Do you have a decent lifestyle?

[craigkillie]

I definitely have it pretty good right now.  We live in an amazing location in one of the nicest cities in the world, and I have a very relaxed and flexible job in a university.  I'm teaching a course right now, so I'm working pretty hard, but I get to do it on my own terms, so it doesn't feel so bad. It's 11am on a working day I'm sitting on the couch writing a bit of code and watching football on the TV.

 

My wife and I are both working, and although rent is really high here, the salaries are also excellent.  Neither of us have an extravagant lifestyle, so we're saving a lot of money every month which will go a long way towards buying a house if/when we move back home.  I get to travel loads with work, so I feel like I get lots of little holidays without actually paying for them.  We're only planning to be here for another two years or so, which means we're trying to do a lot of travelling around Australia and the Pacific.  The public transport system is good and cheap and pretty much every weekend we go somewhere new round about the city.

 

We're enjoying it while it lasts though - if we eventually have kids when we get back then we won't have the time or the money to do any of this stuff for years.

[Dee Man]

I love my job and get paid well. However when I'm busy, I'm really fuckin busy, a 70 hour week is not uncommon. In the summer I do tend to work half-days which is class!

I do get the travel a lot with my job, I've been to many new countries and have the pleasure of going back to places like Copenhagen which I absolutely love. On the other side of that, I hate being away from home for more than a few days, I stay in nice hotels but I'd rather be in my own home.

My commute to work is only 10 minutes, never any traffic issues.

I have a gorgeous loving wife and an adorable wee 9 year old boy (from a previous), I reckon in time he'll chose to come and stay with us permanently. Something both me and the wife really want! She's been the perfect step-mum and the wee man totally adores her, I think it's hard for any person going into a relationship where there is already a child but she's been different class. Kudos to all the step-parents out there! My wee lad has always been my priority in life as I promised him and myself to never ever let him down when I parted from his Mum, so any new girl had to know from the off that my #1 was my son. She told me she understood that would be the case before I even mentioned it!

Generally get away on 2 summer holidays and a couple of city breaks, but this is us milking it before the babies start coming along.

We also have a good social life and both of us have solid social circles.

Whilst I'd like a newer fancier car, I'm quite happy wig my finance free Volvo S60 Sport. The things a beast with its 2.4TD 185bhp engine. She's got a wee Hyundai i10, reckon her hairdryer has a bigger engine 😂

Whilst things are great for me, I've went through a lot of shite and a lot of hard work to get where I am now. Still a lot of things I need to do which would be easier if I had more money or didn't go on as many holidays but life is for living. Got to make the most of it and keep yourself happy!

Lastly, I support Clyde... Make you want of that 😂😂😂

You must do your friends and family's tits in if you talk about your wife as much as you do on here.

[Ad Lib]

I live a very comfortable lifestyle especially considering I'm a student, albeit a postgrad, as I have few overheads (no rent as parents own the place) and I live off a stipend and part-time teaching income from the University. To live my current lifestyle in FT work, allowing for things like council tax etc I'd probably have to earn about £22-24kpa.

I enjoy what I do, albeit it doesn't have much security about it. My target for finishing my thesis is now definitely shaped by the point my stipend exhausts as balancing a substantial job alongside it would be pretty difficult. I'd really like to find myself within the next couple of years not having to rely on my folks' generosity to feel secure, while sustaining about this kind of lifestyle.

The only other thing I'd like is a bit more cash in the bank to save for a deposit and to pay for a bit more by the way of holidays and travel. I've only really had one proper foreign holiday in the last 6 years albeit I've been abroad on Uni-related and funded stuff. I want to travel before I find myself in my 30s.

[Ayrshire-SFC]

I work a full time 39hr week over 3 days as a support worker for adults with learning difficulties. Pays well. Work round the corner from my house and with a baby on the way the wage is good. It's not through the roof but it's middle of the range for working in social care. We get our meals at work so no expenses at all when I'm on shift. And a bonus it's a dead rewarding job so go home feeling satisfied also.

[MattBairn]

I do OK.

Working offshore offers me a lot of quality time when at home, and the wage allows a good standard of living. It lets us travel which is something we love to do.

Its a trade though, working away has its disadvantages too.

[Mr Rational]

I do OK.

Working offshore offers me a lot of quality time when at home, and the wage allows a good standard of living. It lets us travel which is something we love to do.

Its a trade though, working away has its disadvantages too.

Yep, my best mate is away up to Aberdeen for a week's course then offshore for a few. He was a month away in Norway prior to that. He earns the money and I don't grudge him that, but I know he suffers being away from home, especially as he has a couple of kids

[sjc]

I'm doing all right, getting good grades.

In fact I would say that the future's so bright, I've got to wear shades.

10 minute tops commute.

Fifty grand a year will buy a lot of beer....

[philpy]

I detest my job, but I can't seem to find something else, and there's a sense of loyalty there as well, the boss always puts through extra hours at the end of the month if we do well and don't f**k anything up, so in that sense I get a fairly decent wage. I only ever get a day and a half to myself which isn't ideal, but that's life. Lifestyle wise, I'd say I do ok, I treat myself now and again without going mad with spending loads. I'm quite happy to pick up some cheap ales from Aldi at the weekend and sit and drink them and catch up with the telly from during the week. I've started collecting vinyl records as well, so I'll spend a bit of money on that as well.

[Suspect Device]

Shit job but good money. My job isn't my life though so I reckon I have a decent lifestyle.

[ICTChris]

What did oaksoft say about this?

 

I earn a good salary doing a job I really enjoy.  I've been here about nine months and it's a really enjoyable environment to work in, really intersting work and I work with good people.  The salary and benefits are excellent.

 

I don't think money is everything but it helps.  When I moved to Edinburgh I had about 18 months of doing shit jobs while studying and looking for something better (I eventually left my course to take a good job) and while it was pretty hard and we were left with £10 to last a week on occasion our lives were pretty decent - we had good friends, a good social lift and had a laugh.  My job before this one was with a large financial institution and, while there were some good people there and the experience was good for my career, the environment was dreadful, full of horrible, useless bullies in management jobs.  I never got bullied or targeted but other people around me did and it just made the whole atmosphere toxic.  People who'd been there for 20 years left without waiting for redundancy packages, which tells you about the sort of place it was.  Given the choice between going through what they went through and having a poorly paid job again I'd probably rather take the salary cut.

[Adam]

I'd say we live fairly comfortably, yes. I recently started a new job in my work, enjoying it so far, 9-5 with flexi so means I can bugger off early when it's nice weather or if I can't be arsed that day.

Happiness means much more to me than money. If I was offered an extra 10 grand a year to work shift work doing my current job I would turn it down, would hate the thought of having to work anything other than 9-5, I done it for years when I was younger and I absolutely hated it.

My wife is a nurse who works shifts (five nights on, five nights off). She earns a good bit more than I do but I know she would be happier taking less money to work as a community nurse doing sociable hours.

[ilostmyself]

I'd say I live fairly comfortably. Got a good job and I'm due a payrise in the next month or so that'll pay for the admittedly wild cost of commuting from Glasgow to Edinburgh. They also let me work from home whenever I want which I tend to do about twice a week to mitigate the travel costs/time.

Going away to 4 festivals this summer and a couple of decent trips planned away so no complaints about that.

I'm renting and not really saving money which will most likely change coinciding with finding a job closer to home.

[Widge]

I think so.

Being the age i am and being in a job with a clear linear progression as I get older/better at my job. I'm never skint and I've got a good bit saved up, although as I'm currently buying a new car and a new flat that'll soon evaporate pretty quickly.

[ICTChris]

One thing about lifestyle and earnings etc that I just don't get is the 'keeping up with the Jones' mentality.  Quite a few of the guys I work with get so boastful about their stuff - one guy is getting a new car and went on and on about it for weeks, making me watch a YouTube video of people revving the engine of the car.  He also boasted about having six TVs in his house, despite only him, his wife and his two daughters (who are 3 and 1) living there.  Another guy said to me that he just couldn't get a Kia (I have a Kia) because he needed to keep up face with a Merc or something like that.

 

I mean, spend your money on what you want, if you like cars, get a nice car, if you like tellys and stuff like that get one in every room.  But why is it important to people what other people think of their car?  It's something I just genuinely don't get.  You work, earn money and then allow how you perceive other people will react to what you have dictate how you spend your money?  What a waste of time.

[Mr Rational]

My car sums me up completely. A total 90's car when it first appeared, was a looker back in its day but is a bit dated these days compared to newer models. It can still get up to mischief on occasion, but if it does, it needs TLC afterwards and if you really drive it hard, you are frightened the wings will fall off or something.

In other words, me.

[Deeboy]

He also boasted about having six TVs in his house.

Wait until Gaz FFC sees this.

[Grim O'Grady]

I'm doing all right, getting good grades.

In fact I would say that the future's so bright, I've got to wear shades.

10 minute tops commute.

I thought you worked from home, a 10 min commute, how big is your house?

I recently took an early release/redundancy package from work, tied in with a wee pension I can draw on, I'm looking to get a part time job, well I'm working voluntary at the moment 16 hrs a week but we are looking into getting funding for it.

I've got a small amount of income coming in from renting out my wee house down south or I will have soon once it's fully up to scratch, hopefully by the end of this month.

I've scrapped my car so no longer have any of those costs. Public transport is cheap & has wifi now, so I can spend plenty of time on here now. I've bought myself a bike, so today my plans are do a bit of housework, then grab my bag & bike, cycle to the baths, have a nice swim, jacuzzi, sauna & steam, then a leisurely cycle, might go down to Stockbridge have a look at the records in the Oxfam record shop, I'm slowly replacing my old collection but only records to play.

Tomorrow, I'm fixing up my music system in the dining room in the morning then meeting an old work friend in the pub for a couple of hours.

I only have one night out per week, usually after the football on a Saturday, the missus is not a drinker but likes going to the theatre, mostly musicals, so I have to put up with that but it's just a 1st world problem. We get to have a nice meal.

My missus works 30hrs a week in a job she hates but it pays ok, so she puts up with it for now.

Her maw died a few years ago (cancer) & left her a few quid, enough to pay off her mortgage.

The eldest lad moved out over a year ago, so we've just got the youngest still living off us .

I've got another work pension to draw on when I'm 60 so should be ok financially in the future too.

Grimbo

[Mr Rational]

6 TVs. It's Stuart Dickson isn't it!

[heedthebaa]

Jobs easy, a 5 min walk and pays silly money. Can't say I love the job, but can't say I hate it neither. No mortgage, no finance and no debt. Wife makes good money also, then there's the shared job we do, which is even sillier money. Doin it while we're able, but hope I'm no knocking my pan in in 5 years time like this

[StreetwiseHercules]

I feel very fortunate at the moment. I work for a good organisation who values work life balance. 35 hours a week, flexi time and flexibility to work from home whenever I like, within reason. Makes all the difference with a young family. Decent money, with excellent benefits but will never be rock star wages. And I really enjoy it. Great people, great environment.

My wife works from home but has every Monday off. The trade off is she needs to travel abroad a few times a month on business and it can be knackering juggling everything when she's away. But she makes great money.

We have built our own home and although we now have that debt, it seems manageable just now and we are not skint running up to pay day.

It was all very different just 3 years ago. I started a new job and found myself redundant after just a few months, just before our baby was born. Took me 6 months to get a job again and the money we had saved for wife's maternity was about to run out.

I thank my lucky stars every single day and appreciate everything.