What was a decent wage when you were younger

I can remember working a 60 hour week in a warehouse 30 years ago and making £230 before tax. I felt rich, even though I was cream crackered by Friday night. Also since I had odd shifts like 6-6 and 12-12, a social life wasn't possible, except on Saturday nights, so I had plenty of time to save.

That was per week.

In 1976 I started in the Civil Service on £35.63.

I started work in 1967 as a secretary in a psychiatric hospital, working in the hospital secretary's office, as well as covering for consultants' secretaries' absences and other departments. I earned £9 a week and that was reasonably good pay for age and experience.

Started work in 1975. My salary was £1,700 a year as a secretary. Moved for a good salary of £2,000 to work for a senior person. I was offered £4,000 (excellent salary at the time) to stay on at a job but chose to go and train to be a nurse instead for £2,000 because rent and bills were subsidised so I was actually better off with the lower salary. Tax was 33 and one third per cent but everything was cheap and subsidised. They were good times.

V3ra

Allira

1986 locally a flat cost £15,000, with a semi costing £22,000. 16k a year then would have afforded you quite a comfortable lifestyle.
I don't know where locally means because in 1985 we sold a small semi-detached house for £78,500. We were offered more but didn't think it was fair to let down the first prospective purchaser. The mortgage rate was 12%.

We bought a 3-bed semi, with a garage, in 1986 for £22,000.
We moved in 1991 to a 3-bed detached on the same estate for £63,000.
This is in the Midlands.

North West England had similar house prices in 1986. You could get houses cheaper than this, like Victorian houses that were available for 16k, and some flats were available for under 15k. This meant someone like a teacher could pick and choose their properties.

My first job (1970) was in the office at our local Woolworths - £1-0s-1d per day. I moved from there to the office at a garage - £9 per week and from there joined the Civil Service (1972) £12 per week, one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.

I started teaching in 1972 on £1000 a year ! My first pay cheque was £77 per month !!! I survived but had no luxuries !!

As a newly qualified teacher in 1976 my salary was £159p/m still got payslip. Pension Scheme waswas optional and I did'nt want to opt in at that time,became compulsory later....lol My mother made me opt in! 😅Boy am I glad she did💔

I started teaching in the East End of London in 1963 after finishing College that summer . We were the first of the 3 year college course in 1960 . I earned £800 pa . Dreamed of the time it would be £1000 !

I left school in 1965, and worked in a bank for two years before I went to university on a full grant. When I started in the bank, my monthly pay was £36.00. I gave my parents £12.00 of that. DH and I bought our first house in 1974. It was a two bedroom semi, and cost £10,500. We sold it in 1987 for £39,000.

I started teaching in 1975 and my salary slip shows I was paid £246.75, which equates to a salary of £2955. We bought a 3 bed terraced house in London for £19,000 in 1978 and moved to a 3 bed semi in Hertfordshire in 1983 which cost us £39,000

1957 job shorthand typist - £6 a week.
1960-£10 a week..Money was tight.
In 1965 we bought a small end of terrace house which cost 4,800. In 1973 we sold that house for £8,000 and bought another for £16, 500. We have lived here ever since. In 1975 I finished training as a teacher and had a degree so got extra for that. I started at£3,000 a year.

Our first house, bought by mortgage, cost £10,150 in 1977. It was new and semi-detached.

Pably15- I started as apprentice hairdresser in 1959 and I received 30s. had to give Mum £1 and I had 10s. managed to do quite a lot with it too.

My first job paid £5.12s.6d. Back in 1969. My first job as an accounting machine operator at a crisp factory.

My first job after leaving school (1980) paid £2300 a year and I thought I was rich. I stayed for 10 years, ending up on just over £6100 a year.

Got my hgv class 1 licence and 4 months later started a driving job on £10750 a year. Over £4500 a year extra which was a big increase back then. More things seemed affordable then too, which helped give the feeling of being well paid.

Obviously some people at the time will have been on more than that, but to me it felt like a decent wage.

I remember starting to watch Everton Football Club in the early 70's when it was 3 shillings and 6 pence in the Paddock not like the £40+ pounds it is now.
Mind you, I got married early 80's and my wife soon put an end to me missing all day on Saturdays with being in work mid-week as well!

In 1978 I got a job in the Civil Service which paid the princely sum of over £4000 as a trainee Insolvency Examiner. I thought I'd won the lottery!

1962 with £2.2/6d a week. Approx £110 a year. No idea of car prices, houses or anything else as they didn't interest me then.

I left school in 1960.

My first job was an office junior at Dimplex.
Starting wage was £2 per week.

My husband and I married in 1971, and were looking for a house under the cost of £4000.

We managed it, with a semi-detached newbuild property, costing £3895. A very good purchase.

First job in 1972, £80 per month working for Natwest at one of their London offices

My DS started work as a shorthand typist in the mid 60's and used to earn £3 per week - I was so envious!

1962, started training in Edinburgh, paid £11 a month but board and lodging taken out of original salary, A pair of shoes cost a fiver.

In 1966 working in Dundee, shared a grotty 2 bedoom flat on main road and next to M&S. My rent was £6 a month, salary £29 a month, qualified. I lived there for over 2 years and never entered M&S because I couldn't afford to.

We bought our 1st house in London, our mortgage was £18000. my salary was around £250 a month, but luckily OH's was around £45,000 a year as an accountant. Not long after the mortgage was 16%, horrendous.

We also had my partent's hand me downs.