Do you consider £5000pm take home pay a good salary?

I absolutely agree, Norah.

Doodledog Similarly, there are those who ‘wouldn’t get out of bed’ for less than £X, and those who ‘manage perfectly well’ with £Y, so the best you can do is talk about an average salary, and increase it a bit if talking about London. Anything above that is better than most, whether you (generic), I or anyone else thinks it’s ’good’ or not.

Agreed. And I'd say whether or not the take home pay for this particular couple is adequate is entirely down to their outgoings and aspirations - having more children (seems they only have one) - need for a bigger home, etc.

A materialistic bully. One of the greatest compliments our son has paid us, was when he commented casually during a conversation'....but we (he and his sister) didn't have a materialistic upbringing...'

They ended up getting divorced
I'm not surprised! She was a bully. If she aspired to more she should have gone and got a job. Poor man.

Years ago when we all had young children, one friend told us she decided at the start of each year what she wanted them as a couple/family to achieve: cars, holidays, housing, all consumer driven.
Then she worked out how much it would all cost and if it was more than her husband's salary she would tell him he needed to change his job, which he did.

I could never decide if she was ambitious and aspirational in a good way, or a bit of a bully.
They ended up getting divorced.

OP reported they have a home, mortgage payments, and what her sil brings home. Cost of a London home doesn't matter. Nor does the cost of a childminder, OP's daughter stays home.

All things are a bit more expensive in London, or so it seems to me on my husband's business trips (read that Theatre trips for me). I think everyday living expenses are more in London. And so are some salaries.

To the question. Yes, adequate salary.

However, perhaps they want to move to a bigger home, as people do when planning for a few more children, after their first. Lots of people don't stay in one home forever, look at yourselves.

Perhaps they need to renovate, purchase furniture, new car - we don't know why his salary is not enough, but I trust the OP when she relates that her daughter feels his salary is a bit low for them.

Absolutely agree Doodledog for me its about whether or not the salary is commensurate with the job I am being asked to do.

I agree that context is all, M0nica. I don’t think it matters what outgoings are either. I might struggle financially because I choose to spend £1000 a week on sky diving and another thousand on eating out, but that doesn’t mean that my salary is more or less ‘good’ than someone whose hobby is jigsaws and lives on lentil soup and has lots left at the end of the month. The difference between me and them is in disposable income, not how good our respective salaries might be.

It’s the same with house prices as you say, and with childcare, clothing budget and so on. Two people earning the same have an equally ‘good’ salary, whether one has quadruplets and a horse, and the other no children and a hamster. Other than London weighting, employers don’t really take expenses into account when setting salary levels. Yes, they might have to pay more to attract applicants to an expensive area, but that can’t extend to services such as nannies and cleaners as householders who are already struggling will reach a tipping point.

Similarly, there are those who ‘wouldn’t get out of bed’ for less than £X, and those who ‘manage perfectly well’ with £Y, so the best you can do is talk about an average salary, and increase it a bit if talking about London. Anything above that is better than most, whether you (generic), I or anyone else thinks it’s ’good’ or not.

In general terms, yes, average house prices are a good guide to the overall market, which is the context in which it is usually used, but if you are talking about a specific sector of the market - like first time buyers - then it is no guide at all and you need to look at prices in the sector you are looking at.

The same applies when looking at any other sector which is why average prices for different sizes of property are also often quoted - and in this case, probably the average price of 2 bedroomed properties would be the best guide to what first time buyers need to pay in any area.

This is what gets statistics such a bad name. It is users quoting statistics for a use they were not intended for. Average housing prices, even by region are just that, the prices of every house added up and divided by the number of sales. useful for the purpose it is designed for and useful for regional comparisons. But absolutely no use if you are looking at specific sector, or indivdual community.

It may be the currency most 'people' use, but that doesn't mean they are right to so do, as with so many statistics 'people' use inappropriately they are just ignorant.

Oreo

Nope Casdon even talking about ‘average’ London prices for houses is pointless.
Both I and GSM make the valid point about outgoings.
Monica’s post was relevant, in that it showed that in those places ( plus others, I can tell you as a Londoner) flat and house prices are more affordable than you think.
Talking of averages when discussing house prices really is meaningless, either in London or UK.

It’s the currency most people use when talking about house prices Oreo., or it wouldn’t be so readily available - but each to their own.

One of my family members gets £520 per day but by gawd he works hard for it.

Nope Casdon even talking about ‘average’ London prices for houses is pointless.
Both I and GSM make the valid point about outgoings.
Monica’s post was relevant, in that it showed that in those places ( plus others, I can tell you as a Londoner) flat and house prices are more affordable than you think.
Talking of averages when discussing house prices really is meaningless, either in London or UK.

Oreo

Casdon

According to Zoopla:
The average sold price for a property in London in the last 12 months is £733,647. Different property types in London have different average sold prices over the last 12 months: Detached. £1,296,827.
www.zoopla.co.uk › london
Yes, you may be able to get a flat in an undesirable area for £250,000, but the average is more meaningful for the average family.

The ‘average’ in anything at all is meaningless.
The average of house prices in England means nothing.It’s all about exactly where you buy a house so you can’t look at averages.
Monica makes sense in her last post on this thread.
I think, being a Londoner for many years that it’s a good income, but like anything else it’s all about your outgoings.

It was average London prices, not UK prices. My second post was the analysis of the price of flats, by Borough, across the whole of London. I don’t get your point to be honest, because when discussing how far income will stretch, of course average price is relevant. Monica quoting prices for one random area in London is less relevant, other than to say that if you chose to live in area x this is what you could get for your money.
Germanshepherdsmum is of course correct that this is about much more than the price of property though, it’s about salary, area, outgoings etc.

Indeed, it’s all about your outgoings. Without full information on outgoings, and the type of job which generates the pay, whether any take home pay is ‘good’ is impossible to determine.

Casdon

According to Zoopla:
The average sold price for a property in London in the last 12 months is £733,647. Different property types in London have different average sold prices over the last 12 months: Detached. £1,296,827.
www.zoopla.co.uk › london
Yes, you may be able to get a flat in an undesirable area for £250,000, but the average is more meaningful for the average family.

The ‘average’ in anything at all is meaningless.
The average of house prices in England means nothing.It’s all about exactly where you buy a house so you can’t look at averages.
Monica makes sense in her last post on this thread.
I think, being a Londoner for many years that it’s a good income, but like anything else it’s all about your outgoings.

I merely quoted the average price Monica, which also tells you the average price of a detached house, which is the aspiration for most families. I know a young couple who have just bought a flat in south London, it was two bedroomed and just over £500k. If you don’t believe what I’ve said, here is the Statista analysis.
www.statista.com/statistics/1029409/average-price-of-flats-in-london-by-borough/

Casdon The south London area I searched is not and never has been undesireable.

To be precise
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E87405&maxBedrooms=2&minBedrooms=2&sortType=1&propertyTypes=flat&includeSSTC=false&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=

Average price values give you no guide at all. First time buyers are generally buying houses in the lowest quartile of house prices and the variation of house prices in any post code is so variabl.

I live in a post code where about 7 of the houses are vauled (and are selling ) for £1 million and more. The remaining houses, about 15-20 in all, sell at under £500,000. The average price for the post code, on that basis, is roughly £600-650,000, yet there is not one house in the post code that would sell for any figure even near the average.

Casdon

I doubt there are many families who have no childcare costs Norah. It would unusual for a child not to attend playgroup, at least, and there will be costs associated with keeping them entertained, as well as the usual food, clothes, equipment etc.

I was merely not adding cost of childcare into the mix, as there is none. Yes, there are the usual clothing, food, perhaps playgroup costs.

As I said, that sum will be very tight, in London. Someone is unhappy.

I doubt there are many families who have no childcare costs Norah. It would unusual for a child not to attend playgroup, at least, and there will be costs associated with keeping them entertained, as well as the usual food, clothes, equipment etc.

OP originally said the mortgage payment =£1,700. The loan amount is likely around £350,000 (using chart and knowing when rates changed) matters not, just what is affordable to his pay.

It really doesn't matter what childcare costs either, the wife stays home. No commute, work clothing, meal costs to work.

Do I think they could live very modestly in London? Yes, I assume so. I suspect money is quite tight and someone is unhappy - thus the post.

Lets put London house prices into persepctive. I have just looked up the leafy part of south London my family come from. adjacent to Lewisham with local parks and Blackheath and Greenwich less than 2 miles away there are plenty of pleasant 2 bedroomed flats in purpose built blocks for sale at £250,000. The area has good access to Canary Wharf and central London.

Goodness, I am surprised!
A young couple with children in our family paid far more than that for a two bedroomed flat with garden in that area. They both work in the public sector but their combined salaries are not going to be large by London standards.

There are still childcare costs involved for working parents with children over 5 years old.
Also a 2bed flat is not suitable for a family of 4 or more. The jump from a starter flat to family home is enormous anywhere near London. The current government is not at all family friendly and it needs to smell the coffee.
Also of course areas with low priced affordable family houses won’t have a local economy supporting incomes of £5k per month after tax in the main.

According to Zoopla:
The average sold price for a property in London in the last 12 months is £733,647. Different property types in London have different average sold prices over the last 12 months: Detached. £1,296,827.
www.zoopla.co.uk › london
Yes, you may be able to get a flat in an undesirable area for £250,000, but the average is more meaningful for the average family.

Lets put London house prices into persepctive. I have just looked up the leafy part of south London my family come from. adjacent to Lewisham with local parks and Blackheath and Greenwich less than 2 miles away there are plenty of pleasant 2 bedroomed flats in purpose built blocks for sale at £250,000. The area has good access to Canary Wharf and central London.

Lets keep things in proportion. Most people baught their homes probable 5-50 years ago so mortgage costs have a varying effect. Children are only under 5 for 5 years so childcare costs are not for ever and most households do not include children under 5, or even under 11.

So yes £5,000 a month is a significantly large household income, even in London and the South East and in areas and it is quite easy to live modestly, but well on considerabluy less than that even in London.

Go somewhere where house prices are very low and you can live in the lap of luxury - dependng on ones difinition of luxury.

I've just seen a house for sale on TikTok for £35000,000. I'm not sure what that proves, but whatever it is it's not a typical house price. It's in Chelsea, but that's not important either. Here's another one for £40million if anyone doesn't believe me. www.onthemarket.com/details/14025797/

Again, it proves nothing, other than that there are people with a lot of money to spend.

£500 a week per child is expensive, but not outrageous. £1000 a week for one child is, obviously, double that, which may be the rate for an exclusive nanny, but again, is not typical.

None of this is relevant to whether or not a £5000 a month salary after offtakes is a good salary though. These things are relative, and in many ways unrelated to expenses, as the are not taken into account when salaries are set. It is, in answer to the question, undeniably above average though.