Why we always earn less than we’d hoped

IF you’re not earning as much as you thought you would be by now, take heart – you’re not alone.

A survey questioning people about life’s milestones has found that most of us have constantly made less than expected throughout our careers.

For example, those in the 30 to 39 age bracket had believed they would be paid £28,000 by the time they were 30 – but the majority admitted it was an average of just over £24,500.

Similarly, those aged 40 to 49 expected to earn just over £29,000 by the time they were 40 but in reality earned just under £24,800 a year.

Overall, the survey of 2,000 adults of all ages suggests that the average Briton owns their first car at 21, leaves home at the same age and gets on to the property ladder at 27.

They can expect to have been in two long-term relationships before settling down at 23 with Mr or Miss Right, and to have married at 26, becoming parents by 27.

Also on the domestic front, home ownership may be more difficult for younger generations than it has been in the past, but most of those polled had expected to own their first property by the age of 27 – and achieved just that.

And in fact, new homeowners expected to borrow £106,000 to get on the property ladder, significantly under the average first-time mortgage of £133,000.

As well as not earning as much as expected, it seems that we are also worryingly off the mark when it comes to the cost of running a vehicle.

Although car owners expected to spend a total of £950 a year to cover related expenses – such as petrol, MoT, car insurance and maintenance – they admitted to actually spending over £1,500 a year on average.

The study was carried out by market research firm OnePoll for comparethemarket.com.

A spokesman for the price comparison website said: ‘The great British public clearly wants to have it all by the time they hit 30. And it appears most achieve it with things like meeting “the one” or buying a home.

‘However, when it comes to money, the findings are a little more concerning. There are numerous ways in which Britons should therefore aim to be as savvy as they can when it comes to keeping down everyday costs.’

‘Want to have it all by 30’