# Do you get pissed off if people earn more than you?



## Kanda (May 29, 2010)

Just saw this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/10182993.stm

...and thought about it. for a bit. I've never got pissed off that someone earnt more than me, my way of thinking is that as long as you're happy with what you're getting paid, why bother with what others earn... ?


----------



## bluestreak (May 29, 2010)

i used to - but only if i thought i was "better" than them - i.e. better at my job, better placed to earn what they did etc.  not really now though.  life isn't worth getting uptight over.


----------



## Johnny Canuck3 (May 29, 2010)

No. From what I've seen so far, earning level isn't synonymous with life satisfaction/happiness level.


----------



## Sesquipedalian (May 29, 2010)

I opted out of the rat race.


----------



## Hoss (May 29, 2010)

No. People do different jobs, have different skills. My sister in law sometimes seems a bit pissed off that my misses earns more than her, despite them both choosing different paths and both doing something completely different, something they each love.

I don't understand it at all.


----------



## Mrs Magpie (May 29, 2010)

I'd be permanently pissed off if that bothered me. Teaching Assistants don't earn very much at all. However what has pissed me off in the past is to find a that a man doing exactly the same job with the same job title earned more (and he was a lot younger, and started the job three years after me, so it wasn't a seniority thing). That happened to me in the 1970s. I was not a TA then though.


----------



## ivebeenhigh (May 29, 2010)

Kanda said:


> Just saw this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/10182993.stm
> 
> ...and thought about it. for a bit. I've never got pissed off that someone earnt more than me, my way of thinking is that as long as you're happy with what you're getting paid, why bother with what others earn... ?



because people base their happiness on more than just what they have, its also about where they see themselves relative to others?

and how many people are happy with the amount they earn anyway?


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

three quarters of people are idiots then. I don't compare myself, what's the point? I don't really care what anyone earns and I'm about to quit my job and earn bugger all anyway so everyone is going to earn more than me, even Mrs M


----------



## cesare (May 29, 2010)

The time when you stop trying to suss out if you're on a fair wage compared to others, is when you're comfortable enough not to worry about it.


----------



## Maurice Picarda (May 29, 2010)

cesare said:


> The time when you stop trying to suss out if you're on a fair wage compared to others, is when you're comfortable enough not to worry about it.


 
I dunno. People who take what they earn very, very seriously are more likely to gravitate towards well paid jobs. So there might be an inverse corrolation between pay and satisfaction with pay. 

I'm confortable, but I earn .85x for a job that should pay between x and 1.2x, and it pains me every time I come across a peer earning considerably more than me. Also, if colleagues for whom the appropriate pay was y were earning over .9y, that would make me feel that I had negotiated poorly.


----------



## Geri (May 29, 2010)

I do sometimes, but as Mrs M says I would be permanently pissed off if I thought about it too much as most people I know seem to earn more than me.

I was reading the Guardian jobs page the other day and that did piss me off. Obscene salaries advertised in there.


----------



## N_igma (May 29, 2010)

Not objectively no, but in work there are some people in high management who are absolute fucking idiots...I look at them and think "I know I am smarter than them yet they earn 3-4 times more than I do, it's not fucking fair!"


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

N_igma said:


> Not objectively no, but in work there are some people in high management who are absolute fucking idiots...I look at them and think "I know I am smarter than them yet they earn 3-4 times more than I do, it's not fucking fair!"



My boss is an idiot as is the woman he reports to. And the head of the UK team is only the head because she's fucking someone on the Board. I'm not ambitious enough to give a toss though. Pimp your soul


----------



## cesare (May 29, 2010)

Maurice Picarda said:


> I dunno. People who take what they earn very, very seriously are more likely to gravitate towards well paid jobs. So there might be an inverse corrolation between pay and satisfaction with pay.
> 
> I'm confortable, but I earn .85x for a job that should pay between x and 1.2x, and it pains me every time I come across a peer earning considerably more than me. Also, if colleagues for whom the appropriate pay was y were earning over .9y, that would make me feel that I had negotiated poorly.



I didn't factor in the competitive element for people that want more than 'comfortable'.


----------



## Madusa (May 29, 2010)

Nope. However, I do wonder though sometimes when posters who have the time to post loads on here in the daytime sometimes make it known how much they're earning and you just think ''WHAT?! What do _you_ do?! -inbetween posting on here...I WANT''


----------



## subversplat (May 29, 2010)

Other people earning more than me for the same job narks me,  but that makes my issue with the company, not the other person, that would just be petty and divisive. I do expect them to be benevolent in their fortune, though, and get the lions share of the rounds in.


----------



## Maurice Picarda (May 29, 2010)

Madusa said:


> Nope. However, I do wonder though sometimes when posters who have the time to post loads on here in the daytime sometimes make it known how much they're earning and you just think ''WHAT?! What do _you_ do?! -inbetween posting on here...I WANT''


 
Yes, I find that confusing. But 80% of what you do as a manager turns out to be irrelevant or counter-productive. If you're astonishingly good at your job and choose your interventions with considerable skill it might be possible to do very little.


----------



## Santino (May 29, 2010)

I'm not too fussed about what other people earn, but I bet if I was slogging my guts out to make minimum wage I'd be less sanguine about people swanning around earning loads of money for fucking up the economy or exploiting other people. Being relaxed about other people's salary is rather a luxury.


----------



## Madusa (May 29, 2010)

Santino said:


> I'm not too fussed about what other people earn, but I bet if I was slogging my guts out to make minimum wage I'd be less sanguine about people swanning around earning loads of money for fucking up the economy or exploiting other people. Being relaxed about other people's salary is rather a luxury.



This is true. However, I actively chose to live amongst a nation in which the majority of the population get paid peanuts, productivity is low-maybe even the lowest in europe, etc, so I can never whinge. There are other priorities. Shame I never have been particularly money driven though...think i'd put it into good use.  Maybe I should.


----------



## gentlegreen (May 29, 2010)

Hardly ever impinges on my radar, but then compared to others I really can't complain.
Perhaps if I was much worse off I would feel bitter. 

It does, however, bother me that there are very hard-working people around me who are paid significantly less than me because their jobs are considered less "important".


----------



## weltweit (May 29, 2010)

There will always be people earning more than me. 

Why bother about something you can do nothing about.


----------



## mentalchik (May 29, 2010)

Santino said:


> I'm not too fussed about what other people earn, but I bet if I was slogging my guts out to make minimum wage I'd be less sanguine about people swanning around earning loads of money for fucking up the economy or exploiting other people. Being relaxed about other people's salary is rather a luxury.



This........


----------



## Santino (May 29, 2010)

I suppose it stands to reason that this thread was started by someone who works for a hedge fund rather than, say, a cleaner.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (May 29, 2010)

I can't help reading articles like this in the current context as having the subtext "yeah, shut up and enjoy the austerity, whining that it's not fair will just make you unhappy you know".


----------



## Santino (May 29, 2010)

We're all in this together, Fridgey. Be grateful that you've got a job. Now shut up and shine my shoes.


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

Santino said:


> I suppose it stands to reason that this thread was started by someone who works for a hedge fund rather than, say, a cleaner.



He's in IT, he's not a trader


----------



## Santino (May 29, 2010)

trashpony said:


> He's in IT, he's not a trader



Yeah, he works in IT for a hedge fund. I don't think he's struggling to pay the bills at the end of the month.


----------



## DotCommunist (May 29, 2010)

put it this way, I'd set a maximum wage and any surplus above to be distributed fairly amongst lower earners.


----------



## pinkmonkey (May 29, 2010)

I earn fuck all  but I can afford my bills and to eat properly, so I'm not unduly concerned about what others earn.  I guess if I wasn't comfortable, then it'd be a different matter altogether.


----------



## RubyToogood (May 29, 2010)

FridgeMagnet said:


> I can't help reading articles like this in the current context as having the subtext "yeah, shut up and enjoy the austerity, whining that it's not fair will just make you unhappy you know".



I read it more as 

1. Poor people stress more about money than rich people _(NO WAY!!!)_
2. They should accept their station in life and not, say, join trade unions or look for better paid jobs.

Personally, if I was comparing with friends and family I'd know I wasn't comparing like with like because I really haven't had the same opportunities and work history. Comparing myself to colleagues does slightly make me think I should go upstairs and do what they do instead of doing their admin, but I could do and have said no in the past because I didn't want to. So actually I choose not to compare myself with any of these people because what's the point?


----------



## RaverDrew (May 29, 2010)

There's a serious lack of self-awareness from some in this thread. 

I wonder how many of those that say they're not bothered, actually ever struggle to house themselves, or put food on the table ?


----------



## Kanda (May 29, 2010)

Santino said:


> Yeah, he works in IT for a hedge fund. I don't think he's struggling to pay the bills at the end of the month.



Got fuck all to do with it to be honest. It's only the last 5 years of my life I've been in a comfortable position. Nice to have a pop though isn't it?


----------



## DotCommunist (May 29, 2010)

See this is why people don't discuss wages much in real life as it invariably leads to Beef.


----------



## Santino (May 29, 2010)

DotCommunist said:


> See this is why people don't discuss wages much in real life as it invariably leads to Beef.



It also makes massive inequalities easier to cover up. If everyone had to wear a t-shirt with their income printed on it there'd be a lot less tolerance for huge salaries.


----------



## Captain Hurrah (May 29, 2010)

Pisses me off when I know someone is not working as well as me, and they are getting away with it.


----------



## Looby (May 29, 2010)

Generally not but I do have a strop about it at work sometimes. There are a few colleagues who are a grade higher and on max pay for their grade and are fucking useless. I find it very frustrating that they are a grade higher and in some cases earning 12k a year more than me but have to come to me for advice/info because they don't know what to do.

This wasn't helped by finding out that despite being in my job for 5 1/2 years I am still almost at the minima wage for my grade.


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

But there are a lot of people who have opportunities but choose not to earn as much as they could because they don't go into high earning professions. Kanda doesn't have a degree nor does he come from a wealthy background but he earns a fair whack. I have friends that earn a lot more than he does though - he's hardly in the millionaire bracket and he's extremely generous and not just financially. So no, I don't begrudge him a penny of what he earns. Nor do I begrudge any of my friends that earn more. Because they're my *friends*

In the same way as I don't begrudge them for having found true love or any of the other things they have. I'm pleased for them. I think envy is a really poisonous emotion


----------



## Captain Hurrah (May 29, 2010)

You must be an amazing person, if you've never felt envy.  But I think there is a difference between envy and feeling that something unfair is happening.  Being angry at or pointing out unfairness when it is legitimate to do so is a different matter entirely.


----------



## Santino (May 29, 2010)

How dare people feel aggrieved at unjustified inequality!


----------



## RaverDrew (May 29, 2010)

trashpony said:


> But there are a lot of people who have opportunities but choose not to earn as much as they could because they don't go into high earning professions. Kanda doesn't have a degree nor does he come from a wealthy background but he earns a fair whack. I have friends that earn a lot more than he does though - he's hardly in the millionaire bracket and he's extremely generous and not just financially. So no, I don't begrudge him a penny of what he earns. Nor do I begrudge any of my friends that earn more. Because they're my *friends*
> 
> In the same way as I don't begrudge them for having found true love or any of the other things they have. I'm pleased for them. I think envy is a really poisonous emotion



I'm sure he still has his Patrick Bateman moments


----------



## DotCommunist (May 29, 2010)

Santino said:


> How dare people feel aggrieved at unjustified inequality!



Yeah, but you have to target your anger at the right people. Check this manifesto out...


----------



## FridgeMagnet (May 29, 2010)

The politics of envy


----------



## Madusa (May 29, 2010)

Santino said:


> How dare people feel aggrieved at unjustified inequality!


----------



## weepiper (May 29, 2010)

Not within my friends, no. The two close friends I can think of that earn considerably more than me (one about £45,000, one probably about £70,000) are lovely, generous people who both work hard at their jobs. The one who's earning more has spent the last 7 or 8 years working ridiculous hours in his IT job to pay back debts built up when he left university to work on an assembly line at a TV factory to try and support his baby daughter... I don't grudge him a penny of it.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (May 29, 2010)

Who criticises their friends' wages though? They're your _friends_.



Incidentally, it is always fine and indeed laudable to criticise the wages of people going out on strike, because they are clearly holding the country to ransom and not accepting economic realities.


----------



## _angel_ (May 29, 2010)

Generally no. I was a bit miffed the first place I worked I volunteered on the understanding they would pay me when they could afford it.(They were only a v small business). They then took on other staff who got paid before I did and more than I did when I eventually did get paid, and never worked as much as I did - that was a bit off but I didn't resent the people they took on for it.


----------



## Wolveryeti (May 29, 2010)

I do in theory, but in practice I've usually arrived at the shit sandwich theorem - i.e. the more bread you get the more shit you have to eat. True for the kind of jobs I've compared with mine, anyway.


----------



## Looby (May 29, 2010)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Who criticises their friends' wages though? They're your _friends_.
> 
> 
> 
> Incidentally, it is always fine and indeed laudable to criticise the wages of people going out on strike, because they are clearly holding the country to ransom and not accepting economic realities.



Seriously? 

So you think that ordinary people on low wages should suffer for a recession caused by the greed of others? Priceless.


----------



## DotCommunist (May 29, 2010)

I believe fridgemagnet was taking the piss.


----------



## weepiper (May 29, 2010)

sparklefish said:


> Seriously?
> 
> So you think that ordinary people on low wages should suffer for a recession caused by the greed of others? Priceless.



you need to turn up your sarcasm aid.


----------



## Looby (May 29, 2010)

DotCommunist said:


> I believe fridgemagnet was taking the piss.





weepiper said:


> you need to turn up your sarcasm aid.





I blame my cold, it's addling my brain.


----------



## punchdrunkme (May 29, 2010)

Only been pissed off about this once. When I worked In a call centre, making sales calls for 4.50 an hour. Some people who were employed later got 6 or 7 pound.  And some people got raises whilst others didnt. It wasnt performance related either. But what annoyed me was that people who got better wages were told to keep it secret or lose it, and they all did. It was all very sneaky and snide.


----------



## littlebabyjesus (May 29, 2010)

I earn enough to always have money to buy a round, so no I don't get pissed off that others earn more than me. There are plenty of people who earn less than me.

That doesn't mean that the ever-rising inequality of our society doesn't piss me off, though. It does.


----------



## punchdrunkme (May 29, 2010)

But I think there I was more pissed off with people being dishonest and sneaking about with the management. It wasnt about the money more about peoples attitudes.


----------



## spanglechick (May 29, 2010)

no - but i'm pretty well paid (though i fucking work for it, and have so much work stress it's affecting my fertility... but those are my choices and i have no one to blame but myself.)

I do have irrational envy of my friends though, in relation to housing.  it rips me up a bit when i think that if i continue to work every hour there is in a job i hate and not be able to go part time when i have a child, then we'll just about be able to afford to keep on a small two-bedroom flat in a pretty grotty area...  and then i see people who are just ten years further along than me who had little houses and gardens at that same point...  i get a bit unnecessarily bitter.  but those are my issues, and i try to keep them to myself.


----------



## Orang Utan (May 29, 2010)

only when i can't afford to do something that some other friends are doing


----------



## littlebabyjesus (May 29, 2010)

The housing thing's understandable. Someone I work with sold a flat he bought in the 90s when earning a relatively low wage – £20k or so – and pocketed £200k for it. There is a divide in the UK now between those who bought before the housing boom or have a social housing tenancy and those who didn't/don't.


----------



## weltweit (May 29, 2010)

There will always be people earning more, often you / I will think that they are no better than we are. But there are also many millions earning less than we are, who are also just as good as we are.


----------



## boohoo (May 29, 2010)

I get pissed off with how little pay I get for the effort I put in but that is part of the career path I have chosen and the place I work. My life choices are little in terms of how I can live and what I can do. I don't have debt and am just about managing to save a little but those savings don't stretch very far.


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

Captain Hurrah said:


> You must be an amazing person, if you've never felt envy.  But I think there is a difference between envy and feeling that something unfair is happening.  Being angry at or pointing out unfairness when it is legitimate to do so is a different matter entirely.



I'm not envious of my friends. That doesn't make me amazing, I think I'm just lucky.




FridgeMagnet said:


> Who criticises their friends' wages though? They're your _friends_.
> .



But that is what the article is about.

Feeling furious about what Fred the Shred earned is entirely different and entirely justified. Anyone who destroys a company and is happy to take a big pay off is a criminal as far as I can see


----------



## littlebabyjesus (May 29, 2010)

> "I would advise people to not compare themselves and be happy with who they are and the situation they're in - remember those you're comparing yourself with may not actually be more content."



Patronising git. 

A woman comparing her wage with her friends' yesterday.


----------



## _angel_ (May 29, 2010)

punchdrunkme said:


> But I think there I was more pissed off with people being dishonest and sneaking about with the management. It wasnt about the money more about peoples attitudes.



The management put them in that position of playing people off against each other, but  also threatening them if they told others how much they got paid (from what you wrote).Blackmail in other words.


----------



## Wookey (May 29, 2010)

I'm dead happy doing what I'm doing, and would do it for less to be honest.

I do have mates who earn more than me, but I'd pay the difference to have my life, so it doesn't bother me.

And I've seen what it takes to be seriously rich, and I don't want any part of that shit, so I'm quite resigned to having a limit on what I earn, and I enjoy the freedom that comes with that. I'm never going to work _very_ hard, it's not what life is for, imo.


----------



## punchdrunkme (May 29, 2010)

_angel_ said:


> The management put them in that position of playing people off against each other, but  also threatening them if they told others how much they got paid (from what you wrote).Blackmail in other words.



Yeah you right there. It was the management at fault and they were particully cuntish at that place. 

But personally I wouldnt have gone as far as to outright lie to my colleagues when we were discussing what we could do about the low wages. Didnt think that was on really although of course it was perfectlly understandable.


----------



## punchdrunkme (May 29, 2010)

Wookey said:


> And I've seen what it takes to be seriously rich, and I don't want any part of that shit, so I'm quite resigned to having a limit on what I earn, and I enjoy the freedom that comes with that. I'm never going to work _very_ hard, it's not what life is for, imo.



My thoughts exactlly. Very well put.


----------



## subversplat (May 29, 2010)

Captain Hurrah said:


> Pisses me off when I know someone is not working as well as me, and they are getting away with it.


You're just not slacking well enough.


----------



## butchersapron (May 29, 2010)

Stacking


----------



## Wookey (May 29, 2010)

punchdrunkme said:


> My thoughts exactlly. Very well put.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (May 29, 2010)

trashpony said:


> But that is what the article is about.



It's saying generally that comparing their salary to their peers' makes people unhappy, and especially with friends and family, because they're less likely to criticise and more likely to think its their own fault somehow. That's what i mean, it's all very well saying "I have friends who've done better than me and good luck to them, i don't begrudge them that at all" but that's no good if in fact you sit there thinking "yeah but maybe that means I'm shit".

Beyond that it does also include peers at work and that's the problem I have with how studies like this are used; you only have to look at the headlines of the "other coverage" links in the sidebar to see how its being spun, i.e. away from openness about wages which might help collective bargaining or let people know they're being ripped off etc.


----------



## DotCommunist (May 29, 2010)

'open the books' is a familiar unionist cry afaik and a legitimate one. Some people are taking far more of the cake than others and the validity or effort the work requires is often grossly distorted wrt what they earn. Of course nobody hates on friends doing well, that would be weird. This doesn't mean that railing against the practise of unfair reward/labour should be dismissed though. Just that it isn't conducive to personal harmony to try and guilt trip a high-earning mate. Hip Hop puts this succinctly as

'Hate the Game not the playa'


----------



## weltweit (May 29, 2010)

Wookey said:


> .... I'm never going to work _very_ hard, it's not what life is for, imo.



No indeed, can you imagine anyone on their deathbed saying " I wish I had spent more time at work!! "


----------



## littlebabyjesus (May 29, 2010)

I agree wholeheartedly with fridge and dc. 

This article is taking a political issue – pay and its fairness – and trying to address it in an apolitical way. But as ever when you do that, you are not being apolitical, you are being conservative.


----------



## Maurice Picarda (May 29, 2010)

weltweit said:


> No indeed, can you imagine anyone on their deathbed saying " I wish I had spent more time at work!! "


 
We have builders in the hall and the living room, doing builder things with noisy, dust-creating machinery. Sybil, Goneril, Regan, Maximilien FMI de Robespierre and I are all crammed in the kitchen/dining/library area, fighting over the computers and hitting each other over the head with toys and barking and being snide about each other's parents and stealing food and irritating one another immensely. 

I wish, wish, wish that I was at work.


----------



## Cloo (May 29, 2010)

I don't think so - I'm in publishing and most people earn fuck all, so there's not many people to be jealous of. I know the MD earns about 100k, but I'm fine with that. The company's totally his baby that he's built up hugely within the 6 years I've been in it and he has to sleep, eat, breath the business so I think he's earned it.


----------



## Obnoxiousness (May 29, 2010)

I couldn't care less.  I am only interested in being happy, and I only need a small amount of money to do that.


----------



## Captain Hurrah (May 29, 2010)

butchersapron said:


> Stacking



Nope.  It's the prick above me that doesn't have to do the stacking.


----------



## Captain Hurrah (May 29, 2010)

subversplat said:


> You're just not slacking well enough.



Work smart, not hard.


----------



## Treacle Toes (May 29, 2010)

Pissed off or jealous?


----------



## Santino (May 29, 2010)

Rutita1 said:


> Pissed off or jealous?



Oh no, you mustn't be jealous, Rutita. Those rich people work really hard and are so generous. Count yourself lucky that you're not too well paid, it's not all fun and games, you know.


----------



## Captain Hurrah (May 29, 2010)

Pissed off, because he's lazy and a prick.  He gets 26 weeks full-paid sickness entitlement a year, and he treats it as holiday time.  Especially when his girlfriend, who also works at the same place, goes off on the sick, and he mysteriously seems to be 'sick' at the same time, leaving everyone else in the shit.


----------



## Badgers (May 29, 2010)

I don't get annoyed but have asked employers why people in identical roles, or those producing less than me have been on a higher salary. Mostly it gets sorted out.


----------



## weltweit (May 29, 2010)

If I was paid twice as much I could work half as long!!


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

urb said:


> I couldn't care less.  I am only interested in being happy, and I only need a small amount of money to do that.



And that's the point as far as most people on this board are concerned. There are a fuck of a lot of people on here who are really, really clever and could earn megabucks if they wanted to but they choose not to. That is absolutely fair enough but it is a bit wanky to complain about other people earning more in those circumstances. 

I also hate the way cleaning is always cited as the the worst job any of us could do. Probably because it's largely done by women I expect. But actually it's really not a bad job. It's not very hard, it's certainly not physically or mentally taxing and you don't have to talk to anyone. It would definitely be my choice of minimum wage jobs


----------



## boohoo (May 29, 2010)

So what do people on this thread consider is a low wage?


----------



## Badgers (May 29, 2010)

weltweit said:


> If I was paid twice as much I could work half as long!!



Yup  

I can earn more by doing more hours but don't. I value my free time more than my bank account.


----------



## weltweit (May 29, 2010)

boohoo said:


> So what do people on this thread consider is a low wage?



I think it depends where you live and what the local costs of living are. 

£12k pa is probably low anywhere in the UK.


----------



## boohoo (May 29, 2010)

weltweit said:


> I think it depends where you live and what the local costs of living are.
> 
> £12k pa is probably low anywhere in the UK.



yep 12k pa would be exceptionally difficult in london unless you were living in social housing. So take home a month would be approx £900.


----------



## weltweit (May 29, 2010)

For me, the highest outgoings are 

1) rent (or mortgage)
2) Council Tax 
3) Water rates


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

Santino said:


> Oh no, you mustn't be jealous, Rutita. Those rich people work really hard and are so generous. Count yourself lucky that you're not too well paid, it's not all fun and games, you know.



You're a very clever bloke Santino. Why didn't you become an accountant or lawyer or actuary if you wanted to earn a lot of money? And I'm not being sarky, that's a genuine question


----------



## Sadken (May 29, 2010)

Love the way everyone thinks every lawyer is a high roller.  Good for my rep, just not at all reflected in my actual day to day life.


----------



## boohoo (May 29, 2010)

weltweit said:


> For me, the highest outgoings are
> 
> 1) rent (or mortgage)
> 2) Council Tax
> 3) Water rates



my rent is inclusive of bills - which is good. however I can only afford a room in a house share - otherwise I'd have to move to suburbs of London to maybe be able to afford a 1 bedroom place. Then travel costs go up. Travel is second most expensive cost.


----------



## wayward bob (May 29, 2010)

i've never earned more than £450/month. it was my choice to work part time in a low paid sector (arts), i didn't have to provide for a family on that income so i never had any reason to envy other people, i had time i could use for voluntary work/study and keep me away from workplace stress.

now i earn nothing at all (homemaking parent of preschooler) every now and again it strikes me that were i looking after someone else's child, and i sent mine away likewise, i would at least be earning minimum wage. sometimes i do feel a bit hard done by, as though the value of my work is unrecognised by society at large, but i knew that was the deal when i took it on, so i just have to get on with it.


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

boohoo said:


> yep 12k pa would be exceptionally difficult in london unless you were living in social housing. So take home a month would be approx £900.



Which is what my take home is after I've paid my mortgage and my childcare.


----------



## boohoo (May 29, 2010)

trashpony said:


> Which is what my take home is after I've paid my mortgage and my childcare.



How much does the childcare impact your money? ( and btw, I love the pics of you and the foal. it's great to see him growing up!)


----------



## Maurice Picarda (May 29, 2010)

trashpony said:


> an accountant or lawyer or actuary


 


Sadken said:


> Love the way everyone thinks every lawyer is a high roller.


 
Accountancy isn't an automatic pass to untold riches, either.


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

boohoo said:


> How much does the childcare impact your money? ( and btw, I love the pics of you and the foal. it's great to see him growing up!)



It's nearly £1k a month.  And because I earn over the threshold, I have to pay it all myself (if you earn less, the government pays a lot of it - when I was working 3 days a week I really only paid those days - got the rest in WTC)

And thank you  I am going to put some pics on faceache later of our day hunting elephants


----------



## boohoo (May 29, 2010)

wayward bob said:


> i've never earned more than £450/month. it was my choice to work part time in a low paid sector (arts), i didn't have to provide for a family on that income so i never had any reason to envy other people, i had time i could use for voluntary work/study and keep me away from workplace stress.



How did that work for paying rent/ travel?


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

Maurice Picarda said:


> Accountancy isn't an automatic pass to untold riches, either.



No it isn't but as a senior manager which most people make by the time they are early 30s, they earn 70-80k a year in a big 4 firm. So it's hardly penury


----------



## Maurice Picarda (May 29, 2010)

trashpony said:


> No it isn't but as a senior manager which most people make by the time they are early 30s, they earn 70-80k a year in a big 4 firm. So it's hardly penury


 
But that's big 4 firms. Lots of accountants are on teacher-level cash doing the books for crappy companies and sole traders.


----------



## boohoo (May 29, 2010)

trashpony said:


> It's nearly £1k a month.  And because I earn over the threshold, I have to pay it all myself (if you earn less, the government pays a lot of it - when I was working 3 days a week I really only paid those days - got the rest in WTC)



I didn't realise it was that high. Modern society is not great for parenting. If you stay at home, that work isn't recognise. If you work, you have to fork out loads to have your child looked after. Parents should be given more support!! (in particular, mothers!)



trashpony said:


> And thank you  I am going to put some pics on faceache later of our day hunting elephants


   That sounds like a great day out!!


----------



## FridgeMagnet (May 29, 2010)

Maurice Picarda said:


> But that's big 4 firms. Lots of accountants are on teacher-level cash doing the books for crappy companies and sole traders.



Teachers don't do too badly either.


----------



## Santino (May 29, 2010)

Maurice Picarda said:


> But that's big 4 firms. Lots of accountants are on teacher-level cash doing the books for crappy companies and sole traders.



And fish prices aren't what they were.


----------



## littlebabyjesus (May 29, 2010)

This is all getting a bit politics of envy here.

It is not politics of envy to want a more equal and fair society, to want the person on the shop floor producing the goods to earn as much as the person in the office supervising the transfer of money from one place to another. 

It is possible to think and say that, and yes to get a bit angry about it too, without being fucking jealous of those who benefit from the workings of capitalism.


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

Maurice Picarda said:


> But that's big 4 firms. Lots of accountants are on teacher-level cash doing the books for crappy companies and sole traders.



Teachers that I know earn around 40k. Still not bad


----------



## Maurice Picarda (May 29, 2010)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Teachers don't do too badly either.


 
The point was to choose a profession where Santino could take his dazzling capability for fish puns and sweep all comers away, retiring monstrous rich in three or four years. Although I suppose he could become a superhead at a Swedish academy.


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

boohoo said:


> I didn't realise it was that high. Modern society is not great for parenting. If you stay at home, that work isn't recognise. If you work, you have to fork out loads to have your child looked after. Parents should be given more support!! (in particular, mothers!)
> 
> That sounds like a great day out!!



It is horribly horribly expensive. There is a nursery where I live that charges £45 per half day  Minimum in London seems to be about £40/day

ETA and yes it was very fun!


----------



## moomoo (May 29, 2010)

I earn around £6k but only work part time and absolutely love my job.  So no, I'm not at all envious of people who work full time in jobs they may hate but earn squillions.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (May 29, 2010)

Accountants do things that are a bit too connected to reality to really earn the big money. To earn the proper made-up sums you have to be considerably more imaginary.


----------



## wayward bob (May 29, 2010)

boohoo said:


> How did that work for paying rent/ travel?



local to work so no travel costs, higher earning partner paid the rent. 

i could neither have afforded to work in the charitable sector or look after my kids full time without relying on my partner's income. which is a whole nother can of worms for a lifelong feminist...


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

wayward bob said:


> local to work so no travel costs, higher earning partner paid the rent.
> 
> i could neither have afforded to work in the charitable sector or look after my kids full time without relying on my partner's income. which is a whole nother can of worms for a lifelong feminist...



Are you a woman?


----------



## wayward bob (May 29, 2010)

trashpony said:


> Are you a woman?



i'm a girl with as much talent for disguise as a giraffe in dark glasses trying to get into a polar bears-only golf club


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

wayward bob said:


> i'm a girl with as much talent for disguise as a giraffe in dark glasses trying to get into a polar bears-only golf club


----------



## Ms T (May 29, 2010)

trashpony said:


> Which is what my take home is after I've paid my mortgage and my childcare.



Yeah, but it's £900 a month before you've paid your rent/bills.  That's what I was on when I first moved to London in 1993.  My rent was £250 a month.


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

Ms T said:


> Yeah, but it's £900 a month before you've paid your rent/bills.  That's what I was on when I first moved to London in 1993.  My rent was £250 a month.



I thought boohoo said that was after rent? When I first got a job after leaving uni in london, I was on £9k a year so a fuck of a lot less than that.


----------



## Ms T (May 29, 2010)

trashpony said:


> I thought boohoo said that was after rent? When I first got a job after leaving uni in london, I was on £9k a year so a fuck of a lot less than that.



Take home pay is pay after tax, I think, but before all your other outgoings.  I had about a hundred pounds a week disposable income I think when I was on 12K, but obviously had far fewer responsibilities.  And had just been a student, so it seemed like quite a lot at the time.    My fuckwit employer still couldn't understand why I didn't go to all his clients' shows at £40 a time (he was an a media agent).


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

I lived in a council flat in Camberwell on the Elmington Estate where the rent was about 60 quid a week for a 3 bedroom flat because no one wanted to live there. They rented them to Camberwell art students because it was better than nothing. We had to lie about how cheap it was when we advertised in loot whenever we had a room spare


----------



## FridgeMagnet (May 29, 2010)

I've never lived anywhere that cheap, you pampered poodles.


----------



## Ms T (May 29, 2010)

trashpony said:


> I lived in a council flat in Camberwell on the Elmington Estate where the rent was about 60 quid a week for a 3 bedroom flat because no one wanted to live there. They rented them to Camberwell art students because it was better than nothing. We had to lie about how cheap it was when we advertised in loot whenever we had a room spare



You were done - I paid the same for a room in a pretty nice shared house in Brixton - almost next door to where several urbanites lived more than a decade later.  

Hang on - was it £60 a week for the whole flat?!


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

Ms T said:


> You were done - I paid the same for a room in a pretty nice shared house in Brixton - almost next door to where several urbanites lived more than a decade later.



I don't mean the room, I mean the whole flat! The rent was £12.50 a week per room I vaguely remember and we put £20 in the ads because when we put 12.50 no one wanted it


----------



## Geri (May 29, 2010)

Sadken said:


> Love the way everyone thinks every lawyer is a high roller.  Good for my rep, just not at all reflected in my actual day to day life.



So what is your salary?


----------



## weltweit (May 29, 2010)

My outgoings in order are: 

Income tax 
National Insurance 
Rent 
Council Tax
Water Rates 
Childcare


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

weltweit said:


> My outgoings in order are:
> 
> Income tax
> National Insurance
> ...



in order of what they cost you?


----------



## weltweit (May 29, 2010)

trashpony said:


> in order of what they cost you?



Yes, except .. my rent may well be more than my national insurance.


----------



## weltweit (May 29, 2010)

trashpony said:


> in order of what they cost you?



Actually scratch all that ... 

My rent may even be more than my income tax ... 

Take home pay 
then rent 
then probably child care 
then council tax 
then water rates


----------



## weltweit (May 29, 2010)

Actually I would like to earn a shedload more money, it would make a few things easier. 

And I would not have to work so many years.


----------



## kabbes (May 29, 2010)

I think that talking about how hard somebody does or does not work fundamentally misses the point about income inequality. It doesn't _matter_ how hard somebody works.  When somebody earns at ten times the rate of somebody else, there is no justification.  Hard work be damned.  

Not to mention then if you really are working that hard then calm down, ffs, because you're ruining it for everybody else.  That's called a "race to the bottom".  The idea should be for everyone to simply to do a reasonable level of work.  In a society that valued more important things than return on capital and interest rates (and in which wealth disparity was small, so that nobody struggled despite working at this reasonable level), there would be a social stigma attached to overwork.   

I'm aware that I could be called a hypocrite for railing against income disparity.  In many ways I am.  But I saw how the system worked very early on in life and I knew which side of the inequality I wanted to be on until such a time that the system was overthrown.  That doesn't mean that I won't continue to argue for wholesale changes, however.  Nor do I fool myself that my ability to make very rich men even richer somehow gives me true extra worth to society compared with somebody else who earns less.  Let alone somebody that actually does something really genuinely useful, God forbid.


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

I'm with kabbes. I'm going to jak my job in and hope to become a foster parent. It pays fuck all but I think I'll be making a much greater contribution. But more than anything I hope it will be rewarding. I don't give a shit about my job and that's increasing.


----------



## _angel_ (May 29, 2010)

It's a bit mental you can be paid for fostering but not looking after your own child though!


----------



## trashpony (May 29, 2010)

_angel_ said:


> It's a bit mental you can be paid for fostering but not looking after your own child though!



But that's your choice and this is someone else's.  I bet that must be their logic. Although if I have children and they're taken into care then that's going to cost more isn't it? I think this option must give people that buy the DM less aploplexy than just giving mothers the cash in he first place - that's my theory


----------



## QueenOfGoths (May 30, 2010)

bluestreak said:


> i used to - but only if i thought i was "better" than them - i.e. better at my job, better placed to earn what they did etc.  not really now though.  life isn't worth getting uptight over.



This really - the only times I really get annoyed now are when my boss refuses to take responsibility for something which is part of her remit and therefore reflected in her pay.  However that is more to do with her and her lack of ability than her pay tbh.


----------



## Geri (May 30, 2010)

trashpony said:


> I'm with kabbes. I'm going to jak my job in and hope to become a foster parent. It pays fuck all but I think I'll be making a much greater contribution. But more than anything I hope it will be rewarding. I don't give a shit about my job and that's increasing.



It's not bad money for staying home all day.


----------



## trashpony (May 30, 2010)

Geri said:


> It's not bad money for staying home all day.



Yeah, life of reilly


----------



## Geri (May 30, 2010)

trashpony said:


> Yeah, life of reilly



No need to roll your eyes at me. My sister is a foster carer and I know exactly what it entails - all I'm saying is that the payment is not bad, considering that it's home based work.


----------



## mentalchik (May 30, 2010)

trashpony said:


> I also hate the way cleaning is always cited as the the worst job any of us could do. Probably because it's largely done by women I expect. But actually it's really not a bad job. *It's not very hard, it's certainly not physically or mentally taxing and you don't have to talk to anyone. It would definitely be my choice of minimum wage jobs*



I assume you're talking about house type cleaning here ? I have been on the 'hotel Services' (cleaning and room service) staff in a smallish private hospital for the last five years and cleaning is anything but easy and very physically taxing...............you also have to contend with being treated like lyour a bit braindead and earning the very lowest hourly rate in the place !




boohoo said:


> yep 12k pa would be exceptionally difficult in london unless you were living in social housing. So take home a month would be approx £900.



It would be less than that...........i'm on £14,000 and come out with just over £950 after tax and NI.........

in fact i'm getting very nervous as they seem to be talking about scrapping Tax Credits........i'll be fucked without it !


----------



## ernestolynch (May 30, 2010)

Pay is relative. There are people here on half my wage who have enough disposable wedge to spend it on gadgets, designer clothes, cosmetics, games, drugs and books and stuff like Sky Sports. 
Which I don't, but ah well.


----------



## trashpony (May 30, 2010)

Geri said:


> No need to roll your eyes at me. My sister is a foster carer and I know exactly what it entails - all I'm saying is that the payment is not bad, considering that it's home based work.



I don't understand what being home based has got to do with anything. 



mentalchik said:


> I assume you're talking about house type cleaning here ? I have been on the 'hotel Services' (cleaning and room service) staff in a smallish private hospital for the last five years and cleaning is anything but easy and very physically taxing...............you also have to contend with being treated like lyour a bit braindead and earning the very lowest hourly rate in the place !



I've cleaned hotels, offices, shops and houses. Hotels are by far the worst and I wouldn't ever do that again - that is hard work and you get treated like dirt by the guests. I wasn't talking about that


----------



## mentalchik (May 30, 2010)

trashpony said:


> I wasn't talking about that



I guessed you weren't !


----------



## janeb (May 30, 2010)

No idea re sadkens salary but mr jb's salary when he was an immigration / asylum solicitor, 5+ years post qualifying was about £28k. That was in a law centre and about 4 months ago.


----------



## Xanadu (May 30, 2010)

sparklefish said:


> This wasn't helped by finding out that despite being in my job for 5 1/2 years I am still almost at the minima wage for my grade.



Have you asked for a payrise?  Or perhaps a grade increase?

IME big companies are very good at giving people enough money to be just a little unhappy, as opposed to okay or even happy.


----------



## Santino (May 30, 2010)

trashpony said:


> I've cleaned hotels, offices, shops and houses. Hotels are by far the worst and I wouldn't ever do that again - that is hard work and you get treated like dirt by the guests. I wasn't talking about that



Did you like it when people stripped their bed before leaving? I usually do that.


----------



## _angel_ (May 30, 2010)

I imagine you'd already need an extra bedroom to do fostering.


----------



## weltweit (May 30, 2010)

If I got pissed off about people earning more than me I would be apoplectic most of the time. On my commute mine is the oldest car out there by a country mile. Everybody else is driving new new new cars .. they must be earning way more than me.


----------



## pinkmonkey (May 30, 2010)

weltweit said:


> If I got pissed off about people earning more than me I would be apoplectic most of the time. On my commute mine is the oldest car out there by a country mile. Everybody else is driving new new new cars .. they must be earning way more than me.



They may not, they might simply be up to their eyeballs in debt.  All the really wealthy people I've ever known drove old cars, always got furniture/clothes/shoes repaired rather than buying new.


----------



## Geri (May 30, 2010)

_angel_ said:


> I imagine you'd already need an extra bedroom to do fostering.



Not necessarily, when my sister started doing it the child would share a room with her own children. It probably depends on the age and sex of the children being fostered (she fosters younger children) and the local authority's own rules. She eventually got rehoused into a bigger place partly because of her fostering and now she has a spare room for them, although if she has more than one child at a time they still end up sharing.


----------



## weltweit (May 30, 2010)

pinkmonkey said:


> They may not, they might simply be up to their eyeballs in debt.  All the really wealthy people I've ever known drove old cars, always got furniture/clothes/shoes repaired rather than buying new.



Yes, you could have a point. 

Around me at the moment are some very ordinary houses with very exotic cars parked outside. It looks strange. 

Then there was the saying I heard years ago, rich people buy expensive houses because houses appreciate and cheap cars because cars depreciate. 

Might be some sense in that.


----------



## Looby (May 30, 2010)

Xanadu said:


> Have you asked for a payrise?  Or perhaps a grade increase?
> 
> IME big companies are very good at giving people enough money to be just a little unhappy, as opposed to okay or even happy.



I'm a civil servant so can't ask. There was a pay deal a few years ago that meant everyone would get to max in 5 years but that was scrapped in the last deal and I have been treading water around minima since.


----------



## Looby (May 30, 2010)

weltweit said:


> If I got pissed off about people earning more than me I would be apoplectic most of the time. On my commute mine is the oldest car out there by a country mile. Everybody else is driving new new new cars .. they must be earning way more than me.



My car is a year old and it's on finance.  It takes a bit wedge out of my income but it's worth it for reliability etc I did that because it was working out cheaper than buying endless shitboxes.


----------



## kittyP (May 30, 2010)

I dont get pissed off because people earn more money than me, as MrsM said, I would be in a permanently irate state if that were the case but, I do occasionally get a little Grrrr when people seem to think I am just being boring or lazy because i have said no to doing stuff, when its actually just that I have much less disposable income than them and cant bloody afford it! 

Over all though, high wages does not in any way equate with happiness.
Yes I wish I earned more money but I love my job (most of the time)


----------



## ernestolynch (May 30, 2010)

sparklefish said:


> My car is a year old and it's on finance.  It takes a bit wedge out of my income but it's worth it for reliability etc I did that because it was working out cheaper than buying endless shitboxes.



False economy, buying new cars.


----------



## Clair De Lune (May 30, 2010)

No, it would be near constant annoyance, far too time consuming. I prefer to take my irritation out on illegal immigrants and how they get double the benefits I do and a free top of the range games console just for sneaking over here in a crate or something easy like that.


----------



## DotCommunist (May 30, 2010)

ernestolynch said:


> False economy, buying new cars.



Ford used to have a deal where you could trade for a newer model every two years untill the (slightly higher than normal) finance deal was paid up at which point you were stuck with what you had. Very good for making it look like you weren't just keeping up with the jonses but actively pissing on thier kids from a great hight


----------



## Santino (May 30, 2010)

DotCommunist said:


> Ford used to have a deal where you could trade for a newer model every two years untill the (slightly higher than normal) finance deal was paid up at which point you were stuck with what you had. Very good for making it look like you weren't just keeping up with the jonses but actively pissing on thier kids from a great hight



I prefer to do that by just pissing on their kids from a first floor window.


----------



## Hollis (May 30, 2010)

trashpony said:


> No it isn't but as a senior manager which most people make by the time they are early 30s, they earn 70-80k a year in a big 4 firm. So it's hardly penury




That's really the minority. The Big 4 get rid of most people by that stage.  

Not that I'm bitter or anything.


----------



## tar1984 (May 30, 2010)

I don't earn anything, so it's cool.


----------



## DarthSydodyas (Jun 3, 2010)

DotCommunist said:


> Ford used to have a deal where you could trade for a newer model every two years untill the (slightly higher than normal) finance deal was paid up at which point you were stuck with what you had. Very good for making it look like you weren't just keeping up with the jonses but actively pissing on thier kids from a great hight


   Ford Options.   They still do this.


----------



## kyser_soze (Jun 3, 2010)

> But I saw how the system worked very early on in life and I knew which side of the inequality I wanted to be on until such a time that the system was overthrown.



^^This^^

And the post Trashy made about envy generally earlier in the thread - it takes way too much time and energy up. Even on the housing thing which was touched on, in my case I really do only have myself to blame - I had plenty of opportunity to buy a place in the 90s/early 00s both with my ex and on my own, but instead I spunked the money on travel, booze, nice clothes and drugs. 

Not only that, but whenver I've seen/known people who earn loads they either have to spend an inordinate amount of time in work (I don't agree that £100K pa is worth a 70hr week), are permanently stressed about their jobs or they're hated by pretty much every they work with. Fuck that for a game of soldiers.


----------



## trashpony (Jun 3, 2010)

Hollis said:


> That's really the minority. The Big 4 get rid of most people by that stage.
> 
> Not that I'm bitter or anything.



(((Hollis)))

Be comforted that they are all wankers and have no life or personality


----------



## trashpony (Jun 3, 2010)

Santino said:


> Did you like it when people stripped their bed before leaving? I usually do that.



It's never happened! I got an inordinate amount of guests who were 'treating themselves' to a weekend in a posh hotel which meant getting their money's worth by leaving wet towels on the bed, glasses of OJ dripping onto the carpets and poo smears on the walls 

(am going to stop posting on this thread now = turning into jc2/3/4/5  )


----------



## crustychick (Jun 3, 2010)

it only pisses me off in my current job where there is a guy who started 6 months after me - got promoted instead of me and is generally _regarded_ as being more senior, but in reality we do the same job and I'm 2000 times better at it than he is and it's glaringly obvious. the fact that he earns 20k more than me and can afford to buy a nice car and a nice house while I'm saving, saving, saving for a deposit for a tiny flat, kind of grates a little. 

with friends, I don't bother.


----------



## marty21 (Jun 3, 2010)

littlebabyjesus said:


> The housing thing's understandable. Someone I work with sold a flat he bought in the 90s when earning a relatively low wage – £20k or so – and pocketed £200k for it. There is a divide in the UK now between those who bought before the housing boom or have a social housing tenancy and those who didn't/don't.



I do have a fair bit of equity in my flat, but it's not going to do me much good until I sell it, and I'll only see the money if I buy something cheaper, I guess I could just sell it and fuck off (Mrs21 might be a tad pissed off if I did that though) 

I earn ok-ish money, in the £30k to 40k bracket , but I have friends who earn much more than that, one I suspect is on a million plus a year (partner big city law firm) I'd love to have that sort of money, but have never been that bothered about getting in the position to do that (law degree and articles and that) but I'm not pissed off that he earns that much


----------



## Biddlybee (Jun 3, 2010)

No read the whole thread, but no not really. I'm kind of comfy, can pay my rent, buy food and slowly paying off debts. The only thing that pisses me off with regards to money is people who complain endlessly about being skint but can afford a holiday, or a new car but that's not about how much they earn... erm....


----------



## keithy (Jun 20, 2010)

There's not really any point in me contributing to this thread.


----------



## mentalchik (Jun 20, 2010)

keithy said:


> There's not really any point in me contributing to this thread.



why ?


----------



## keithy (Jun 20, 2010)

I just typed and deleted about 5 different posts then decided not to bother because how can you not come across as some kind of wannabe victim. 

I don't envy people, but I do get depressed and really sad that I earn fuck all and can't afford my own place or a family or owt. 


situation is changing now but only because my partner has a new swish job. Doesn't make me feel any better about me being a massive failure. When you're really low down on the scale, it's natural to look at other people and feel sad. 

My friends who left school at 16 and got pregnant and are still on benefits in their council houses are actually doing better than me. That makes me feel sad because I had so many opportunities and am trying my best but I'd have been better off just accepting my place.

e2a: I have wasted 8 years trying to make something of myself.


----------



## mentalchik (Jun 20, 2010)

keithy said:


> I just typed and deleted about 5 different posts then decided not to bother because how can you not come across as some kind of wannabe victim.
> 
> I don't envy people, but I do get depressed and really sad that I earn fuck all and can't afford my own place or a family or owt.
> 
> ...



Aww babes.......

but i know what you mean....never thought at 47 i'd be in this position, reliant on Tax Credits and the prospect of staying in my job for the rest of my working life because although not brilliant is better than a lot of the alternatives.....

and though i am undoubtably gratefull to be in this HA flat (as i was homeless for 6 months and never want to go through that shit again)it's still not my 'home' and because of my money situation i have no choices....


but it could be worse !


----------



## madzone (Jun 21, 2010)

keithy said:


> I just typed and deleted about 5 different posts then decided not to bother because how can you not come across as some kind of wannabe victim.
> 
> I don't envy people, but I do get depressed and really sad that I earn fuck all and can't afford my own place or a family or owt.
> 
> ...


You sounds as if that's it, that things are set in stone. You're still really young though. I started again at 44. You've got shitloads of time.


----------



## keithy (Jun 21, 2010)

nah, I'm still trying!


----------



## Pat24 (Jun 21, 2010)

punchdrunkme said:


> Only been pissed off about this once. When I worked In a call centre, making sales calls for 4.50 an hour. Some people who were employed later got 6 or 7 pound.  And some people got raises whilst others didnt. It wasnt performance related either. But what annoyed me was that people who got better wages were told to keep it secret or lose it, and they all did. It was all very sneaky and snide.



I used to work in a call centre and got about 7 quid an hour because I speak an extra language. The rate for English speakers only was 5 quid


----------



## sim667 (Jun 21, 2010)

Not really

i do get conused when people i know tell me they're earning £28K a year and live with their parents...... always seem to not be able to afford to do stuff.


----------



## Gromit (Jun 21, 2010)

keithy said:


> nah, I'm still trying!


 
You are hardly out of Uni, have a degree and its a recession so a bad time for ALL graduates.

You aren't a failure. The UK is and you are just one of many of its victims.
Give it time and opportunities will return.


----------



## Gromit (Jun 21, 2010)

sim667 said:


> Not really
> 
> i do get conused when people i know tell me they're earning £28K a year and live with their parents...... always seem to not be able to afford to do stuff.


 
Yeah its all relative to circumstances.

I know plenty of people who earn more than me and yet have less disposable income than me.

I got lucky with the property ladder and after some initial hiccups re my relationship with money learned to be prudent. I might not have the most lavish of lifestyles but I have everything i need if not everything i want.

Yes I'd like more money. But would I like the extra stress, shit and responsability I'd have to accept to get it? Nah I like my work life balance as it is thanks. The only thing that really makes me want more money is that I'd like a decent pension for when i retire.


----------

