered them and you bought them off her). She’d always let me know - in front of the whole class - that I was the only one not to have paid. Like you I had the same jumper for 4 years at secondary school. You never forget that shame.

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doraisexploring27@reddit

I’ve never understood why teachers made a point of it in front of the whole class?! The food collection box would get presented to me in assembly, I mean what adult would ever think that’s a good idea? I really hope schools have changed their methods by now, you’d like to think!

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Missy246@reddit

This doesn't get said enough.

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

Once I broke £50k, I can remember sitting down to do the budget and realising we could live our lifestyle on just my income alone. The holidays wouldn’t be as nice and the pension wouldn’t be as fat, but we could do what we wanted with just me working. We’re also DINKys, but once all of my wife’s income could go to investments/fun stuff I stooped worrying about a lot of day to day expenses

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Expensive_Cattle@reddit

£50k is the new £30k. It's happened so fast. I'm barely 10 years your senior and I managed all these lifestyle changes on £30k. The weird thing is there's seemingly less £50k jobs now than there were £30k jobs then. The prestige of £50k+ jobs still remains, but it relatively gets you very little. I keep getting promoted but my lifestyle has barely changed. My successors struggle in ways I didn't with my old salary, even when they've been adjusted for inflation.

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ditpditp@reddit

'£50k is the new £30k' sums it up for me. I'm on £40k and I feel less well off than I did a few years ago on £30k. Some people around me still seem to think £30k is decent so £40k must be great. From April 2024 minimum wage for those over 21 is going to be the equivalent of £22k - £23k full time salary. Wages are dog shit in the vast majority of industries in the UK, and we should all be making much more of a fuss about it.

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Low-Confidence-1401@reddit

8 years ago I was on £27k and my wife on ~£34k and we managed to save £10k in 18 months, whilst also having a decent standard of living amd going on two holidays. Rent was £595. We bought a house and our mortgage is £780 a month, so not loads more, and we have 1 child now. We have a combined income of around £100k now and save almost nothing with a similar lifestyle. Childcare costs are astronomical, granted. We could cut back, for sure, but it's pretty sad that to save any money on £100k combined salary we would have to not go on holiday, not go out with our friends occasionally and not have a takeaway once a week.

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Twisted_nebulae@reddit

Hang on - I'm a student and with loans and a part time job my income is £12k per year and my rent is £736 per month. I get by, I can't save but I have to be careful. How do you manage to not save on £100k combined? That's 8x my income! Maybe it's because my parents are both on minimum wage but that's an insane amount - surely having a kid and bills can't be that expensive

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Low-Confidence-1401@reddit

I agree, it's ridiculous. Childcare would wipe out your entire income, though!

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Every_Piece_5139@reddit

Don’t have kids then ?

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RaggyBaggyMaggie@reddit

Our household income is a £100k a year and we can easily save £2,500 a month if not more. There again we don’t have kids. Kids are the money killer.

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Every_Piece_5139@reddit

Poor folk are often told live within their means. Why have kids if you can’t afford them. Funny how when it’s wealthy people who choose to live in the most expensive city in the country but with the greatest opportunities we’re supposed to feel sorry.

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spik0rwill@reddit

My wife and I had a combined salary of about 50k before tax, 1 3 year old kid and our mortgage is about £900 a month.. We were scraping through each month unable to save money and generally dipping into our savings each month. I got a 12k payrise this month.. Excited that we'll finally be able to save and spend money on ourselves now haha. I don't see how you can't save on 100k a month!

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Low-Confidence-1401@reddit

It is lifestyle creep, as someone said below, I suppose. I don't feel like our lifestyle is really extravagant, though, and that was kind of my point.

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Low-Confidence-1401@reddit

It is lifestyle creep, as someone said below, I suppose. I don't feel like our lifestyle is really extravagant, though, and that was kind of my point.

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Bug_Parking@reddit

Lifestyle creep. Where the shop is done, what is bought, takeaway once a week, etc etc.

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_SGP_@reddit

A fucking takeaway once a week. Jesus. I didn't realise the king had a Reddit account

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Low-Confidence-1401@reddit

Honestly, I think this is one of the main issues...

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

Were going to be in a very weird situation where around half of median earners outside London might be better off working minimum wage than working a median salaries job. The top 50-30% salary range for 22-29 year olds in the northwest is between £24.5-30k. New minimum wage will mean people working full time in that age group can not earn less than £23k for a 40 hour week. I could quickly see jobs paying less than 30k not being worth it when any full time job within walking distance pays only £400 a month less. Literally any job. Lots of people spend more than £400 a month on transportation alone, and that’s not counting the time cost of commuting potentially hours each way.

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raged_norm@reddit

Agreed, in my field I see graduate roles offering £24k. If that sticks I'll be telling my kids to either become a tradesman or go work somewhere within walking distance for minimum wage. Getting a degree to (initially) work for slightly above minimum wage isn't worth it.

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CoffeeandaTwix@reddit

But entry level trades jobs still pay less than entry level graduate jobs (apprentice wages)

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raged_norm@reddit

Indeed they do, but you’re not taking on the graduate tax

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idkwtstbh@reddit

This is what I’m going through right now. Spent all that money and time on a degree (graduated last year) just so I can work minimum wage in a restaurant 15 mins away from home. With this job at least I’m getting promoted so I’ll have some management experience when I decide to leave. Grad jobs are not even looking in my direction, I think I applied to a thousand in the last year and nothing came of it. So frustrating especially since all of them are in the range of 25-30k, which I already make when you count service charge and tips.

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Hot_Beef@reddit

You aren't factoring in the other aspects. Working a job with respect and prospects is just a completely different experience than knowing you are going nowhere.

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FungoFurore@reddit

If that's the case shouldn't we see salaries in those other jobs increase?

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imp0ppable@reddit

Median salary is 36k now, minimum wage like 22k I think? I remember my first office job was 15k and minimum wage back then probably 12k but that's a guess.

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hitch21@reddit

Had some experience of this recently. My partner was offered 2 roles managing a branch of about 4-6 people similar to a branch she currently works in. She’s been in the industry about 7-8 years but never in management. Her current job pays £32k plus about £5k a year bonus and a company car. For all the extra stress and work of being a manager of 4-6 people she was offered £35k plus bonus and a car. In the end as much as I want her to progress in her career we both agreed it’s not worth the risk of taking a new job and additional responsibilities for what amounts to about £180-200 per month after tax.

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Trick_Battle4851@reddit

Similar here, wife is a teacher in a college and was asked to interview for head of dept. job when previous dept. head retired. Basically told she was a shoe-in for it. Her wage at the time as a government employee was £38k before tax and to step up to head of dept. would have given her a raise of £3k a year, or about £200p/m after tax, NI, pension contributions etc. Her job expectations would have been all her existing teaching commitments, plus increasing duties to include being present 1hr earlier than regular teachers and staying onsite until 1hr+ for meetings/progress reports/etc every day, managing a dept of 6 people (plus herself), having to be the person who deals with grievances from below and fights to get those grievances resolved with those above her, having to be the one who deals with the fallout beneath her of decisions made from above and being the one who has to break the news of those decisions to those affected, being responsible for everything that goes wrong in the dept. and for the overall dept. performance to the point where her whole job would be at risk if the dept. began to fail since her new head of dept. contract would include all her teaching as well as her management duties rolled into one job - ie all tied together so she couldn’t just go back to being a regular teacher if they weren’t happy with her management performance. The only option would be to fire her completely. She politely but VERY firmly declined the interview. It made no sense to her whatsoever to put herself through any of that bullshit for a measly extra 200 quid.

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Nosferatatron@reddit

Meanwhile I see positions for £25k that involve responsibility and a degree (not starter jobs) - in fact some £25k jobs were paying £25k a decade ago it seems, like inflation hasnt even happened!

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SteelSparks@reddit

I remember when I was starting out in work thinking that I’m not greedy, £36k will be a nice salary to have a newish car and 2 foreign holidays a year. That’s about £52k now accounting for inflation. It’s hard for many to hear, but £50k really isn’t an amazing salary anymore. Sure it’s above average but by the time the tax man has had his pound of flesh it doesn’t go as afar as it used to. Really UK salaries are just too low in general.

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

Wow. That really does put inflation in perspective, and is honestly a pretty good estimate of how much one needs to earn to live in relative comfort compared to just a decade ago. I've said this in other posts/comments, but I think most people wouldn't be able to live 'comforably' on less than £45k outside of London. That sounds excessive on the surface, but when you consider things like pensions/holidays/savings, I do think it'd be difficult to live on less in most parts of the UK.

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Exciting-Radish2526@reddit

4 years ago I was on 20k, and I could get by but little room for luxuries. Then I was on 24k and it seemed like an improvement but it wasn't sustainable and I had to up my hours to full time. Now I'm on about 33k and I feel not much has changed since 24k! I have more disposable income for sure, but I'm purposely continuing to rent the same flat, which despite increases is still one of the cheapest in the area. If I move, the other options will eat up a good chunk of that extra income immediately. I think 45k to be actually comfortable is reasonable especially on one income and I'm in a cheap part of the UK.

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One_Bed514@reddit

That is called getting poorer as a country. Congratulations on understanding how the economy works.

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Expensive_Cattle@reddit

That's called being unnecessarily condescending. Commiserations on not knowing how usefully contributing works.

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cleb9200@reddit

I’m the opposite of this. I always imagined breaking £40k would feel like a huge burden was lifted but it really didn’t as the cost of living and bills were increasing fast alongside it. Breaking £60k was the real game changer for me. It’s taken me to my late forties to get there but finally I don’t feel stressed about money every month. It’s not like a high lifestyle amount cos I live in SE and our mortgage is painful, but it’s comfort at last and with my wife’s part time decent pay we can finally say we’re doing ok after years of stress. I could happily just stick around this good comfort level I’ve never wanted flashy cars or designer clothes and don’t want the expectation many triple figure salaries demand

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Vice932@reddit

Yeah same for me. I was telling my gf yesterday I feel less well off on 41k than I did on 32k a couple years ago. Maybe it’s the cost of living but I think it also comes with the lifestyle and future creep that comes with a higher salary. It feels good at first but then you settle and realise it’s not quite enough and your going to need more. What’s frustrating is that once you hit the 40k limit, at least in my field, you’re kinda stuck for a while. It’s tough to break into that 50/60k range

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EntshuldigungOK@reddit

So strange to read this, yet so familiar. Reached £40K in INR as a target - yes life was decent, but a downgrade to 'life should have been good at this earning level'. £60K was a gamechanger - things are better than good, and while £100K would be good, it's likely to head into law of diminishing returns.

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Due-Presentation4344@reddit

When I got to £50k I felt loaded, never been able to save anything meaningful until then. Due to cost of living I’m actually no better off now I’m near to £60k. Between putting towards pension, tax, no child benefit, you don’t take home much more.

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yawstoopid@reddit

Ita a beautiful feeling when you break the £60k barrier and it takes the edge off of everything. Keep going, it gets even better!

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Zennyzenny81@reddit

Yeah that's fair, in our case we live in a commuter town in central Scotland (about twenty-five minutes outside Glasgow) where a good three bedroom house can still be not much more than £200k.

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Scotsman86@reddit

...Coatbridge? 😂 If that's where you're speaking of - small world. I guess small Internet..

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Zennyzenny81@reddit

Close!

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Scotsman86@reddit

I'm leaning towards Airdrie / Chapelhall now but you don't need to tell me lol I'm just a weirdo who likes bumping into people who are nearby me on the internet.

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Tattycakes@reddit

Yeah I definitely agree that up to a certain point it’s hard to avoid the trap of increasing your cost of living in line with increases in your wages. It’s not just prices of food and petrol going up, but it’s the opportunity to make choices to spend that money on yourself. It might be a more expensive house or car, or it might be that you start getting solid wood furniture instead of chipboard, or you finally have the cash for that new mattress, or you can afford to subscribe to a streaming service, or get your teeth sorted, or upgrade your computer, or renovate the bathroom. It takes a while as your money increases to simultaneously make your way through all these little semi-essential upgrades

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ladyatlanta@reddit

6 years ago I thought “if I could just earn £30k”. Of course I started earning that much when the cost of living hit and it’s a bit more expensive to live. Don’t get me wrong going from £15k to £30k is a huge leap, even by today’s standards but now I think I’d be more comfortable on £50k

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videogamesarewack@reddit

I'm on a bit over 40. However I'm single in my late 20's. Honestly, the money isn't as big a deal as time is. Working from home lets me get so much more done with my day, and with less stress. It'd take a 20k raise to consider going into the office full time again. I think that freedom of time makes me feel like I've made it more than income, though my career also is likely just an upward trajectory from here if I want.

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Spiritual-Bison-2545@reddit

I'm also in west scotland and for me it was the £32k mark in 2019 money. No kids and dual income, managed to buy a house, then I became single and living alone. Hit the £40k mark and felt pretty secure in my life financially ever since. Built up some savings, throwing the maximum I can into pension fund with no problems. Absolutely annihilated my savings this month though but I'm comfortable I will build it back up without too much difficulty (touch wood I don't lose my job)

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SpeakingRussianDrunk@reddit

Hey man I’m on about 45k at 24 and I’m so financially illiterate it’s like a week before payday and I’ve only got £150 left😂😂 any tips for budgeting?

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St_Melangell@reddit

Make sure you’re maxing out your pension contributions (at least enough to match your employer’s contributions, as that’s basically free money). Retirement may seem miles away - and it is for you! - but your 20s is the best time for compound interest to work its magic on your pension pot. Your older self will thank you!

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Cub3h@reddit

Follow the flowchart on [https://www.reddit.com/r/UKPersonalFinance/](/r/UKPersonalFinance). If you're already on 45K you've got the hardest bit done.

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Zennyzenny81@reddit

You're doing REALLY well to be on that at 24, I didn't get there till mid 30s! But you really need to have a look at budgeting guides and things, you've got a great opportunity to be financially secure if you get a handle on your spending.

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SkullsNSouls@reddit

What area of work are you in if you don’t mind me asking?

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Zennyzenny81@reddit

Financial management in the public sector (you may see from another post elsewhere I was an electronic engineering apprentice when I came out school, it's been a long journey!). I could probably get 75-80k in the private sector for a like-for-like position of responsibility and budget size, but the stability and incredible pension are worth it for me personally.

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SkullsNSouls@reddit

Hhh damn it. I’m a student looking to go into the creative media/photography industry and can’t ever see myself making 60k a year. I’m not wired at all for jobs in finance or similar areas, I’d be so ridiculously depressed. But it seems that’s where all the money is yknow? I guess we will see, right now I’m a uni student and I make £120 a week to survive off 😭 I hope richer days are coming but it’s so scary to think about!

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caffeine_lights@reddit

Yep. I remember reading an article in my teens about how 33k (I think it was at the time) was a threshold after which subsequent increases in income did not increase happiness. (But under 33k was associated with lower happiness). I remember thinking that's the aim - I'll aim for that. Of course, the exact number where the threshold is has changed. But I still like the principle - figuring out what amount would represent the end of constant background money related stress, and aiming for that rather than having a mindset of more is always better.

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ImTalkingGibberish@reddit

Same 40k was it for me, partner was on 20ish k at the time and we could finally afford a single bed rent instead of a flatshare.

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Igglethepiggle@reddit

Me and my wife get about £9k a month after tax on average. We're absolutely skint. I don't know what level of money I'd need to not be skint. Whatever it is that will do for me.

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anonymouse39993@reddit

Then you are absolutely awful with money If you have 2 kids that puts you earning 94% more than the uk population If you have no kids you’re earning 97% more than the uk population. https://ifs.org.uk/tools_and_resources/where_do_you_fit_in#tool-results-section

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Igglethepiggle@reddit

Yeah I have 2 kids. I tried the link and put my council tax in. It did say better off than 94%. But hear me out. Before last year I earned around £4.5k a month after tax between both of us. The difference is she's gone back to full time and the fully qualified version of her job (so is on 50% more altogether), and I ended up becoming self employed and earning nearly triple in the last 12 months than recent previous years. So we haven't been that well off for long. And we went on an expensive holiday for the first time last year and added in an extra break, did a load of work to the house that REALLY needed doing that we'd held off for years, bought lots of new clothes, but again badly needed for me especially as I'd been wearing half rags for years and generally bought a load of other things that have brought us back (maybe a bit ahead of) to where we should have been as a middle class family in terms of... things. Sounds mad but nothing has made me happier than a new pair of tracksuit bottoms. I hadn't owned a pair for years. I just had old shit pairs of jeans. I did have a few newer bits but they were all tatty cheap brands and fading or falling apart after half a seasons wear. We've got stuff that should last this time around. I reckon we've got a lot more to do to the house. Once that's done, I reckon we can think about not being completely skint. That's maybe 2 years away.

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ArtEuphoric1575@reddit

Me and my missus are on about 60k a year but my partner is only part time and it is a struggle with two kids in nursery. We pay about £1k a month in child care and it’s killer. But the second they finish nursery and my missus goes back full time we will earn extra and our outgoings will dramatically reduce. So we will go from struggling to ok in a heartbeat. Makes you think there should be a way to spread childcare costs over a longer period instead of having three years of hell all at once.

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dacydergoth@reddit

Don't think in terms of $ or £. Think in term of "I can survive 12 months unemployed" or "My kids can go to the school I like" or "a major medical episode won't bankrupt me"

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Threatening-Silence@reddit

I've been in the £140k range for awhile, but until two years ago my wife was only on £75k ish and an Associate at her bank. She took a gamble on an internal job posting and was promoted to VP with the transfer to a new team, with a pay rise to 100k, now after two years in the role she's on 120k base with a 25k bonus so she's clearing more than me, and we're both now able to really pack our pensions and overpay the mortgage. I don't think we really felt like we were okay until this year really. But now that we can see our net worth growing at 100k+ each year, our foothold in the middle class seems a lot more secure. We're both immigrants to the UK and came over with basically nothing in our early 30s, just for some background. We're both early 40s now.

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GeneralQuantum@reddit

No education either?

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Threatening-Silence@reddit

My wife is Polish and worked at a hotel to put herself through uni here, honours degree in business and accounting. I had a degree from Canada already in an unrelated field, I work in tech so it didn't matter really.

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GeneralQuantum@reddit

Ah okay, just amazed to come here with basically nothing and earning top 1% within 10 years.

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Threatening-Silence@reddit

I guess it is. But I always get downvotes when I tell our story. Human nature I guess.

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Pinkelderflower@reddit

Ignore it! Congrats to you! We should celebrate whatever income goals people set for themselves

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Pargula_@reddit

I suspect that they are educated.

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Pinkelderflower@reddit

Why? I mean it seems they are but higher education does not necessarily mean a higher income!

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

I’m getting to the point where I feel like I’ve got the experience to begin looking at contract roles with high day rates. Once I move into that line of work we could realistically pay a mortgage off in 15 years. That would be nice.

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Threatening-Silence@reddit

That sounds like a great plan! A lot of people here are jealously downvoting aspirational comments, but success is possible and even likely with the right attitude. Keep it up!

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Thi13een@reddit

Ohhhhh piss off

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Pinkelderflower@reddit

Make it for me would be an income of at least 300k a year. I’m very interested in food production and would like to be able to buy land for community grown food projects in different areas.

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The_Professor2112@reddit

Midlife crisis at 30? Good lord.

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peachandbetty@reddit

Well When I was 24 and on 20k, I turned around to my boyfriend and said "if I can just get to 30k, you can quit your job and we can live well." I'm now 35 on 40k and I feel no richer than I was at 24. So yeah. I don't think it's possible to put a number on it.

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Unlikely_Concept5107@reddit

It’s crazy eh? I was on £30k at 30, single with my own little flat. Knocking on the door of 40 now with a house and 2 kids support on £55k. No prizes for guessing when I had more disposable cash!

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seanyc5@reddit

Bear in mind 30k 10 years ago is 39k today though. So you are up 16k in reality with far more outgoings so its not really surprising.

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coppertruth@reddit

Yeah I'm on £35k and considering picking up casual work on the side :(

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Independent_Range171@reddit

Similar here and pisses me right off 🤣

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_eye_feel_pineal_@reddit

The idea of needing to "make it" is based upon the ego. The ego is based upon dissatisfaction. Ergo, if you have more than you had, you will then want more. Therefore, I believe the answer to this question is "more than you currently have." The idea of success being a destination is a phantom that has destroyed many a man.

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cpaulc57@reddit

It's great that you are in a happy place. Congrats, and long may that feeling continue. I have just passed retirement age but am continuing to work as it gives us the income to have a pleasant life. While I have had a comfortable income for the last 20 or so years, it is only the last five or so I have actually felt 'ok I'm happy with that'.

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anonymouse39993@reddit

Mid life 30?

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

Early midlife I guess. 30 seems significant in a way 20 didn’t

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ItemAdventurous9833@reddit

30 is baby

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M-atthew147s@reddit

Bitch that's not what mid life means at all

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GlumWasabi954@reddit

I feel a lot of the mid life crisis feelings start after the home purchase and child part, when a lot of the freedom you're used to takes a massive hit. Parenthood and everything is truly incredible but at times very challenging on your relationship and mental health. I'd honestly say make sure you've truly enjoyed all that you want to as just a couple before taking the next step.

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lumpnsnots@reddit

You probably have around 40 years until you reach normal retirement age. Absolutely no way you are anything but young working life. I'm 42. First 'career' job when I was 22 so I've been 'working' for 20 years and have probably 25 years until retirement. That's early midlife in my mind

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anonymouse39993@reddit

I turned 30 last year, no different honestly.

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Opposite_Wish_8956@reddit

Age 30 means you’ll have been working for 5-10 years, assuming university education. I think people should add another 15-20 years on top before considering themselves at mid life.

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NeighborhoodLow8503@reddit

What a depressing view to consider yourself mid-life only when referring to working life. 35-45 is mid life no matter how long you’ve been working. You don’t live longer being in work.

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Comfortable_Object98@reddit

It's obviously arbitrary, but, I think most people consider 40-60 to be midlife, rather than life expectancy/2. What I know for sure is noone considers 30 as midlife.. except OP.

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JammyBurger@reddit

30 is much closer to midlife than 60 is. unless youre planning on living to 100

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Zenafa@reddit

I find this view more depressing, as I'd rather not be midlife thanks

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Sway_RL@reddit

Arguably you have a shorter life in work.

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DebunkedTheory@reddit

50 is midlife? Who's betting they'll live to 100?

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Richeh@reddit

Midlife doesn't mean actual middle-of-life; it means not young, not old.

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Jenkes_of_Wolverton@reddit

See Erikson's 8 stages of psychosocial development: * Infancy - under 1 yr - Can I trust the world? * Toddlerhood - 1-2 yrs - Is it okay to be me? * Early Childhood - 3-6 yrs - Is it okay for me to do, move, and act? * Middle Childhood - 7-10 yrs - Can I make it in the world of people and things? * Adolescence - 11-19 yrs - Who am I? Who can I be? * Early Adulthood - 20-44 yrs - Can I unite myself with another person? * Middle Adulthood - 45-64 yrs - Can I make my life count? * Late Adulthood - 65 yrs and older - Is it okay to have been me?

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Humble_Affect_1653@reddit

5-10 years working at the age of 30?? I started working at 16 and still completed college and uni. I turn 31 next month

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BackSignificant544@reddit

They probably mean full time career.

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Humble_Affect_1653@reddit

I managed to hold down full time work and still complete college and uni

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Zenafa@reddit

Congrats?

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Humble_Affect_1653@reddit

Thanks!

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Life_in_China@reddit

Well whoopie doo. That's literally not possible for everyone.

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BackSignificant544@reddit

Ok? No one was talking about you

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AgeingChopper@reddit

yeah, if us blokes are living about 80 years (having gone backwards unless you are rich) then forty was midlife. It depends on your physiology and your wealth. I looked at the median for people with my condition the other day, 65. But yeah generally it's probably 40 onwards.

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Alfredius@reddit

That would make a quarter life crisis at 15. Don’t you know that people completely expire by 60? /s

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TalosAnthena@reddit

You just made me feel really depressed when you’re saying our age of 30 is mid life lol We just got out of our youth! Got another 10 years yet at least until we’re mid life

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GRAWRGER@reddit

curious where you live to afford a large 3 bedroom on that?

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anonymouse39993@reddit

Cambridgeshire We extended our home bought for 193k in 2018 With the extension (large kitchen 10m long, utility room, downstairs shower room) House is worth about 350-400k now I wouldn’t afford this if I was to buy it as is.

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GRAWRGER@reddit

im in the US trying to get a sense of what i might be able to afford when the time comes. its frustrating because your real estate websites are not as user friendly as the ones over here. im used to seeing a tool on every listing page which allows you to input your down payment and mortgage rate, and it gives you a rough monthly cost estimate that includes your mortgage + taxes + insurance. not finding any similar tool to use for houses in england :/

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anonymouse39993@reddit

So typically you can get a mortgage in the uk 4.5x your gross pre tax income, minimum deposit would be 5% but 10% is more common So say your income was 60k you could have a mortgage of 270k plus 10% deposit would afford a house of 297k.

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Fit-Vanilla-3405@reddit

Don’t combine the fixing up with the kid. Top tip. Also if your wife wants to stay working - that’s 15k on full time nursery. If the next step is a house and a kid, the lifestyle takes a hit.

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Pea_Peeler@reddit

*you and your wife want to stay working - why assume it’ll be the woman staying at home

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Fit-Vanilla-3405@reddit

💯correct and I stand super very corrected and told. I would never stay home (f42) but if my husband earned less and it was financially necessary it would absolutely be on the table. Or if it’s something he felt compelled to do and we could afford it - same. Absolutely in the wrong. Statistically though, it’s the wife cause of misogyny (like mine) and pay gap and low pay for professions with more women.

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ItemAdventurous9833@reddit

Very graceful comment this

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WittyCranberry5636@reddit

Wish someone had told me that before we bought the current place with a 3 month old baby too. It’s tough! Even if you have the funds. You lack the mental energy some days due to lack of sleep. We’ve got through the first few months and fixed all the essential bits… but jeez. I would not recommend it.

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Fit-Vanilla-3405@reddit

Yea I think we probably almost divorced and I had at least 3 nervous breakdowns and we didn’t fix a lot of the essential bits and lived in like 3 rooms of the house. Maybe because we have no family and no one else ever helped with the kid until nursery - but yea it was hell. I know someone whose kid goes with grandma 1 on Mon+Tues and grandma and grandpa 2 on Thurs + overnight to Friday… and like yea I could have done my house if we had that.

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WittyCranberry5636@reddit

We have family come visit on the weekends or sometimes in the week and watch the little one for maybe an hour or so here and there. But it’s barely enough to get one small job done and then I’m back at work for the week. We’ve had to pay a lot of external people to come in and do certain things. There is a lot of stuff I wouldn’t even be able to do myself. We’re at a calm phase now where most of the house is livable, but it’s the calm before the storm as we plan to reconfigure a lot of the downstairs! 😬

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Monkeylovesfood@reddit

We bought ours 4 months after the positive pregnancy test so did the whole new baby plus renovation thing at the same time. The sooner you can afford to get on the property ladder the better. New baby or not. Housing has only ever become more expensive. As long as you make sure you can afford to hold through the dips buy as soon as you can. I took a 8yr career break after having kids which made a fairly large dent in career progression but 5yrs after starting work again I'm progressing nicely. For us the financial/lifestyle hit was worth it. Point being, do what works for you. There's no right or wrong. We all have different goals, responsibilities and priorities so what others do has no relevance.

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Fit-Vanilla-3405@reddit

I’m sure there are people who buy a fixer upper and a cute pregnant lady and her beau fix it up until the day she gives birth and then in between feeds and naps. Or you buy a fixer upper and live in squalor and wreckage without several rooms of a 3 bed house for a year because you can’t put your baby down - not even for a nap. Maybe that’s worth getting on the ladder for some people. I would not do it again, for my mental health, marriage and the anxiety. But yea to each their own.

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ChancePattern@reddit

> that’s 15k on full time nursery Would have loved if it was only 15k

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telfman123@reddit

Yeah for real. Full time nursery is like 2k a month isnt it ?! Im in the south east so maybe more expensive?

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Not_Ali_A@reddit

It's 2k a month, post tax. So it's costing you 24k, but it takes a salary of 30k to pay for it.

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ChancePattern@reddit

yeah ours is at about 1,800/month. Brutal

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jacobs-tech-tavern@reddit

Yup that's about right. Willing grandparents are worth their weight in gold

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Fit-Vanilla-3405@reddit

Birmingham with the 2k discount - so depends on the location.

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S4h1l_4l1@reddit

My parents never sent me or my siblings to a nursery as my mum thought it was the mother’s job to look after her children, not some random company. So my parents ended up saving a lot of money. I did go to my primary school nursery though for a few months.

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JimmyJonJackson420@reddit

What years and years ago when things were completely different economically so she could actually afford to stay at home? Well colour me surprised

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Fit-Vanilla-3405@reddit

I wouldn’t save a lot of money cause I make 40k and if I stayed at home the combined income would take a 40k hit - not just a 15k hit. So maybe your mom saved money cause she made less than nursery cost, which is a fair reason to stay home. I spent 23 years in education to have my job so I’m not giving it up for a kid (however much I like her). Also, in this generation parents who work full time spend more time playing and interacting with their kids than SAHMs in earlier generations.

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S4h1l_4l1@reddit

I think it was an overstatement that my parents saved a lot of money, I meant they saved money. Also why am I getting downvoted.

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Fit-Vanilla-3405@reddit

Yea but women who work in a lot of jobs wouldn’t save money at all was my point. I’d lose 25k. I didn’t downvote you but it was sort of implying that staying home was the best way to save money and/or be home with your kids. Most women who work outside of the home *have to*… they have no choice. There’s no saving money, it’s losing money. Even me, who would never stay home ever, could not ever afford to stay home because my lifestyle (modest though it may be) relies on 2 incomes.

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AussieHxC@reddit

> Also if your wife wants to stay working - that’s 15k on full time nursery. But if they give it up that's no pension contributions or NI aswell as a further gap in her effective career.

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Samtpfoten@reddit

You don't give up NI if you become a stay at home parent! The person who receives child benefit gets NI credits. Doesn't make up for pension etc but just FYI.

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paperpangolin@reddit

Sign up for Child Benefit - they can opt out of receiving the payments if OP earns higher than the £60k threshold but it means her NI contributions are paid.

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Killgore_Salmon@reddit

When the income my investments earn pays for my daily life, I have made it.

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cilbirwithostrichegg@reddit

That’s the answer. That’s usually a NW of £2-3m.

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hello__monkey@reddit

At 4.5% withdrawal rate that’s £90k-£135 p.a. You have either a high income or a much lower planned withdrawal rate.

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Killgore_Salmon@reddit

High income - taking 90-135k per year in retirement is a step down but wo having to work it’s cool

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cilbirwithostrichegg@reddit

Former. Just around the upper end of that range.

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opopkl@reddit

Honestly, investing into a pension is always a good thing to do. Retirement might seem a long way away, but without a pension it'll be even further away.

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PushDiscombobulated8@reddit

Pensions are not worth much these days IMO. I’m 24 and likely won’t be able to receive a pension until I’m 70. Couple that with the extra tax when you do eventually retire… No thanks. Would much rather have that money in my pocket now and invest. I purchased my first home last year. Saving for a 2nd

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Killgore_Salmon@reddit

Employer pension or SIPP can be accessed at 55

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blackcountrychips@reddit

Private pensions you can take out earlier. Surely people know this.

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thedonkeyman@reddit

It is basic pension knowledge, but it's shocking how much more education the average person needs on how to manage their finances effectively. It's not even their fault, generally; this country doesn't put nearly as much emphasis on it as it deserves.

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opopkl@reddit

You get tax relief on pension contributions now and 25% tax free when you withdraw a pension. If you think you’re going to need money in later life (who doesn’t?);then it makes sense. If you sell any property that you don’t live in, later on, then you’ll be liable for capital gains tax.

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cjberra@reddit

He's talking about private pensions, which you'd be absolutely insane not to take advantage of.

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Least_Initiative@reddit

Additional points to what others have said: - you are missing out on a minimum 3% tax free pay rise - I don't understand the tax issue, you get taxed on it whether you take it now or later?

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anewpath123@reddit

You can withdraw at 55 currently, going up to 57. If you're investing in an ISA and putting money in your pension it's a no brainer imo. The tax advantages of both are very good. I plan to use my ISA investments from the age of ~50-55 and draw from my pension from whatever age it is at when I get to that age bracket. Not sure why you wouldn't do this unless you don't expect to live past 60 or so

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cloppyfawk@reddit

I don't think that was the point of his post.

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opopkl@reddit

It's possible to live off your investments if you've put money into a pension. Some people don't realise that, they think you have to be some kind of financial wizard and play the stock market. I'm sorry if my slight deviation from the thread broke the internet.

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Iamonreddit@reddit

They mean you can't live off your pension until you are actually old enough to draw down on that pension.

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opopkl@reddit

What 's the point of investing, if not for your future?

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---x__x---@reddit

I think he/she meant they would feel like they have “made it” if they had a stock portfolio that paid dividends that were enough to live on. That was my interpretation of the comment at least.

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Iamonreddit@reddit

Because they were wanting to invest for a future that is closer than the future in which you can access your pension funds. No one is saying to not invest in your pension.

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Extension_Drummer_85@reddit

Pensions in the U.K. are terrible value for money, smarter to invest yourself.

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random_banana_bloke@reddit

Wait what? My work pension I can put in 5% employer matches 5% (i put in more than this) the money is taken before tax and allows me to sacrifice down to ignore tax issues. My work pension I then invest in the Global all cap (Aviva equivalent) which has yielded just as good returns as my normal investment accounts (give or take). SIPP's are a great tax vehicle....

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Extension_Drummer_85@reddit

The fees that funds charge here are extortionate. Better to self manage if possible.

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HonestSonsieFace@reddit

My Vanguard US tracker in my SIPP charges 0.1% p.a. ongoing charge. It’s currently on +55% return in the last 3 years. So for £100,000 investment, making 50 odd grand return. Would have cost £100 a year in fees. If you think that’s extortionate and better to try to self manage your investments then good luck!

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Extension_Drummer_85@reddit

You realise that a SIPP is self managed right? I'm talking about pension funds.

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HonestSonsieFace@reddit

There’s very few defined contribution pension schemes now (post pension freedoms) that don’t have a self selection range. If you mean leaving your money in an actively-managed lifestyle profile that your company selects as a default then, sure, perhaps. But even then, the max fees that can be charged on default funds has been hammered down by regulation. Even an active default fund can’t be over 50bps last time I was involved in that area and those funds at least automatically de risk.

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MovieMore4352@reddit

Yeah, I put 6% in and get 15% off my employer. Be made not too. I could but less in but employer top up scales up and down accordingly so just put it what I can to get the most bang for my buck.

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opopkl@reddit

There are tax advantages. You get tax relief on contributions and you get 25% tax free allowance on withdrawal. It was true that pensions were terrible value when you had to buy an annuity, but pension freedoms after 2015 changed all that. You can invest in pensions yourself. If you’re putting money into an ISA for after retirement, you might as well put it into a pension.

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neilm1000@reddit

>Pensions in the U.K. are terrible value for money, smarter to invest yourself. NEST especially is utterly dreadful. It needs a massive kick up the backside.

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Iain_Geddes@reddit

Great answer!

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wavingneon@reddit

Same here. I invested into a property in another country for 10k£ some years ago. Put it into airbnb. It has paid itself for the whole value (£120k) I am on my way to buy now my 4th house, and I haven’t seen any income just yet. Will continue reinvesting as long as I can. Might achieve early retirement!!!

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FatUrbanSloth@reddit

Housing shouldn't be an investment.

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wavingneon@reddit

Why not

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FatUrbanSloth@reddit

Do you think increasing housing/rental prices increase or decrease the difference between us and billionaires? My statement applies to billionaires as well, housing shouldn't be an investment. It seems like you're trying to become more like a billionaire rather than trying to decrease the gap between everyone and billionaires.

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wavingneon@reddit

I invest in the global stock market I am already doing REITs investment. Why not do it myself?

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goin-up-the-country@reddit

That's my answer, too. FIRE.

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Lordofthewhales@reddit

When do you plan for that to happen?

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casuallybrowsing21@reddit

Honestly 25k seemed like a good wage when I was on 18k. Thanks to the current financial climate 25k feels like 18k did.

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lady-peace@reddit

29yo-F with £ 4,441.96 monthly after taxes; we live quite and it was higher than what I thought I could ever earn and want, though not having a house / no kids / and wife doesn't work due disability means I am saving most of it to improve situation

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w3stw0rld@reddit

I have made it. But my mortgage says otherwise.

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KatVanWall@reddit

Annual income from freelancing hovering around the £25k mark. If I can make it to £30k I’ll feel a lot more comfortable. £35k and I’ll consider myself pretty flush. (But by that time cost of living will probably have doubled lol)

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Sure_Jellyfish8926@reddit

Honestly nothing too extreme. I’d be happy making 30k a year. That would make me feel successful. To really feel like I’d made it somewhere probably around 35k a year.

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Kurtinhoooo@reddit

Christ, if you’re in a place to buy a fixer upper on a dual income of over £5000 a month, I have no chance.

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PoloValentino@reddit

Believe me, you can have a dual income far higher than this and still be struggling to buy a place in ldn

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moatec@reddit

We have a dual income of over 200k pa but with 2 young kids we still moved away from London. Crazy times.

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simonsail@reddit

I really struggle to believe that you can't live comfortably literally anywhere with an annual salary of over £200k. Where were you living in London?!

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Dapper_Otters@reddit

One thing I've learned here is that, no matter how ludicrously high the salary is, someone will inevitably come along to tell you that it's not that much really and they aren't exactly well off.

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According_Ad2783@reddit

The thing is, £100k isn't ludicrously high. People are being employed by companies around the world that are making billions a quarter. There's thousands upon thousands of these companies. UK people have been underpaid for so long everyone believes that small salaries like £70k are living like some sort of king. You can get paid $100k+ in the states for entry level skilled roles. Store Managers can get these sort of salaries. We're being mugged off.

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Vice932@reddit

Sorry but no 100k is high. America is the richest country In the world, it’s like if we’re living in Turkey and you start comparing us to the UK. Plus their average way of living is different compared to ours. The biggest problem here is tax. Tax is too high and it’s unfair that those on 50k are considered high earners. Imo that should begin from 70k onwards.

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According_Ad2783@reddit

UK is like Turkey compared to the US? Not sure I agree, US and UK are two of the most similar countries that exist. CoL is marginally higher in the states, groceries, insurance etc. However fuel is cheaper, the housing market is only bad in major cities and it's comparable to nice parts of London now. I agree about tax for high earners. Tax here is a joke, high earners are punished. There's no doubt the government could collect more tax from these businesses earning billions in the UK, but choose to punch the few percent of people doing well.

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Every_Piece_5139@reddit

You’re in a bubble. It is high, maybe not ludicrously. Would you be happy to pay more tax to increase nurse salaries ? I look after critically ill patients, loads of responsibility and autonomy. 25 years experience and never really earned more than £32k.

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According_Ad2783@reddit

I've paid more tax than you've earned this year by a significant amount. I wouldn't be happier paying more since we're carrying the income tax bill as it is.

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stickyjam@reddit

> I've paid more tax than you've earned this year by a significant amount. Was that voluntarily? O no it's cause you took home more.. what a silly comment!

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According_Ad2783@reddit

Only on UK subreddits can you advocate for higher salaries and still be the enemy. Bunch of weirdos.

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HideousTits@reddit

You’re advocating for higher private sector salaries whilst stating you would be unhappy to pay higher taxes so that public sector workers are also paid more. Of course people think you’re a dick.

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-TraditionalOrange-@reddit

What do you think happens to tax revenues with higher private sector salaries?

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HideousTits@reddit

Ah! The old trickle down bullshit. Nice

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-TraditionalOrange-@reddit

No. If the average income goes then so does the tax revenues. The economic illiteracy in this sub is mind dumbing.

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Due-Employ-7886@reddit

I mean that's just bad maths If you pay someone an extra £100 out of the public purse you're right you would get a higher tax take.....roughly £30 extra which is still a net -£70 for the budget.

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-TraditionalOrange-@reddit

We aren't on about public sector salaries.

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Due-Employ-7886@reddit

Oops, my bad

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Every_Piece_5139@reddit

What've you got against public sector workers ? Why don’t they deserve a higher salary ?

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According_Ad2783@reddit

They do, but I don't think high earners should be taxed more to pay for it. Everyone else should be paid more.

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Every_Piece_5139@reddit

Lol hope you never need crit care. What an abysmal attitude. All the money no interpersonal skills.

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Speedbird223@reddit

I moved from the UK to the US after University. Maybe I’ve got blasé in the years since but the numbers people quote on here for their incomes and salaries seem staggeringly low, as in, I don’t know how you survive low… I live in NYC…village police officers can make $200k with overtime, train conductors can make $100k…yes, the cost of living is high in some ways (my council tax is about 4% of my home’s value annually) but when people quote £30k/yr salaries I’m mouth agape…

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According_Ad2783@reddit

Sad isn't it. I guess everyone is happy slaving away for peanuts.

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Grasses4Asses@reddit

Surely our money goes futher here then? Or are Americans just insanely acclimatised to overconsumption.

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naynaeve@reddit

There is a reason people are protesting in every sector in the UK. Pay is not enough.

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AdaptedMix@reddit

Who says we're happy?

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ParadisHeights@reddit

But the states is way more rich compared to us. It’s why we shouldn’t compare ourselves to Colombia for example.

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SteelSparks@reddit

That’s true today. But even as recently as 14 years ago the UK and USA were on the same level per capita. UK has stagnated for too long. It hurts to see it.

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ParadisHeights@reddit

You’re right in saying that. Back in 2005 the £ was double the dollar. Now it’s barely over 1.25x. How far we have fallen.

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landland24@reddit

I'm sorry but earning 100k+ in the UK is nearly X3 the average salary, might not be ludacris but it's certainly very high True it's probably easier to reach $100k but the cost of living is higher too so it's not really like for like. Also in the UK we have a healthcare system, about 20 more days holiday per year, pensions, social safety nets, lower university tuition etc Maybe for a small band of highly skilled or highly motivated professionals there is a higher ceiling in the US, but the vast majority of us are better off here

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MagpieMelon@reddit

Earning £60k a year or over puts you in the top 10% of earners in the UK. The top 5% is £87k or over. The top 1% is 183k per year or over. It's crazy how it's just accepted. I earn over minimum and the living wage but nowhere near even the average £35k for the UK as a whole. I live near London and in a high cost of living area and I'm struggling. Even £35k feels out of my reach let alone something like £60k. And I trained and qualified, just in the wrong sector it seems, though the sector I qualified in is understaffed. I went to management in another sector but that wasn't great pay so now I'm in a different sector and hoping to at least survive. My boyfriend is a store manager and he barely gets £35k.

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BlitzballPlayer@reddit

I think it really depends where in the US you are, though. NYC and San Francisco have higher average rents/house prices than London. They also have to factor in health insurance. So, people living in those places have to earn higher salaries than they would in the UK to do well.

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whispersandwolves-x@reddit

This! My husband and I earn £135k(ish) between us. We live in the midlands, granted an expensive area. We have a dog, no kids yet. This is more than my dad earned at the height of his career, if only by a small amount. He retired in 2018. He sustained a family of 5 (mum didn’t work), bought a 6 bedroom Manor House with land and also bought three(!) 2-3 bed properties as investments. I’ve been brought up to be very careful with my spending - we don’t go on extravagant holidays or buy expensive things (e.g. we shop at Aldi), we go out to eat maybe once every four months. We are admittedly comfortable, able to save for retirement, and don’t have money worries keeping us up at night. The biggest difference is that we live in an average 3 bed property on an estate. Could possibly stretch to a nicer 4 bed if we took (in my view) way too much risk on the mortgage. It’s a bit upsetting when people still throw around £100k as if it’s the height of wealth. Perhaps it was true for the older generation, but it’s not the same now. Yes it’s a lot compared to some, I do appreciate that, but we’ve worked incredibly hard to get to where we are, and it feels like we have very little to show for it in comparison. Makes you wonder if the stress of a high paying job is even worth it. It’s quite depressing. Fully expecting to get flak for this but people need to open their eyes and re-assess what earning a high salary actually is in numbers these days. Because it’s absolutely not this magical £100k figure.

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Croissant70@reddit

You’re delusional, 99% of the population will never get to this household income, especially without children. Same for the person below saying that £70k is nothing in the southeast, once again most people don’t even have that as household income.

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ueegul@reddit

Bollocks. Between my partner and I we earn £60k, live in a nice area, 2 cars, no credit card debt etc. Like you >we don’t go on extravagant holidays or buy expensive things (e.g. we shop at Aldi), we go out to eat maybe once every four months. But we're also comfortable, put money aside for savings, and feel like we're doing well. But if we were to earn £135k(ish), more than double what we're on now, it would absolutely feel like the height of wealth. Of course it's a high salary. We would have so much money to play around with. Unless you're up to your eyeballs in debt you're deluding yourself if you're depressed it's not enough money. Yes you should get flak for your comment. You should open your eyes and reassess how well off you are.

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stickyjam@reddit

> Fully expecting to get flak The only comment I really have is you must be saving hard, Aldi and eating out 4monthly and only feel comfortable? Im well aware you aren't hiring yachts but you must have thousands technically spare a month!

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Otherwise-Event-8036@reddit

Yes completely agree with you. I’ve been saying this for a while £100k isn’t what it used to be. It doesn’t stretch far at all. You are more lucky in the midlands, in the south east it’s nothing.

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Every_Piece_5139@reddit

Some of us are in highly stressful jobs and work really really hard too. I’m an ICU nurse with years of experience and paid badly. I earn half what you do and decisions I make impact massively on my patients progress. Sorry but you need to open your eyes. £75k in the midlands is fine.

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whispersandwolves-x@reddit

Just because I said I worked hard to get to where I am doesn’t mean I don’t think other people don’t work hard?? I used to be a civil servant, I’ve been there. And I know it’s fine. I said that we are comfortable. The point I’m making is it’s very different to what it used to be - we’re not ‘rich’ in the way that many would assume.

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spectrumero@reddit

A lot of the problem is poor productivity. The US is staggeringly more productive per work hour than the UK. (This isn't the fault of the workers, by the way, it's usually very poor management. As an anecdotal case, I know of one factory in the north west which when the management changed, went from the least productive factory in the company to the best - all while having the same workforce made up of the same people).

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According_Ad2783@reddit

I don't doubt it. I also wouldn't say the worker is exactly productive. Read any post on a UK subreddit about work and you'll realise most people barely lift a finger all day while simultaneously complaining they're underpaid.

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DifferentImplement27@reddit

Small salaries?? That’s double my wage

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According_Ad2783@reddit

You're poorly paid that's why

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AttackoftheHats@reddit

Poster's delusional - median household income in USA is $74k (=£58k). There isn't a country on earth where £70k is a small salary.

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Cub3h@reddit

The US is way richer than we are. We're still thinking there's parity that there used to be but they've pulled well ahead of Europe in the last couple of decades. They also pay a ton on healthcare each month + their groceries have gone through the roof.

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cmannett85@reddit

The opposite is true too. No matter how much you're struggling with your wage, there's always someone doing fine on nothing. I think it's just social media being social media.

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TheIncontrovert@reddit

I get by just fine on 22k a year. Its enough when your single w/o kids in a cheaper part of the country. Bit scary to have a mortgage though. I've only got about 2 months of an emergency fund saved.

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NoTurkeyTWYJYFM@reddit

Lifestyle creep is real It's still insane to me that someone on that much struggled with their money though

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Every_Piece_5139@reddit

Agree. More to do with money management and expectations.

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BlitzballPlayer@reddit

Absolutely, and it's also interesting to hear what different people say they'd need to win/inherit to never have to work again. Answers seem to range between £500,000 and £10m (and some people will still say even £10m doesn't go that far these days).

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BambiiDextrous@reddit

It's really just housing costs though and it's a valid point. Someone on 20K but who owns their home outright can be much more financially comfortable than a £100k earner with a crippling mortgage. Your position on the housing ladder is now just as relevant to your QOL if not more so than your salary.

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PuddlestonDuck@reddit

Also for OP specifically - we moved from London after ten years back to the NE England to buy where we grew up. If we’d bought down South I would probably still on balance describe our life as “comfortable” it’s just nowhere near as comfortable as it is back up here, we’re talking a one bed apartment vs a 3 bed house with a big garden and a garage. I still think that’s valid example to bring up when discussing house prices in the UK. Just because you can afford to buy somewhere doesn’t make the price sane.

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PoloValentino@reddit

This is it.

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ExcellentMix2814@reddit

I totally agree with this! It's all about keeping your expenses low and being able to leave jobs you don't like or working part time.

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OrbitalArtillery2082@reddit

I have to mentally swap 100k for 50k in these threads to get an accurate gauge of how broke the UK is.

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Mean_Lengthiness_852@reddit

Depends on before tax or not. If they're talking about take-home, they are shit with money. Might have loads of loans, 2 fancy cars on finance and mortgage to the hilt.

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Active78@reddit

Agreed but definitely a LOT more comfortable outside London, remember taxes are ludicrous on high salaries. If one is on say 140k, after 5% pension (low on that salary) and student loan plan 2, that's 70k a year, HALF the whole income gone. The other then on 60k, also 5% pension and plan 2 loan, that's 39k a year. So 109k total. Or 9k/month. Living in zone 3 let's say, if you have kids, a 3 bed terraced in a safer area with decent schools will set you back 3k/month. Plus bills and council tax probably around 3.6k a month. As both are above 60k salary and one above 100k, you lose all child care benefits/allowances. So child care costs whilst working, even for 1 child are about 1.3k on the low side in London, per month. So that 17k per month gross income splits as follows: 8.5k tax 3.6k housing 1.3k childcare Leaving 3.6k for all else, which again is comfortable, food and travel probably 600-700/month each, still leaves 2k ish (phone bills, gym, holidays) That means saving approx 20-25k a year if theyre not going on holiday or spending in any way lavish, to buy that house they're renting for 3k/month, it's probably worth 800k, they'd need to save for 5 years or so to get the deposit+fees, assuming the price hasnt rocketed by then. Now if they have 2 kids needing car, that 2k/month without holidays or lavish spending could drop to 1k/month. Again its not bad, but you'd feel a LOT more comfortable buying outside London and having that 3k rent go to a 1k mortgage.

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ZestycloseService@reddit

Damn, still though 3k spare a month seems like a lot to me! Since I only make about 2k lmao, and I feel really well off compared to a lot of people.

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DuckSaxaphone@reddit

Honestly I kind of believe it. Between my partner and I we're on £140K. We live in a one bed flat and would struggle to afford a two bed. We've looked and it means spending so much on a mortgage that we'd be getting by rather than living well. So if we wanted kids, I don't know how we'd do it even on £200k. An extra 60K becomes 30k after tax, that's £2.5k per month. A 3 bedroom house would probably add £2.5k/month to the mortgage and then I've not even considered the cost of the kids beyond living space. House prices in London are catastrophically bad. If you got on the housing ladder 10 years ago, I can see being extremely comfortable on £200k. If you're getting on it in 2020s, you're gonna struggle.

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woods_edge@reddit

With two kids and that income I’m guessing that is fully time childcare, which is considerably more than most peoples mortgages. We have one child in nursery 3 days a week and that costs us more per month than our mortgage.

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Used-Fennel-7733@reddit

Well if you get a daily Starbucks each then that quickly drops to 195. Then buy a £3 sandwich every day for lunch at work and you're at 193. An annual oyster card each and that's another 5k gone. You're already down over 5% No matter what you earn someone will be earning the same and struggling as they spend much more on consumables and 'fun' purchases

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Ok_Basil1354@reddit

You can live. Definitely. Comfortably? Less so. We did have a house in London but when we were thinking of having kids, it became financially unviable. The local schools were awful and our jobs didn't allow us to be driving miles every morning to a far off postcode for a better one. We couldnt afford private school and we couldn't afford to live in areas with better schools (to be honest we couldn't afford to move at all within london- we were lucky to get a house when we did). I mean- we could have downsized to a 2 bed flat or something in a slightly better area but not a lot more. But with plans to start a family, that's not attractive. And there are still vast swathes of the city which were, and will always be, out of our budget. Zone 1-2 for example. We had to move out of London to be able to afford a house near good schools. And even within the commuter belt things are still expensive. If we were buying our current house now (4 bed house, nothing special) and assuming a 25% deposit, the mortgage would be over £5k a month. Chuck in two kids in nursery and you are at almost £8k. Add council tax and energy, travel for 2 to london, and you are getting close to £10k. I'm not pleading poverty but there isn't a lot left over even from a £200k annual salary.

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Invictus_0x90_@reddit

The other thing people are failing to grasp which really fucks me off is tax and income split. If their dual income is say 150k/50k they're not particularly well off at all. Me and my partner are technically on over 100k, but I make 95% of that. We would be so much better off if I earnt 50k less and she earnt 30k more.

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Ok_Basil1354@reddit

There is a 60% tax rate over £100k. Which can be effectively 100%+ for certain families. I agree on taxation as a family unit- no system will be perfect but single income households are at a real disadvantage. Again- Im not pleading poverty or asking for sympathy. I'm just trying to demonstrate that a six figure salary doesn't give me the lifestyle I assumed it would when I started my career.

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Invictus_0x90_@reddit

I don't disagree. People seem completely unable to grasp how taxes work, like a couple of people I met couldn't believe their combined salary of 80k was a lot more take home than my 95. I think in general people think anything like 100k salary is "living large", and then to take it further people at this level should be taxed more, it's just pure ignorance

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AttackoftheHats@reddit

5k a month implies a £1.2m house with a 900k mortgage (25 years @ 4.6%). £1.2 million gets you a big family home with a big garden in Oxshott or Sevenoaks or in any other expensive commuter town. I understand that you burn through most of your cash every month, but I really think that being able to afford to live in a million pound house in Surrey falls within most people's definitions of living comfortably.

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Ok_Basil1354@reddit

Can't afford surrey- £1.2m isnt going to get you that sort of house in oxshott. And we can live comfortably. We do. Because we dont live in London. If 200k affords you a 4 bed house in commuter belt and kids in nursery (and it does) that's living comfortably, no doubt. I'm just pointing out that it's not enough to give you that life inside london, or to allow you to live like a king. I have no idea how young people can afford to live in London other than renting. The only reason I can afford the life I have is because I got on the property ladder in my 20s - we could never have saved the money needed for the deposit for anything now. House prices HAVE to come down, it's just ridiculous

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limpingdba@reddit

In London you'd live. In Manchester or similar you can live like a king.

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Every_Piece_5139@reddit

The reason folk love London are the opportunities on offer. Try being a young person looking for a decent job or apprenticeship up here. There’s a pay off as to why certain areas are so cheap. In certain parts of Manchester prices are almost as high.

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limpingdba@reddit

Housing is nowhere near as high, even in the most central places. There's also plenty of opportunities for young people. But OP isn't a young person struggling, he's an established professional.

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kebabby72@reddit

Some people don't understand because they've never been in that tax bracket. Sounds a lot but after tax, it's a lot less than you think.

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Every_Piece_5139@reddit

How do less well paid people get on ? On NMW ? On public services wages ?

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moatec@reddit

This person gets it

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monitorsareprison@reddit

seems crazy to me as well, though i dont live in london nor have i ever had that kinda wage. my automatic presumption is people who struggle on that kind of money have a lot of purchases on finance. theres a thing called "wage inflation" people tend to buy more and more expensive things as their wage gets higher so they still end up in financial trouble even though on a great wage.

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Trick_Battle4851@reddit

It’s kinda to be expected I suppose. If you work your ass off your whole life to get yourself into a well paying job, to many people it kinda defeats the object if at the end of it all you’re still going to live like you’re only earning a low salary. That’s the whole incentive to work a wellapaying job in the first place - a better life for you and/or your family. Some decide to save it for their retirement, children/future generations, etc, but many choose to enjoy the spoils of their hard work while they still can. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that higher earners still have as little disposable income left over at the end of each month as lower earners. They just live a more expensive lifestyle.

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monitorsareprison@reddit

Yes, some people end up with a huge wage and think they can go crazy purchasing stuff. After a few years, they find themselves in economic hardship with a high wage. Many people make the mistake of having lifestyle inflation.

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t-t-today@reddit

Honestly I think it’s more that this type of wage doesn’t buy nearly as big an increase in lifestyle as you might think and also varies per family. Two people earning good but not exceptional salaries of 60-80k with no kids are living way better than one person supporting another adult and two kids on 200k+. Then factor in the increased mortgage cost for a house big enough for a family of 4 (vs the couple who can live in a 1-bed) and you realise the disposable income of 200k evaporated without any luxury spending.

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bearchr01@reddit

Indeed. I think the single high earner makes a much bigger difference to 2 x middle earners than people realise when they just see the high figure. 60% tax rate between 100-125 and 45% thereafter makes a big difference. I haven’t done the calculations but I assume 2 people on £80k each take home more than 1 person on £200k, even though it is 40k more

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squirdelmouse@reddit

Yeah close if not more but they also probably make much lower pension contributions

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t-t-today@reddit

That is until you hit 250k and you get tapered pension allowance down to 10k. Tbh though when you hit these levels you typically are doing well (but still not FU level)

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minion_worshipper@reddit

two young kids, childcare alone could be £3k a month

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LudaUK@reddit

How will you survive on the 9k take home that is left over after that

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Trick_Battle4851@reddit

I was in London this week and passed an estate agent window. I nearly shat myself. £48k a month for a nice flat in Chiswick… £8-9M if you wanna buy one…!

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aredditusername69@reddit

Mortgage on a 4 bed property in a decent part of London would be £5K+ at todays rates.

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BritshFartFoundation@reddit

Very roughly speaking, rental rates in London are about £1k for a double room. Find it hard to believe you'd pay more for that if you owned the place and 2 of the rooms were kid sized.

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aredditusername69@reddit

Mate my mortgage on a 1 bed flat with no garden in zone 2 was £1.3k a month.

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BritshFartFoundation@reddit

That's the same price as my rented 1 bed flat in zone 2, so the landlords mortgage is probably significantly cheaper. A 1 bed flat for 1k doesn't mean a 4 bed would be 4k though, it doesn't scale 1:1 with rooms like that.

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aredditusername69@reddit

I didn't say it does. A 4 bed family home in a nice area is 900k-1m, so 5k a month with a 10% deposit.

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According_Ad2783@reddit

Have you assumed 0% pension contributions? Anyone earning this much is putting a lot into pensions to ensure they can actually take the opportunity to retire. You're probably looking at £8-9k p/m before childcare. If they've got 2 kids and a mortgage on an OK house in a decent area in London, add on the ridiculous transport costs. Remaining cash will be probably £1k per month, maybe less depending on other things.

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FatStoic@reddit

3 bedroom house/flat in london in good school catchment with reasonable commuting time for both working partners will absolutely swallow the lions share of that remainder.

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MattyLePew@reddit

That's what I'm thinking. Poor guy can barely afford the clothes on his back.n😔

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GRAWRGER@reddit

where are you getting 9k im getting 13.6

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Flaruwu@reddit

Taxes.

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Every_Piece_5139@reddit

Shouldn‘t have had kids then. As poor people are frequently told…

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T0urnad0@reddit

Well that all comes down to your definition of comfortable doesn’t it?! If you live in Chelsea and send your 3 kids to private school because the locals schools don’t meet your standards, then yeah, £200k won’t make you feel rich. Of course, you can live very comfortably in another part of London on that money. And practically everywhere in the UK you’re going to feel positively rich on £200k!

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Shifty377@reddit

You're absolutely right. Lots of finance or a very expensive lifestyle if you can't make 200k work.

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prussian_princess@reddit

200k is what I make every day, and I still can't afford a house in Slough! /s

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Honey-Badger@reddit

Hmmm, I suppose you can live comfortably in terms of a 3 bed terraced house not too far from nice areas but maybe also only a stones throw from more sketchy places. Orr you could leave London and have a detached 5 bed somewhere where the most dangerous crime is having a pint too many when leaving the lovely village pub. Perspective really, I think for many people earning 6 figures they're thinking 'I've worked so hard to get here and my lifestyle isn't reflecting that '

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FasciculatingFreak@reddit

People who are used to being wealthy waste so much money on unnecessary things you wouldn't believe.

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MagicCookie54@reddit

Yeah, if that's true then the original commenter is just terrible at managing money.

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Stowski@reddit

You definitely can, but if you can keep close to that salary and move out you could live even more comfortably

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Phainesthai@reddit

Ragebait.

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Loud-Astronaut-5807@reddit

Are you both managing directors of law firms or something?

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Nurse-Cat-356@reddit

Only if you're a Muppet with money

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Akko101@reddit

Did your ‘o’ stop working?

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Ok_Basil1354@reddit

We have income of double that. We cant afford to live in London.

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paolog@reddit

Plot twist: OP appeared on Homes in the Sun or one of those other programmes.

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pomm_queen@reddit

Plot twist: OP moves to London

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-DoctorSpaceman-@reddit

My wife and I earn about £2.5k per month total, and last year her estranged father died and turned out her left her and her sister almost £1m in his will, so you never know what might happen!

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attackoftheplops@reddit

Marvellous. What a brilliant outcome for you both.

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MassimoOsti@reddit

I’d rather have a father who was present in my life than not have that relationship and a £325k (after IHT) sweetener once he dies years later. 🤷🏿

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ginger_beer_m@reddit

Inheritance tax is 70% of that 1 mil?

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MassimoOsti@reddit

£500k per sister. Take away £175k in IHT.

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attackoftheplops@reddit

No. If he left main residence as part of the estate, then it's 500K each before any IHT. By the way, the father was estranged, so the fact he was not in their lives but still made a positive impact at the end is why I called it a 'brilliant outcome'.

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-DoctorSpaceman-@reddit

Didn’t expect to cause such an argument with my comment lol. You are correct though, in both points! He was around when she was a kid and not a good dad, to understate things. He died slowly and painfully of various cancers and we wonder if he managed some introspection about how he treated his children during this time. Unfortunate we’ll never know…

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attackoftheplops@reddit

Plus if h didn't leave a residence and just left cash, then it would be 325 + (175-40%) = 430

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lankyno8@reddit

If he was married with a pre decreased spouse and left a primary residence the allowance for the estate would be £1M. If he left only cash and wasn't married the allowance would be 325k. So tax would be due on 675k at 40% - ie 270k. So the post tax estate would be 730. So each sibling would get 375k.

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lankyno8@reddit

It's 40% of the amount above the allowance. Allowance is 325k, but if the inheritance includes their primary residence that rises to 500k. Married couples allowances can stack. So it's possible that no tax could be due on this money. If the father was unmarried and the inheritance doesn't include a primary residence then the estate would be 730k after tax - ie 375k for each sibling.

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lankyno8@reddit

If he was married with a pre decreased spouse and left a primary residence the allowance for the estate would be £1M. If he left only cash and wasn't married the allowance would be 325k. So tax would be due on 675k at 40% - ie 270k. So the post tax estate would be 730. So each sibling would get 375k.

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ladyatlanta@reddit

Not everyone is so fortunate to have their loved ones live for a long time. Get some empathy 🤷‍♀️

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eggplantsarewrong@reddit

Present doesn't always mean a good presence. I'd much rather take the £300k.

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JLB_cleanshirt@reddit

That's lovely

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stroopwafel666@reddit

In London you can be on well over double that and still not be able to buy a particularly nice place.

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

Sorry didn’t mean it as now we can finally afford it, meant it as we’re in a position now, since I can work remotely and have enough money, to really find a perfect house for us and put some real effort in. Afford some land, etc

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Kurtinhoooo@reddit

Its a great position to be in though, if you’ve got the income then go for it, and enjoy it.

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Implement_Dangerous@reddit

We have a household of about £17k/month before tax and it doesn’t feel enough sometimes! Budgeting & saving/investing 10% each month regardless of amount is key to make whatever money you have go further.

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SuperTekkers@reddit

It’s not income for me rather than net worth. A couple mil would do it for me I reckon

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Themagiciancard@reddit

For me, £30k per year. I've been stuck on mid 20s for a long time. My area doesn't have very good job opportunities and I can't afford/am unable to just pack up and leave for various reasons.

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paulruk@reddit

In my 30s I had the rough idea that I wanted to earn my age..I'm 43 now and earn above that, not massively. However, I now think it needs to be higher but I'm also now a Dad, so things change. Oh, and the county is fucked inflation etc. But while another 10k would be great, my current job offers a lot of flexibility which is very valuable.

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Yolanda-B-KL@reddit

Getting a pre-tax bonus this month of 65k. 31, feel like I’m finally getting there - like you scraped by for years and years and now feel we can enjoy London life that little more

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Necessary-Trash-8828@reddit

I read somewhere that there was a study on this done in America.. can’t for the life of me find it. But the general consensus was that it’s not actually about the number you earn, but how much you earn in comparison to the people around you. It said something like if you earn 20% more than you’re general social circle, then you’ll feel more comfortable than someone earning 20% less than their social circle

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WittyCranberry5636@reddit

I’ve thought that I’ve made it at every wage increment I’ve had. Then inflation and lifestyle creep have had me feeling poor again. Last two years I made £150k+. I still don’t feel like I have much disposable income. Mainly due to buying the “fixer upper”. What made me feel like I made it was having a family. Now my son is here that means more to me than anything. How you define “made it” is up to you and no one else.

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KloppingThePrem@reddit

I'm bringing 4k after tax myself and under no circumstances I feel that I've made it.

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Classic_Writer8573@reddit

I felt that way when I started making over $100k.

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sheepsgobahh@reddit

To start with it was when I started earning a £1k a month, but it was an hourly paid job in min wage. Then it was £2k a month where my salary is completely absorbed by my outgoings. My next goal is to be earning more than my dad at the point when he retired.

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Dutchzorr@reddit

You always set new goals is my experience. When I broke 50k I wanted 75k and now I want 200k

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Much_Fish_9794@reddit

“Midlife crisis” “turning 30 in a couple of weeks” WTF Kids nowadays thinking 30 is old LOL

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SparkyCorkers@reddit

If you have a positive balance at the end of the month. The more you earn, the more you spend. But when this reaches a point that you haven't spent everything, you are doing OK.

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uwatfordm8@reddit

I don't think it's necessarily an arbitrary number. I mean if I was a footballer on £250k a year I doubt I'd think I'd "made it". But as I am now I'd probably say £40k would at least give me a chance of owning my own place. £70k would be my career high goal.

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Princes_Slayer@reddit

Congrats! You got there at an earlier age than my partner and I, but as a couple living in NW England with no kids, reaching the £5k joint net income has given us a very comfortable lifestyle…though we are not into flashy things so that probably helps

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deafearuk@reddit

That's 2 people? Ok I figured I'd be doing ok in a few years, I pull in that just me.

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Efficient_Science_47@reddit

My wife and I pulled in around the 5k+ mark which meant our household was in the top tenth percentile for income. It never felt like we had made it. Life was a struggle. We live in the south east, so quite costly. We have 2 children. This has now doubled, and we are a single income family. Now it feels like we have made it. It just becomes a matter of lifestyle creep really. Life in the UK is just very costly.

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simonecart@reddit

Me and wife took home GBP 20k a month in Dubai. Felt nice but not “made it”. Saved 300k in about 7 years. Allowed retirement in early 50s so can’t complain.

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_mini@reddit

Once you have kids, that rate means nothing.. trust me.

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811545b2-4ff7-4041@reddit

I thought it was awsome when I hit £80K .. then realised that it's wealth, not income, that matters. Most of our money is spent. We save a decent amount, but even saving a few grand a month doesn't build wealth. Give me a a few hundred grand and it would still just get absorbed moving to a decent sized house. So I'll feel like I've 'made it' when I can live in the South, in a 4 bed detached with garage, and still can save a few grand a month.

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cohaggloo@reddit

> then realised that it's wealth, not income, that matters. This is the best answer here. I used to think getting to 100k+ would be mega riches. Now I'm earning near 200k, I've realised this level of income is just a gilt edged version of what I had before. It's a nicer house and a nicer car. I would still be just as screwed as everyone else if I lost the ability to work, it would just take slightly longer for my money to run out. The real 'making it' is owning your home and having enough wealth to be able to live without working. While I am now in the position to start building wealth, it's still going to take a long time, and it's already taken a long time to get to this level of income.

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xe3to@reddit

> even saving a few grand a month doesn't build wealth That's not remotely true. Assuming "a few" is 3... that's £36k a year. If you put that money in an investment account and achieve average 7% returns... that's £1.5M over 20 years.

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811545b2-4ff7-4041@reddit

Sweet, in 20 years I can buy a decent house!

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milzB@reddit

I think your idea of "decent" might be slightly different to the average person

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811545b2-4ff7-4041@reddit

I'd just like a garage and not hear my neighbours noise!

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milzB@reddit

lol I think my northern is showing a just can't comprehend a house costing that much

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xe3to@reddit

I was assuming you're saving a few grand *on top of* mortgage payments...

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811545b2-4ff7-4041@reddit

Oh yeh.. although we do manage to blow through about £10K a year of the savings on holidays. It's a hard life. I suspect the problem is we're surrounded by family who are 'actually rich'

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Apprehensive_Yam1732@reddit

I'm in the same boat but you can definitely build wealth long term by saving a couple of grand a month.

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811545b2-4ff7-4041@reddit

I imagine that these savings will get turned into a bigger home at some point. It's wealth I suppose!

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Weary-Ad2202@reddit

Crazy idea but... you could just *not* buy that bigger home.

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811545b2-4ff7-4041@reddit

Certainly could, but we've outgrown our current home (3-bed semi, one option is a loft extension..) and I have to expect my children will grow up and potentially live with me as adults for many years.

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barkley87@reddit

I'm with you on this! I'm on between £70k - £100k depending on bonus, and my partner and I still can't afford to buy a house we like in the area of the country we want to (the Peak District) because we don't have that wealth pile to invest into it, which makes monthly mortgage payments insane!

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811545b2-4ff7-4041@reddit

We have the fortune of being a bit older, so we bought our first home over a decade ago before houses weren't 'too mental'. House pricesi in the Peak district don't look that bad (but my head is price-anchored to St Albans!)

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barkley87@reddit

We bought our house nearly a decade ago but because we're in cheap cheap Lincolnshire, Peak District prices are a big jump for us and we don't have enough equity to put towards a deposit. I think I'd just give up all hope if I was looking in the south east!

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MichaelMyersReturns@reddit

£80k the stuff of dreams? You must be thinking about 10 years ago cos now every tom, dick and harry earns that (or equivalent cash in hand with benefits 😁) My friend with no gcse's pulls in £5k a month just himself as a driving Instructor no tax and is laughing at these idiots that go to university.

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souste@reddit

I mean I wouldn't say he's a genius he's just committing a fuckload of tax fraud lol, good for him i guess

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Shoes__Buttback@reddit

>every tom, dick and harry earns that lies like this are incredibly damaging to those that are struggling. Educate yourself here: [https://ifs.org.uk/tools\_and\_resources/where\_do\_you\_fit\_in](https://ifs.org.uk/tools_and_resources/where_do_you_fit_in) or I'll save you the click: **With a household after tax income of £1465 per week, you have a higher income than around 98% of the population - equivalent to about 65.1 million individuals.**

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MichaelMyersReturns@reddit

I think this is not correct because so many cash in hand people can hide it (tradesman, taxi drivers, instructors, tutors etc etc) I agree many work on the breadline but many do not and are hiding their real wealth. Why do you think house prices in any decent area are so high? Can a £80k a year man really afford a modest £450k semi? Would need to be a couple working their asses off to afford even that.

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

How? Are they burying cash in their gardens?  This isn't the 80s anymore. You can't just hide your income. If you want to apply for a mortgage, you need proof of income. If you're getting paid into a bank account, thats proof. That's also proof for HMRC.  Also yeah, an d 80k year man can afford a 450k semi. especially when housing is treated as an investment. that mortgage is roughly £2100/month, while someone on that wage would clear close to £4700.

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MichaelMyersReturns@reddit

I get over £80k as the only worker in the family and struggle to pay my £250k mortgage so I don't know what you are on about there

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simonsail@reddit

>I get over £80k as the only worker in the family and struggle to pay my £250k mortgage 80k would still give you a net monthly of about £4500, that's easily enough for a £250k mortgage unless you've opted for a super short mortgage term. How are you struggling?

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

You must be shit with money then. Or lying about how much you earn.

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MichaelMyersReturns@reddit

Our spending is normal, no real luxuries, even struggle for a decent holiday term time. I feel sick when the car gives trouble etc Honestly £80k is not that good and compared to others I know, I feel like a mug sometimes

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

I'd feel like a mug to if I were earning as much as you claim to earn and struggling to pay a £1200-1300 morgage

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Shoes__Buttback@reddit

Some tradies/self-employed people hide some or all of their income but it's a drop in the ocean of the Treasury take. Here's an older but interesting source: [https://fullfact.org/economy/are-two-million-people-making-cash-hand-payments-costing-treasury-over-2-billion/](https://fullfact.org/economy/are-two-million-people-making-cash-hand-payments-costing-treasury-over-2-billion/) Cash is dying as a concept, without cash, cash in hand gets ever harder, so this black market is in decline as well. House prices in any decent area are high because those with wealth compete over the properties they want, driving up prices (supply v demand). When you buy a house you have to prove the source of your funds to a solicitor, so some fictional cabbie showing up with half a mil in a suitcase isn't buying all the nice houses. Many people earning 80k \*can't\* afford modest semis in nice areas - or at least, accumulate the deposit to buy. Let alone those bumping along on the UK average 30-35k, who may never get to own a tiny piece of the nation to grow old in. This is a massive problem in society. Seriously, step outside your own prejudices and take a look around you.

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MichaelMyersReturns@reddit

The only thing I can agree on is what you said is that a cashless society would resolve this problem.

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willington123@reddit

Sorry, but this is absolute nonsense. The median salary in this country is just below £35,000, so 80k is still very much a dream for the vast majority of people - https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2023 Also, your driving instructor friend pulling in upwards of £60k a year while paying 'no tax' is having you on I think, friend.

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MichaelMyersReturns@reddit

He is not having me on as I know him well and wouldn't lie plus he is always working and it adds up. He works early in the morning and late in the evening plus weekends as those times have lots of demand

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ampmz@reddit

So why isn’t he paying tax? It’s not like there is a loophole to get you out of paying it.

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simonsail@reddit

Yeah the part about the income I guess COULD be true (it seems quite inflated to me) but the part about not paying any tax is just nonsense.

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JoeyJoeC@reddit

I knew a guy that ran a market stall selling tea towels and aluminum foil and he always had a wallet full of cash, expensive cars, multiple holidays a year. I'd commute into London working a desk job for less than £1000 a month, most of which went to bills.

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MichaelMyersReturns@reddit

Exactly this, it feels most are brainwashed to be subservient and pay tax, thinking they are doing well in a rat race when in reality they are not. This shows when you go to buy a house realising that £80k does not get you a good mortgage even for a basic semi in a decent area.

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811545b2-4ff7-4041@reddit

How exactly does someone earning £80K cash-in-hand borrow money for a mortgage? You've been fed a lot of porkie pies.

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MichaelMyersReturns@reddit

He got a council house and then bought it. Most of his businesses are abroad not here in view of the taxman

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811545b2-4ff7-4041@reddit

Well, bully for him and his illegal business practices.

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MichaelMyersReturns@reddit

These people are very clever and know that the taxman cannot catch them until we genuinely become a cashless society

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

They don't. People like OP never think more than one step ahead. If they use retail banking, which close to 100% of the population do, there is then an auditable trail for HMRC to say 'hm. You're depositing £5000k a month. Where is this coming from?'

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

Yeah, this is bullshit. roughly 5% of the population clear that wage, and all these people claiming to do so cash in hand are likely full of shit. Your friend claiming to pull this in is a liar. He 100% will have to be claiming this in income if it's going into his bank account and if he's applying or renewing any sort of loan. I don't know why so many people seem to be so gullible in just accepting someones claim of earning a wage higher than the vast majority of the population.

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MichaelMyersReturns@reddit

He is Indian and has built a shopping mall back there and other residential buildings which are multiplying his money even more

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

How is all this building going on without business loans?

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GMN123@reddit

No tax? He's in for a bad day when HMRC come knocking.

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MichaelMyersReturns@reddit

They have not come knocking for the last 15 years. Taxman must have bigger fish to fry. Also I know a taxi driver pulling in a similar amount (obviously not via Uber)

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

Again, hes talking shit or he's not factoring in his expenses. He's not pocketing this type of wage.

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MaximusSydney@reddit

What do you mean no Tax? Driving instructors pay tax. Also, how many hours a week is he earning to pull in 5k a week?!

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MichaelMyersReturns@reddit

He works a lot but he loves it. He only does double lessons at a cheap £60 a time (30 an hour) and usually does 3-4 of these a day. But has done 6 on very busy days as there is so much demand. He tells HMRC he earns equivalent of 16k a year 😆 If you add that up you will see it's much more than £5k but removing for outgoings

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811545b2-4ff7-4041@reddit

Median income is around £30K, lest we forget. Your driving instructor friend must have some costs like a car, insurance, lots of petrol.. so what he pulls in and what he pays out must have a gap. And I assume he's not putting anything away as a pension either. So an £80K salary (which typically would also include a pension contribution from an employer too) is in the top 7% or so of PAYE wages.

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Due-Apple5859@reddit

I don’t know if it’s necessarily a number but more getting to a point where I feel secure enough that if someone asked me to go on holiday I could book it on the spot

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eljuarez99@reddit

I feel 500k a year would be comfortable but 5M a year I would feel like I had made it.

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Hoppyuk2@reddit

I don’t believe your level of income will ever help you feel you have made it ! Me and my partner both earn reasonable incomes, it’s not what you earn it’s what you do with what you earn for you that counts! For example we used to have rental properties they made excellent money and during Covid we decided to sell them all and buy a nice 40ft yacht on windermere on a whim but for us it’s given us a quality of life and family time and memories we had never thought possible, No matter what you earn you haven’t made it untill you can sit back in an evening and be happy

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Downtown-Bottles@reddit

Excuse my greed but I want to tell a joke. From uni I want to graduate, go towards a more prestigious uni, get my masters, maybe get my phd at an even more prestigious uni. Get into the workforce at a boom of the economy, somehow retain that throughout years of ups and downs. And earn 150k by 30

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Someinvestmentguy@reddit

For me personally, once dividend income reaches my current business income I'd have 'made it'.

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OrionOmegus@reddit

50-60k

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Jaded_Magician5044@reddit

5k per month each or together?

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mikolv2@reddit

Less about income and more about what I have, to me, I'll know I've made it when I've got a home in a detached home with a nice view and Porsche 911 outside. When I was younger, 16-17, I always had my eyes set on that £100k a year, to say a six figure salary.

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StipaIchu@reddit

A couple of years ago we were just scrapping by. Now it feels like we’re in a place to… And that’s the issue. Pre house, pre kids etc we felt like kings. Then you have to pay for all the above and then your back to what feels like square one again. Then your wage increases and you’re like this is ok, but then you either start some other crazy project, move house again, need to replace the car or have a panic about your pension. And it starts again. I think they call it lifestyle inflation. But it’s very true. Basically you have already made it. To where you are.

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DragonfruitNo7222@reddit

Do you have to work?

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UnoriginalMama@reddit

Coming from a family who had no choice but to live on benefits, I felt like I made it when I graduated and brought home £1600 a month. I have my health and family and we have treats now and then. Anything more would be amazing but I am happy at this salary, we make it work.

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BigfatDan1@reddit

I think for me it's more about time vs money. I'd feel that I'd made it if I could go down to 4 days a week and still have a good level of disposable income to enjoy that extra day each week.

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Solitairee@reddit

I'm on 100k and I don't feel like I made it. I take home 4.6k after all deductions. I come from a very poor background, refugee etc. When I heard someone was on 100k I thought they were mega rich. Earning top 5% you would think that. What I have is a comfortable life. I can buy a home and save money. My friends mum had this on a much lower salary as a teacher 30 years ago. My standard of living is middle class. I finally found out that salary is basically a joke. The real wealth are those who own businesses. Family friend owns a garage and he makes real money.

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JGlover92@reddit

Spot on, I always set myself a goal of earning 100k+ before I turned 30, wanted to be able to support my parents after how hard they worked for me. Obviously 100k is silly money compared to when I started on minimum wage and doing odd bar shifts when I could but I don't feel rich or fully comfortable, still got that fear of losing my job, to me being really sorted is when you can just not work for years and still maintain this lifestyle

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setfiretotherain_@reddit

^(Im 28 & not working at the moment. Ive managed to keep myself afloat mostly by buying / selling stuff. I dont care to live a flashy life. I dont drive so dont need a fancy car (although i would like a car but not anything fancy - just to get me from a to b). Other than wanting a car im pretty content at the moment. One thing thats really important to my is my health. Ive had the time to look after myself, go to the gym, live a life of leisure. No amount of money will satisfy me if i work myself to death & at present with the riding retirement age it seems like most people will end up doing that.)  Im 28 & not working at the moment. Ive managed to keep myself afloat mostly by buying / selling stuff. I dont care to live a flashy life. I dont drive so dont need a fancy car (although i would like a car but not anything fancy - just to get me from a to b). Other than wanting a car im pretty content at the moment. One thing thats really important to my is my health. Ive had the time to look after myself, go to the gym, live a life of leisure. No amount of money will satisfy me if i work myself to death & at present with the riding retirement age it seems like most people will end up doing that.  I would rather be frugal with free time than be on millions & have no time at all. (Unless somehow i could be paid millions but pay someone else to do my job for considerably less - good old exploitative capitalism. If you cant beat them, join them)

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conservativejack@reddit

Enough to achieve your basic needs and fulfillment

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oldkstand@reddit

I earn 75k and have no money left every month. Wife and kids…

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Super_Door@reddit

Having £400 in just spending per month would be elite

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bottomlesscoffeecup@reddit

Honestly, I thought my 56k salary per year would be like the high end, but turns out it doesnt :/

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mazmataz@reddit

Secured an interview for a £50k job which I thought was the stuff of dreams for me. Come to Reddit and realise that even if I get the job I'd better start selling my teeth and hair to supplement my income as I'll still be Fantine-after-unfair-dismissal poor. Ah well, at least I've got my health. More or less.

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FungoFurore@reddit

Haha completely feel this!! I broke £50k for the first time in the past year and honestly I'm very happy and live a comfortable life! I know people have different circumstances, some areas are more expensive than others etc, but hearing about people struggling on such high salaries is madness to me. Good luck with the interview!

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milzB@reddit

I'm currently a PhD student so my take-home is around 18k a year. with my partner our net is around 35k After moving in together in a low COL area I've never been more comfortable. I think the main reason is we're both on long term contracts so our income isn't precarious. so many people take that for granted but it makes a huge difference. looking at these people claiming 80k still isn't enough, I just can't fathom how that could be. we clearly have very different lives!

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pringellover9553@reddit

I’m 27 and have a base salary of £40k with potential to earn £30k commission, the past two years I’ve earned about £20k commish and I feel incredibly lucky and definitely in a good position for my age. I’ll be going on mat leave later this year, with the good to return part time after 12 months which will be a hit to wages but thankful to be in a position where that still keeps me well above minimum wage. My husband also has a decent salary of about £45-50k depending on overtime. However once babies are a little older and off to school, I think I’d like to start progressing my career again and I think I have the potential to be earning a lot more. We’ll see though :) I’m still young and feel I have a lot of years left to progress, I moved up the ladder very quickly and now feel I can plato for a while

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missmykidcaniseethem@reddit

god damn everyone here makes me feel broke 12k a year 16 but I still doubt ill ever be able to buy a house until my parents drop dead

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kairu99877@reddit

Glad I left the uk. I'm almost 30 and probably wouldn't earn more than £2000 a month even if I tried.

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Sorry_Nectarine_6627@reddit

I feel you! Where did you move to?

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kairu99877@reddit

Korea. I wouldn't recommend coming. The long term prospects are pretty bleak. The only reason I'm confident I'll be alright is I know I can outperform 90% or more of the people around me and I'm preparing for the long term years in advance.

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florida_navy@reddit

Do you speak Korean or even need to for your role?

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kairu99877@reddit

Generally it's frowned upon in most jobs. They want talking monkeys or slave labourers depending on the job you're doing. In my case, officially I don't need it. But in practice, I use it willingly. I have a couple of guinea pig classes that are novel reading classes. I don't speak fluently by any stretch of the imagination, but I have a pretty good vocabulary which Is absolutely required for these classes to help with comprehension. I'm also upgrading my visa next year so I can tutor privately. Korean will also be mandatory for that, talking to parents etc. And speaking Korean helps you to bond with the kids. (I've never met another teacher here who speaks even basic Korean so the kids love that I can). Generally, no. You don't NEED it. But it always helps. Especially if you want to stay long term and don't have a convenient korean wife lined up (which I dont).

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DenzelLN@reddit

6k a month here. To find a lady with a similar income would be fantastic

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mydadsohard@reddit

Its not connected to income, but the amount of freedom I can enjoy.

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quechingabuendia@reddit

5000 combined income as a couple? I mean that’s enough to live on. I’m not sure I’d feel like I’d made it unless I was pulling in that kind of money solo though, which is my current aim.

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IhearClemFandango@reddit

I was made redundant part way through a 6 year cancer fight and have been unemployed for 2 years with no luck in finding a job. Apparently I'm not even good enough to scrub toilets, but finally I've now got a part time job just a hair above minimum wage and feeling pretty good. After bills and tax etc me and the wife will have £800 a month to live on which feels amazing.

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RagingMassif@reddit

When I was 30 I was on 3,333 take home a month. By 31, by switching to contracting I was on £450 a day. It felt like all the money in the world. Then I got married and had kids.

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Solidus27@reddit

£80K

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Mycopsycho476@reddit

I used to think it was 100k. Then I moved up another 40k. Now I feel like my new goal is 250k. I realize this is just the goal posts being moved and at some point you should just be ok with what you're making but it's hard to feel satisfied when progress isn't being made. When I was 23 I was on 37k in Boston. At 29 I was on 73k still in Boston. Stalled for a while and at 32 I was on 75k living in Sydney. Now I'm on 140k at 36.

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HotPerformer3000@reddit

Partner and I are on 10k monthly after taxes (London area) and we still don't feel rich

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MyNamesNotReallyDave@reddit

Honestly, £100k+ net I think. I'm on just over £50k in my early 30s, with an absolute steal on rent., single with a dog. I have a nice car, and I'm comfortable in terms of hobbies and socialising, but I can't save anything and I'm still struggling to pay off credit cards etc from previous when I was on less money. I'm well aware I'm very lucky in my circumstances, but it still breaks me that £50k is a month-to-month living wage for me and not the baller-wage I used to think it would be. I **love** my job but I'm still looking at opportunities that pay more, even if they're not as rewarding, because I feel like I need it. If I want to be able to holiday annually/ go out for dinner without thinking about the price vs my bank balance etc, I reckon I'd need to be on around £75k. Set myself a goal of bringing home £100k by my 40th and it's become my main focus just because I'm sick of *worrying* about money (even if I don't necessarily _need_ to)...

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diecorporations@reddit

250 k a year is freedom from quite a lot of

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e-Moo23@reddit

I haven’t yet 😂 I moved to Brighton from Ireland where I was making about €3.5k/month and every job I’ve had here pays like 1.5-2k/month. Quality of life here is so much worse that I’m leaving again in a few months 😂

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FewFig2507@reddit

Universal Credit is perfect for me; I'm there man!

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prodbybaz@reddit

When I can retire my family

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m4nf47@reddit

Six figures after tax.

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ele0123@reddit

Midlife crisis at 30? Hopefully you’ve got a while yet!

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CleanMyTrousers@reddit

Depends where we work. Work from home / walk to work, I'd consider we would have made a decent life if our 2 income household was bringing in £80k or more. 30 mins drive each way for each of us? Make that £100k. Commute to London for each of us? Well that's probably about £16k net and a huge time sink so give me £150k household income for that, as kid then needs full time childcare and extended hours too. Commuting is a huge killer of your real take home.

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Wellidrivea190e@reddit

You don’t need a large income to have kids. We manage on a combined income of less than £40k, over £30 of that is me.

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theegrimrobe@reddit

whatever level allows me to buy not crazy shit i want after bills

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jryptojurrency@reddit

Level 1 - enough to pay for essentials and small indulgences Level 2 - enough that you're not constantly thinking about money and being frugal in most decisions. Level 3 - enough that you can cut your working hours and start thinking about time rather than money.

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-TraditionalOrange-@reddit

Sustainable £120k

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SingaBored@reddit

50k for me… I always has the objective of not noticing it was payday as my spending wouldn’t change through the month, e.g you don’t go on a spending frenzy the first week and then feel poor from then

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Clara_Star@reddit

I earned 12K in an admin job when I was 18. I’m now 39, in a teaching job with a huge amount of responsibility, and I earn 12K working 32 hours a week. Love my job but I can’t cope any more with so little money 😭

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Ciwan1859@reddit

£10k a month after tax without me having to be there.

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Elegant-Average5722@reddit

Depends on your lifestyle or ideal lifestyle I guess. I live in southern england and we bring in £7k a month and honestly we’re struggling on that as a family of 5 which sounds crazy but it’s true. For me it would be about £300,000 a year and I would feel super comfortable financially but part of that is because our taxes are outrageously high.

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OctaneTroopers@reddit

The thing I find funny about all this comparing each other to each other is the slightly older generation who we think were earning billions of pounds and bought 12 houses for 48p. Actually when you look at it. They brag about it. But most of them live in shit houses/ average houses and not mansions, drive average cars and not Bentley's and might have a nice pair of jeans that are older than us I think we get the same deal but the problem is the quality of our stuff is 4x lower quality. Not that we don't get it. I know I've gone on a bit of a tangent but I feel it's somewhat relevant to this post

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Global_Cut_7445@reddit

250k after tax

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Sensitive-Squirrel79@reddit

57k at 38 year old, I think I'm doing okay but haven't made it

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AlGunner@reddit

Nearly 30? Mid life crisis? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

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Choice-Initiative679@reddit

No salary, no need to work. That's when I'd consider myself to have made it

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gank5031@reddit

5k a month isn't really a humble brag, it seems fairly reasonable for a couple both at 30 with your credentials mentioned. Me and my Wife bring in around the same and I am turning 30 and feel like I am under achieving lol. I know quite a few working professional couples under or at 30 who are both bringing hope combined annual salaries of 140-200k

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

I don’t believe you. That household income is easily top 1% if the values you’re quoting are after tax. It’s 0.1% for that age range. So you’re either lying or they are

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Worried_Jeweler_1141@reddit

People live to their means. If you're not extra careful you'll still be skint at the end of the month with all the overheads and outgoings.

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ProtectionOk5240@reddit

House owned outright. £3,000/monthly in dividends of FTSE companies. Then yes, you're done.

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OuterSpaceOnigiri@reddit

I’m going to offer a perspective from someone who is not from the UK. We moved here mainly for my partner’s job who’s in Tech. I stay home to take care of the kids and volunteer part time at my kids school. Basically because of the differences in our jobs and people who we work with, It is almost like we are living in two different worlds 🙈 People I work with earn between 20-30k and they would consider 50k and up to be a very high income. Meanwhile my partner would not consider anyone who earns less than 150k to be a high earner since the junior developers at his work would earn easily 80k at the start. When we discuss our workplace situation it’s very interesting because we realise what it means when we hear the word ‘working class’ and ‘middle class’ and we didn’t really get it until we moved here and experience it ourselves. My partner brings home 200k annually but after 45% income taxes and all of the other pay cuts it doesn’t make us feel that we ‘made’ it. We do feel like we are comfortable. But we always wonder what it would feel like if we moved to a country where the taxes are much lower so we could keep most of the income and save for our retirement. I’m still very grateful because I know most of my coworkers are struggling to keep their houses warm. We have no problem paying our bills, mortgage or a holiday once or twice a year. I think you’ve made it in life if you don’t have to work as much and have a passive income. Your time is priceless, we are not at that stage yet but hopefully we will be in 5-10 years.

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Temporary_Tree_9986@reddit

35m… My joint monthly income has dropped from close to £5k a month to £3.5k in London, and now we have nursery fees… far from ideal but it has changed my perspective about life financially. We have to be careful now with proper financial planning and it gets tough at times but I know it won’t last forever and things will get better. Ive just left a public sector job into the private sector so taken a bit of a pay cut initially but it should pick up fairly quickly. I guess the point I’m trying to make is now, for me, it’s less about how much I earn but the quality outside of being worried about money.

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SilentSniperK@reddit

3k a month solo your rich AF in my opinion

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Consult-SR88@reddit

Single income, bang on national average wage & I honestly felt better off 3-4 years ago when I was on nearly £9k a year less than I am now. The rate of increase of prices has far outstripped the £9k (gross) increase in income. The biggest kicker is being single & so single income. Nothing costs half of what a dual income house pays.

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louisejanecreations@reddit

Same. I have a better job but on the same monthly income now as my job 3 years ago (lots more hours) and the buying power is nothing like it was then.

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LittleBookOfQualm@reddit

This isn't really acknowledged enough, the single person tax is brutal

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Dan_85@reddit

It's becoming increasingly difficult to get by as a single person in this country, especially if you live in or close to a major city. You've now got people in their 40s or older, earning moderately above average wages, who are having to share a house with a bunch of randomers, as if they were fucking students again. It's so bleak. I wish we'd start to have a serious conversation about it in this country, but I'm not holding my breath.

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Consult-SR88@reddit

Tell me about it! Last week I tried to book a week stay at a campsite in summer in my tiny camper with my dog & the campsite all but refused to book it because the price was based on two occupants on the pitch (£30pn). Told me to call up a week before I wanted to arrive to see if any of the 1st come 1st serve pitches were free where I’d get charged for 1 person a night. What they really meant was they didn’t want single people booking prime pitches because they spend less in the pub, shop & cafe.

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Absolute-ThunderCunt@reddit

Damn all these 80k+ answers, that’s Reddit for you I guess lol. 50k a year by the time I’m 40 will do me (as in what 50k is worth now). I have 14 years to get there

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Flat_Development6659@reddit

Ask what everyone can bench and there'll be tonnes of 140kg+ answers even though your average person is weak. Ask how many pints people can drink and there'll be tonnes of 15+ answers even though most people are plastered after 6-8. It's not that people are lying, it's just that people are attracted to the types of posts that impact them. A 50 year old shelf stacker at tescos will have seen this post too, they just won't have clicked on it.

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military_history@reddit

I feel like you've proved your own point with the pints there. 6-8 can't be remotely normal, can it?

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Flat_Development6659@reddit

Do you think that seems low or high? I genuinely cant tell from your comment lol, 6-8 sounds about right to me tbh.

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military_history@reddit

High.

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ShinyHead0@reddit

I stopped drinking 15 pints so I could bench 140

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slend3r@reddit

I drink 15 pints then bench press 140+ while on my lunch from my job earning £150k. Never settle.

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Ironfields@reddit

Right, but are you also on £85k?

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Flat_Development6659@reddit

I can still drink over 15 pints and can easily bench 140 haha. It partly illustrates my point though, drinking a lot and lifting a lot were the things which automatically sprung to my mind as they're things I can excel at. Someone else might have given the examples of running a marathon or having a 1700+ chess rating. Since I'm unfit and stupid those examples didn't spring to mind.

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ShinyHead0@reddit

Yeah I get your point. I totally overrated the stopping drinking anyway as I didn't drink too often already. But you see so much about how much peoples health improves after stopping. I could easily go two months without a drink, but at the time I only drank once or twice a month (very heavily though, like binging)

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fvck0f@reddit

Agree with you on the bench point but pints... let me tell you, I can do over 15 if im in the mood, with no difficulty.

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811545b2-4ff7-4041@reddit

This is certainly the kind of post that will draw out those who have achieved highly. I've replied myself, but I still remember as a graduate 20 years ago thinking "I wish I earned £30K" I'm fairly drunk after 4 pints these days. I might have managed 10-11 in the uni days but that would have been close to black-out territory. Would I reply to a post about people who could drink lots? No probably not.

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TheToolman04@reddit

I haven't worked out in a year, did a bench last week and went in at 50kg, that was plenty XD

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

Yeah Reddit always has some fun answers lol. Less than 5% of people in the uk earn over 80k and yet they always seem to be on Reddit posts like this. Not saying they’re liars, hell you have no idea if im actually telling the truth either. But I do feel like I’ve reached a pretty decent milestone despite there being a lot of people in this post claiming to earn well in excess of what I do

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WeeWeegieWummin@reddit

I dont earn £80k which is why I’m fannying about on Reddit on a Friday at lunchtime (or vice versa) Makes me wonder how anybody on £80k has time to fanny about on Reddit during the workday

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simonsuperhans@reddit

The more you earn, the less you do, but the more you'll feel the shit hit your face if it all goes tits up!

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xe3to@reddit

To be fair reddit is disproportionately urban professionals

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TheOtherGuy89@reddit

From some of the anwers you cant tell if its 80k for one person or couples. 80k as couples seems plausible then. Before kids and half time we were at 100k, and we dont really feel like it. But 2 kids and a house will suck this all up.

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Zennyzenny81@reddit

>Less than 5% of people in the uk earn over 80k That's well over one and a half million people though, from the amount of working people in the UK.

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Kalliban27@reddit

5% of the working population is a million people surely, enough to fill up a Reddit post

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KormaKameleon88@reddit

Honestly, as someone who has just broke the £50k mark at 35 this year...it doesn't feel like I've made it. We don't even live in high price region of the country (West Midlands - not a posh bit!!). Our combined income is £66k and we live in an ex-council 3 bed terrace with 3 kids...can't afford to upsize as all the 4 beds around us are just out of reach price-wise! We're saving like crazy since our mortgage is quite low right now (£600/month...could probably just afford double that), so maybe in 12 months we might be able to start looking, but with our income I didn't think it would be this difficult to try and move. (I understand some people would give everything just to have a mortgage to begin with, so I get that I'm already privileged as fuck!)

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Riovem@reddit

Yeah I had a goal to get to 50k by the time I was 30, I got there before I was 30 but that 50k didn't go anywhere near as far as I thought it would at 23 when I was on £20k

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Magneto88@reddit

Heavily depends on where you live as well. If you're on £50k in the North, you're going to be living a much better life than £50k in London. I could see someone wanting to earn £80k in London to feel particularly secure.

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Regret-Superb@reddit

I live up north, gross about 65k and still went 1500 into my overdraft in Jan. mortgage is paid and no loans. just need a failed MOT and leaking bay window and youre living on bread and jam for the rest of the month.

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I_Am_Squid@reddit

Definitely depends where in the North for sure. I’d certainly isn’t cheap everywhere.

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Regret-Superb@reddit

i was actually thinking that the other day. we live quite well as the wife is on a decent smack too, god knows how a family survive on a single 30k income anywere in the UK.

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Necessary_Driver_831@reddit

Funnily enough I've just hit 50k at 40. I'm going into a bit of a coasting period now because any higher and I start to get managerial responsibility which I hate doing. I wouldn't say I live an extravagant life but the cost of living crisis hasn't hit me as hard as some others. What i would really like is 2x the salary for the same responsibility but we all need to have dreams don't we

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britishsaucefiendv2@reddit

Thank you for reminding me that 40 is 14 years away.....

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Absolute-ThunderCunt@reddit

Seemed a relevant detail to my goal

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xenesaltones@reddit

Really, really, really think the kids thing hard. Was feeling pretty similarly 2 years ago, got a house, got a car, good amount of savings... Having a son has been very very hard for me, and even harder for my wife. Also no one tells you how expensive really it is I love my son but damn, we won't have the second one let me tell you that. My advice is to enjoy that life for a bit longer, get enough savings so if you or your wife wants to stop working you actually can do that. That said, buy the house asap, it makes good financial sense if you get something you can actually afford, and will be the single beat way to step up your life

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aerialpoler@reddit

I want to know what everyone spends their money on, because I take home about £1800 a month after tax. I live alone, have a car, go out most weekends, go to fitness classes 2-3x a week, and still save £300+ every month. How anyone is struggling on 5k a month is absolutely beyond me.

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therealstealthydan@reddit

The shit you do just gets bigger and more expensive.

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therealstealthydan@reddit

I felt good when I stopped worrying about the day to day. As I recall that came about when I broke 100k. Have done a lot better since then and my wife’s business is likely going to retire us in the next few years, but it’s all just extra stuff and nice things. Looking back the real nice moment came when I no longer checked any of the bills for the house, grocery shopped without ever looking or thinking about prices, and ate out whenever I wanted. In some people’s eyes I’ve made it now, but every time I’ve earned through another milestone there’s always more to be done and achieved, but basically when all of the day to day shit people worry about goes away, that’s the biggest and most dramatic change. Enjoy it man, you’re life would get slightly better if that 5k became 10, 20 or 50 a month, but nothing beats that first step of not looking at the electricity bill or the grocery receipt.

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greengrayclouds@reddit

Midlife crisis at 29? Do words not have meaning any more

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bigwillyman7@reddit

if you plan to be dead by 60 it's accurate and i think we'll all be dead by then

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simonsail@reddit

Most optimistic Redditor

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East_of_Bobbi_Eden@reddit

The 59 year olds in the this thread keking their breeks

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somethingbannable@reddit

They never mentioned planning euthanasia at 60 though

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Beneath_a_steel_skyy@reddit

Name checks out.

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vanadlen@reddit

I certainly hope so.

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MisterD90x@reddit

At my rate I may as well be dead by 40, I can barely live as it is

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fvck0f@reddit

Similar

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GentG@reddit

It's all relative but I guess it is when you feel like you have options. I only recently realised that I was in a good place when I was dreading using my angle grinder (kicks like a mule, loudest thing known to mankind, and instant digit removal if you lose focus), so I remembered that I could just pay someone else to do the work.

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dornroesschen@reddit

When I can quit and don’t have to work anymore

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criplincok@reddit

I did that at 29... It hasn't really done much for me yet. I'm on my own with no one else where with me...

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Croissant70@reddit

Reading the comments on this is like watching again that moment from Question Time where the bloke on £80k said he was not amongst the top salary, nay, pretty much working class. It takes 2 min to google where your income leaves you in comparison to the population.

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criplincok@reddit

Benefits total up to quite a hefty salary when you take tax and work costs into account

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adm010@reddit

Theoretically ive made it, but it doesmt feel safe. Being self employed it can be taken at anytime, or rapidly reduce. My issue is that being single, despite in theory having enough, and living in an expensive town (cheltenham), i cant actually afford to get out of my flat into a detached house of the same sq ft after the mortgage doubled last year. I probably could, but that step up makes me uneasy, too uneasy, so, ive not made it.

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wasdice@reddit

About 25 grand. Sad, isn't it?

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londonmyst@reddit

£15 million +

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itsnotaboutthathun@reddit

My husband and I take in about £5,500/£6,500 a month after tax and it doesn’t really go anywhere. I used to think my wage was good but living is costing so much now.

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Sharks_and_Bones@reddit

I live alone and honestly, 30k/yr would allow me to not hit the overdraft every month, have to use the credit card for daily living towards the end of the month and save a bit.

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partaylikearussian@reddit

I think we’re there right now. We just finally bought a new home / first home at around the time we got promotions. Household before tax is currently around £141k, though we also have some debt to clear so we’re far from “well off” unless we can keep the current careers going as is for a while

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chickennuggetwife@reddit

Last year when me and my husband both earned 45k, we own a 3 bed detached in an ok area and was saving £600 a month and still doing nice stuff. Changed a bit now as we have a little one so I’ve gone back part time but still feel pretty comfortable considering we have to pay nursery fees and I have a lovely work life balance 😊

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madhandlez89@reddit

The income when you don’t have to check your bank account and forget what day you get paid. That is the goal.

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ZombieBwekfast@reddit

I'm 40 earning 26.5k scraping by life. Started a programming course 2 months ago hoping something will change.

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PutTheKettleOn20@reddit

When my parents retired, my dad was the breadwinner and earning around 30k a year. Growing up I thought that was loads. But he retired a few years after I started working, and by the time he retired I was earning more than him, and definitely felt poor (I live in London). When I was earning double that I was still sharing a flat with two friends and although I had a decent life, friends, holidays, active social life, I couldn't save anything and still felt poor. I bought my flat when I was on 80k in my early 30s, and it's a one bed flat, not in Central London, compared to my dad who earned a fraction of that (even accounting for inflation) at 27 when he bought his first house. I earn a fair bit more now, I won't disclose the amount, but I don't have a lavish lifestyle. I'm comfortable. I would be ok for probably 6 months if I lost my job tomorrow and couldn't find a new one, before I'd have to start changing living arrangements and renting my place out. In London, to make it I really feel like you need to be on 250/300k minimum a year. But then every time I've had a pay rise my perspective changes, and it also really depends on the people you know and how they are doing as you tend to compare yourself to others around you. London has almost 400,000 millionnaires and 40 billionaires.

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MetaCalm@reddit

The advice you need is this. A large mortgage and kid could completely flip this.

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RSENGG@reddit

4 years after graduating I'm on 36k which feels 'right' at the moment given I'm 27, for me though my end goal would be £60k which is perfectly possible in my career should I become a headteacher, etc.

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steadfastsurvivor@reddit

120k but with the same work life balance

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xParesh@reddit

I think I might have 'made it' with a £5k take home on the edge of London. I grew up incredibly poor. I just got on the housing ladder solo with a 2 bed flat and I'm lucky to be in the industry I am in. Poverty routine was so ingrained within me that I have only just stopped collecting nectar points refuse to buy anything from the reduced aisle as I know there are others who need that support more. It kinda sucks that I still feel guilty and find it hard to 'enjoy' money. I'm a natural saver so anything in excess goes to over paying my mortgage. I should be able to clear my 30yr mortgage in just 6yrs (you can tell I work in finance!). I guess one lesson I have learnt is to value my time over money. I used to do the supermarket crawl through three of them on my way home from work, knowing which one has the cheapest x, y or z product. I'd save myself a few quid each day which mattered when I was poor. Now I just hit the nearest one knowing I'll make a saving on a few items and pay more for the others just it will save me 30 minutes a day which when I look at my hourly rate, is an absolute no brainer. Have any of you felt the same?

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Hagler3-16@reddit

I was always told £50k was the magic salary, but I hit that recently and it doesn't feel special tbh

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ApprehensiveList6306@reddit

London, net of 10k-12k just about ok not to look at supermarket prices ever, going to holidays 2-3 times a year. Not sure if I can consider it as “made it”, but I feel I need to double it to feel more comfortable.

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jacknimrod10@reddit

Enough so that the very idea of posting a humblebrag on Reddit wouldn't even enter my mind, as I would be off doing something interesting and/or fun

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vidocq19@reddit

Not entirely sure but I’d say when I feel like I can afford the life I want without having to worry about my bank account like counting pennies

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MurdochMcEwan@reddit

I just want my own trailer bar for festivals. The freedom of that in itself would be making it in my opinion.

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Alone-Sky1539@reddit

£20,000 a year is enuff for anybody

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anonymouse39993@reddit

That’s below minimum wage

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SarahHamstera@reddit

I always thought a salary of £30-35k would do it, but I was so wrong. My Dad was earning that in the 90s and had such a comfortable life: detached house, 2 kids, Mum didn't have to work.The economy has sucked my whole adult life. And I'm in an industry where progression is so limited and so difficult.

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anonymouse39993@reddit

That’s about 60-70k in todays money

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Funky_monkey2026@reddit

My gf earns about £6,500 after tax, NI, pension etc. and is always 'broke". She just sold her car and will be using it to pay off credit card debts. I get about a third of what she does but I'm happy in life. The more you earn, the more you spend. If you can pay your mortgage and have money left over for holidays and dining without ever worrying about having enough at the end of the month, you've made it, no matter what that exact amount is.

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beepbop24hha@reddit

Honestly I feel more like I’ve made it now earning 23k a year between 2 of us then I did when my ex and I were making 45k between us. I cut my hours to part time, I’m in a job I love and have extra time to do my hobbies and see others. When I was on a higher income (making 33k by myself) I was constantly stressed, depressed, never had time to actually enjoy doing anything as days off were spent recovering and preparing to go back to work. We also used to spend a lot on material things and I was in a bit of debt. I don’t have as many luxuries now, I don’t go on holiday much anymore, I don’t get new things all the time BUT somehow I manage better financially then I did when I was working full time. Sounds odd but I’m enjoying life going slow!

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PureTrust1791@reddit

£10k per month after tax was a nice milestone

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DeCyantist@reddit

In Jan’24, I’ve left the UK and took a job in Dubai for 15k GBP after (no) taxes. Wife makes another 6-7k GBP. I have 6 figures in pensions. I also have 6 figures in cash. Money is not a worry for the time being. We’re in our mid 30s. Hopefully this will lead to a setup where work will then not be a worry in the future.

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PurposeIsAnIllusion@reddit

Nice. What’s your line of work in Dubai?

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DeCyantist@reddit

Digital and Technology. Very senior role in a large enterprise.

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Theres3ofMe@reddit

I'm 43. I had this idea in my head that i'd like to earn £30k by time i'm 30, and £40k by the time i'm 40. I didn't earn £30k by time i reached 30, but i hit £40k at 40. I hit £65k at 43 (Freelancing last year - i'm a QS). But, saying all that. £40k just before Covid felt like a decent wedge to be on. But now? It doesn't seem to have the same weight anymore, due to cost of living - especially renting! Before Covid i could find a nice 1 bed apartment in City Centre Liverpool for about £650 - now you're looking at £850. But obvious wages haven't gone up in line with such increases, so my £40k is now worth about 25% less basically. I share my current property with a housemate, and as much as i really want to move out and have my own place. The tought of most of my wages being wiped out is terrifying. So in answer to question: I felt like i had made it coulple of years ago, when i was on £50k.

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OldLondon@reddit

Financially once I hit £100k was a nice milestone but it’s not important. Family, kids growing up and getting married and being happy - that’s making it in my book. Having a happy and healthy family can’t be beat

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Nice_Host_3102@reddit

Wow this got a lot of likes and comments

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LongjumpingDesk4026@reddit

I work three days a week and earn a fairly good income. It’s not amazing and Id always want more (don’t we all) but it’s allowed me to spend time raising my daughter, puts a roof over our head and means we can still afford holidays and days out. I would say “I’ve made it” but I’m pretty bloody happy!

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Kamay1770@reddit

I'm 32M, after 18% pension contribution and taxes I pull 4.6k a month on my own. It's nice, I'm comfortable. I guess my first feelings of 'I made it' were friends being shocked when they found out I was on 60k+ in my late 20s. I'm now on much more than that. For some perspective, 8 years ago I was effectively homeless, jobless and had about 1k to my name, no pension or anything. I did have a couple years work experience and my degree though. Since then my net worth has built substantially. Own my 3 bed 3 bath, mortgaged of course (70% LTV), only in my name. Have about 80k in my pension, 40k cash savings/general investments and own my car and motorbike outright. I think I'm doing alright and have had no parental/family help or inheritance.

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georgialucy@reddit

Around the same age, working 8am-11pm as a head chef and getting 34k. Honestly really hard to live off and the work feels like death. Just stood in a dark, windowless, boiling kitchen for 15 hours a day, coming home for a few hours sleep and then back again. All the money goes to rent and bills, makes you wonder, what's the point? I feel like we could live off 4k, then we could have some savings and maybe even one day get a house.

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criplincok@reddit

Jesus Christ that sounds awful.. sorry.. I managed to get enough money to stop working, didn't account for there being no one here with me on the other side.. my problems feel like nothing though

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gaiatcha@reddit

i am well aware im not the average, but 20k would be more than i would know what to do with. would be amazing to have even close to an average salary. im out of work due to debilitating pain from an injury , caused by work, pretty much as soon as i got my first legit job. lmfao

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KS_tox@reddit

I make 9k per month after tax. Honestly i feel like i am almost there..just 1000-1500 more per month and that's it I won't need more money i think

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richbun@reddit

My age * £1000

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TheGardiner@reddit

more

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LiciniusRex@reddit

£5,000 a month pretax is where I would feel like I had no real worries any more. So long as I could keep earning it until I died. I do not see retirement in my future sadly

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prasaysno@reddit

I (early 30, F) have a stable monthly take home more than £5k. Partner is a NHS surgeon (brings in another £3k net) and we have a child on the way. My life style has not changed between £28k vs £82k… Still lived in the small house that I bought 7 years ago…. Still have a mortgage. Still don’t own a car. Still care about our monthly energy bill… I genuinely don’t know at what level of income I’d consider we have made it. I don’t know if that is something that first generation of immigrants shared…

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mushrooms8@reddit

£30k I'm 25, only started a job last year which is my first one that's not minimum wage. I'm on about £23k right now and pretty comfortable. Would be very happy to make any amount more all the way up to £30k, but if I actually was making £30k I'd find that crazy. I have never been ambitious, hate working, don't have career goals, didn't go to uni, etc. so have never imagined I would earn much money in life but who knows what the future holds.

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Positive-East-9233@reddit

When my take-home pay is at a much higher % than my various debts, loans, and mortgage. I’m getting there, but I’m not there yet. All said and done, after bills and debts come out, I sit with maybe 20% of my income at the end of the month. Much better than when I used to break even, but the day I get that to like 50% or more? That’s when I’ll have made it

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LekkoNewman@reddit

It’s probably a bit silly and arbitrary, but also supported by my experiences etc. I feel like £100k annually is the break point for me of “made it”. Personally, that’s regardless of what my partners making. It’s a personal achievement/fulfilment thing.

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Notagelding@reddit

Bro, I'm pulling in £1k on the books (part time) and about half that on a side hustle per month. Coming up to 5yrs with my own house. Haven't got any money worries and have enough in reserve to last for a couple of years without a job. I feel that I've made it, other people probably wouldn't say I had.

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shooto_style@reddit

Me and my wife bring about £5-6 after tax every month. But we live in London and have a baby. It depresses me knowing that after doing everything right and working hard we're still struggling

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Fun-Breadfruit6702@reddit

£5K a month in London is food bank territory, I’m on way more than that and I genuinely wonder how people survive

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frosmayn@reddit

For me the most freeing feeling is no longer feeling like I have to push myself at work to continually get promoted and have pay rises. I did that for 20 years and now I am happy just to coast for 20 years. As a household after tax approx. £6100

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Zerodriven@reddit

Me of 16 years ago would be happy I've now surpassed the amount of money I thought no one would need more of. Me now wishes younger me aimed 200% higher.

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Flat_Development6659@reddit

Take home for us is £6200, I'm 29 and she's 24. We're dumb fucks though we barely have GCSE's never mind phds lol

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jaju123@reddit

I have a PhD and I'm pretty dumb don't worry

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MaximusSydney@reddit

What do you guys do for work?

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Flat_Development6659@reddit

I'm an IT consultant and she's a manager at a credit reference agency. I'm the breadwinner by a fair margin but she's likely to be looking at a decent pay rise in the next few months as it looks like she's going to have 12 direct reports rather than 5.

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dick_piana@reddit

£120,000 single income. £200,000 Dual income. That allows you to live very well in any part of the country.

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dalledayul@reddit

Nothing makes me feel worse about my wages than reddit. This whole thread is full of £50k+ and here I am on just shy of £25k, still living at home, and already in my mid-20s. Should've done software development.

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folklovermore_@reddit

£50k a year (currently on £44k). I feel like that would be the point where I'd have breathing room for all the things I want to do (renovating my flat, holidays etc), as well as all the things I have to pay for and helping with stuff like clearing some debts.

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Bloodmime@reddit

I feel like I've "made it" now, but I have toxic people in my life who would try take my money if they knew so I have to pretend like I haven't. I'll never be able to publicly talk about my job.

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KushtyKush@reddit

I'm 33 on 51k, partner works 4 days for 28k. 18 year old me would be absolutely chuffed with that and think I must be living the dream. But 2 young children and a mortgage means I see very little of that once all the bills are said and done. We have no debt, but equally find it difficult to save, and live a relatively frugal life. Things will get better as the childcare costs peel away, but I can't help feeling bitter about what I thought this would be like Vs the reality of it. My fiance and I always talk about how if we earned an equivalent amount in the 90s we'd be living the dream, even if our wages were inflation adjusted down.

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Willing_Coconut4364@reddit

I'm in the UK. 8k month. I'd need like 80k a month for a year to feel happy and secure.

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plantpotforhire@reddit

I'm on £34k. Combined income is £59k per year before tax and NI. Honestly, I live pretty comfortably as it is. No stress over finances, decent amount put away each month. I work from home and live in Blackburn, which isn't as bad as it seems for a northern town. Got a few bits to do, all of my hobbies are online with friends from uni, and I get a bit of farmland to walk on.

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Trips-Over-Tail@reddit

Be very careful. That's right on the £60,000 a tear threshold where middle class families are getting clobbered. They invested in a home they could once afford and then the rising tide of living costs has flooded them.

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fizzysmoke@reddit

30 is the perfect age for all you've described. Go on fella, sounds like you're living life. I look back on my 30s with great joy it gave me a beautiful family life. In fact I believe I became me in that decade too and I've carried me into now, my mid forties.

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DigitalFootprint2733@reddit

what sort of salary do you need to take home 2500 after taxes and ni and reasonable pension contribution? maybe im conditioned to a pitiful life but 2500 a month and i would be kushty

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throwaway2389431@reddit

120-200k + via contracting. We don’t live lavishly by any means, but money issues have simply disappeared and it’s freeing.

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FatherPaulStone@reddit

Thought I'd made it when I was around £48k 7 years ago - lifestyle creep ensued, then I didn't get a pay rise for 6 years, so things got tight, just had a nice rise now and am wary of my previous 'feeling like I've made it' feeling, so am a little more sensible.

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AnyStranger2@reddit

29 is not a midlife crisis!

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Outrageous_Pea7393@reddit

I’ll feel like I’ve made it when my depression fucks off 😅

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Dismal_Ferret_7789@reddit

£30,000 annual

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VanGoScott@reddit

I have a goal of saving at least £500 a month. I am not far from that, but I often dip into my savings to pay off my credit card because my partner and I decided to go out more that month or something. I probably need another £10-15K to get to that point so maybe around £50K. It feels like a good number.

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raged_norm@reddit

End of this year, I'll be out of debt bar a mortgage and then I'll think I've made it. As a family we almost made it on my salary for eight years. I'm now near £45k and my wife is three days a week in a job she likes for £13k a year. We got into some credit card debt to deal with some expensive emergencies and bounced around 0% transfer deals slowly paying it down. Kids care fees are dropping rapidly so we can accelerate paying these off. Once they're gone that money is going into an emergency fund with some left out to enjoy life a bit more.

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bobaboo42@reddit

Earning £238k, and about to go to c£275k. Do not feel like I've made it at all.

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North-Village3968@reddit

Me and my other half pull about 5.5k after tax, I really don’t feel like I’ve made it. I think we are working class, maybe more towards the upper end as we don’t go without but I’m certainly not middle class, I own a 3 bed semi, drive a Vauxhall Astra and go on 1-2 holidays a year, that’s kind of average if you ask me

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jlpw@reddit

I genuinely thought I'd made it when I realised I didn't know exactly how much change I had in my pockets and exactly what i could do with it at all times

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reallyhighallthetime@reddit

35k was salary that changed the game for me. I live well below my means so 35k felt like 50k. I'm now on 50k and didn't allow my lifestyle to change at all, so just save more now. The most notable change as others have mentioned, is just knowing that it's virtually impossible to be financially surprised.

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a-curious-guy@reddit

"Made It" to me means you've completed life. So it would have to be something stupid like £20k/month after tax.

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The_VIRUS_Empire@reddit

Honestly after most of my working life so far feeling trapped in low paying retail jobs, I finally "got out" and into an IT job 3 years ago. Going from barely over 10k a year to over 20k felt amazing, after 3 years (now 31 years old) I'm in the same job still but now earning just over 30k. It's allowed me to do so many of the things I've spent years dreaming about, the job really suits me as I can turn off as soon as I finish for the day and I don't feel like I'm in such a pit of anxiety and exhaustion all the time. I feel genuinely valued for my skills and time. The money is amazing and I've always made sure not to max out my lifestyle to the salary so it always feels like I have a good safety net and I _still_ often feel bad spending money as if I'm still only earning a few hundred quid each month 😅 I don't feel like I "need" more at the moment but sure it would be nice to maybe get up to the mid 30's or 40+ in the next. The lifestyle is the goal though, the job helps me do that. I don't want to be chasing money just for the money.

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Sniperxls@reddit

I would say reaching 60k Now on just over 70k. Reach 30 myself this year. Most of my life goals have been completed though house paid off so only really bills to pay and a few subscriptions. I could go up to 125k by the time I am 35. Most of my extra income is now starting to get invested so I can retire early and the wife and I have set a new goal to go on a more holidays to enjoy our lives together. I felt like I made it when I stopped looking at the price of food or a coffee I knew money was in the bank and I knew bills were covered.

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LostHumanFishPerson@reddit

I feel snug enough on just under £30k but I live a pretty infantile life. Got a mates rate room in my friend’s house, no family to look after. If I lived like an adult I’d need more money.

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da-van-man@reddit

I know this is petty but fuck you.

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deadxprey@reddit

1.6k a month and i dont need a job anymore. 3k a month would be fucking awesome. 5-10k a month? Im fucking rich

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MysteriousAd530@reddit

Lifestyle creep is real, for me it would be £120k/year or more.🙈the thing is, we would love to do self-build with high quality materials and in an ok area (can be remote) but even on our joint income if £7k it will take some years if saving.

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Prior_Car_7115@reddit

I have low living expenses (£900/ month total outgoings on flat with energy council tax etc) and we have a combined monthly income of £7500. Don’t feel like I’ve made it but don’t have to scrimp on anything. The made it income must be much much higher. I think 2x 100k salaries would do it outside London.

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Personalis3D@reddit

To be in the top 1% of earners in the UK, you’d need a measly 100,000. I say measly bc that’s a tiny amount. UK is such a poor country. To believe that I’ve “made it” i’d be aiming to see 7 figures in my bank; but since the threshold is so low to be a top 1% earner, my answer would be to move countries once im a 1% earner

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criplincok@reddit

i've got 7 figures in my bank, what now?

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Personalis3D@reddit

Well done buddy!! Hopefully I’ll get there one day too. My recommendation is don’t stay in the uk lol. Maybe a tax free country? Maybe where people are happier and not miserable, where the sun shines more, people aren’t so trashy. Dubai comes to mind. Uk is such a poor miserable country. We’re almost third world. Everything is breaking here including the only good thing, the NHS (and when you look into it, it really isn’t a good thing). Uk is on the verge of bankruptcy

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criplincok@reddit

Dubai is an awful hellhole... I can live here basically tax free now my money is accumulated.. There must be things I can find here, but I don't know what. Most people seem to be miserable and jealous here, but not everyone.

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danjwilko@reddit

40k would be amazing. It’s double my current wage.

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Airborne_Stingray@reddit

Comes down to how much is disposable. I know blokes on 4k a month living paycheck to paycheck. I take home depending on the month around 3k. Of that 400 is bills and necessities. Leaving me with around 2.5k disposable, that's plenty to play with for someone that never went uni.

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GreenFinShark420@reddit

Atleast a million in revenue for the company I started independent of my family. I cant seem to rest until I reach that figure.

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Whole-Bank9820@reddit

When I was 18 I was on dole, granted living with parents but other than living in the house ( which I’m super grateful for) I still lived on my dole £250 a month or something. I was super frugal. Fast forward a few years got a minimum wage job @ £1000 a month, I still couldn’t afford luxuries and lived very frugal at this time too constantly thinking of how every penny was spent, alas I finally got my break. But after being in the habit of not being able to spend fuck all it kind of stuck with me, granted I have my house etc now but still quite wary of spending money. Obsessive over savings and interest rates due to ‘preparing me for the worst’ I actually look at my money saved and think ‘right if I lose my job I can live for x months’. For better or worse I’m not sure but heh

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Ywain1203@reddit

At this point an income at all would be a good thing.

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OkFinger2630@reddit

Very humbly, I think I’d never be satisfied with what I ever make. I make £155k and wife makes £48k. After tax, our combined take home is £10.5k. I still feel I could make more money. 3 years ago our take home was 7k, and 5 years ago it was £5.5k. 5 years ago I used to dream of £120k. With our first baby on the way, I feel I want to earn more. However with mortgage costs rising (I pay £1900pm which will increase to £2800pm from June), I feel the dent.

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Cloud-KH@reddit

No idea of an actual number, always figured it's when you consistently reach you're next pay day and you still have a decent chunk of the last one left after paying out everything you wanted and needed to pay out for the month.

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Reasonable-Fail-1921@reddit

It’s not about what number for me. It would be be very easy to get very disillusioned looking at this thread, I earn just over £33k and work in the public sector so I’m never going to earn anything like what I’m seeing here, I could easily think oh my goodness all these people earning much more than me, I’m such a failure. That would be ignoring the fact that I’ve come from a single parent family, growing up in a council flat in one of the most deprived areas of my city, to buying my own 2 bed semi on a single salary at age 25, with no financial help. For me, I’d say I’ve already ‘made it’. Anything more I achieve in the future is just a cherry on top! In my opinion it’s much more about what the level of income allows you to do in life rather than a set number.

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darybrain@reddit

Living the millionaire lifestyle from the '50s/'60s would need about £20mil in today's money so that would do nicely. I'm almost there. I just need another £20mil to take me over the line.

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hallerz87@reddit

When I lived in London, I felt set at £60k. Allowed me to save for a deposit on a flat while still being able to afford to go out and have fun

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Madmarshall88@reddit

Left my full time teaching job on approx 43k before tax to go part time cover teach (£1400 on a good month after tax). Wife is a nhs midwife & earns approx 36k if she does bank. Both mid 30s, don’t think we will ever make “big bucks”, but that the sacrifice we have to pay working in public services. Got 2 kids now, we barely have enough to save end of month & this is with no mortgage!

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sc0rpi0angel1111@reddit

lol and there's me bringing home 800 per month :)))))

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magic250@reddit

Mid 30s Paramedic in Scotland here average take home per month for me after tax etc is around the 3k mark depending on unsocial hours and OT I work (which can significantly increase that monthly take home), my partner brings in about £1200 a month. We consider ourselves to be doing pretty well have a toddler and a baby on the way, a mortgage on a decent sized 3 bed ex council with huge garden and two cars. Some days I feel like we’ve made it other days I feel like differently, general quality of life is pretty good but if we wanted to save for a big holiday or big home improvement we really need to tighten up. Always considered ourselves very lucky though with good supportive parents on both sides.

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Miserable_Future6694@reddit

Christ. Made it, no matter what my end of year looks like i will always think 5k more would of been better off. Made it will be me breathing my last breath knowing me and my family have lived without worrying about paying a bill

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CarpetGripperRod@reddit

1/2 million a year would do it, I reckon. It would still take me 1400 years to get to what our current PM's estimated total worth is, so I don't think I being too greedy asking for ~10K a week.

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ExpectedDickbuttGotD@reddit

About 100K total for a couple with children

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Varanae@reddit

Early 30's here. £30k has always been my goal. Currently about £6k away from that. But that's been enough to buy a house and live comfortably from month to month where I am, so I'm happy. It's pretty crazy seeing all the other figures in here because earning those numbers and living to more of an excess would be nice. I'm too risk averse to switch jobs though, why potentially ruin the good spot I'm in.

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Autoamoeba@reddit

Thinking that you ‘have made it’ constantly changes as your needs and wants change and is dependent on what standard you are using to measure it by. When I no longer had to use a calculator at the supermarket to add up as I went along because I could not afford to go over my budget, I felt so good about myself and my situation that I wanted to bottle it up and save it for the future. Other milestones came and went and had a similar impact - buying my first house, having regular holidays, eating at ‘fancy’ restaurants. Now, as I am getting older, I no longer crave those things and instead feel financially trapped by my mortgage and other expenses, so I’m working on developing a minimalist lifestyle ahead of retirement in around 5 years. Nothing thrills me more than the thought of financially security, a modest lifestyle and having the free time to spend in the company of people I love.

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iAmBalfrog@reddit

As a child I was always told "earn your age", at 24 I was on £24k a year and it felt okay. By 26 I was on double my age, at 28 I was on quadruple my age, I thought £100k would be when I stopped caring, the issue is the numbers go up as your salary goes up. I look back on LI 4-5 years ago and my job offers were for £50-60k, this week the lowest has been £100k, and after telling them this would be a paycut they said they had some other roles coming up closer to what I was after. Me and my partner work hard, our HHI is around £220k p/a, outside of our house and dogs we don't live or look like we earn what we do. I still worry about what we'll be able to afford when we have children. The joys of life in the UK!

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SUKModels@reddit

If it's the last week of the month and you haven't used the coinstar machine. You've made it.

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oglop121@reddit

i worked out recently i make about 55k. good, right? well, it doesn't feel like it. i certainly don't feel like i've fucking made it. which just makes me think about people on lower wages on the other hand, my wife is pregnant and not working. i imagine life would be more comfortable with a double income.

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cats-ate-my-vagina@reddit

Funnily enough we just did a review of our finances because we’ve found out I’m pregnant with baby number 2. 5 years ago when I was pregnant with our first, we were in the midst of an expensive house renovation (so no savings) and bringing in approx 100k a year as a household When I was on Mat leave my husbands salary only juuuust covered our monthly mortgage and bills (living on the outskirts of the nwl/home counties part of the m25 - expensive!) so we only had the £650 odd quid from the government to live off whilst I was on leave, which a bit of relief every 3 months when he got a bonus and we could afford things like new shoes or a takeaway! We were stressed! Having reviewed things now, our household income is £130k a year, we have £15k in savings and the house is pretty much done. So this time we only need to do sensible saving in the run up and my husbands extra salary and bonuses should keep us comfortably topped up even after mortgage and bills have come out when I’m on leave. Feels like we are in a very different place this time and so much less stressed. I think if we could get to the £150k a year HH income mark, that really would feel like we were in the very successful adulting bracket

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SJthgirW@reddit

For me to think ive made it, is to not worry throughout the month if i have the momey for things. Ive always said true happiness is when you dont need to go on a holiday.

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Ricky_Martins_Vagina@reddit

When I was 20 I completed my apprenticeship and moved straight into a £60k/yr job which was also tac free (due to it being overseas based). Within a year of that, I felt like I'd truly made it. 5 years later I moved into a new position earning around £120k/yr and also set up a side business back home, and had other investments dotted about. I felt like I'd made it even more. Now I'm on almost £150k/yr but having recently set up a new business for my wife, had our first daughter last year and now expecting twins, and the generally ridiculous cost of living these days, I don't feel anywhere near to having 'made it' as I did previously on lower income levels when I didn't really have anything at stake. To feel like I've 'made it' now I'd probably need to be looking at somewhere around the £250k mark.

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Rivyan@reddit

Man, what the hell are you working as?

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Ricky_Martins_Vagina@reddit

I'm in engineering and have always worked in high risk / dangerous locations. I've got clients who earn around $1300/day working directly for the O&G operators. Unfortunately I'm a lowly service provider so haven't reached those dizzying heights myself!

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littlebagofcrazy@reddit

For me feeling like I’d made it was being able to go into the supermarket, put shopping in the trolley and not have to anxiously count up the cost as I went or have a panic at the till about being able to afford it. We’re still a relatively low income family, we bring in less between us than some of the other commenters earn individually. I’d like to get to a point where I’m not living salary to salary, where I can save and not worry about money all the time. 🙈

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quister52@reddit

Add an edit to your post with where you live. Making £5k/month in London versus something like Sheffield will be a huge difference

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NekoZombieRaw@reddit

A few years ago I earned £60k and I thought I was made. Then the cost of living crisis happened and suddenly I feel I don't earn enough

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FrontPay7558@reddit

Im only 22 so I have a ways to go but I think I’ll have made it when I own a house with all bills paid and a decent amount of disposable income after my savings every month

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Mirchii@reddit

When I reach my FIRE goal, then I will have ”made it”. Making six figures isn’t that difficult, the passive investments and managing personal finances responsibly for the long term however is what’s more important to me. Once I reach that stage where I can realise my FIRE goal, then all good.

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LondonCycling@reddit

I'd say it's slightly more than just income. I'd say: * 6 months emergency fund is there * £1000/month into the pension * £3000/month *household* disposable after rent * I mention rent here because £40k up here in Scotland goes a lot further than when I was living in London * Renting or mortgage on own place - not house-sharing with friends, or strangers

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Elastichedgehog@reddit

I think this is all very reasonable to be *very* comfortable. Unfortunately, solely the first point is a luxury for most Brits.

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hollowcrown51@reddit

> Unfortunately, solely the first point is a luxury for most Brits. So is the second point lol. Most people are putting between 4% and 16% away for their pensions. To be putting that away would be earning £6250 a month which is £120k a year.

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Elastichedgehog@reddit

I figured 6 months savings was the most achievable and highlighted that even that is a luxury.

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LondonCycling@reddit

Indeed, we are not a nation good at saving, or investing.

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daern2@reddit

There's the somewhat unrealistic "don't have to work again", but this is more realistic for "don't have money worries", which I think should be most people's goal in life (however unattainable it may feel right now). I completely agree that this is a bit more than purely income, but at the end of the day, there are few problems in life that can't be solved with more income. I would probably also include "decent, growing pension provision" on top of the actual money being put in. £1000 going in sounds a lot, but if you've got very low provision (e.g. started paying in late) and you are approaching middle-age, then this may well not be enough for a decent retirement. There's some good calculators out there to help work out what you should be paying in. I think the area that most people would find hard is the liquid emergency fund. I know very few that have anywhere close to 6 months and, for me at least, having this is the one that lets me sleep at night. Just had a quick check and our liquid assets now match our mortgage debt, so I think we're now (on paper) debt free too :-) Realistically, though, so much of this depends on the "where you live" factor. In London, we'd probably be significantly more skint than living where we do now due to housing and other costs. Bugger knows how anyone living on an average salary manages to survive there - I know I would struggle.

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Lylo89@reddit

Current salary is 130k @34 and I'd say I'm here, wife doesn't need to work, 2 kids, mortgage and all other life stuff. We have savings, investments, a nice lifestyle but mot glamorous for the sake of it. I am under no illusion though that this could all go away very quickly so haven't let the lifestyle creep set in.

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TheOccultSasquatch@reddit

100K to me would feel like being a millionaire.

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TalosAnthena@reddit

I work in textiles and I’m stuck in textiles now. But the thing is I left school with nothing. I am currently training to become a textile tuner which is the best job on the shop floor. To say I got nothing at school I am on £16.50 an hour at the minute and when I finish I will be on a minimum of £20 an hour. So to me being on around £40’000 a year in West Yorkshire will be my I’ve made it feeling.

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rightonthemoney1@reddit

About four years ago I was studying and my other half was working full time, we rented and didn’t do anything for a solid year so we could pay for our house deposit. We now earn about £5,000 after tax (basic pay) and have the ability to earn more, which is amazing! I never thought we’d have a joint income like that, but it is mostly down to my fiancé because he has a very good, skilled job. My target for 2024 is to be earning £2,000 after tax. That’s about a £200 a month increase from my current salary, but I believe it will be doable in the right job.

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MrTrav15@reddit

I’m taking home around £3.7k a month after tax and whilst I am comfortable, I do not feel like I’ve made it. In my head that was always £100k per year and higher.

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Forsaken-Language-26@reddit

Midlife crisis? At 30? Fuck…

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TannoyVoice92@reddit

I think I would class our current circumstances and my own salary as a “I’ve made it” - but I’ve always found wanting more unfortunately. As they said “comparison is the thief of joy” I take home approx £5100 after tax/pension. I had a DD for my student loan of around £400 that will finish in 2 months. So, that’s an extra we’ve never had before. We’ve finally booked holidays this year and don’t have to worry about paying the bills. My wife works part time and brings home around £1200 Once the childcare hours kick in - then we can focus on putting as much into savings and having fun.

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lukemelon@reddit

60k annual salary. Just over double my current

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audreysmother@reddit

Joint income of £10-12k per month net. Don’t feel like we’ve made it. Part is due to the hours we work (we have our own startup) the other is that from the outside you’d struggle to see how we have this money. It’s fairly recent and I grew up in poverty, so my main changes are not being too worried about money, knowing I can replace anything that is damaged or lost, and not ever stressing about bills - a true luxury. But I won’t feel like I’ve made it until I don’t have to work.

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WeAreBiiby@reddit

Thanks guys everyone I feel a lot more broke than i did before

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thomasnasl@reddit

60k in the SE with my own place, made it

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Dave_Unknown@reddit

I’ve (28 y/o) just left a job paying £38k a year because the money wasn’t making me happy in the slightest for one much lower paying - think just above min wage. You cant buy a stress-free life and money definitely isn’t the answer to everything.

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n0d3N1AL@reddit

Already there. To me it's about financial security rather than a particular £ amount

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ModerousOperando@reddit

That’s very sweet thinking you’ve made it with £5K net each month by yourself. Let alone dual.

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Gold-Profession-9667@reddit

The Correct Answer: None.

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Pure_Importance_976@reddit

None. There is no “made it” because money and income doesn't give you that. We all live and struggle, we just have to enjoy our lives with our hobbies and families and whatever. I don't make very much money admittedly, but that doesn't stop me from being happy!

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Melizhaanna@reddit

60k

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Alexboogeloo@reddit

For years I was pulling in £5k-£10k a month on my own every month. Post pandemic I decided to follow my dreams and haven’t even covered the bills for the last 3 months. It was lovely to never worry about money and I was definitely more social. But I was stressed and never knew what way was up. I’m more content now. But starting to lose confidence in my dream, rapidly becoming potless. Still stressed.

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Away_Hold_1323@reddit

Been living on students loans and part time work that gave 24k a year in a high cost of living area. It was rough but now I know I am set for good on the 50k salary I recently landed. Like if I could live on half of that, then I am not going to have to worry anymore.

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snowymountainy@reddit

Everyone says move up north etc but it’s freezing and raining all the goddam time. I stay in so much more when I’m that way than in the SE which isn’t healthy. I’ve had enough of the U.K., choice of majorly shit weather in every area outside the south east, or shit paycheque to paycheque living conditions unless you’re older and sorted, or a gazillionare.

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thegamesender1@reddit

I'd like to have 3000 take home. I currently take home 2200. Only way for is going on the bigger lorries and staying away from home, in which case I could bring in 5k a month. But I value the time with my family more so I really can't be bothered. I already have my own house so I ain't really worried, maybe in the future when the lad starts going to school etc..

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Valuable_Exercise580@reddit

£25k a month after tax

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SirTimmons@reddit

I was happy when I hit £30k. Really happy when I hit £40k. When I broke the £50k barrier, that’s when I felt like I’d done well. I’d worked hard and now I’d have no major money worries. No living pay check to pay check, can afford a few luxuries etc. Now on £56k and cost of living has taken some of that shine off.

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lazylemongrass@reddit

Maybe 10k a year

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Spanky4884@reddit

I’m on 90k a year single income, two kids, 1 mortgage It’s not enough still living pay check to pay check, the UK penalises single income families through tax and I’m getting sick of it, I think it’s really important to have a parent raising the kids and ultimately you can’t do it in the UK comfortably unless you are bringing in over 125k as the sole earner. If I was single I’d be very happy with 90k

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throwaway_jdhsbhdkf@reddit

For me, £30k a year. that would be enough for a flat, shopping, bills etc. :)

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fundytech@reddit

I think when you stop actually worrying about money that’s when you “make it” Everyone’s spending habits and situations are different but generally when you don’t have to keep an eye on your spending in terms of bills or groceries etc. you’ve made it. Personally I wouldn’t stop there though, I’ll be working to increase the money I bring in every 6 months until well into my 40s.

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Affectionate-Boot-12@reddit

And here I am thinking me and my wife had made it bringing in £3k a month after tax. We don’t live in London though so there is that. We want for nothing and so do our children but we don’t make enough not to have the odd worry about money every now and then. We’re a happy family and to us, that’s all that really matters.

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LethargicOnslaught@reddit

I've had the mentality of; earning £2k after tax etc will mean I've made it, but its taken me so long to get to this point I'm worse off each month after cost of living than where I was at when I bought home £1.6k

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SIBMUR@reddit

My wife and I are 32 and bring in roughly 4,500 a month after tax. We were living in a 2 bed flat in the NW for 5 years and absolutely comfortable on that. If we chose to live there forever and neither of us lost our jobs we would be fine. Recently moved to a 3 bed house, same area and first child is on the way in June. So we will be much tighter. Especially when maternity pay (or lack of pay) kicks in. I'm on 48 k a year gross so now I would love to get to 55-60 k and we'd be set, presuming interest rates don't rocket upwards/cost of living, which isn't a given. I guess you'll always want more though. I know we can pay the mortgage and bills for now and have at least 1 k left over between us per month. But that will change soon and yes, it does worry me.

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Signal-Ad2674@reddit

It’s never enough. Not really. Thats the problem. Your lifestyle options tends to rise with income. Thought I’d made it at 27 when I earnt 35k. 2nd house, larger mortgage and I thought I’d made it at 50k. Had one kid mid 30s and thought I’d made it at 85k. Bigger house, bigger mortgage. Landed a brilliant job at 100k. Felt like a lottery winner. Wife gave up work as now had 2 kids and economically was working an almost nowt with child care costs. So we double downed and had one income. Kids now close to uni (1 year apart). I earn 150k. Had 1 year of no mortgage and I genuinely feel like we have won the lottery for the first time. But that old mortgage money is still put aside. Why..kids in fees, accommodation and food for the next 4 years. Times two. Are we lucky. Sure..incredibly. Plus privileged to have had great jobs, brilliant parents and a good education. But was it ever enough to feel ‘safe’. Never. I always lived (and still do) life in fear of losing it all. I never want my kids to feel that fear. My guess growing up poor shapes us. But imho it’s never enough. BTW, my only advice is hammer your mortgage early. It hurts, but you’re better off in the long run. Had friends driving GT3’s in those 80-120k years and I just drove a crappy old Ford focus and paid the mortgage. My car was mainly biscuit and marmite during those early kid years, so I couldn’t see the point of driving a posh car for work, then another at weekends for h the family. And.. we don’t regret a damn penny of it. I don’t miss that Focus, but I’m glad we did it. We now have choices. To help our kids if we choose, plan our retirement (when and where) and choose (if we want) to downsize, change jobs, whatever. Money isn’t happiness, but it does provide choice. Autonomy is happiness imho, and money helps with autonomy.

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Efficient-Cat-1591@reddit

About £10k/month or 20k combined income.

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frieswithnietzsche@reddit

A hitman

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Weird_Assignment649@reddit

Not living with my gf but we pull in £9500 a month. Living just outside of London. We plan on buying a house worth around 1.25M soon, got about 500k in deposit and equity so mortgage payments plus car loans are almost £5k. After living expenses and bills etc. we can save almost £3k at this rate.

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chrisd848@reddit

For me it's not just about the figure it would also be the work/life balance. No point in making £100k/yr if I'm working 80 hour weeks. For where I live and the lifestyle I'm happy with I think about £60/70k/yr on a 37.5hr work week working 3/4 days week would be a very healthy work/life balance I'd be happy with.

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Glozboy@reddit

40k a year would do it I think. Not going to happen in my industry, without doing a job that requires days of meetings and not much hands-on work, which doesn't appeal.

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Frustrated_Barnacle@reddit

In 2019, I got my first post-uni job at 25k. I earned more at 22 than all of my family members, excluding my mum who got a degree later in life to work in HR. Earning more than my dad who, for a long time was the breadwinner, was a really weird feeling. That feeling that you've made it, for me, is less about the money and more about where you are. I'm at a place where I don't worry about food in the fridge, if my shoes wear through I can buy new ones, my dog was sick so I took her to the vets and paid for her medication no problem, I dropped money on a private dentist to have two teeth removed. I grew up cold and hungry, with a parent who taped her glasses because she couldn't afford new and clothes that were upwards of 3 years too small. Knowing that the struggles of my youth are not my normal anymore is me making it. And now, less than 5 years after graduating, I have a husband, a house and a dog. I never thought I'd have a life close to this, and this life started at that first 25k role and the "I've finally made it" feeling has never left.

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Logical_Magician_468@reddit

Id feel like I've made it when I can pay my bills comfortably and have money left over to have some fun and to save some. Probably 40k, so an extra £10k would do me. Sometimes wish I had a good personality or had a good hobby, then could use social media. Some people I see pull in £2k a month alone just from promoting their ticktok shop items, then they get AdSense from Facebook reels too, and even YouTube if they do that. But alas I don't actually have much of a personality, I'm not interesting, I don't do anything interesting

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d3gu@reddit

I wouldn't say I've 'made it' as I definitely want to increase my income over the next 10 years and retire early. I am 36 in a few weeks and on about £40k, I live in the North East so the money goes further. I am 'lucky' in that my mum passed away a few years ago, and left me some money to clear any debts and put aside some for investment. I wouldn't say I've 'made it', but I'm definitely comfortable.

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heinztomato69@reddit

Lmao way to r/humblebrag. what does “wife loves phd” or any other details have to do with it. £5,000 net a month is only £2,500 net per person. So you’re each making about 35k a year at 30 years old. Nothing to brag about.

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DifferentImplement27@reddit

Enough that I don’t have to worry about bills and have time and money to have hobbies and interests. Maybe enough to go on holiday once a year

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divinelyshpongled@reddit

TIL 29 is mid-life

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bigbadbolo@reddit

Household income of about 8k. My salary has basically doubled since lockdown. Wife still works full time on about 40k. But weirdly. It’s like the more I earn the more I get into saving more and more. Almost feels like I need to save a bigger % because of how much we have. Whereas should probably start to enjoy things more. It’s weird - like the more my income goes up the more I think my savings and investments should go up by the same % increase.

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John_GOOP@reddit

I'd be happy with 30-40k but that's very hard to get especially in the NHS.

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OptimalRevolution901@reddit

12k monthly after tax is made it for me

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anniday18@reddit

When I was in my 20s, it was always a aim to earn my age, per year. I was delighted when I passed my age a few years ago!

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Ambiverthero@reddit

30 is not midlife. at 52 that’s quite triggering !

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TribalTommy@reddit

Enough that I can shop in M&S food and not look at the prices, and have private health insurance.

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capps95@reddit

Our household income is around £5k, feel like we’re scraping by every month and swimming in debt but we have spent 6 years renovating, built and extension, bought nice cars and just had a baby so I guess it’s less to do with income and more to do with how you spend it.

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Alyssa9876@reddit

Hubby and I have 4 kids and our income has varied over the years. Been through a couple of redundancies a business failure-thanks Covid. We now are in a position to both work full time with just two older teens left at home and our mortgage finishes this year so we will finally be in the best position financially we have ever been in. I also now work in travel so can get cheap holidays which is not good for the bank balance, but we have visited some places we would never have dreamt of a few years ago. I think my kids appreciate it more because for many years we stayed a home during the summer with just few days out- used to save up Clubcard vouchers and looks for deals. Or went in a caravan in Wales or the south west-did the sit up till midnight to get the sun holidays offer a few times lol. My older daughter and her partner have announced they will be having our first grandchild later this year and interested she asked if maybe we can go away sometime in a caravan with them like did with her and her siblings when they were younger so the good thing is our kids haven’t been spoilt and appreciate when we can do things for them now. We both have pretty good pensions from past employers so in our 50’s are feeling more positive about life going forward

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madd_turkish@reddit

Me and husband do 4.2k a month income, live quite comfortably, no intention of "making it", but we are happy, no stress, no drama

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leeeeebeeeee@reddit

Watch out if you decide to have kids, the second I come all but disappears.

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notanadultyadult@reddit

Honestly hubby and I are on way above any money we could have dreamed of when we first met and worked in retail together. The dream then was a manager role paying £22k if we were lucky. Now we earn almost £100k between us. It’s not been easy and both have studied our asses off to achieve new careers and decent jobs. We are very comfortable and fortunate and we don’t take that for granted. We make sure we plan for all eventualities but we also make sure to enjoy life too because life is for living.

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Valleyman1982@reddit

We felt like we'd "made it" when the biggest cash concerns were about being tax efficient and making sure we were investing in our future retirement plans. And job loss of course. The next step now is to build wealth so the job loss thing will mean even if we lose an entire income we'll be fine, and if not we'll be able to retire before 60 and maintain our standard of living. There is always a new goal I think. No matter what you earn, because earnings are not wealth - and without wealth there is no such thing as full security.

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jimmy011087@reddit

Depends who you surround yourself with. We do relatively well and u feel like I have more to show than people I know who earn more than double what I do. On the other hand, I know a guy who sold his company for millions and I’m probably not going to earn that in my entire life. I’d say in our current situation, another £2k after tax a month would push us to “made it” level but to some I imagine they look at us with envy. Happily married in a 4 bed detached with a happy and healthy dog and daughter. The biggest thing I’d change is my wife’s work life balance. Full time teacher in a special school an hours drive away is intense. Even though she has double the “holidays” I get I have so much more free time (37hr WFH)

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No_Assistant_5632@reddit

However much it takes so I can get a house + maintain the same amount of disposable income I have now. That’s the dream. Have a house and about two hundred quid spare. What a time to be alive. This post was a reality check indeed because I’ve been chuffed all day that I was just paid 1.1k instead of 1k. Lol

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Melodic_Ad_3895@reddit

15k a week after taxes.... top 0.1% of the worlds wage, not obscenely wealthy that money is no object but never having to want for anything serious and being comfortable enough to know that your family will most likely benifit for a few generations due to better schooling and the better social ties that come with money and future job security.

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PlasticFannyTastic@reddit

We pull in £6k pcm after tax/pensions and have a relatively small mortgage but high commuting costs now we need to be in the office more frequently. During COVID when we were WFH, with the acknowledgement of how hideous it was for many people and how privileged we were: it felt like we had so much disposable income and we both saved loads. It’s not the case any more and although we live comfortably, there’s always some blinking massive bill to do with the house or cars that we need to cough up for so it does feel like some months we’re having to dip back into our savings now. Not ideal, but we know we’re very lucky in so many ways we daren’t complain.

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tarzanboyo@reddit

Hope that its not a humble brag, me and my wife take home close to 5k after tax and that's not much over UK average wage for a couple anyway. I don't drive a fancy car or have a 400k house, I've got what I need in life and save a decent bit but in today's world it's really not alot of money. An income where you've made it? Gotta be 150k+, I'm not a career minded person and I hate work so chances are I'll never get close to that but at that level you can put a huge amount into pensions etc every month, pay yourself dividends etc depending on source of income. Your taking home an easy 5k just by yourself and putting similar amounts into your future or business. I know someone earning 250k+ as a contractor and I'm not sure 100% what he does but I think he's got a LLC or something like that, takes out a big amount without the tax implications and has the rest in shares/dividends (not sure how it works lol). Even then he's living a life not that dissimilar to mine, that type of money lets you get a nice house and car without really struggling but your not getting a Ferrari and going to Dubai every month. The only person who I know of who lives very luxuriously is a thick as shit chav who has a construction business that his wife essentially built. Has a huge amount of properties, a big building yard, dozens of vehicles etc etc. Drives a Bentley and lives in a house that's a few million, he's made it. The average working chump even if taking home 5k a month, is still going to be working for decades. Real prosperity is starting a successful business that you can retire off young.

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anonymouse39993@reddit

5000 a month puts you earning 88% more than the uk population

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Specialist-Abies-909@reddit

Currently 26 making 120k ++ and feel like I've made it

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DolFaroth@reddit

This changes with every pay rise!

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TheGreatBatsby@reddit

Buy yourself a sick car mate.

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guIIy@reddit

The money isn't the marker for having made it for me. I think I'd feel like I've made it only if I work very little, have a house and can travel freely. But also on 80k I'd probably feel like I'd made it at that point. Got a software dev mate who last worked in July. Did a couple weeks freelance, got paid around 4 grand and then that sorted him for the next 3 months. Every now and then he just picks up a bit of work but mainly just does things he loves.

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Synthetic-Shimmer@reddit

I thought 50-55k would be it but then the cost of living crisis happened right alongside me achieving that and tbh it doesn’t feel as comfortable as I imagined. 100k now 😬

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Accomplished_Alps463@reddit

Mine in my 40s, I was on £100.000 PA. At the time it was more than the UK pm made, had no kids both had died, cot deaths. So we saw no point in buying a house and just rented and travelled with my work. Am retired now and don't have a lot to show apart from a bungalow. My wife passed away 12 years back, I've had an interesting life. Only thing I would change is, I wish my kids had lived.

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Alarming-Recipe7724@reddit

Sadly in my industry, i would have to be selling either snake oil or my entire personal life to reach my desired income of 60-70k. I earn just under 40k and its liveable. Do not do what i know so many people earning decently do... which is to take put lots of small finance plans to fund things. Save for stuff.

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Nonny-Mouse100@reddit

Wish me and the mrs brought home 5k a month.... instead of 3.

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smashteapot@reddit

Probably a squillion. But I’d settle for a jillion.

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staminaplusone@reddit

For me i'd like to reach 100k before fireing. Wife is already there.

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AlwaysTheKop@reddit

£2k a month and I’d feel like I’ve made it compared to now tbh…

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RummazKnowsBest@reddit

I assumed for years once I hit about £50k that’d be it. No more credit cards, loans, maybe even a bigger house. Nope. Cost of living crisis was in full swing by then and my partner took a fairly big pay cut by changing jobs (almost as much as mine went up by).

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FunkyOperative@reddit

Mid 30s. Combined income of 45k p.a before tax. Own 2 properties, one in a small town which is rented out and handled by a property management company. Neither were inherited. Live in the other on other side of country. Mortgages on both. Both rural locations. Have dependants. Excellent work/life balance between us. Most hobbies are free/nearly free. Travelled and lived abroad extensively before settling so seen alot of the world already. 1 holiday abroad a year/every 2 years or thereabouts. I feel like I made it once the lights of my life were aligned (family). If we could get to 60k between us, we'd be chuffed. Chill rural life, no debt (except mortgages). Never spent it if we didn't have it (except mortgage again).

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ohmightyqueen@reddit

As a non career driven person and not really motivated to do much in life as I value my own time over career development and am fully happy with that, I once said if I can learn over 20000 I’d be happy. I’m now on 27 and feel super happy with my pay for what I do!

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Sammiebear_143@reddit

That me and the kids have a roof over our heads (that's never going to change because I paid off all my mortgage after 20 years). That we have heat, water, and I can provide food, and clothing and I've been able to facilitate their childhood out of school activities, and I am also able to partake in things I love to do. My kids at various points in their life have asked me if we are poor, and I tell them no for the reasons above. I don't have high ambitions anymore. I did when I was younger, and I achieved them at the time, but now my life, wants, and needs are different. I'm on a modest income, work only part-time (because I don't have rent or mortgage to worry about, and because my Fibromyalgia makes it difficult to work many more hours). Presently, my work-life balance works for us all, and I don't feel like we miss out on too much, because of it.

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Apprehensive-Owl-101@reddit

Happy for you pal.

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NoTurkeyTWYJYFM@reddit

Depends on location, and what you mean by "made it", and your life perspective, but right now I would consider a salary of £40k anywhere outside of London well and truly in the comfortable zone. £50k and upwards is being highly successful. I'd define "made it" as a combination of job position, security, and life satisfaction. If all of those are ticked, the salary could be £40-45k. If those things aren't ticked and you're looking for pure numbers, probably £65k. This also would be affected by your age at the time. Someone who has "made it" to me in their 20s is someone who has a place of their own without fear of losing it. Salary not entirely irrelevant, but definitely in the top 20-30% for the age bracket Someone who has "made it" in mid-life could have paid off their mortgage and earns £40k+ individually Someone who "made it" past mid-life could be someone who retained their health, retired early, or has a job/hobby that's entirely on their own terms Lots of factors play into the definition for me

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BonsaiiBabe@reddit

if you don’t mind me asking, what do you & your wife work in?

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leem7t9@reddit

£10k between me and wife after tax per month is our aim. Currently on 6k.

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bonkerz1888@reddit

I'm on £40k gross, about £26k net (I pay a bit extra into my pension fund) and I feel I'm more than comfortable.

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praggersChef@reddit

My wife and I bring home 4.5k per month. I have ran my own business for over 20 years. We live in York and we don't feel particularly well-off at the moment.

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Ki1664@reddit

Yesterday my isa made a daily gain of 1.6% and the gain was more than my monthly wage for the first time. Felt like I had made it for a split second 😂 but was nice to see the effect of compounding and snow ball effect taking place

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GarminArseFinder@reddit

NVIDIA by any chance?

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Ki1664@reddit

Nay just VUAG

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TabularConferta@reddit

Not so much a level of income but more a couple of things. Move to a house with. Good schools nearby. Paid of the mortgage A 40k salary working 4 days a week.

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Archtects@reddit

Based on my spreadsheet, 3475 a month and my wife wouldn’t need to work.

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WelshToffee@reddit

I left school with no qualifications and didn't go to college etc, when I hit 47k couple months ago I was quite pleased.

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boulder_problems@reddit

I was earning 140k last year which was just over 11k a month and I had never felt worse in my life. I quit my job and everyone around me was more disappointed and saddened than me. Essentially, in my eyes, I made it when I decided to change the circumstances everyone else in my family found themselves. I went to university, I lived abroad. I learned multiple languages. I changed to a job that gave me satisfaction and fulfilment, not lots of money. I made it long before I started to earn a salary, really.

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Novat1993@reddit

The goldilock zone where you make 50-100% above national average. Where you make good, but not so good that your private time is being infringed upon.

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LisaandNeil@reddit

It varies though doesn't it? You can be very well paid in a horrible job and feel (naturally) an urge to push for more in the hope that cash will straighten everything up. You could be badly paid but already accumulated the things you need over time and be happy. Target has to be the life you'd like to lead, followed then by what steps you'll have to take to achieve it. We're chuffed for you though, right now it sounds like lots of exciting stuff is about to happen and money has played a part in that for sure. Enjoy!

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OG365247@reddit

Sadly, you can earn all the money in the world and you won’t have made it unless you’re truly happy. Find something that makes you happy, supplement that with a good wage and a great partner, and you may be in a position to say you’ve ‘made it’. But monthly income alone isn’t enough by itself.

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Bertybassett99@reddit

I worked out a long time ago. £5k after taxes will sort me out for life without a care in the world.

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underwater-sunlight@reddit

Being able to afford the monthly bills, be able to put a little away and being able to book a good holiday every year is a level of contentment i wish to maintain. Having a child has taken away some of the income, bit we can still do most of what we want, although holidays abroad are likely to be every 2 years instead of every year, but we can live with that

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Academic_Guard_4233@reddit

It's going to vary so much.. children, location, lifestyle. For me it's - owning a home - not worrying about dentist bills car repair etc. - not thinking about what you buy in supermarket shopping - being able to afford some kind of family holiday, even if it is at the very cheap end.

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PM-ME-YOUR-POEM@reddit

We bring in £5k a month. We have a 3 Bedroom house which we purchased with no help and save around £1k a month with a mortgage of £1k a month at 5.1%. The rest is split between bill and spending. Compared to my upbringing yes I am happy with my life style. I managed to do an Open University course which led into a Masters and it has allowed me to earn a significant amount more than what I could have had I just said sat on my 2 GCSE's.

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throwaway-789654123@reddit

£300k dual income/2 kids, living up north, wouldn’t even consider moving to London. We considered it in our 20s but now early 30s it feels like we’d be moving backwards in terms of lifestyle. I have expensive hobbies (racing cars etc), once I could afford them comfortably, I felt like I’d made it.

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ForwardAd5837@reddit

Is no one else going to challenge the link between 30 and midlife crisis! You’re still a young person! I say that as a 30 year old myself wanting to remain feeling young.

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AutisticAnonymous@reddit

I just want to beat my peers. Even if my wife was on 100k I don't think I'd be satisfied. That's definitely some weird self-esteem thing I've got going on.

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Minimum-Pay-4169@reddit

Salary-wise my goal is 80k but id be satisfied after 60k. Ofc ideally i want my income to be not only salary but also rent from tenants.

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GrandeurX@reddit

100k in London, if you earn less than this don't waste your time

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About_to_kms@reddit

150k salary is £6.3k take home a month. So around that ballpark. I Live in London though

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MarionberryFinal9336@reddit

I turned that corner at 39 when I switched from fte to contract roles. Yes my income rose significantly but it also really felt like I was where I was supposed to be.

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Cubehagain@reddit

Number 1: It is a humble brag. Number 2: 30 is not midlife, so calm down.

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Et2t@reddit

I'm going to make it when we finally stop paying a grand a month in nursery fees.

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TheBeaverKing@reddit

Two years ago was when I finally felt like we/I had made it. Mid-30s on combined £8k a month net take home and over 12 months we bought our first house and got married. We'd been saving for 2 years to do it but it was only after it was all done that I finally felt like we'd 'made it'. Interestingly, I've doubled my salary since then and my wife's has gone up 30% but it doesn't really feel any different. We don't feel 'rich' or 'wealthy', just comfortable and secure. Our first kid is due in a few months so I'm anticipating another 'we made it' moment. A big salary is great, but it has diminishing returns on happiness once you reach a certain point.

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double-happiness@reddit

LMFAO! I only just got my first ever full-time two years ago at the age of 49, and I'm currently on 22K with my contract due to expire in April and no chance of renewal. I would likely feel like I had 'made it' just to have a permanent role on median salary, which I gather is currently 35K.

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D-1-S-C-0@reddit

Like others have said, income varies depending on where you live. I felt like I'd made it when I'd built WEALTH. And I don't mean 1% levels but regular, achievable wealth that felt like a distant dream in my 20s. - Owning a house. - Savings. - Investments.

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Badknees24@reddit

Recently my husband and my combined salaries made 100k a year and that felt like a huge achievement! Life unlocked, fewer worries in terms of any unexpected bills, enough for nice holidays and savings/pension plans. Can't ask for more.

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Significance_Living@reddit

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/oct/28/how-much-money-makes-you-happy-we-ask-an-expert £50k was the number in 2010 so maybe £75k salary today. After that, most survival based money problems disappear and there is little difference in happiness between 75k and, say, 100k or 150k. Basically if you're not happy on 75k, nothing will make you happy.

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pixelunicorns@reddit

For me it was getting my first salary income not making me feel like I've fully made it, but that things are gonna be a little better. It's not a lot, but as my experience and knowledge increases it'll increase too and it's the guarantee of earning a decent amount every month instead of playing the zero contract game per week that I was used to.

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Jokersxi@reddit

Any money value that allows you to live free and enjoy your life. I'm self employed and pulled in £123k last year , 98k before that and 80k before that. Other years I've done between 60-90k with ease. Doesn't matter to me if I earn 60k or double that I'm happy,I love up north so my house is nice for the place I live. Depends on your situation. If I earn 40k next year I'll still be happy and feel like I've made it 😀

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bdonldn@reddit

I definitely have not made it, but it would look something like: spacious flat in central London paid off, at least two 1st class long haul holidays a year plus several city breaks to Europe, dine out in good restaurants 2-3x a week, but new tech when appropriate. It would need to be A LOT to sustain. Currently living in my own flat (yay) not quite where I want to be, can only afford Europe holidays, only eat out rarely, MacBook is 14 years old. It’s a decent enough life, but definitely not “made it”. Just need a lotto win 🤣

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BITmixit@reddit

Pretty much the amount I'm earning now but due to well...living in the UK. I'm completely skint a week before payday so that's fun.

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LordAxalon110@reddit

Honestly at this moment in time I'd be happy earning £30k a year. Earning just above minimum wage is soup destroying, being on a single income with a little bit of disability my partner gets isn't an easy life.

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pysgod-wibbly_wobbly@reddit

I live in Wales and getting 29k a year made me feel like I had made it. After tax mortgage and all bills in have about 1,500 disposable income a month.

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GottaBeeJoking@reddit

> This isn’t a humble brag True. It's just a regular brag. Good for you though, well done.

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VladtheMystic@reddit

Adding my perspective. I make £85k, wife makes £90k, I'm 38, she's 34. We live in London and bought a house a couple of years ago. Pay in £4k a month into pension together. Wife gets about £30k a year of her salary in company stock which we don't spend. Total monthly incoming is about £6.5k, about £1.9k is our mortgage. No kids. £150k in stocks, £235k home equity and about £100k in pension saved up. We spend a fair amount of holidays, regular cleaner and a private cook so not much gets saved at the end of the month. I think we'll feel like we'll be comfortable if we hit about £250k combined income. I don't see any other way given our current lifestyle and plan to have kids.

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nlostwanderer@reddit

When I reach a level of wealth where I'm not depending on an income for financial security

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Prestigious_Two_1350@reddit

It is always nice to hear stories like this. I admire you and your wife - it sounds like life is good. I live in Central London and it is very expensive. We need at least £10,000 per month to cover the mortgage, bills, our car and our daughter. Our nursery costs £2,000 per month alone.

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Different-Counter658@reddit

I’m 25 and hubby is 27. I can’t wait for this day!

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Dipso88@reddit

I'm close to £50k at the moment and still have concerns financially so I think £80k is the point where I would say I made it. Or if my partner's salary increased by a similar margin.

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Thi13een@reddit

Everyone here just to show off and humblebrag about earnings

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Swimming-Yam-5735@reddit

30 here also! Congrats on the raise! With inflation my “raise” for the past two years was actually a pay cut lol. Between me and my partner we total about £6k/month take home, but definitely aren’t in a position to buy as we live in London (all our friends who have bought property received significant help with the down payment from parents, which we don’t have). We are building up our savings but it feels completely out of reach which is depressing. We also aren’t in a position to move out of London at the moment due to our jobs and lease. I honestly don’t feel like I’ve “made it” yet and I’m not where I thought I’d be at 30.

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

Just to put this in perspective you guys have a household income above 90% of the population. I know it’s London so the rent is massive, but you’re doing really well.

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nlostwanderer@reddit

if you live in London you spend on avg 20% more on rent than the rest of the population, I wonder what that brings the income percentile down to

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

Thats a good question. I'm really interested in these kinds of metrics and tradeoffs. I work in IT now but my background is in economics. There are actually benefits to living in London money wise. Transport can be very cheap, but this is assuming you live very central (Likely zone 3 and lower). I think there are some situations where it makes sense to move to London, especially as a young couple. However I would argue the situations for a young couple with kids are almost always going to more beneficial in other areas of the uk vs living in london.

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Swimming-Yam-5735@reddit

We are actually putting off getting married and having kids because it’s just not feasible in London either, especially while trying to save for a house.

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nlostwanderer@reddit

True there are certain lower costs, but its harder to pin down and compare those so I think rent/mortgage is a good place to start as it's usually the biggest cost for most people as well Transport can be a big chunk for people so that would be interesting to add to the data too As well as cost of food (both ingredients and eating out) I wonder how granular you can get with PPP? If it's possible to compare PPP across cities / areas

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EconomyFreakDust@reddit

For me it's your first paragraph, but applied across the past 15 years lmao.

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ghostly606@reddit

"made it"? Funny choice of words, that's got absolutely nothing to do with income.

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lxgrf@reddit

For me, £40-45k was when I stopped worrying about money too much. Payrises since then are not worrying about money too much + paying off the mortgage sooner. Which is nice, but the worries were the big thing.

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Penkarino21@reddit

10k net a month, at that income level you can pretty much do whatever you like and afford 90% of things even if they're a little pricey

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The_JimJam@reddit

My current salary goal is to hit £30k, then close onto the national average. If I can at least get there then I know I should be stable right? Saving as much as I can for the long term goals. Ideally house, one day.

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MattyLePew@reddit

For me, the mark seems to move every time I get a pay increase and realise that the additional money doesn't go as far as I'd have imagined previously! With the cost of living increasing year on year, my increase of salary seems to be less about liking to have more money and more about NEEDING to have more money.

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Enjaculation@reddit

At 20 my dream income was 50k a year At 30 my dream income was 85k Now I'm on a bit more than that and I have realised it's not the money that's important its being in a good company where you enjoy the day to day, I would take a pay cut (within reason) to have more fun/more travel etc in my role. Currently I do think the balance is about right.

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keen-draught8234@reddit

The goalposts move faster than I can believe. Had a significant increase in income last year and a more significant increase this year. First increase put me at an earning level I wasn't really expecting to ever achieve and the second increase was unprecedented. Now I can't help but think why stop here, surely I can do better... Don't know when 'made it' kicks in, at this rate it feels like it's just some arbitrary amount more than whatever I currently make.

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Randomn355@reddit

Hard to say how much of it was income, and how much is the wider changes (LOTS of changes happened, everything except my circle of friends basically). But my current place. I'm on mid 50s, with wide income of ~5k on top. But that's mainly because I've crossed the line from "good money" into "I literally don't need to care beyond looking at value". I've also reached a big milestone in my career which means this is basically the minimum I'm going to earn for the rest of my life, assuming I don't get struck off my professional body.

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malcolmmonkey@reddit

If you're in central London, you're poor. If you're in the welsh valleys, you're wealthy.

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Wiggles114@reddit

I'd feel like I "made it" when my salary alone can support our family without my partner having to work. Would be at around £140k.

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YouCantArgueWithThis@reddit

Not even 30 yet, but midlife crisis? Dude, you are a baby. :D Even in the early 1900, when life expectancy was lower, mid life considered starting after 35. Nowadays it's rather 45.

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eroticdiscourse@reddit

Now or at any point where I have money for savings at the end of the month. I don’t need £40/50k to live comfortably

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1nsertWitHere@reddit

I think this is very much lifestyle and personal situation dependent. It's less about "how much do I make?" and more "how well is my life balanced?" I realised I'd made it when I stopped having to worry about making it to the end of the month with the money I brought in, and had enough of a reserve to see me through some rent/mortgage payments if I lost my job for a few months, or the washing machine/car broke down and needed expensive repairs. Long term financial planning and pension is still a concern, but I'm not losing sleep and worrying about finance every day. If someone brings in £10k/month after tax, but has a partner and three children, an enormous mortgage in London that just jumped to 5%, a house full of stuff bought on credit, multiple maxxed out credit-card debts from an expensive 'keeping up with the Joneses' Christmas, a horse kept at a farm in the country, and a gambling problem, I'd suggest that they haven't "made it" because their life will be financially stressful. Equally, if someone has a simple life, no children, living in a small house in the countryside, cycling everywhere, enjoying walks in the woods, camping at the weekends and the occasional trip to the pub, a significantly lower income is likely more than sufficient for them to cover their expenses and save for a rainy day while enjoying their life without financial worries. I would say that this person has "made it". It's not about how much you earn, it's about whether it's enough to sustain your chosen lifestyle.

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backcountry57@reddit

Went from earning £23k in the UK, to £75k in the USA. I have a nice house 2.5 acre garden, and a weekend getaway log cabin with 120acres of private woodland to hunt, shoot, fish, ATV, camp. To me I have made it, and my kids have amazing opportunities.

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JavaRuby2000@reddit

I'm not sure what the exact figure is or when it happened but, it's the moment that you realise that you don't have to worry about things. Like when people online talk about the current cost of living crises or feeling the squeeze and I haven't noticed any difference. Or last week when somebody asked what percentage of your household income do you pay on rent / mortgage and I realised it was only 8%. Also no kids. If we had kids it would be a whole different ball game.

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SixUpSave@reddit

Just ignore replies from the selfish DINK posters and you'll get a real representative answer from the normal people.

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PhantomLamb@reddit

22 years old (in 2002) went from £12k basic with £4k potential extra commission, up to £22k basic with £14k potential extra commission, with the ability to over-achieve on that commission too, and regularly did. Sold my £600 VW Golf with daily water leak and bought a Peugeot 306 for £4k.

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Jaso333@reddit

Name checks out

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No-Doughnut509@reddit

I am making $115k a year, once I reached 6 figures I considered I made it.

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VanKakt@reddit

Well done! 👍 As for me I'm not too far off of where I want to be between me and my partner we bring around 4.5k after taxes which is good for where we live. I think if I'd make around 1k more that would make it nice and comfortable. Oh yes we did manage to buy a house not too long ago so I guess that helps with not spending too much on rent. Also it seems we all hit 30 at a similar time (33 here).

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27106_4life@reddit

200k+ in London. Partner and I make ~100k, live in a 1 bed, have 100k savings, still can't afford to buy a house in London that is near to our offices. Could move out, but the 10k/year in train fees

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Deathlehem4@reddit

I think 3k after tax and I’d be happy.

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unrealme65@reddit

£100k pa felt good.

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PhantomLamb@reddit

I am 44 and me and my wife bring in a combined £5500 after tax, it hasnt feel like it tbh, but hopefully will soon Living in the south, silly mortgage and energy costs and there isn't much left. In the process of moving house though and going through cutting down bills as much as possible. Hopefully by the summer life will feel a bit different.

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MangoMatinLemonMelon@reddit

About 6 months ago I felt like I'd made it in life. I was working about 53 hours most weeks, hourly rate which I think worked out at about 2k of take-home pay per month. I could stick £400 in a savings account every month and have more than enough to cover all my expenses, and never really needed to worry about affording all the random extra expenses like getting the odd takeaway or going out for a few drinks. I was earning more than I ever expected to in my life. Sadly, this was a job looking after a terminally ill lady who died at the end of August. I haven't been back in full-time work since, and am living off my savings which have rapidly shrunk, although not to a concerning level. I knew it wouldn't last forever, which is partly why I powered through so many 6-day weeks. It's sad. I miss her every day.

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AkihabaraWasteland@reddit

I make over a ton and I still don't think I have. You need both partners earning close to or over 100 in London to buy a house, the owning of the house to raise kids being my own mark of success.

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Hambatz@reddit

Next year council tax is gonna be 5k a year and fish and chips is gonna run at 25 quid a portion you can earn all you want the bastards are gonna get you

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Lancashire__Arrow@reddit

For me, it was when my wife could safely stop working to bring up our two kids. Having enough to support my wife and two little ones was the moment I felt “I’d made it” financially.

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reelfire@reddit

I’ve pulled in everything from £15k per year to £80k, living in London throughout. I think when you reach a point that you don’t have to count the pennies, worry about debt or go food shopping without worrying about the price tags is a good place to be. Everything upwards from there not much change…for me anyway.

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Professional-Bat4134@reddit

Household income of 8k after taxes.. by no means feel rich, or well off, but often forget that we have 0 money worries about paying bills or anything going wrong with cars.

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bonjajr@reddit

Probably anything over 50k in manchester

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Teawillfixit@reddit

How are you midlife crisising at 30? Planning to die before retirement? Single, no kids household here. I'm mid 30s, on 45k-ish and tbh I feel like I've "made it" income wise already? Grew up skint and spent my 20s skint, homeless a few times etc so maybe it's a perspective thing what income level feels like success? Food, decent rented house, holidays/travelling, hobbies, meals out, saving each month, no debt outside of student debt, planning to buy in the next couple of years and have most of the deposit already. My income is better than I ever imagined and I have everything I need, so I feel I've made it already.

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gerty88@reddit

3-4k a month. Most I earned was 2k a month ten years ago teaching physics , now I’m on minimum wage whilst training to be a counsellor :/

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PushDiscombobulated8@reddit

Myself and my partner pull in £6.5k per month - I’m still in my early days so I expect this to be 7-8k within the next 5 years. We’re both originally from London but live in Hertfordshire. We’re comfortable but still watch our outgoings. London is near to impossible for a comfortable life

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Crumb333@reddit

I'm 37, me and my fiancee have a joint income of £170k, so about £7.5-8k per month after tax. To be honest I still don't feel like I've "made it". There are things I want to do that I still can't afford to do, and I doubt I'll be satisfied until I get there. I guess everyone's different!

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akbar147@reddit

Me and my wife are in the same boat kind of but really it isn’t enough for the dreams we have. We have a lot of work to do yet but I am proud of getting us out of the shitty flat we lived in and get a nice first home in a suburb. She’s still at the beginning of her career and I’ve yet to achieve a lot in mine and I’m trying to keep us focused. We have a 3 year old and she’s amazing, I just want her to have all the security and comfort I didn’t. More importantly I want her to grow up knowing how to manage her money and how to achieve in life, not be a brat. There’s a million things to focus on but nothing good comes easy.

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Arkonias@reddit

If I double my wage (22k - 44k) I could finally afford to move out and get my realistic dream car (Early R35 GTR). But I don't see that happening at all as a QA in the Games Industry.

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NefariousnessNo4918@reddit

I'm a single parent so I put myself under more pressure to earn well than I would've otherwise to compensate for being a single income household. I think we'd be pretty comfortable on £50k - fingers crossed I'll reach that in the next five years - but I'd probably be getting to "made it" level on £70k+. Much less than lots of people would class as a high salary, but I'm happy with a fairly simple life.

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wombat468@reddit

Thanks!

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bryce_13@reddit

Just hit 100k salary at 31, feels like I've made it

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dontflyaway@reddit

My friend is earning about 85-100k at 26 years old, and he's basically said that he feels great comfort in his life. So I'm assuming the threshold for London is about that. Then again, I've heard someone complain about their £150k ceo salary before so.

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fulthrottlejazzhands@reddit

My partner and I are pulling down around £14k/month after taxes with good pension contributions. We aren't making as much as we were in the US (my wife in particular where she was making "stupid" money), but our quality of life has improved. We also worked our butts off to get here basically from when we were kids, not having had time for the more discretionary/fun things others we see doing. We've done the math and feel one of us could quit/take a break and we'd still live somewhat comfortably. We could even both quit and live off savings (somewhat more humbly than we live now) for a year or longer. And I guess that's what "made it" means for me: have a job you like that pays well enough (from which you've saved enough) to be able to say you can take a break.

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kittycatnala@reddit

Mid life crisis at 30 😂 come on lol Well done on your income, I’m almost 50 and struggle with money I don’t make even half of that.

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discombobulated38x@reddit

>midlife >I’m turning 30 in a couple of weeks 😂 Bless you kid, you aren't anywhere near midlife yet Anyway - to answer your question, the income level where I feel like I've made it is when there's a substantial pot of money left in the bank at the end of the month once the mortgage, savings, spending money and everything else has gone out.

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JunglistE@reddit

My partner and I bring in about 5.5k a month, we have a house (with mortgage of course) along with a 2 year old, a dog and a cat. I don’t feel like we’ve made it at all. If I’m honest I think I’d of ‘made it’ if I was able to earn >100k a year. I don’t see that happening though so I’m going to be forever miserable! Luckily life is about more than just your income, that’s what I tell myself anyway!

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i_sesh_better@reddit

£80k is when I’d first feel I’d made it, £100k+ is when I’d be happy with salary.

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

I think if I lived on my own £80k would definitely be the target, the nice thing about being in a couple is the tax benefits. We can live a £95k lifestyle with me earning £55k and her on the equivalent of about £28k

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wombat468@reddit

What tax benefits? You couldn't be transferring your tax free allowance to her as she'd be using it herself on that salary. Am i missing something we could benefit from?!

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

No sorry I may have been a bit unclear. Only about £5k of my salary at the minute is in the 40% tax bracket. My wife is on a phd stipend so isn't taxed, meaning she gets roughly the equivalent of a 28k wage. She tutors and does some research work which bumps her roughly £1500/month stipend close to £2000. Our combined monthly take home as of this comment is just over £5300, but will go up by another couple hundred pounds after my yearly pay review. If I wanted to bring in £5500 on my own I'd have to be earning very close to 6 figures, while as a couple my income of 57-58k plus her income of 28k means we take home what someone on 100k would earn.

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wombat468@reddit

Oh I see,

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i_sesh_better@reddit

The point at which I’d really be happy is when I have enough invested to live off some of the growth but leaving enough to have my money grow every year, truly passive income.

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spiraleyes91@reddit

We’re early 30s and make close to £90k between us now, although £65k of that is my salary, we’re in London, my partner is starting a new career from scratch and we both had periods of unemployment last year where we had to dip into my savings. These factors sometimes make it difficult for me to feel fully comfortable, although I know realistically we’re fine and there’s no problem paying the mortgage and bills each month. We bought a fixer-upper 2-bedroom in 2021 and the mortgage is on a fixed rate still, so actually we’re much better off than many, and I’m probably too cautious with money if anything (we don’t have an extravagant lifestyle, so I save quite well and live below my means). It when I start thinking about having kids - which we want soon - and I go over the London childcare costs in my head, plus the fact I’ll have to mostly fund any maternity leave myself as I’m a contractor, that I begin to feel a bit more unsettled about everything.

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Extra_Honeydew4661@reddit

4k after tax a month

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BelgischeWafel@reddit

I make 26000 in London so, you guys are all making it and it seems impossible

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BigBlueMountainStar@reddit

>This is not a humble brag Bollocks isn’t it.

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No_Appointment_7576@reddit

My wife and I earn £7k and have most definitely not "made it".

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MegaMolehill@reddit

It was the level which meant we could save a deposit and buy a house in London ten years ago. That definitely felt like we were doing alright.

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Global_Acanthaceae25@reddit

Pulling in bare tings bruv

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gladnessisintheheart@reddit

I make around £2k after tax on my own in a job I love and I live a comfortable happy lifestyle with it. So that's about as close to 'made it' as I'd ever really need. Not that I would decline more income, but not if it meant changing jobs.

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Scorpiodancer123@reddit

We're late 30s and similar to you salary wise now. But it's not necessarily about the salary you bring in, it's what you have left after all your outgoings. And that's been the biggest win for us in the oast 2-3 years. The biggest money injections have come from paying off student loans and no longer paying childcare. Within a couple of years it felt like an extra salary. It's in the last year or so I feel like we've got money for what we want to do and that we wouldn't be crippled by the car breaking or the roof leaking. That wasn't always the case for us at all, but it's a huge mental load off. Now we're in a nice position of being able to save money (in accounts that actually have 5% interest instead of 0.25% !!), over pay our mortgage, pay more into our pensions. But also we have the freedom to do nice things - day trips, a big holiday every other year (like Orlando) and a smaller one in between (Europe). We can buy tickets to events we like (comedy, music, gymnastics for me). Having that money on hand is so freeing. And we finally feel like we are reapping some reward for years of hard work, sacrifice and struggle. Now it feels like I'm actually going to work to earn money to enjoy my life, instead of just servicing huge bills and necessary expenses.

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DandaIf@reddit

Bunch of rich fuckers up in here

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stearrow@reddit

I live in London so about 55K. That'd allow me to either parachute out of London and buy something in a nice part of the North West or live a decent life in a decent part of London.

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J1mj0hns0n@reddit

If I earned half of the posts here I would've made it. Who the fuck earns 5k a month and it's not enough? I earn 1.7k and i have spare at the end, what the hell are you doing with it?

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Findmeinadream@reddit

We've had a monthly take home of around £4k for a while now and I definitely feel like we've already 'made it' We're renting in Bristol currently, we go abroad a couple of times a year and do lots of weekends away within the UK. We don't worry about not being able to afford bills/food. We make the most out of our situation. Though my husband is about to start a new job that will bring our monthly take home up to about £6k. It will be interesting to see how that impacts our spending habits.

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TheRealGabbro@reddit

It’s a nice feeling to get to this point and somewhat of a relief I’d imagine. Having a family is costly, don’t underestimate that, but worth every penny. I’ve always managed to earn reasonable well throughout my career but never quite enough; starting at £12k as a graduate (1990) through various other roles including a major leap from £45k to £75k around mid-2000s) but I never felt I was in a comfortable position. My partner and myself now co-own a business and last year probably drew double that each out of the business (pre-tax) but whilst we’re comfortable (we had quite a lot of big costs last year and a couple of big foreign holidays) the pressures remain, there’s always that slight doubt that we’re not really capable of doing this and the work will dry up. So the pressure still remains in the back of our heads.

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MisterD90x@reddit

:'( I take about £1k home after tax pcm So for me anything in the 1500-2000 range id be so happy.

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spacemanmoses@reddit

I "made it" at 60K. I rarely spend money, but now I can yolo hundreds on something and it makes zero difference if it was a dumb as hell decision. I have definitely become stupider as a result.

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DrH1983@reddit

When I can afford to at least rent a place of my own, that is secure and not some private landlord who'll kick me out in 2 years so he can sell the house. However much that would be. My current salary doesn't quite seem enough. If I had an extra 5k a year it might be feasible. If I stop saving anything maybe less than that. So, 35kish I guess. Though next year it would likely be more.

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PrometheusZero@reddit

I'm in my early forties. I was always on 20k but I'm now on 30k and it's more than I've ever earnt. Still struggling to make ends meet now I'm living in a house on my own but I finally feel like I have a professional job with a professional income. I live in York so it's not London prices but it's not cheap here either.

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Slyspy006@reddit

Midlife crisis at 30, lol.

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Notmyaccount10101@reddit

When my partner was working we were earning around 170K combined, both 29, and this felt quite good, more than manageable. Now doing 110-120K while she’s SAHM and this is doable but doesn’t leave too much either. 200K would be ideal.

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onetimeuselong@reddit

Made it isn’t a monetary figure. It’s going to bed at night not thinking about money or work.

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bigblabbermouth@reddit

If you have lifestyle creep that keeps up with your increase in earnings, you’ll never feel like you’ve reached your ‘enough’ goal. But …if your passive income matches your actual income - you will know you have ! IMHO

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VanCanne@reddit

Not too fussed about an income, but I would like to own a modest house one day with a reasonable mortgage and no other debts, excluding student loan. However, this seems like a pipe dream.

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ConduciveMammal@reddit

I feel like I already make it. The only problem is the economy crashed at the same time so I’m really not feeling it.

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fiofo@reddit

I'm on £28k (single, no dependents) and can get by just fine, but I think if I were on £35k I'd have more of the "made it" mindset. When I get commission that boosts me up to around £32k or so, I definitely get more of a sense of relief and comfort! Of course this could change when my mortgage goes up later this year :/

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discat7123@reddit

Financial? 500k gross between two incomes. And investing in angel start ups. I think that’s the beginning of really making something. Nowhere near there yet! On a slightly less surface level ? Living where you like, being able to do what you like. I’m very time poor, don’t like where I live but I am able to do my hobbies (financially). So nowhere near there yet!

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REidson89@reddit

Don't think I ever will. But not sure why there's a post to tell everyone else

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royalfarris@reddit

double that of my neighbours

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Ok_Tangerine6023@reddit

Find poorer neighbours

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JoeyJoeC@reddit

We just about managed to buy a small 3 bedroom end terrace, which is surrounded by 4 and 5 bedroom detached houses with double garages. Our house is 100 times better than the flat in a council estate we came from, but it's still hard to look at the neighbors huge houses, with their brand new cars, and not feel jealous. Now our goal is to move into one of those houses.

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armtherabbits@reddit

We pull in about 12k after tax and honestly we don't even feel secure... when I fantasize, I reckon it would take about 2M windfall to make me feel actually secure. If you are depending on someone else to pay you a salary, you are never secure.

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MiddleAgeCool@reddit

At the end of the month after I've been paid; are the bills all covered? Have I been able to put some money aside? Can I eat for the month ahead? If I want to socialise in the coming month, have I got that covered? Can I sit back with a beer and just relax?

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neilfann@reddit

Less about level of income, more about potential for retirement. Once I know I could never work again and be ok I'll have made it. I'm 48 and not there but it is in sight.

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KartoffelSucukPie@reddit

We hit 9K after taxes. We have high outgoings (not in London). Mortgage 1 £2K, Mortgage 2 £1.2, Council Tax £250, Nursery £1K, House Renovation Loan £2K, Groceries & Household Items & Dining Out £800, Kids activities £250, subscriptions £100. We have a good living standard, but we are not able to save more than £1K a month. I'd say we would need to make another 5K a month for us to feel like we would be able to relax.

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JoesRealAccount@reddit

My solo income is similar to that and I really don't feel like I've "made it". I feel ok, but not necessarily good about my financial position. Recently been feeling downright uncomfortable about it tbh. London, leaseholder of a 1 bed flat. Tbh I feel like I'm trapped in a tiny home in London because anything decent is too expensive or too far away from where I work.

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The_Liamster03@reddit

I make about £100k each year. I grew up very privileged and am fortunate to be in the position I’m in

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Extension_Drummer_85@reddit

As someone with two school aged kids who just moved here, this thread hurts. Our household income sits around the 100k mark and it's all spent on either lifestyle costs or the bare bones investments so we're not plunged into poverty when we get older. We're lucky that our expenses were much lower prior to moving here so we have good savings. Housing is so expensive here, I don't see how the kids will be able to afford their own houses without financial help so we're looking at least another 20 years of high expenses. Our income should increase in that time but with the way the cost of living is rising I'm not sure that's going to really help us.

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Ok_Duck4824@reddit

I managed to go from £40k full-time, to average £600 p/d, which with what I work is roughly £100k p/a. I feel really lucky to be earning that much. Having said that, I’ve worked my ass off to get here and my work can be taxing. I also live in London, which honestly I think you need to earn at least £70k to have a somewhat decent/non-stressed about money existence.

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RustyCuffs@reddit

Just about to start a new career at 34 at £50k and genuinely feel that when I start the amount of financial pressure will be off me. Been in another career for 16yrs and had some time off recently for mental health and my finances are all over the place with a fair bit of debt! Looking forward to setting things straight and getting on track.

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TidalShadows@reddit

For me personally, my salary goal is £60k per year. But that's just my own target of when I think I'd feel satisfied. I don't need to be rolling in cash, just be able to buy a nice home, run a car, and go on holiday each year.

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Wiltix@reddit

I have a mortgage, good income, and a great family. Feel like I have made it.

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Marlboro_tr909@reddit

I felt I’d hit a level when I passed £50k, but it’s a false, perception thing really

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HornyMidgetsAttack@reddit

My old boss used to tell me 1k for every year old you are is a good rule of thumb. I'm 14 above currently so I'll take that

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leclercwitch@reddit

I’m 28 and I only earn 24k. My partner is 24 and earns 45k though, and although we don’t live together yet, that combined income to me is very good. But I’d like to earn more on my own. Can’t really in a NHS admin job, so I’m looking to start my own business when I’m 30. No kids yet either. I’m not in the position I want to be in at all. Definitely having a midlife crisis, 15 years before I thought I’d have one.

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fionakitty21@reddit

More than the 490 I get a month (chronic health issues)

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Nyctomorphia@reddit

Enough to afford my own home and vehicle and everything else that would allow me to afford my fitness, health, necessities, recreation. I don't do any drugs or alcohol, I don't live materialistically. I live well. I live cleanly. I live in service of others. I am not rewarded for selflessness. Fuck individualised, westernised, materialistic, superficial, profit driven, resource hoarding, self-obsessed societies.

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Silverdodger@reddit

NOT financial advice here, the system is rigged against the little people (us). You’re gonna hear a lot about crypto this year due to the Bitcoin Halving, which happens every 4 years. My family laughed at me and let’s just say, they’re not laughing anymore. Research Hedera. Half the world will run on this platform and we won’t even realise it. Sounds weird, but I’ve gone in on a meme called Grelf which runs on Hedera, Is this me selling it? I don’t really need to, but what I’m saying is, the largest transfer of wealth we’ve ever seen in our lifetime is underway. In 50 years- people will ask: how did that guy buy that country estate? It’s the next Industrial Revolution. If you’re interested in the gold I’ve found just google Grelf and its creator called WarlockNkey. I know crypto is full of scammers, I’ve been in it for 10 years and am passing on something special. r/grelf and yes I earn a good salary but it’s not enough for the trap we live in.

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DegenerateWins@reddit

“Making it” isn’t an income. It’s your spending being less than your “passive” income. As in, you can live your life without having to go to work, that’s making it. Note - if you are not at work all day, you’re likely to spend more cash.

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melanie110@reddit

Before my husband had a midlife crisis and quit his job to be a shit paid trainee paramedic, we had an annual joint income of £90k. In South Yorkshire where we live, this is very very high. Now we have a joint income of £67k and £45k of that is my wage. We still do okay but we now need to budget and save longer for things

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speccynerd@reddit

My wife and I make about 110k between us, and we're comfortable, but the house needs doing up and I'm very nervous about how much that will cost. My wife is Asian and insists we spent a lot in extra curriculars for our child, so that eats up most of the excess.

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honkygooseyhonk@reddit

£2000 lol. But am a student

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Berookes@reddit

About to turn 28 and on £28K which is more than enough for my lifestyle while flat sharing with my mate, but when I remember that it’s nowhere near enough to live alone I get sad

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PsychologicalClue6@reddit

I used to be quite poor so even having a full time income of minimal wage felt like ✨wow I made it✨. Now I’m on a fair bit more but I also have a lot of health issues which make life quite expensive so I don’t feel that positive about my income atm. So I guess it’s all about perspective! At the moment, I’d have to make at least twice what I am now to be truly comfortable.

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Skrill3xy@reddit

I'm a student on student loan on 12k income, my partner is a dementia carer earning 18k, so 30k yearly for us, a toddler and a cat in Nottingham. We're fairly comfortable, have a mortgage and have decent savings and we feel like we have made it :) However we don't go on holidays abroad, we always buy as cheaply as possible and everything is second hand, if an item of clothing gets a hole I sew it up instead of throwing it out and we're very content

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Sadlamp1234@reddit

So when I was young and entering the work force about 2006/2007 I remember my Mum and Dad telling that you'll be alright with about 20 grand a year. Living very well on 25 grand a year and living like a king wae cocaine and scratchcards and hookers every night if that's your thing if your on 30 grand a year. Currently on just below 30 grand a year before OT etc and I am just fine. Comfortable enough but not a lot for the saving etc. Just shows how much things have went up in that time cos I swear when I was 19 and on 18 grand a year I had more disposable income.

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shortercrust@reddit

It’s not a humble brag, it’s just a brag

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Remote_Echidna_8157@reddit

Whatever the median wage of the entire country is.

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Sad-Personality8493@reddit

This is so refreshing compared to that other guys post about wanting to call in sick because he doesnt feel like working. Well done guys. You deserve it. Enjoy.

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simonsail@reddit

Agreed, it's nice to see hard working people take pride in their achievements instead of the usual defeatist Reddit "the system is rigged, don't even bother trying" type attitude.

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Jonnym-92@reddit

4800 net income, me full time, wife part time. Own/ mortgage a 4 bed detached house, 3 year old child 2 cars. Small savings account but a good pension through work. 2 weeks abroad holiday a year, plus 3 or 4 weekends a way. Live comfortably could save but rather spend it now while fit and well, never know what's coming round the corner. Live north West of England so house prices are very cheap compared to the south but still a very nice area withing our region

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Nights_Harvest@reddit

40k and I would be happy as a peach up north. Make it 50k I am a king in my own castle!

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Beanruz@reddit

We bring in 6500 after everything per month. Living in the North With total out goings of 1800 a month (excluding food) and I don't feel like we've made it.

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simonsail@reddit

If this isn't making it then I genuinely don't know what is.

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lesloid@reddit

There’s a diminishing happiness return on income increases once you get past about £70k in my opinion and experience. I used to be in a corporate job paying around £150k (including bonus and stock) and quit a couple of years ago to do a similar job in the third sector for half the pay. I don’t feel much poorer as we are still comfortable ( my husband also earns a similar amount to me). I drive an older car and don’t buy designer clothes but I don’t miss any of those things. Only thing I really miss is travelling business class, that really does make quite a difference to the holiday experience!! On the upside I feel like I’m doing something worthwhile with my life, which feels more important to me in terms of ‘making it’ than what my payslip says.

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Business_Weekend_180@reddit

I’m on £60k and I still don’t feel like I’ve made it as a single woman. 20 year old me would have been over the moon but I’m struggling to save anything. Maybe at £100k but I won’t make it that far because this job is stressing me out too much…

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Maniadh@reddit

I've just went briefly up to £26k in temp promotion, if I could stay here permanently and my partner could get up to similar I think we'd start to feel stable.

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Anxiously_BRocolli@reddit

Same here, still struggling tho but happy that I can have some spare money to go on holidays & pay the bills

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Ryanaston@reddit

Jesus everyone in these comments making me realise just how terrible I am with money. I earn just shy of 100k yet I’m constantly broke. I have a lot of debts I’m paying off from my early 20’s still. Plus I live in London. Don’t get me wrong, I spend recklessly - I eat out a lot, party a lot, etc. But still I feel like I should be able to do those things on my salary and still not be broke at the end of each month. When I don’t have to worry about money anymore I’ll be happy, but right now I still do.

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

Yeah I'll be honest you're not getting a lot of sympathy from me. Even after paying for expensive rent you should still be taking home £3000/month on your wage, which is close to what I earn after tax without anything taken out. Have you ever sat down and made a budget?

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Ryanaston@reddit

Wasn’t asking for your sympathy - you asked a question and I answered. Yes, I have made a budget but I have an impulsive spending problem. The why is complicated, but I’m working on it through therapy.

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

Fair enough, sorry that did come across as harsh.  The good news is once you sort that impulse spending you'll be in a very good place.

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Ryanaston@reddit

Yes, hopefully it will be sooner than later. Once my debts are paid off I should be in a better place anyway but I pay off ~£1k in various debts each month, which obvs eats into my remaining salary after rent and bills etc.

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anonymouse39993@reddit

Yes you are awful with money

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CommonSpecialist4269@reddit

I feel incredibly lucky that my partner and I bring in around £6.5k after tax each month. We’re in our mid twenties and managed to buy a home last year without any financial support from our parents. We just bought a really nice, nearly new, second hand car that I’m absolutely in love with. It’s the first big purchase that has been made as a “want” without thinking much about the impact on finances. We save aggressively and don’t get much satisfaction from going on holidays (1 week a year for around £500pp). My partner receives stocks as part of their compensation and this is lining us up nicely to make some big payments towards our mortgage in the years to come. We are now saving for our wedding. All of this comfort won’t last forever but right now I’m absolutely loving life and hope we have a good buffer should one of us be made redundant or decide to stay home to look after our future children.

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

Congratulations! Thats incredible. You guys are doing an amazing job.

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Ok-Comfortable-3174@reddit

I think saving an "emergency fund" is important £30K is a good amount which means you have a year's grace if you lose your job.

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Maleficent-Sink-6367@reddit

I originally thought £80k but now that I earn almost that much and own a home it's not enough. So maybe £125k annually?

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jessietee@reddit

I feel like I have made it now. I am just paying for the years gone by lol I'm on £64k (hearing about payrises next month too!) but pay my ex £650pm for our daughter, and I am currently paying off about £700 onto a credit card every month (£3200 balance after today!) and have some other smaller debts, but I realise how fortunate I am to be able to do that, I have moved in with a friend to save money so I am making sacrifices but I know if something really major comes up I can just pay min on my credit card and have money to cover it, which I feel like was always the point I wanted to be in life, where I didn't have to worry about money. I don't have much spare but that is a choice and tbh I could probably cut back even further if I wanted to. Hopefully I will have my debt cleared by August this year, not going on a holiday with my daughter this year, just maybe travelling up to stay with family in Scotland for a cheap trip away. And then after that I will start saving for a house deposit. I have just turned 40 so I am a little worried its too late, and I certainly feel like I will have to move out of Bristol to afford somewhere on my own, but I will be saving for a deposit regardless. I've been an absolute fuckwit with money all my life and its my greatest regret that I am only sorting it out now, but I do feel like I have made it.

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cgknight1@reddit

£4000 or £5000 a month from earned income (e.g. not working) seems a decent number to me.

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DeifniteProfessional@reddit

There's different levels of "made it". In my current career, to reach level 1 of "made it", I would need to be able to afford to live alone comfortably, but still be able to save a small amount of money each month for rainy days. I think that's probably around £45K per year gross salary To reach level 2, I would need to be able to mortgage my own place, be able to host weekend parties, and still save money. Probably would need 55K for that (and a 50K - 100K upfront lump sum of money) For level 3 made it, I would need to be on about 80 - 100K, able to mortgage a nice house in a nice area, have a fully stocked back garden bar and a home cinema Level 4 is a fantasy made it - somehow make it rich and famous and earning enough money to not look at the bank before I buy a house or a car or even lunch (like I do now) Currently on 36K, "scraping by"

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Beaver-hausen@reddit

I hit 46k at my last job and while I was thinking this is brilliant I wasn't happy I now have my dream job on 34k and I feel like I've made it now

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p4ttl1992@reddit

£3k-£4k would be nice, I'm 32 and getting £1800 a month whilst living on the outskirts of London with 3 kids....I work in IT but fuck me is it painful finding a well paying job even with experience lol, there's tons of tech job cuts at the minute.

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tomahawk66mtb@reddit

For me it's not a number per se. It's the fact that we can save/invest 50% of our post tax income and still not really think about the cost of things too much. Don't get me wrong, we aren't able to go nuts on biz class travel or big ticket items like cars etc. but we can go to a restaurant and not think about the total cost or go on a holiday and not have a tight budget.

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CilantroShamrock@reddit

Well, it all depends on where you live and what your family circumstances are. I was in similar position to you, but then I also hated my job so I took a very slight pay cut and we also had a baby, and so money feels a lot more tight than it did, since we had to do a ton of stuff on the house we'd been saving up for, and then nursery kicks in in 2 months, so even though we'll still be on over £5k a month we feel a hell of a lot poorer already.

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Alert_Breakfast5538@reddit

I made just over 200k last year and it’s still not enough to buy a house where I want without having a massive mortgage payment. Housing is ridiculous

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Toenutlookamethatway@reddit

I wouldn't define myself that way. If I was earning silly money for doing nothing I'd feel guilty and embarrassed, but if I earned fuck all for slogging my guts out I'd feel worthless. I'm pretty happy where I'm at now. I work hard and get paid well, although it does my head in that there are those more slovenly that get paid the same, I feel like I have a better reputation

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Mrfunnynuts@reddit

I'm on 45k ATM , it's good salary and I'm happy to be earning it young because I know my pension etc will thank me but it gets toned down once my student loans come off and that's what really makes me feel like I'm not 'making it" right now, I'd really like that extra 200 quid a month. Once I'm over 50k Id expect to be shovelling everything into my pension anyway because it's a much higher taxrate, would really like Mr sunak to raise the thresholds BC 50k now is not what it used to be when those were brought in.

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emotional-empath@reddit

Made it level, probably 40k - 50k a year.

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Monsterpike14@reddit

Would be interested to hear how you feel about your Wife earning more than yourself? Not proud to admit it but I’m a tad chauvinist unconsciously in the fact deep down I don’t like the fact my girlfriend’s basic salary is higher than mine. After my pay enchantments for On call etc I end up with a higher monthly salary which make me feel better lol.

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OrbitalArtillery2082@reddit

I have to mentally swap 100k for 50k in these threads to get an accurate gauge of how broke the UK is.

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dwair@reddit

I'd honestly be happy with working less for what I get now - which is just about enough.

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thedreamingpirate@reddit

500k pounds after taxes

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Perseus73@reddit

Hitting £65k now and I feel only marginally better off than when I was earning £35k. Ridiculous. I used to think if I got into that region I’d be rolling in it. Nope.

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

Can I ask why? Thats over an extra £1800 a month coming in.

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paolog@reddit

It's purely psychological, but when my annual salary in K exceeded my age in years.

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loquaciousofbored@reddit

When I was young I saw a movie where one of the characters said you’re not a success unless you make your age in salary. So like 50 yr old = $50,000. Not sure that’s as relevant in these times…

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AgeingChopper@reddit

Mid life? dude you're years short of it. You're doing really really well. Congrats. We've never earned that much and never felt we didn't make it. I t depends what "making it" is, We earned enough to pay our house off, my wife has been able to retire early and i still enjoy what I do. I have wonderful friends and family and more time for them now. To me that's making it.

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SpiritDonkey@reddit

I'm going to be taking a massive paycut and making radical adjustments to my life to be able to get by on somewhere around the minimum wage mark, because I'd rather live with he problems that brings than the bullshit that comes with higher paid jobs/careers. When I'm as off grid and as self sustainable as possible without having to participate in this society is when I'll feel like I've made it

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SynthRogue@reddit

About three times the real cost of living.

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Slight-Influence-581@reddit

Having enough and not wanting more.

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OhWhatADaaay@reddit

Dual income of around 60k a year, age 28 and 26, neither of us went to uni or college but have worked hard to get where we are. West Midlands based. Own a 3 bed house with a 45k deposit. don't worry about money.. life's too short

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Fantastic_Picture384@reddit

Is 30 the new mid life ?

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OrdoRidiculous@reddit

I think the only honest answer is "more" until I find the limit of the value I'm capable of extracting from life. It's not even about the money, it's just always on to the next thing to see if I can beat where I'm already at. I'm currently pulling in somewhere around 160k, but that doesn't feel any different from 50k to be honest. I think my sense of whether I've "made it" is fairly decoupled from money, beyond using it as a metric.

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Lordofthewhales@reddit

That's probably an easy attitude to have when you earn 160k...

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OrdoRidiculous@reddit

No, that's the complete opposite of my point. When I got to 50k I was comfortable, 160k doesn't feel any different with respect to whether or not I've made it in life. My lifestyle hasn't expanded to meet my income, I'm more concerned about whether I'm meeting my potential than any specific number. Wealth is more of a factor if you want to calibrate your life around money. Wealth brings you an order of magnitude more freedom than a high income does.

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Additional_Tea_5395@reddit

idk, 3 million a day? Nah, I just want mental stability and a nice gf bro. I already "made it" with my $22k a year. May not sound like much to you Americans but in my country it's very nice. I live with my parents too so that's basically boat loads of money while my friends are almost starving with less.

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BarrieBadman@reddit

Probably if I was bringing in £6/7k per month on my own. Currently, my fiancée and I bring in £5k per month between us (after deductions) and we live very comfortably. Then again, we're in the north west. Conversely, I don't actually feel that a level of income determines 'making it'. I just feel you need good food, clean water, good friends and/or family, and shelter, on top of not being a pr*CK to be successful.

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malumfectum@reddit

The moment I’m earning enough that I’m not in my overdraft by payday. That’s literally it. I don’t care about being rich, I just want to feel like I’m not wasting my time working when my head’s not even above water.

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Labionda20@reddit

My salary has gone up and down a fair bit over the past ten years, some of my happiest times at work were in roles paying less but I genuinely loved the company/role. Now that I’m older I feel more like I have ‘made it’ if my job allows me to have a proper work/life balance. I would love to earn say 200k a year but I absolutely do not want the level of stress that most roles in that bracket offer. My sweet spot is 50k with work life balance (I live in London, partner earns a good salary).

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Chris-TT@reddit

The truth is, unless you are careful with your money, your lifestyle will adjust to match your earnings. Ten years ago, my wife and I managed to save £12k in 12 months for our wedding. Back then, we were bringing in about £3500 a month after taxes. Now, we bring in just under £10k a month after taxes, yet, truthfully, we don’t feel any better off in terms of savings. We simply spend more on expenses - our holiday destinations and eating out choices have evolved. While we’re comfortable, I wouldn’t say our income stops us from thinking about money, I’ve never thought to myself we’ve made it, the goal posts of what you want to earn just keep changing.

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New-Fig8494@reddit

>This isn’t a humble brag Yeah, ok mate.

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Polz34@reddit

It's totally depends on where someone lives, what are their aspirations etc. For me I'm single but between 30 -38 my salary went from £19k to £38k. I'm turning 40 this year and on on just over £40k, its more than enough to pay for my mortgage and keep me comfortable. At this rate by 50 everything will be paid off and I'll have a decent savings account.

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WondrousDavid_@reddit

I have a mortgage on a house, a loving partner and a small garden. As long as I can keep affording this I feel I made it.

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airplane_flap@reddit

Probably next year once I get my own place, I am so close I can almost taste it. Been saving 2k a month alongside my normal outgoings and I still have just shy of £500 left over for random things. I could just put that into savings too but I would like to be able to grab some food when I am out in town or a new book every so often anything left before my next pay goes into savings.  But I am still renting so I feel like once I have my own space I will truly be able to relax after having rented since I was 16 and now am 33.

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ami_run@reddit

I work at Sodexo, my wife is a PhD student, we are combined on 3.2k and live in Bristol.

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GBAD1945@reddit

Felt I had properly ‘made it’ when I hit over £100k base salary. Monthly take home around £5.6k which when added to wife’s income is around £8k.

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Lanky_Commission5064@reddit

24m on around 80k, In London and it really doesn't feel like a lot. I think in London 125k+ would make me feel like I have "money"

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PoliticsNerd76@reddit

When I hit £1 net worth I have more of a wealth mindset than an income one

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MycoMacro@reddit

£400,000/year. It’s where associates top out, meaning it’s technically attainable without the je ne sais quois of trying to make partner. I don’t think I’d be able to afford the luxuries I’d want with any less.

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OverallResolve@reddit

In the last year really. Still have a bit to go but I’m not far off where I can coast. £1,700 in pension per month, £4,600 take home per month, and around £10k bonus take home a year. It’s easy to let yourself feel like you don’t have enough at any income so my biggest goal is to focus on enjoying what I have - I know I could with a lot less. I’d like to have less work stress but it’s worth the money.

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Krikkit_Jelly@reddit

No amount of income will make me feel like I have "made it" on it's own. Owning my home outright would be the bare minimum pretext to feel that way, combined with that a salary/income of 2× to 3× the median at the time (so £52k to £79k currently) would be sufficient to live well. --- However being real, in our current economy you haven't "Made It" if you're even thinking about income... It's asset ownership that makes you wealthy, not working for a living.

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Twiggy_15@reddit

And at 2x to 3x the median income you still can't even begin to think about buying homes outright or collecting significant other assets. You're absolutely right that its about wealth not income but the fact our current economy means being in the top 1% of income means you can still never make it to the top 10% of wealthiest (unless you inherit) is crazy.

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Krikkit_Jelly@reddit

>And at 2x to 3x the median income you still can't even begin to think about buying homes outright or collecting significant other assets. Exactly, at least not a home you would want, in a place you'd want to live. >You're absolutely right that its about wealth not income but the fact our current economy means being in the top 1% of income means you can still never make it to the top 10% of wealthiest (unless you inherit) is crazy. Yeah, the system is rigged in favour of those already in positions of privilege, *just like it always has been.* The big irony is that: - being wealthy is the only way to have genuine financial security at this point, - the only ways to make the jump from being a wage earner to to being "wealthy" is being very prudent with your outgoings to amass significant savings, then taking extremely high levels of financial risk with those savings (either by speculation on the markets, or starting your own business). So to get security, you have to be willing to put it all on the line...

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mrboomtings@reddit

Very happy to hear this for you. Well done!

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leeliop@reddit

200k for next level dgaf type of money Was on 80k before being laid off and it didnt touch the sides lul

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FIREBIRDC9@reddit

Ending a month with an extra 1k in savings

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Melodic_Arm_387@reddit

Honestly, having really scraped to get by in the past, I’m happy to have enough income to shop for groceries the day before payday without having to worry if I can afford it.

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PM_ME_UR_TIDDYS@reddit

I think we're probably there now at £10k/ month combined before deductions. It's temporary though as if kids come along, that is going to drop by at least 50%. But for now, I'm comfortable for the first time in my life.

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Inevitable-Hat-1576@reddit

This sounds a bit bleak - to me, with the world economy being so unstable and white collar jobs in general feeling the heat of AI (not now, but in the mid term), I think only true financial independence would feel like I’ve “made it”. My partner and I bring in >5k and live well below our means for the most part, but all I can think about, when I consider the big picture, is saving to temporarily offset the incoming drop in quality of life. But I’ll never be able to save enough, so for that reason I suspect I’ll never feel like I’ve made it. Shame really, had I reached this level of income 5 years ago I’d def feel like I made it.

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IntrovertedArcher@reddit

Personally my feeling of whether I’ve “made it” isn’t really linked to my salary. I own a house with my partner, we have two cars and enough money to save a bit each month. But my feeling of having made it is more linked to my hobbies and interests than my job or my income tbh.

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ExhaustedSquad@reddit

I just got a big pay rise to £60k and pull in around £75k after bonus and benefits and it really feels like financial worries have gone away. That probably happened at around £40k but I have a savings obsession and the new salary really facilitates that. It means we have been able to make the jump and start the process to buy our next home. I think our household incomes pushes £120-130k depending on how well my self employed partners business is doing, but throw childcare into the mix and it does take a huge hit on the monthly disposable!

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NorthernSoul1977@reddit

At 30 I was working in a hostel in Brisbane for bred & board, doing some labouring on the side for beer money. At 34 I was back in the UK, living with my folks and driving a van for minimum wage. At 36 I was on twice that wage working in IT and had met a girl, and was considering marriage. Now, at 46 I'm married with 2 kids, got my own detached house and our shared income is about 5.5k after tax. I feel like I've 'made it' now, finally. We still live wage to wage and no savings, but we can afford a family holiday abroad once a year and pay for a lot of things on credit.

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inthemagazines@reddit

Cue all the "I have no qualifications so I only earn a measly £100,000 a year, I won't be happy until I'm earning over £250,000" posts that appear every time this question comes up.

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Zealousideal-Wafer88@reddit

I’m 35 and haven’t even hit 30k yet like many of my peers did years ago so heck anything above that would be nice.

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EconomyFreakDust@reddit

People really aren't going to like this one, but my target is currently £250k pa pre-tax. I'm very far off that fwiw, but it's a number that's possible with the right amount of work.

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HorseFacedDipShit@reddit (OP)

Man go for it. I'm aiming for over £100k in two years. Don't be afraid to dream big.

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beepbopbeepbobimabot@reddit

I have a household income of around £110k before tax and to be honest, I don't feel well off at all. We don't have kids and own a pretty standard 3 bed semi in the SE area. I drive a 14 year old car, my wife has an 8 year old car. We are saving as much as we can to pay off the help to buy loan as we are approaching year 6 where interest payments come into effect. Our mortgage is also due to increase in August as our five year fixed rate expires. With the amount of tax paid, increasing bill costs, expected mortgage rises, amongst other things, we are fairly comfortable but certainly haven't made it. I really don't know how people get by on minimum wage.!

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TheDawiWhisperer@reddit

It used to be £50k but now i earn more than that it's nowhere near, in all honesty and the money just doesn't go as far as you'd think. I'd say household income of £100-150K is enough to feel truly comformable atm

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Scottish_squirrel@reddit

I've just taken a lower paying job and husbands job is uncertain but I'd rather make the move for happiness than money.

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Gauntlets28@reddit

I dunno - £30,000 maybe? Once I reach that I think I can consider myself to be on a solidly middle class income. I probably earn about that already if you include the annual bonus, but because there's a chunk that's a bonus, it's not exactly guaranteed income.

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anonymouse39993@reddit

30,000 is below the uk median income

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Gauntlets28@reddit

Is that taking into account age and region?

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anonymouse39993@reddit

It’s the uk median so all regions half the population earn above, half below

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inthemagazines@reddit

Median was lower than £30,000 at the end of 2023, has it increased suddenly this year?

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anonymouse39993@reddit

It’s 34963 https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2023

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PlasteeqDNA@reddit

This is excellent news! Hearty congratulations!

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royalblue1982@reddit

The day I could walk into a UK train station and just buy a ticket without caring about the price.

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Squoooge@reddit

Dear lord. Is that even possible? I'd think millionaires even baulk at that 😆

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jgoodliffe@reddit

Income here has stagnated, whilst expenses in all forms - tax, bills, travel costs, and healthcare has gone through the roof. I could be incredibly wealthy but still have to wait months to see a GP have my expensive car wrecked by the many potholes, or be unable to get from A to B as my train is oversubscribed. In the UK, no matter how much you earn, you'll never feel like you "made it", as unless you're a multi-millionaire and up, your outgoings seem to go up exponentially the more you earn. Each year, you will have to work harder or for longer hours to take home less factoring in inflation. Income here has stagnated, whilst expenses in all forms - tax, bills, travel costs, healthcare has gone through the roof. I could be incredibly wealthy, but still have to wait months to see a GP.... or have my expensive car wrecked by the many potholes, or be unable to get from A to B as my train is cancelled for instance. There are many things in this country that unfortunately outweigh the feeling of earning a decent income, in my opinion.

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Banditofbingofame@reddit

The actual numbers are a bit irrelevant to me. We have an income of £4k per month after deductions (Inc v.good pension) but our mortgage is only 450 a month for a 4 bed with land, we generate and store a lot of our own energy, we have free wood for heating and we grow/raise a lot of our own food so our disposable income is much higher than the average for the same wage. Once I got myself past the mindset of the pounds and pence, the feeling that I had 'made it's was when I knew I could pretty much walk into a new role in a couple of weeks of leaving my own. It wasnt the financial security, but the feeling of security that I didn't have to rely on any current job.

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Mytoenailshurt@reddit

100k on my own, not a combined salary.

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ChocolateSnowflake@reddit

Household income is about £110K a year. We’re comfortable but want more children and a larger house to accommodate them so £150K or so would go a long way.

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Independent_Range171@reddit

I think 50k would do me

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slimboyslim9@reddit

Is turning 30 really part of a midlife crisis? Hopefully you live long enough that this is more like a third of your life than the mid point. 😄

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Winter_Sweet5023@reddit

as long as I have to work to avoid being homeless and starving to death no amount of salary will make me feel like I've made it.

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Outside_looking_in_3@reddit

Yep having kids will soon fix it lol. Trust me I know.

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Verloc01@reddit

Congratulations! I know the feeling. It's weird to be scraping by and then you just keep going and progress in your career until suddenly you think "I've got spare money!" Word of warning, keep your frugal ways and save the extra for life-improving things like buying a house (extra tip, make sure you live DIY before you buy a doer-upper), having kids, building a savings pot for emergencies, going on a great holiday etc

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No_Release_3890@reddit

When I make enough that I don't worry about the loss of income if I'm off sick for a couple days

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Lanky_midget@reddit

£40k a year honestly

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wobble_bot@reddit

Probably around the 120k a year mark would be a ‘that’s a pretty hefty wage’ for me.

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I_really_mean_this@reddit

You never feel like you’ve made it

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Sure_Explanation2254@reddit

Midlife crises come a bit later than 30 I reckon. We’re still young… right?

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Hellchild400@reddit

Another £1000 a month and I'd be more than comfortable

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pubquiztee@reddit

I just turned 30 and my partner is 32. I recently left my company of 8 years for a new role with a considerable payrise and my partner also got a small promotion. We now make just shy of £6K a month after tax as a couple. Since my job change, we now feel really comfortable. For context, we live in Bristol and are homeowners so our outgoings are relatively high.

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MonkFun1258@reddit

I didn’t have a set financial goal perse, but I always knew I wanted to be happily married, 2 kids, a job I enjoyed, I wanted a 4 bed detached house that looked like the ones on the estate I loved in my town growing up, 2 cars and a holiday every year. I decided this at 18, probably not very ambitious for an 18 year old but that was what I deemed the “perfect” life ha! The last year or so I’ve felt like I have that life comfortably, to the point I’m not striving for “more” now, felt like I spent my 20s chasing something but now at a point I recognise what we have and grateful for it, trying to enjoy it rather than looking for the next thing. Enjoying giving my children the life I’d have loved. I’m 36, we bring in just over £6000 between us after taxes, student loan and pensions. We felt comfortable after £5k, but with mortgage rate increases (and cost of living in general) a couple of additional promotions helped to cushion the blow for us.

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MotherTemporary903@reddit

You know what, I feel like I made it. And we don't have much, but we have a 3 bed in an area where I can see us growing old. HH income after all the deductions is £4.5k+. We have a kid and we don't have to think hard when he needs something (or just wants something). It's more than most have. We came to this country with less than £3k in our pockets. We used to survive on my barely above minimum wage pay + my husband's part time minimum wage pay. It was a lot less than what either of us earns now, even if you consider all the living cost increases. Also, what the hell is wrong with you considering reaching 30 mid life crisis?!

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Thin_Markironically@reddit

This depends massively on location. 80k in the north is probably decent. 80k in london will be mid level

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McLovinsLoveChild@reddit

My definition of making it owning my own place and not how much i get paid. But id need £150,000 a year to consider i made it in my career

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S4h1l_4l1@reddit

Icl sometimes I think, damn I wish I had a lot of money, it would be amazing to live in a gigantic house somewhere in the outskirts of London. Then I think of how short life is, any second it can all go and even if I die at an old age, it’s still not ling enough as you die around 60-90 years old.

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matmos@reddit

If you feel you've 'made it' that's fine dude but life is not a destination it's a journey. Everything you earn or buy is hours/weeks of your life that you will never get back.

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tinyarmyoverlord@reddit

I think next month when I get out of debt 🤞🤞 then I will feel like I’ve made it. I’m very much self employed and don’t make millions but I make enough for my happiness and my dogs so that’s enough for me.

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nomadic_weeb@reddit

As long as my cost of living is met and I have enough disposable income left after to have fun, I don't really care what I'm making. Don't need much to be happy really, just a roof over my head, food in my kitchen, and enough money for pints with mates and going to concerts

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Money-Way991@reddit

In London I feel like the answer would be 80k to be honest. Just looking at what it would take to live relatively close by (within 30 minutes) of my work I always end up around this figure. As a couple then maybe 120k, which will hopefully be feasible in the next 5 years or so.

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Saffrwok@reddit

So I'm almost 40 (ghost of Christmas future) and before I turned 30 my goal was to be earning my age as that felt like a good baseline especially as I was at the time working in the public sector. However, in the past 10years I've found my career niche which has allowed me to be paid more than I ever thought I would be (not millions but closer to double my age). However...since 30 I've had 2 kids, inflation has made everything far more expensive (fuel, mortgages, car and petrol all add up). So while I'm comfortable and can broadly afford what I need to survive and provide I'm certainly not swimming in money like I thought this type of salary would bring. Another way to look at it was in 2011 when I got my first proper job, £50 disposable income was really tight but now if I have £200 spare for myself per month then that feels good but mostly because I have no time to spend it!

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poshbakerloo@reddit

I'd love to earn over £40k 😆 I'm currently on about £32k but that's from two jobs and overtime, I love fairly comfortably as my mortgage is small and I'm single, no children.

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EatingCoooolo@reddit

I think as long as I work for someone I don't know if I'll ever feel like I've made it. It's the getting up and going somewhere you don't want to go that gets me and not having the freedom to do what you want to do. If I made 5k after deductions working for myself I would feel like I've made it where making 5k working for someone else feels different.

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InconvenientPenguin@reddit

I’ll have “made it” when I no longer have to work to sustain my current standard of living.

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GrandWazoo0@reddit

6 figures probably. Used to be that £50k was a “made it” number… these days £50k is just “good”

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Goblindeez_@reddit

When I was in my mid 20’s I got up to 21k and felt like a king, I had more money than I knew what to do with, that was about 6 years ago but now with where I live and everything going up in price that’d be tricky Still for me 20-30k would make me a rich man

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LittleBookOfQualm@reddit

After many years of being on salaries around £20k (thank you charity sector), I now have a salary of £29k. I can save a little with ease, plan for the future, and have a good quality of life. I think I can even afford to go 4 days a week for a bit when I have a child. I feel like I've finally got enough to be ok. Having built up many years if frugal habits helps!

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vince_c@reddit

Mid 30s here This is always moving target for me, but as of late I haven’t wanted anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I’d take it if I was offered. Our household monthly income is just shy of 11k, this is after pension deductions, but not including investments / savings / general living costs. I honestly didn’t think it would be possible for me to earn what I do. My childhood was a constant stream of put downs, nothing I did ever felt good enough and it still plays on my mind. I do take some happiness knowing I earn more than the fuckers who put me down, and I especially like showing off to them whenever possible. Yes it’s toxic, but it feels fucking great.

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bduk92@reddit

Probably having £3k spare a month after bills. Means you can get a car finance without much hassle, fix most house repairs, finance a small unexpected loan. Just takes the day to day pressure off. A big factor would be avoiding lifestyle creep. Our household income has almost doubled since we bought our house, but throwing in kids, inflation, wage stagnation over the last 5 years etc all into that equation means we're hardly any better off than we were before. Certainly in terms of spare cash after bills.

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asmiggs@reddit

There are two moments for me: When I went from a few quid over minimum wage to £27k - that was the justification of 3 or 4 years hard work which meant I would afford to live by myself and save for a house, this was 10 years ago I bought a flat later on this salary by myself. Then later I went from £40k to £60k this meant I could pretty much afford anything I could realistically think of and most importantly I could afford to retire likely in my 60s.

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Herecomestheson89@reddit

It’s definitely bragging, nothing humble or subtle about it! You are smashing it, you don’t need Validation from strangers on the internet.

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sparklybeast@reddit

Dual income is the dream. I’m on 30k and it’s been just me earning for a few years. It isn’t enough for a life. If we could reach £3k a month household net that would be absolutely plenty.

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37728291827227616148@reddit

Go on lad, living the dream!

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Apprehensive-Owl8209@reddit

Depends where you live, what your lifestyle is like, whether you rent your house or own it (and whether you have aspirations to own a house), when you want to retire, what your work/life balance is like, whether you have children (or plan to), etc etc. For a couple working full time in London with a child, you might be spending 2-3k/month on childcare alone plus around 5k/month on a mortgage for a small house so you would want a combined take home of at 9-10k to feel remotely secure. This type of income usually requires a worse work-life balance, so may not feel like you've "made it". Equally, that same mortgage would buy you a much larger house in Cardiff (or a smaller mortgage would buy you a slightly larger house), so you would probably feel pretty good about your income. Basically, you've "made it" when you can live somewhere you're comfortable, do the things you like, and hang out with your loved ones. (As a direct answer to your question, I would say £90-125k to live comfortably, £160-200k to have "made it". Looking forward to leaving London.)

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litfan35@reddit

Probably around the £4k/month after taxes etc mark. I'm single, and currently about £1k away from that - I live okay now, but that extra cushion would be great in setting up my emergency fund and just not having to worry about money. Having said that, I work mostly remote and have great work/life balance compared to this time last year (plus at £10k raise compared to then too) so I'm already feeling pretty happy with my lot in life!

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VolcanicBear@reddit

37, on something around £75k not including bonus or RSUs. I'm definitely very comfortable, but there's plenty of room for progression. Have mates on more than double me, but the fact that I turn my laptop off at 5pm and don't think about work again until the next day, whilst one left the office at 10pm last night... All about balance isn't it.

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Big--Async--Await@reddit

At current a joint income of 50k with a 4 bedroom collectively we feel we've made it but individually we won't feel that way until we each hit 55k-75k.

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Remarkable-Ad155@reddit

Well done to you and the Mrs, enjoy 👍

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continentaldreams@reddit

My partner and I bring in about 5.5k after tax and it often feels like a dream. I used to be on 20k a year and felt rich, now I'm on 40k. My partner is in tech - say no more.

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Jose_out@reddit

I'm now at the stage where I'm pretty happy to settle as my current salary achieves all I need. I'm on £70k + ~15k bonus. Wife's currently part-time on 25k. My current job is very much 9-5 and fairly rewarding. Don't really feel much incentive to go up a level which likely adds more stress and a good chunk of the extra income is taxed anyway.

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TheGrayExplorer@reddit

If my salary is higher than my age. 1k per year. Ill be honest though without being anal frugal if i have money at the end of the month I consider that 'made it'

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NightFrightJD@reddit

I know I've made it when we finally get our detached forever home. At the moment we have a mid terrace piece of crap with a family of noisy neighbours 💀 the other neighbours are good as gold.. personally I think there is a fault with our party wall hence all the noise. ATM me and my partner bring home 70k per annum. All I know is next year she will be on dividends with a wage (quarter of the companies profits), and I'll be on 35k. But my cap will be 45k in a few years' time.

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Bacup1@reddit

I’ve earned 100k+ in a job I hated and currently earn less than half that. However, I’m much much happier and have an achievable goal of building a residual income that covers all of my bills so I can try a few things with the surplus income and make my work life more fulfilling. My advice is to chase a lifestyle and not the money. If you aim to do work you love, you’ll never work a day in your life - then you’ve made it x

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fudgedget@reddit

Outlook will be different if you have kids, need a bigger house, nice neighbour hood,l for good schools, childcare, holidays. I think 10k a month after tax is made it.

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UnderstandingFar8413@reddit

Need over £1,000,000 per year

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jagsie69@reddit

51M. As stated, for me, it isn’t income, it’s wealth. I just paid £415k cash for my house, and £2.5k pension hits my bank a month, with no kids. I’m more than happy with that. Before retiring I was on £45k, but did earn around £80k for a couple of years.

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GeneralQuantum@reddit

PhD in STEM and have invented things that have literally saved lives on nowhere near 5k a month. I'd want 300k/year NET ideally as a minimun, like I would get in USA with the same work.

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MaximusSydney@reddit

I think 150k HH income (pre tax) would feel like we have made it. We aren't miles off that and are comfortable, but can by no means afford flashy cars etc.

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scotorosc@reddit

Income doesn't matter, wealth does, once I hit £500k and have a house I can relax

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