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So, if i am taking home 18k a year, I assume in your language that means after tax. So before tax that is nearly £25k a year.

I could send out my CV today, have an interview tomorrow and be offered a job on Friday for £18k a year without to much problem, I don't have any special qualifications.

Most of my friends, family and colleagues are on more than £18k a year. Most people i know would be unable to afford a mortgage and a 3 bed semi unless they were on at least £20k a year.

The police starting wage is £21k a year.

I think you are talking rubbish, to be fair.

As I say, I know very people, up and down the country, who earn £25,000 after tax (im talking from general friends and family here rather then business contacts). Sure, I know people who earn £30,000 a year+, but the vast majority earn less then £20,000.

Even some of the higher paid people I know only take home around the £1700 per month level after taxation, which is only around £20,400 per annum, a whole lot different then £25,000.

If you want to believe the average person is earning £25,000 and that anyone can just walk into a job with the pay of a minimum of £18,000 per year, thats fair enough, its down to your own blindness and unwillingness to see whats in the real world, but personally I like to see true figures (such as those with after taxation etc) rather then what the government spin to me.

And if you even had a clue about business and economics, you would understand that an average double income amounting to £35,000 can very easily afford a property worth in the region of upto £200,000 given todays borrowing market and the BOE base lending rates. Which kind of proves to me you don't have much of an idea about economics and the economy in general, except what the government tell you (and we all know from past experience how truthful they are...).

Now I could become really technical here and add on the cost of taxation from things such as the 5% utility tax and 17.5% VAT, but I wont.

The difference is that you are talking after tax and i am talking before tax.

So you getting on your high horse and acting like you know more than anyone about anything is totally irrelevant.

If someone was to ask me what my wages are, i would say what i earn before tax (which is what most people i know would do)

The Average person earns £25k'ish before tax OR in your terms £18750 after tax.

So in effect, we are both right, just got wires crossed.

Aye now ye put it like that we are both right. I wasnt sure you meant before taxation, thats why I came back with that.

I suppose its cos with owning a business I always account net profit as opposed to gross profit as my wages. My business advisor always tells me to ignore my gross profit and concentrate on what my net profit is. So I look at wages in this way (be it correctly/incorrectly) as well.

To me, a wage is what you take home and can spend, ye can't spend ye tax as the government does it for ye. I guess I just look at it differently from a lot of people, maybe with a more conservative view then most people??

But then, this formula is often used in the media (newspapers, television etc) as well, so it can't be toooooooo bad lol.

I know this is continuing off topic, but....



Please - Tell me where I can find them!!!

I have a full range of great qualifications (from GCSE's, A-Levels, NVQ Level 3's, BTEC and doing a HNC atm) and struggle to find jobs anywhere near that range without having to become even more qualified by paying for more courses!

What is it you want to do?