DERBYSHIRE: We’ve got everything we need and are saving for our future
LISA BEEVER, 28, and partner Phillip, 33, live in High Peak, Derbyshire, with children Taylor, three, and Harriet, three months. Phillip is a web developer earning £40,000 a year while Lisa earns around £3,000 through sponsorship of her parenting blog. Lisa says: WE BOUGHT our four-bedroomed detached house for £270,000, just over a year ago, using the Government’s help- to- buy scheme, which means we got a good interest rate and only needed a five per cent deposit.
It’s a new-build with a lovely garden, en- suite master bedroom, family bathroom, downstairs loo and utility room, and it’s in the heart of the Peak District.
We feel very fortunate to be able to raise our children in such a lovely environment.
Last summer, we went to Orlando in Florida and spent two weeks at Walt Disney World, which cost us £5,000, because I was pregnant and wanted to do something nice while we still just had Taylor.
In previous years, we’ve stayed in a chalet at Butlins, which costs £1,000 a week.
We do our grocery shopping at Aldi or Tesco, and spend around £300 a month. We have a lot of slow-cooker meals and don’t drink alcohol, so that keeps costs down. As the children are still little, we rarely eat out. We don’t have babysitters and it’s not much fun chasing a toddler around a restaurant.
However, we sometimes go to a local pub for Sunday lunch, which costs £25 for three of us. We have one car, a Hyundai ix35.
Throughout the year we save up and spend £200 on Taylor’s Christmas gifts and £100 on birthday presents, and will do the same for Harriet.
Phillip and I both have iPhone 7s, but bought them outright, so we don’t have expensive contracts.
Because we’re determined to pay off our mortgage early, we have spreadsheets detailing all our outgoings.
We don’t have any debt and have about £500 left over each month, which we put into savings, which total around £5,000.
I can see why the researchers concluded that £43,000 is a magic figure, it’s a very comfortable income bracket to be in.
Our income has actually gone down because, when Taylor was a baby, I worked full-time as a graphic designer, earning £23,000.
However, it made me sad
spending so much time away from him and a huge chunk of my wages — £1,000 — was swallowed up in nursery fees each month.
When Phillip got a promotion, we decided we could manage with me earning a lot less.
Now I get to spend much more time with the children and keep on top of the cooking and cleaning — which makes me happier than a larger salary ever could.
Of course, we’d all like more money, but we have everything we want and need, plus money left over to build a secure future for our family.