At what salary in Ireland can you be considered to have a decent life?

steddyeddy · 06-01-2017 06:01PM #1

Obviously this is highly subjective and dependent on your dependents but let's say talk about single life and married/partnered with two kids. A lot of people say the harder you work in this country the more screwed over you get and in some ways I agree. So what would you have to do to have the sort of life you want?

Which professions would you bank on to have a decent life here?

Parachutes · 06-01-2017 06:03PM

Even people on minimum wage here have 10x better life than most people on the planet.

AnthonyCny · 06-01-2017 06:05PM

Living in Donegal, I can survive easily live with my girlfriend on approx. €30k per year. Includes rent and at least 2 foreign holidays a year.

No children. I hear they are expensive.

Grayson · 06-01-2017 06:05PM

Depends on where you live. If you're a single person in their 30's it'd be nice to rent your own place. Just a small one bed flat. That would cost a fortune anywhere in Dublin and would be out of reach of a lot of people. Even sharing a flat with someone is too expensive now. I've heard of rooms in apts going for a grand a month in Dublin. Outside Dublin the price drops dramatically. The single biggest expense for most people is the mortgage/rent.

Mantis Toboggan · 06-01-2017 06:05PM

Depends very much on where you live.

snubbleste · 06-01-2017 06:06PM

AnthonyCny wrote: »

Living in Donegal, I can survive easily live with my girlfriend on approx. €30k per year. Includes rent and at least 2 foreign holidays a year.
No children. I hear they are expensive.

Well, up there it is different.

tigger123 · 06-01-2017 06:06PM

It's all tied to house prices and mortgage repayments, so currently with the housing crisis what it takes to have a comfortable life is way over inflated. I'd reckon a combined income of 120k per year between you and your partner (?)

If house prices became more realistic that would tumble. Ditto with childcare costs.

endacl · 06-01-2017 06:07PM

Depends on your outgoings.

We did a budget there yesterday. Our bills (mortgage, utilities, insurance, housekeeping etc.) come to about €900 a month. We're doing grand. If we'd bought a house at the height of the lunacy, we'd be fcuked.

Winterlong · 06-01-2017 06:08PM

Depends on where you live.
Depends on your financial commitments.
Depends on how much want to put away for savings/pension.
Depends on your expectations of a 'decent life'.

In my case this is always 10% more than I earn.

Boaty · 06-01-2017 06:08PM

For a single person, 50k would give a very decent lifestyle

osarusan · 06-01-2017 06:09PM

What's 'a decent life'?

Shenshen · 06-01-2017 06:12PM

I don't feel we're denying ourselves anything at the moment (current combined income just over 40k, and we're paying back a mortgage), but I'm never short on things I would spend money on if I had more.

beertons · 06-01-2017 06:13PM

Another 10 or so wouldn't go astray.

Dravokivich · 06-01-2017 06:14PM

Shenshen wrote: »

I don't feel we're denying ourselves anything at the moment (current combined income just over 40k, and we're paying back a mortgage), but I'm never short on things I would spend money on if I had more.

You'll be a bit stuffed if you were looking for that mortgage now.

BetsyEllen · 06-01-2017 06:19PM

Depends where you live (and obviously personal circumstances)

Based on a single person, 35k outside of Dublin would have you living comfortably; inside Dublin you would struggle due to rent.

Maximus Alexander · 06-01-2017 06:20PM

It depends way too much on circumstances. I'm very comfortable at the moment living in Dublin as a cohabiting couple. If I was single and living alone though, I'd be a good bit less so because there are a lot of costs that we share that would be more or less the same for a single person. Kids would change that equation again. Not to mention that one person's definition of 'a decent life' will be very different from another's. I don't think there's a magic number.

I know people on a lot less than me who are doing well. I know people earning 10k+ more than me who constantly seem to be broke, somehow.

KERSPLAT! · 06-01-2017 06:21PM

As was already said, it depends on location and circumstances. Someone renting in Dublin with two kids and two cars are going to need '000s more than someone in Cavan with a mortgage, two kids and one car.

€40-50k between two would do the couple in Cavan, you'd nearly want that each in Dublin, or probably more!

Pat Mustard · 06-01-2017 06:21PM

steddyeddy wrote: »

Which professions would you bank on to have a decent life here?

Higher ranking, well paid public servants of the 'old contract' variety. A job for life, 9 to 5 at the office, with a pension that you couldn't beat with a stick and a six figure lump sum on retirement.

osarusan · 06-01-2017 06:21PM

osarusan wrote: »

What's 'a decent life'?

Just to come back to this. I said in another thread (started by you I think OP) that in Ireland people are very likely to be housed, kept safe, educated, and have healthcare provided, even if they have very little money.

By comparison with anywhere other than a number of first world countries, we already have a life that is extraordinarily 'decent'.

But, perhaps naturally, once these things are taken for granted, we will look at other ways to measure out quality of life. Things like bigger homes, nicer cars, foreign holidays, concert tickets, and so on, which allow us to live the kind of life we want to live. At that point, it really does depend on the person/family.

Qs · 06-01-2017 06:24PM

Shenshen wrote: »

I don't feel we're denying ourselves anything at the moment (current combined income just over 40k, and we're paying back a mortgage), but I'm never short on things I would spend money on if I had more.

Even if you had 5 times what you earn now you'd always be able to say "but I'm never short on things I would spend money on if I had more."

Generally I believe you could be living a "decent" life on a pretty modest income but it would take a lot of preparation and luck. The luck being that nothing popped up to mess up your preparation. Or the luck to have a good support system, etc

billyhead · 06-01-2017 06:24PM

Boaty wrote: »

For a single person, 50k would give a very decent lifestyle

And is this 50k figure you quote net or gross?

Barry Badrinath · 06-01-2017 06:29PM

85 Billion punts

06-01-2017 06:39PM

Depends on so much. Where you want to live, what kind of house you want, do you want private or public schools for your kids, what car will you drive, what area do you want to live in, how much of a commute do you want to do, all that stuff.

Yourself isit · 06-01-2017 06:39PM

Compare somebody on 34k living at his parents home with a renter. Or someone who owns his house on that income (inherited maybe).

Assuming rent of 1,200 and bills of 200 a month - modest - the second guy needs 1400 a month pre tax, about 2800 a month extra since this is the marginal cutoff point. Second guy needs 67k.

Income tells you nothing. Pensioners on 40k with no dependents can live the life of Riley. Parents on 80k can be squeezed.

endacl · 06-01-2017 06:41PM

Senor Fancy Pants wrote: »

85 Billion punts

Rhymes with 85 Billion bank managers!

LaVail · 06-01-2017 06:43PM

500k per year+ bonus

somesoldiers · 06-01-2017 06:45PM

I am currently trying to get a mortgage to build my own home for me, my wife and 1.8 kids. Because she is taking time off work to rear them they are telling me I need to be earn €100k for them to lend me €250k pretty much. The 3.5 mortgage multiple goes down to almost 2.5 when you have dependents. So 100k for me please?

Cupcake_Crisis · 06-01-2017 06:53PM

I was doing some math the other day in relation to making the move back home. In Toronto I have a monthly income of about $3700 pm, outgoings of $900 (rent and bills). I have a yearly income of about $44,000 which would be about €31000.

If I could match that at home, and I highly doubt I would as a good chunk of that is tips, canadians are very good tippers, I reckon I'd be doing reasonably well and would be tempted back.

Lovely Bloke · 06-01-2017 06:54PM

Combined income of approx 88k here, two cars, 1 child (two and a half) in childcare (5 days 9-5), we get a couple of weekends away per year, in Ireland - we've had one "long weekend" on the continent since the child was born, but with him being over 2 now his flight costs now, so foreign excursions are on hold until he comes out of creche and into "free year" or even school.

We get out for dinner about once a quarter, and various nights out either together or alone with our own group of friends (eg, tonight my wife is going out, and I'm staying in with the kid) - we are lucky that we are close enough to both sets of grandparents, and neither minds taking him for a night once in a while so we can get out together.

We can do most things we like to do (I'm going to Nottingham for the day next Sat, fly out at 8 back in at 10pm, for a day's drinking with lads for example), we are also able to get various "non essential" things done with the house, lick of paint here, new curtains there, new bathroom even put in last year.

The house was bought before everything went totally crazy, meaning a mortgage of about 8-900 per month.

Not really any savings though.

steddyeddy · 06-01-2017 07:01PM

osarusan wrote: »

Just to come back to this. I said in another thread (started by you I think OP) that in Ireland people are very likely to be housed, kept safe, educated, and have healthcare provided, even if they have very little money.

By comparison with anywhere other than a number of first world countries, we already have a life that is extraordinarily 'decent'.

But, perhaps naturally, once these things are taken for granted, we will look at other ways to measure out quality of life. Things like bigger homes, nicer cars, foreign holidays, concert tickets, and so on, which allow us to live the kind of life we want to live. At that point, it really does depend on the person/family.

That's very true. In terms of Irish education you can go anywhere. You can start at any point in Irish society and go anywhere. We're very lucky.

gifted · 06-01-2017 07:06PM

Mortgage 1100 a month..at its peak the creche was 2300 a month....then running cars...groceries...bills....insurance...house insurance...house alarm...vhi insurance for 2 adults and 3 children...mobile phones...oil for the house.....grown up life sucks....

At what salary in Ireland can you be considered to have a decent life?

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