How do people live off low wages?

red_bairn · 06-11-2019 8:27am

Mr_Muffin wrote: »

It's not hard to hit 50k+ in IT once you have 3 years experience. I'd even go as far to say that you're doing something wrong if you're not earning at least that after 3 years.

There are plenty of IT jobs below 30k that especially don't increase much over 3 years, i.e. Helpdesk roles.

Fr_Dougal · 06-11-2019 8:42am

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Give it a few years, when younger generations realise how much they've been fcuked over by our current policies, when a good chunk of them realise they ll never be able to buy a house, their working conditions are dreadful, and may never improve, critical services such as health care are in bits, only a matter of time now

Give it a few years when they realise that their environmental protests are going to hit them in the pocket directly. 25c tax on disposable coffee/tea cups is just the start.

Fionn1952 · 06-11-2019 8:44am

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

Give it a few years when they realise that their environmental protests are going to hit them in the pocket directly. 25c tax on disposable coffee/tea cups is just the start.

If only they made some sort of coffee cup that could be somehow reused.....

Wanderer78 · 06-11-2019 8:45am

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

Give it a few years when they realise that their environmental protests are going to hit them in the pocket directly. 25c tax on disposable coffee/tea cups is just the start.

theyre right to be protesting about the environment, as we re fcuking that up to, but since our economic systems are so dysfunctional, we somehow believe we ll tax our way out of this one!

dvdman1 · 06-11-2019 8:55am

If your lucky to already own your home and your not into the rat race career thing, a regular low paid job is fine to pay for day to day stuff and bills.... big stuff like houses need to be already sorted for it to be sustainable.

Ave Sodalis · 06-11-2019 9:08am

I earn about a third of what you do, OP. You live within your means. If something breaks, you either fix it yourself or it stays broken. You budget your meals. You don't use unnecessary expenses and you save whatever little bit you can. Once you develop good habits, it's not as difficult.
Car insurance is the biggest thing. My car is getting on in years by insurance standards, and I'm very worried my insurance is going to unattainable this year.

I would like to know where all these benefits are that would leave me better off than someone on 30k, as mentioned earlier in the thread?

AlphabetCards · 06-11-2019 9:15am

Wanderer78 wrote: »

theyre right to be protesting about the environment, as we re fcuking that up to, but since our economic systems are so dysfunctional, we somehow believe we ll tax our way out of this one!

****ing Extinction Rebellion and their taxes. I've never met so many delusional middle class 'activists' who want to introduce more taxes to solve problems.

AlphabetCards · 06-11-2019 9:15am

Wanderer78 wrote: »

theyre right to be protesting about the environment, as we re fcuking that up to, but since our economic systems are so dysfunctional, we somehow believe we ll tax our way out of this one!

****ing Extinction Rebellion and their taxes. I've never met so many delusional middle class 'activists' who want to introduce more taxes to solve problems.

Wanderer78 · 06-11-2019 9:27am

AlphabetCards wrote: »

****ing Extinction Rebellion and their taxes. I've never met so many delusional middle class 'activists' who want to introduce more taxes to solve problems.

its important to realise what this rebellion is about, its about actually changing how **** we treat our planet, but our political institutions are sure taxing us will solve the problem, i somehow suspect that wont work out too well, and may not help us environmentally at all

Graces7 · 06-11-2019 9:40am

Ave Sodalis wrote: »

I earn about a third of what you do, OP. You live within your means. If something breaks, you either fix it yourself or it stays broken. You budget your meals. You don't use unnecessary expenses and you save whatever little bit you can. Once you develop good habits, it's not as difficult.
Car insurance is the biggest thing. My car is getting on in years by insurance standards, and I'm very worried my insurance is going to unattainable this year.

I would like to know where all these benefits are that would leave me better off than someone on 30k, as mentioned earlier in the thread?[/QUOTE

When my car died, I made no attempt to replace it for that reason and I was still getting insurance below E1000 with a lifetime NCB.

And you are right; living within your means is making good habits. No hardship once you have adjusted. Slowly; so that you do not feel too deprived.. Small treats along the way...

Graces7 · 06-11-2019 9:42am

Wanderer78 wrote: »

its important to realise what this rebellion is about, its about actually changing how **** we treat our planet, but our political institutions are sure taxing us will solve the problem, i somehow suspect that wont work out too well, and may not help us environmentally at all

Just do what YOU know will help the planet without listening to the fanatics. Plenty of accurate info out there

Igotadose · 06-11-2019 9:45am

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Give it a few years, when younger generations realise how much they've been fcuked over by our current policies, when a good chunk of them realise they ll never be able to buy a house, their working conditions are dreadful, and may never improve, critical services such as health care are in bits, only a matter of time now

The one thing I'm seeing younger folk do, is postpone having kids. Nothing will destroy a budget like children. The best way to ensure lifelong financial problems is the decision to have children young. For those concerned about the environment, the worst thing you can do is add more humans to the planet, both for the massive impact on the planet and your dooming them to a hotter, more polluted, more expensive and crowded life.

Wanderer78 · 06-11-2019 9:46am

Graces7 wrote: »

Just do what YOU know will help the planet without listening to the fanatics. Plenty of accurate info out there

the concerns of the youth is understandable, us older generations have done very little to secure their futures, even though we ve known about the damage we ve been doing, i think they are right to panic, some well respected scientists are starting to panic also. theres very little accurate info out there, as we simply do not know the complexities of these issues, but when a large proportion of well informed people start becoming deeply concerned, be aware

Minime2.5 · 06-11-2019 9:50am

As oposed to IT the Biopharmaceutical industry is another option where money is very good and which doesn't seem to require as specific a skills set as the IT industry sometimes require . Have a look at the contract rates here

Jobcontax.com

retalivity · 06-11-2019 9:51am

Igotadose wrote: »

The one thing I'm seeing younger folk do, is postpone having kids. Nothing will destroy a budget like children. The best way to ensure lifelong financial problems is the decision to have children young. For those concerned about the environment, the worst thing you can do is add more humans to the planet, both for the massive impact on the planet and your dooming them to a hotter, more polluted, more expensive and crowded life.

Meanwhile, you have wasters who view kids as a meal ticket, and cant stop churning them out. Idiocracy in full effect

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXSz0bA9CiE

Graces7 · 06-11-2019 9:55am

Wanderer78 wrote: »

the concerns of the youth is understandable, us older generations have done very little to secure their futures, even though we ve known about the damage we ve been doing, i think they are right to panic, some well respected scientists are starting to panic also. theres very little accurate info out there, as we simply do not know the complexities of these issues, but when a large proportion of well informed people start becoming deeply concerned, be aware

Reading the current pollution problems in India we should be deeply concerned And each work to reduce OUR emissions. The films coming in are appalling.

Panic is little use.

06-11-2019 10:07am

Myself and my wife are both on low enough incomes and probably always will be because we have no major desire to be career people. That’s not to say that we aren’t extremely hard working by the way.

We have our own 3 bed house, nice car and can go on nice holidays every year.

You can go far in life by being good with money.
I have friends earning much more that are actually less well off.

Captain Havoc · 06-11-2019 10:27am

sasta le wrote: »

As the uptake of studying gone up a lot,I ask as someone in the hospitality trade that wants a change

I've been in hospitality more or less for over twenty years, I did escape for a few years at the end of the boom. I graduated with a diploma in hotel management and business studies about fifteen years ago. I went into management but due to the fact that waiters and bartenders get better paid by the hour than low management, I have not looked for a management position in the last ten years, I get tips which bring me up a bit.

I am now in my fifth year studying part-time for a degree with the Open University. It is a BA (hons) in modern languages (French & German). The cost of the course is €3,400 per year and lasts six years. You can do the course in three years full-time at €6,800 or so. Choosing the degree was simple as I had lived in France and Switzerland previously and I had a good knowledge of French and a few words of German. There are a range of courses you can do with the OU and the study is really flexible. There are options here in Ireland, I think Sligo IT, NUIG and DCU have a range of distance learning programmes. Modern languages was not available at the time I started (and I don't think is now either).

I really hate the hospitality sector but I do have a part-time job I enjoy in the pub at the end of the road. I started tour guiding around three years ago but it's very seasonal. Due to family commitments, working full-time is no longer an option to me but I have set up my own tour-guiding business this year, which hasn't made me any money but I do see a potential for it. The business is linked to my degree as I only give tours in French and German. I am also going to do a tour guiding course over the winter with the local ETB, which should allow me to be listed in the local tourist office.

I do earn sfa and I moved back in with my parents after I split up from my last girlfriend. I ended up staying here to look after them as my dad got really ill (since passed away) and my mum needs almost full-time care. My wife can't get her head around how I deal with money, I'll wear clothes until they've holes, I question the price of everything, I know the price of everything, even her make-up, I'll drive around the shops to save money. The upside to this is that we can go out for a nice meal or go on a holiday as we have the money to do this.

_Brian · 06-11-2019 10:27am

Deleted User wrote: »

Myself and my wife are both on low enough incomes and probably always will be because we have no major desire to be career people. That’s not to say that we aren’t extremely hard working by the way.

We have our own 3 bed house, nice car and can go on nice holidays every year.

You can go far in life by being good with money.
I have friends earning much more that are actually less well off.

This.
I have family who go out 2-3 nights a weekend probably spending €100-150 a week.

We never go out but love our 2-3 week holiday and a number of weekends in Ireland, “well for ye that can afford that” is what I get from people who drink probably €7k a year 🙄

nthclare · 06-11-2019 10:27am

I think it's great that people here can be so open and honest about being broke and struggling from time to time.

We're being hit very hard with taxes, utility bills and different charges.

At the rate this government are going we're getting creased at around 18 euro's a week probably averaging a tenner in most cases.

Next year it'll be 36 from last year, people don't get it you're being screwed by every budget.

And they pretend the taxes are beneficial to society and shout you down for not caring about the benefits you should be contributing to.

It's covert narcissism and gaslighting to the highest order.

The gubberment have actuaries who sit down and go through EVERYTHING and see how they can manipulate everything without people getting hyped up about it.

This crowd are worse than the last crowd, they basically had a canvas full of scribbles and odd shapes, and all they did was color in the spaces.

They may have created employment, and granted it's good to see people do well.
I'll give them that much.

The economy is better and people are spending and probably living better lives, that's all good.

BUT ITS THE PEOPLE WHO NEVER LOST THEIR JOBS IN THE RECESSION WHO CAN SEE HOW LIFE HASN'T GOTTEN ANY BETTER ONLY WORSE MUCH WORSE WERE TAXED TO THE HILT

There's been no let up in giving any tax or USC allowances, instead of helping the people who payed exorbitant taxes for the last 15 year's, we're being scapegoats.

It's time to wake up and smell the coffee

Hector Savage · 06-11-2019 10:31am

Jesus I feel poor here.
I'm on about 41k a year, work in IT.
My wife is on about the same.

We have a nice house, go on holidays, and have about 25k saved for our 2 kids college fund (or whatever they need it for)

But I have been in IT for about 12 years now...

We do live in Spain tho, the cost of living is less, but according to some on here I should be on about 200k by now !!

robbiezero · 06-11-2019 10:58am

Hector Savage wrote: »

Jesus I feel poor here.
I'm on about 41k a year, work in IT.
My wife is on about the same.

We have a nice house, go on holidays, and have about 25k saved for our 2 kids college fund (or whatever they need it for)

But I have been in IT for about 12 years now...

We do live in Spain tho, the cost of living is less, but according to some on here I should be on about 200k by now !!

Very few software devs in this country on North of 100K I would have thought.
Those that are would be in very specialized areas.

Airyfairy12 · 06-11-2019 10:59am

lainey_d_123 wrote: »

Not a chance a family of 4 trying to be careful with budgeting is spending anywhere near 280 a week. Food scales up well...you don't just multiply the cost of one person's daily food by 4.

Even a single person doesn't need to be spending 70 euro a week on food if they're watching the pennies. A bag of pasta, couple of jars of passata, mushroom, onion and herbs is less than 5 euro and will do at least 3 meals in the week, porridge oats are dirt cheap, a loaf of brown bread and some cheese and ham with a banana/apple does a week of work lunches.

I can never quite believe the amounts some people spend and think are normal. I spent years earning terrible money and was forced to be frugal and live cheaply because I simply had no choice. I can't believe people who do their weekly shop in Centra, buying jars of sauce and other overpriced items, along with the daily Starbucks coffee and muffin and then claim Ireland is just too expensive to live in.

I was replying to another comment.

You cant live on pasta, mushrooms, pasta sauce and porrdige and expect to be healthy, you cant feed a family of 4 or 5 on a bag of pasta and a few jars of pasta sauce every week.
Bread goes off in a couple of days and one loaf will not feed an entire family.
That list of food already costs about 10 euro and its not enough to feed one person.

Mango Joe · 06-11-2019 11:18am

The secret is to leave school early and never, ever work.

All of the time saved not studying to gain qualifications or working to pay your way can be used to carefully learn the intricacies of the social welfare system inside out.

This knowledge is enough to set you up comfortably to 'day drink' with your friends every day of the week, this will be therapeutic for your carefully manufactured back pain which is keeping you out of the workforce. Also you can swap tips on claims, payments, schemes and strategies.

Then get queuing up for a free house, medical card, and several distinct payment streams for all of your different skill sets - eg disability allowance, carers allowance, various educational allowances and supports for your 7 kids who will either legitimately need them due to the smoking and drinking through pregnancy, malnutrition and advanced neglect, or alternatively you can petition the school until someones stamps a form for you proving they're entitled to this, that and the other.

When your kids are sent to school with no lunch, without books etc the State will set up school lunch schemes/buy them books so you need never stray too far from the alcohol aisle in Tesco.

When you don't bring them along to the free vaccination appointments set up, run and paid for by the State, staffed by hard working people.... Then further interventions will be required to stop pockets of disease from taking hold and killing kids.

Similarly the taxpayer is currently paying for advertising campaigns to educate you on feeding your kid sweets, chocolate, pizza and 5 litres of coke every day - But sure who gives a fu(k, the State will manage the diabetes when that arrives anyhow....

Currently there advertising campaigns run by Regina Doherty basically advertising all of the various classes of social welfare payments you could potentially cash in on if only you knew about them - So they set up a website and paid for radio adverts to try and give away more money to you, have an auld read there with your can of Dutch Gold and suck down another 6 fags while you're at it.

Then just piss about on the streets in your pyjamas with your big scowly knackers head every day proudly.....For you are a self-made citizen of our great State.

seamus · 06-11-2019 11:27am

Airyfairy12 wrote: »

I was replying to another comment.

You cant live on pasta, mushrooms, pasta sauce and porrdige and expect to be healthy, you cant feed a family of 4 or 5 on a bag of pasta and a few jars of pasta sauce every week.

Fresh veg is cheap. A varied diet is good, but it doesn't have to be *that* varied. Some variation of veg + bread/pasta/rice + protein every day is more than adequate.

Porridge is a fine breakfast.

The notion that you need to eat wildly different meals every day is a new notion. It used to be a display of wealth, now some people consider it critical to survive.

I do however, dislike the notion that living on small wages is easy if you just watch the pennies. There's a point at which you have no buffer. Where you might be able to buy a week's cheap and good meals, but you're right on the line. An unexpected €100 bill and suddenly you have to skip lunch for a month in order to get by.

Yes, there are a lot of people who complain about having no money, but then get a coffee on the way into work, buy lunch in the cafe and another coffee on the way home*. But these are not the people on €25k a year.

*Dublin city. €3 per coffee. €10 per lunch. x 5 x 48 = €3,840 per year

bcklschaps · 06-11-2019 11:52am

antimatterx wrote: »

I don't mean to offend people, but I'm wondering how people live off low wages (20/30K), buying houses, raising families. It seems impossible to me.

I'm 23, I make 32K as a software engineer, but I live with my parents so I can save a good chunk of money every month. I realize I'm lucky and I'll probably be on 50-70K in 2/3 years, but for people who won't get great raises, how do you live (especially in Dublin)

Not sure if this thread is a wind-up to have a crack at social welfare recipients etc. or if you are soo naive as to actually believe what you have written.

I worked as a Software programmer for 20yrs and still hadn't hit 50k by my mid 40's (and I worked through the Millenium scare when wages went stratospheric) and up until a couple of years ago.... soo good luck with your planned career progression... I think you are being wildly optimistic

But to answer the main point of your post ... If you are single and childless (I can't comment on other scenarios) its a pretty grim life on Social Welfare or in low paid work.

On Welfare you don't really qualify for much supports and basic welfare money is phish.

On low paid wages you generally have to break your back in some manual job ... on your days off you are physically re-couperating.

You can forget about living independently... you won't be able to afford anywhere to rent (or if you can, they won't want you in the first place), your social life is a few cans from the Supermarket ...and forget about having a girlfriend (cause you'll be living at home with your parents).

BDI · 06-11-2019 12:08pm

Hooray the real developers have turned up. Now the colllege kids will call them bitter and try make themselves feel better by accusing them of not applying themselves.

Ah life eh, you know it all until you realise you don’t know it all.

06-11-2019 12:10pm

BDI wrote: »

Everybody in the country is studying computer stuff. In five years the qualifications will be as common as an Eastern European building site worker.

If computers havnt already started making their own computer stuff it’ll be a 40 grand a year job at best.

I know taxi men studying programming degrees part time. Love it they do.

Everyone plays football too. Any day now Ronaldo will be on minimum wage.

06-11-2019 12:12pm

Mango Joe wrote: »

The secret is to leave school early and never, ever work.

All of the time saved not studying to gain qualifications or working to pay your way can be used to carefully learn the intricacies of the social welfare system inside out.

This knowledge is enough to set you up comfortably to 'day drink' with your friends every day of the week, this will be therapeutic for your carefully manufactured back pain which is keeping you out of the workforce. Also you can swap tips on claims, payments, schemes and strategies.

Then get queuing up for a free house, medical card, and several distinct payment streams for all of your different skill sets - eg disability allowance, carers allowance, various educational allowances and supports for your 7 kids who will either legitimately need them due to the smoking and drinking through pregnancy, malnutrition and advanced neglect, or alternatively you can petition the school until someones stamps a form for you proving they're entitled to this, that and the other.

When your kids are sent to school with no lunch, without books etc the State will set up school lunch schemes/buy them books so you need never stray too far from the alcohol aisle in Tesco.

When you don't bring them along to the free vaccination appointments set up, run and paid for by the State, staffed by hard working people.... Then further interventions will be required to stop pockets of disease from taking hold and killing kids.

Similarly the taxpayer is currently paying for advertising campaigns to educate you on feeding your kid sweets, chocolate, pizza and 5 litres of coke every day - But sure who gives a fu(k, the State will manage the diabetes when that arrives anyhow....

Currently there advertising campaigns run by Regina Doherty basically advertising all of the various classes of social welfare payments you could potentially cash in on if only you knew about them - So they set up a website and paid for radio adverts to try and give away more money to you, have an auld read there with your can of Dutch Gold and suck down another 6 fags while you're at it.

Then just piss about on the streets in your pyjamas with your big scowly knackers head every day proudly.....For you are a self-made citizen of our great State.

This is closer to the truth than most people think, especially people who don't live in a disadvantaged area.

Cyrus · 06-11-2019 12:18pm

the reality is that most people, in a relatively short amount of time, become accustomed and live according to their mans (at least on the way up). So if you are a grad on 30-40k rising to 70k over 3 years you will probably never feel better off than the first 6 months on 70k. Then over time your lifestyle catches up and even though your wages continue to increase so do your desires/wants.

You want to live in a nicer suburb in a nice house, so you get a big mortgage, now all of a sudden your mortgage payment is more than some people gross a month and so on.

same with someone on lower pay, they get used to it at the beginning and continue to make it work as they go through life adjusting their expecations about where they can live and what they can afford accordingly.

How do people live off low wages?

Comments