S/O: what is your monthly budget in Manchester UK

amother

Dill

Mon, Jul 26 2021, 6:33 pm

amother [ Calendula ] wrote:

For many women £14 is quite a high wage. Many women work in schools and this is a typical wage for a teacher. Remember, a lot of our expenses are not as high. Granted London is more expensive.
Renting a 3 bedroom house at the moment will be around £800+ a month.
Utilities-around £300 a month
Bills-around £500 a month
Tuition is maybe £5000 a year, cheaper in some state aided schools and slightly more in some of the private schools.

£14 a hour gives around £1200 a month on a part time wage. Add child benefit and tax credits/universal credit and that will probably give the same again. Don't forget the husband will usually also be earning as well.

ETA most teachers I know are earning more like £10-13 an hour rather than 14, but many places will offer subsidized childcare which makes a big difference. Childcare costs on average £130 a week otherwise.

Manchester is very cheap in regard to housing. We live in London and our rent is £2,300 for a two bedroom flat. A house would cost us at least a million before we even renovate a thing. We earn “too much” for benefits.

I would not be happy in Manchester though. I love London but we got to up our earning power.

ETA- If we earn a bit more we have to pay 45% income taxes. So yes, we are stuck.

amother

Currant

Mon, Jul 26 2021, 6:46 pm

amother [ Dill ] wrote:

ETA- If we earn a bit more we have to pay 45% income taxes. So yes, we are stuck.

45% is crazy high, but keep in mind you only pay it on the amount earned over the limit. You don't end up paying more taxes on your lower earnings.

mum22

Mon, Jul 26 2021, 8:03 pm

amother [ Dill ] wrote:

ETA- If we earn a bit more we have to pay 45% income taxes. So yes, we are stuck.

You’d only pay that much tax if you have income of £150k. And that’s per individual, not family.

And if you’re close to 45%, you must already be paying 40% already anyway.

amother

Cadetblue

Tue, Jul 27 2021, 2:49 am

Houses can be cheaper if you’re willing to move out a couple of streets. Most of my friends moved a couple of streets and bought a house for £210k. That’s very norm for young couples to do.
Second, you can’t compare London and Manchester. The whole lifestyle is different besides for prices of buying a house! You definitely can’t compare to the USA!! Everything is different. Don’t understand the comparison. And yes, things have changed drastically over the last 20 years!
Op to answer your question, we did a ton of research into moving to Manchester now. Everyone told us for a small family including school fees £1500 is good. Rent for a 2 bedroom flat or a 3 bedroom house is normally about 750\800 unless you want a nice big house, in which case it can be £1000-1200 so adjust the budget
Our school fees are about £2700 per child per year. We applied to a few schools. None were £5000.

amother

Cadetblue

Tue, Jul 27 2021, 3:00 am

mum22 wrote:

You’d only pay that much tax if you have income of £150k. And that’s per individual, not family.

And if you’re close to 45%, you must already be paying 40% already anyway.

Agreed.
If you’re paying 45% you’re loaded. No offence! But in Manchester that’s insane amounts. Most young men are earning in the low £20,000’s. I work as an accountant so I know what the rates are. You pay 45% per person on amounts AFTER your personal allowance and then each bracket more is taxed higher, so you’d anyway only getting taxed 45% on a certain amount.
On £150k, you’d be walking away with a huge sum after taxes obviously depending on a few factors. Your accountant can give you the best options. If you’re paying 45% of your annual income, you should switch accountants, or check and see that you’re not actually paying that.