I feel pretty worthless

dobss77

Hello Everyone,
Im not going to make this a long post, Ill get to the point straight away.

I have not worked full time in 5 years. Some weeks Ill get 4 days work but other weeks Ill get 1 if that.
Last year I earned 27,000 which got me by just barley cos Im living in Dublin.
I know for a fact that all of my friends earn twice as much as me some of them even treble.
Im in my mid thirties now and have very little hope.

Can someone reassure me the 27,000 is an ok wage and I am being unreasonable. How much do you earn?
Thnaks in advance.

Mimojo

Well I used to earn more than double what I am earning now, and what I am earning now is really rubbish, but hey, its a job, gotta be happy with what youve got, especially the way things are!

eire2009

dobss77 wrote: »

Hello Everyone,
Im not going to make this a long post, Ill get to the point straight away.

I have not worked full time in 5 years. Some weeks Ill get 4 days work but other weeks Ill get 1 if that.
Last year I earned 27,000 which got me by just barley cos Im living in Dublin.
I know for a fact that all of my friends earn twice as much as me some of them even treble.
Im in my mid thirties now and have very little hope.

Can someone reassure me the 27,000 is an ok wage and I am being unreasonable. How much do you earn?
Thnaks in advance.

Ive earned 6 times what im getting now(dole) but it was only for a few months.. I would have been better off in a job that had less hours and more permanent. All my mates are working ranging from 30-70k a year none of them are qualified to do anything gotta love the public service ha.. The ones on the most money have the most stressful jobs and are the biggest alcos or just waste there money . Id rather 27k doing something I enjoy to be honest after all your going to be doing it for 40hs a week.

Mr. Loverman

Comparing yourself to other people will only make you unhappy, so you should try to stop doing that...

Have you considered working on your skills or education to try to get a better job?

fat__tony

what do you do for a living OP?

Why not do something about it then?

What is your level of education? Have you considered studying part - time to improve your skillset?

dan_d

The most I earned was 41,000, and that was at the age of 25/26 (that's ridiculous now that I read it). However it's been in a steady decline since then, and now at the age of 28 I'm unemployed.

Goes to show how far that got me. Don't compare yourself to others OP, it's just not worth it. Not everyone measures their happiness/value in monetary terms (I don't, even on the dole). And you haven't said what field you're in.

poppyvalley

Is that 27k gross or nett income? If its gross then I can imagine with deductions etc. it would be tough alright specially in Dublin. If its nett it not TOO bad in or around 500 ( I'm hopeless at maths) a week Either way you'll just have to spend wisely, and you'll get by

tenchi-fan

agreed with poppyvalley - its fine if it's a net wage, not great if it's your gross wage.

If you earned 27k working parttime though, that's pretty good.

Berty

I was earning a good wage during the "good years" and then I took a 57% wage cut or so.

I went down to €22,500 and had the same car, house and outgoings to deal with.

I then left this job for a job paying €33,000 which after 3 months I lost and went back down to €196 per week.

It has been a tough 2 years.

Now, if you can afford to pay your bills on €27k and have even €50 to spare per week then so be it.

Everybodies opportunity comes around eventually. For some it takes longer than others.

Although Im back in work now my partner has had to leave work on medical grounds temporarily but does not get sick pay.

Back to square one! :mad:

I think €27k is a good wage Dublin or not.

If you can't live as a single person on 27K a year, you're doing something wrong. I started off earning 21K (and paying rent when rents were through the roof) and by the time I left Dublin, earning 24K, I felt fairly well off. Now I know 27K hardly makes you rich, but it's an absolutely grand wage. I don't know what your outgoings are but on 24K I was paying rent on a very nice room, transport, food and student loan repayments and still coming out with almost 700 a month for everything else ('fun' stuff and rainy day money) and having a decent time. Don't even bother about what other people earn. When you earn more, you spend more. I know people earning 45K who still bang on about being broke, because they just buy more expensive clothes and eat in more expensive restaurants and fritter their money away on all sorts of things. I can't believe the way so many people in Dublin spend money, as if it were water. 150 quid on a night out, taxi home, brunch out the next day. Every single weekend. If you live within your means, 27K is perfectly doable. If I lived like some of my friends, I'd have gone bankrupt years ago.

padma

Who knows, If you earned more, maybe you would drink more too, Learning restraint is a Very good thing. I'm on 10,000 a year on the dole with a Credit Union loan and a daughter to pay maintenance to, and drive 200 k's to visit on weekends. I'm in credit card debt and am lucky to have 20 euro left over for the week for food. If I had an extra 300 euro a week I wouldnt have a credit card debt, my Credit union loan would be paid off in 6 months instead of 5 years, but hey Onwards and upwards. Happiness is a state of being, not the state of your bank balance

I've got access to the Internet something which millions of people in the world don't. I have food in my fridge, something which millions of people don't, damn I even have a fridge something millions of people don't. The thing is though I'm very grateful for the money I do have that I am able to pay off my debt slowly but surely. Yet it is paper, sure some friends of mine drive fancy cars, can afford to splash out on meals etc...Are they better than me? Maybe financially but poverty is the worry about tomorrow which a lot of them do. Me I don't worry about today or tomorrow as IT DOESN'T EXIST there is only NOW.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9N9X58Ndvk

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donkey balls

op just keep the head down i know how you feel i have mates doing better than me at present,they have full time good jobs&percs i went through this during the early 90s but i kept on going and guess what i made it into mgmt.
i have to start all over again since been made redundant and it kills me to see some of the salaries offered 27k depending on your circumstances is an ok wage at present.

bbam

dobss77 wrote: »

Hello Everyone,
Im not going to make this a long post, Ill get to the point straight away.

I have not worked full time in 5 years. Some weeks Ill get 4 days work but other weeks Ill get 1 if that.
Last year I earned 27,000 which got me by just barley cos Im living in Dublin.
I know for a fact that all of my friends earn twice as much as me some of them even treble.
Im in my mid thirties now and have very little hope.

Can someone reassure me the 27,000 is an ok wage and I am being unreasonable. How much do you earn?
Thnaks in advance.

I've sent you a PM..

arturekck

padma wrote: »

Who knows, If you earned more, maybe you would drink more too, Learning restraint is a Very good thing. I'm on 10,000 a year on the dole with a Credit Union loan and a daughter to pay maintenance to, and drive 200 k's to visit on weekends. I'm in credit card debt and am lucky to have 20 euro left over for the week for food. If I had an extra 300 euro a week I wouldnt have a credit card debt, my Credit union loan would be paid off in 6 months instead of 5 years, but hey Onwards and upwards. Happiness is a state of being, not the state of your bank balance

I've got access to the Internet something which millions of people in the world don't. I have food in my fridge, something which millions of people don't, damn I even have a fridge something millions of people don't. The thing is though I'm very grateful for the money I do have that I am able to pay off my debt slowly but surely. Yet it is paper, sure some friends of mine drive fancy cars, can afford to splash out on meals etc...Are they better than me? Maybe financially but poverty is the worry about tomorrow which a lot of them do. Me I don't worry about today or tomorrow as IT DOESN'T EXIST there is only NOW.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9N9X58Ndvk

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Good damn truth.Now guys ,can you imagine me for example.Came to ireland 4 years ago with my wife from Poland,cause everybody does:-)
.Now feel like a citizen of Ireland,job is finished,dont want to come back to Poland,dont know fluently english,starting to study,wife is pregnant,loan 350,rent700.And now in this situation be a happy man:-).Dont know what the future give me.The Europe is not getting better,I think is worse everywhere.

gustafo

arturekck wrote: »

Good damn truth.Now guys ,can you imagine me for example.Came to ireland 4 years ago with my wife from Poland,cause everybody does:-)
.Now feel like a citizen of Ireland,job is finished,dont want to come back to Poland,dont know fluently english,starting to study,wife is pregnant,loan 350,rent700.And now in this situation be a happy man:-).Dont know what the future give me.The Europe is not getting better,I think is worse everywhere.

Poland seems to be doing ok the economy there is growing at a good rate and its one of the only country's in europe that didn't go into recession, why not go back there and give it a go i know the wages are poor but it has to be better than the dole here and the cost of living there is low

snorlax

morale of the story is you've got to live in the present rather then the past or the future.

thing is people associate being rich with being happy, I don't think it's that simple. So long as you've food in the fridge/ a roof over your head and one person that cares about you then everything after that is extra! you could be like Britney Spears (shave your head), Rooney (score a few prostitues when wife pregnant), tiger woods (socring other women in general), MIchael jackson ...

arturekck

gustafo wrote: »

Poland seems to be doing ok the economy there is growing at a good rate and its one of the only country's in europe that didn't go into recession, why not go back there and give it a go i know the wages are poor but it has to be better than the dole here and the cost of living there is low

easy to say,but harder to do man:-)
We do have also mortgage in Poland and thanks God its rented.I can come back ,I will find a job but,its not enough for mortgage,irish loan(3 more years),and living.Easy to calculate.Good money in Poland is 2000 zloty-around 500 euros,add the same for wife,its 1000(if you lucky)now mortgage 450,loan 350 its 800euros without and other monthly payments.Please dont say is enough.Thats why lots of my collegues are still here,I supposed.The truth is Polish economy is growing,but You need to have a Very good job(highest positions I mean)or being selfemployed(like my brother) to live happy:-)
Its still hard to understand for me how people of Poland can still live there:-(
Of course I know people who is doing really good,but as I said only with Very good job or selfemployed.That why decided to study,we will see later how its gonna be.I do have an ideas but no money to realise that.Just know its very hard,and now regret about taking a loan.but it was when I had a good job(crane tower operator).

danbohan

dobss77 wrote: »

Hello Everyone,
Im not going to make this a long post, Ill get to the point straight away.

I have not worked full time in 5 years. Some weeks Ill get 4 days work but other weeks Ill get 1 if that.
Last year I earned 27,000 which got me by just barley cos Im living in Dublin.
I know for a fact that all of my friends earn twice as much as me some of them even treble.
Im in my mid thirties now and have very little hope.

Can someone reassure me the 27,000 is an ok wage and I am being unreasonable. How much do you earn?
Thnaks in advance.

in 5 years time you will look at that that 27k and think that it was great money , we are the beggars of europe along with the greeks , try finding jobs paying 27k in italy etc , i cannot believe that people still think we will return to how things were , it was a false economy . wont happen again

tenchi-fan

danbohan wrote: »

in 5 years time you will look at that that 27k and think that it was great money , we are the beggars of europe along with the greeks , try finding jobs paying 27k in italy etc , i cannot believe that people still think we will return to how things were , it was a false economy . wont happen again

Here was the situation in 2008:

Now considering salaries have fallen since then, and I reckon the private sector took a bigger hit in some cases..

Public sector salaries are too high. A suite of unemployment benefits for an unemployed couple with dependant kids is worth up to €35k. Some unions (particularly public sector unions) have been successful in getting the government to commit to no paycuts even though the market rate for labour could be a lot less.

We need to go back to basics. A free market with no government interference. Once the unemployed are relegated to the breadline, minimum wage is eliminated and taxes are slashed you will see plenty of opportunities in employment and the country will be able to compete with the likes of china and india.

Until these changes are made salaries will be artificially high in order to compete with the government's policies.

Here's an example to illustrate my point:
If your neighbour didn't work and his only benefits were food stamps and a small heating allowance you could feel pretty good to earn €10k a year and be able to afford to eat out once in a while.
But when you arrive home after a full day at work and a 90 minute commute and you see your unemployed neighbour having a BBQ and drinking cans and getting ready to go to the pub, whereas you have your mortgage to pay and besides you're working the next day, you realise that you mustn't be getting paid enough!

Mr. Loverman

I agree in general with your post tenchi-fan.

I think the people who are claiming they couldn't live on 27k need to start tracking where they are spending their money.

I live on €1000 per month. That gives me everything I feel I need -

Rent
Food (I try to eat healthily - it works out cheaper than eating junk food)
Gym
Toiletries, etc.
The odd coffee, bottle of wine, etc.

Sometimes I spend more (e.g. I just bought a new laptop) but sometimes I spend less. I would consider myself to have a high standard of living.

If you can't do the same as me, you're doing something wrong, e.g. you're living somewhere you can't afford.

Mrs OBumble

dobss77 wrote: »

Hello Everyone,
I have not worked full time in 5 years. Some weeks Ill get 4 days work but other weeks Ill get 1 if that.
Last year I earned 27,000 ...
Can someone reassure me the 27,000 is an ok wage and I am being unreasonable. How much do you earn?
Thnaks in advance.

I would LOVE to have a flexible job that gave me hours like that AND let me earn as much as 27k in a year!

danbohan

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

I agree in general with your post tenchi-fan.

I think the people who are claiming they couldn't live on 27k need to start tracking where they are spending their money.

I live on €1000 per month. That gives me everything I feel I need -

Rent
Food (I try to eat healthily - it works out cheaper than eating junk food)
Gym
Toiletries, etc.
The odd coffee, bottle of wine, etc.

Sometimes I spend more (e.g. I just bought a new laptop) but sometimes I spend less. I would consider myself to have a high standard of living.

If you can't do the same as me, you're doing something wrong, e.g. you're living somewhere you can't afford.

you should probably set up an advice clinic , from what i see posted on boards a lot people have a lot of adjusting to do yet
mr mccarthy in todays independant reckons on 7 years of suffering !

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/mccarthy-warns-of-seven-more-years-of-suffering-2333766.html

Miss Mimsy

danbohan wrote: »

try finding jobs paying 27k in italy etc

Forgive my ignorance but I don't get this statement. I have a friend in Italy who says it is booming over there.....

mikemac

danbohan wrote: »

in 5 years time you will look at that that 27k and think that it was great money , we are the beggars of europe along with the greeks , try finding jobs paying 27k in italy etc , i cannot believe that people still think we will return to how things were , it was a false economy . wont happen again

Depends.

Area I know had redundancies in 2008.

But it's well picked up and companies are now paying bonuses and giving pay rises. Staff are leaving for better jobs.

It's dire in some sectors and business is booming in others.
I don't like blanket statements

OP, there are people earning double what you earn who'd give their job in the morning for something that doesn't reduce them to tears every day.
Having a big salary does not equal happiness.

gerrycollins

ages ago I earned 70k in a year and i gave it all up for a job paying 50k however on the 50k my wife didnt work.

now we are both on the dole and while I want to work and love to work in my industry money only bring problems. Hopefully will hear this week of a job which pays enough to pay the bills etc and ill be happy with that.

the more I had the more I put myself into debt because the more I could get from the banks. thats all gone now thank god

Im much happier now and value things more.

as was once said to me "no matter how much money you earn each week you will end up with nothing left at the end of the week"

mickman

Miss Mimsy wrote: »

Forgive my ignorance but I don't get this statement. I have a friend in Italy who says it is booming over there.....

italy is far from booming. unemployment over 10%

Nolanger

dobss77 wrote: »

Can someone reassure me the 27,000 is an ok wage and I am being unreasonable.

You're in the top 5% earnings in the world so stop whinging.
http://www.globalrichlist.com/

tinnuvial

27K is great for part-time and its not about how much you earn but how much you enjoy your life. I only work about 20 hours a week and I earn less than you for it, but after killing myself working for years I've discovered I'm much happier with a slower life that has more of what I enjoy. I had lunch with a friend yesterday who has a high power, very very highly paid job and she is miserable and so are all her friends in similar jobs. They can't work out why I'm much happier than they are and I have very little money.