Project manager, who claims to earn £100,000 a year, said he had to leave London because he ‘couldn’t afford to pay rent’ and says those on six-figure salaries ‘cannot live comfortably’

• Project manager claimed as his wage rent up so did his expenses and lifestyle 
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A man has caused a furious debate after saying he had to move out of London because he couldn’t survive in the capital on a salary of £100,000.

The man, who posts on Tiktok as ‘Sovereign Speaks’ claims to earn a six-figure salary working as a project manager. 

Despite taking home £5,587.45 a month, putting him in the top five per cent of earners in the country,  the man says he cannot afford the average London rent of £2,500, baffling others who said he’d still have more than £3,000 a month spare after rent.

He also didn’t go to University, meaning no student loan comes out of his wage. 

The video is part of a wider debate which has raged on Tiktok after a doctor working in private medicine on £600,000-a-year, said his NHS colleagues earning £100,000-a-year ‘cannot live comfortably’.

#stitch with @ £100k is just the new middle class #fyp #salary #economy

The average yearly wage in the UK is around £35,000, according to the ONS, with Londoners earning an average of around £44,000.

‘I hate the idea that people who make £100,000 a year and complain about the cost of living shouldn’t have a right to complain, because we just don’t know how to budget out money,’ the content creator says in a clip.

‘Don’t get me wrong, I know £100,000 a year is the top end of earning in the this country, and so what a lot of people do is conflate their lifestyle and say “if I had an extra £2000, £300 a month I would be fine”, so how can this person on £100,000 not be fine?

‘Even if you keep your expenses low and just conflate your lifestyle, you just have more responsibility

‘I take care of my mum, I help my family out. The idea that the top five per cent of earners in this country should live below the average is insane,’ he added.

He added that he knows there are cheaper places in London but the ‘top earners’ shouldn’t have to pay well below the average.

‘Tell me that’s not a problem with our economy,’ he added.

‘Back in the day a postman could be the sole breadwinner for his family’.

The man, who posts on Tiktok as ‘Sovereign Speaks’ claims to earn a six-figure salary working as a project manager 

Can a single person afford to live alone in London on £100,000 a year? 

MONTHLY SALARY AFTER TAX: £5,587.45 

AVERAGE RENT FOR ALL SIZED HOUSEHOLD IN LONDON: £2,500

AVERAGE RENT FOR ONE BED FLAT: £1,500 

AVERAGE ELECTRICITY BILL FOR ONE BED FLAT: £25 A MONTH 

AVERAGE GAS BILL FOR ONE BED FLAT: £15.85 A MONTH

AVERAGE COUNCIL TAX LONDON: £149 A MONTH

AVERAGE WATER BILL LONDON: £37.30 

AVERAGE WIFI BILL: £30 A MONTH 

TOTAL AVERAGE RENT AND BILLS: £1757.15

LEFTOVER AFTER RENT AND BILLS:  £3830.30

 

Many questioned why he believed he couldn’t afford £2,500 a month rent, while others said that the average rent is per household and not per person.

Even after average rent and bills for a one-bed flat in London, a person earning £100,000 would have £3,830 left over, which is more than £1000 more than average take home salary of £2,766 per month in London. 

The comments came after a 65-year-old doctor earning £600,000 a year said his NHS colleagues ‘aren’t comfortable’ on £100,000 a year in London. 

Commenting on the video, Stephen Adeoye, who goes by ‘Corporate Steve’ said it’s ‘delusional’ to live paycheck-to-paycheck on £100,000 salary.

‘London is not the problem, you are,’ he explained.

‘You inflated your lifestyle to a point you can’t understand’.

He added that earning £5,000 a month after tax is ‘not equivalent to struggle’ and that he know people on £40,000, not living at home, living ‘comfyish’. 

‘Bro is speaking facts, let’s be realistic if you’re in the top 10% you’re doing good compared everyone else,’ said one.

Hundreds of people commented saying they survive on much less in London each month 

‘This is why I am so glad I came from a council estate. Taught me the meaning of living humble,’ added another.

‘People think that when they make a certain amount they’ll be good, when in reality no amount will ever be enough if you keep inflating your expenses,’ wrote a third.  

‘100 per cent and that side of TikTok aggravates me so much,’ wrote another.

Data released earlier this year, found tenants need to be on a salary of at least £50,000 a year to rent without sharing in many places in London and the South East, new data suggests.

These two areas saw the biggest increases in rental prices last month, the latest rental index by Goodlord found.

Average prices rose by 7.98 per cent in London to £2,145 a month in August compared to July and by 13.95 per cent in the South East to £1,497 a month. 

A £50,000 annual salary produces take home pay after tax of around £3,169 a month.

Take the Goodlord average monthly rent of £2,145 from this figure and tenants are left with around £1,000 a month to cover all other bills.

These bills include water, gas and electricity, as well as council tax, insurance, travel and food costs, along with any telephone and TV subscriptions.

Tenants would be left with £1,024 a month or £236 a week. This is based on a tenant renting an averagely priced rental property on their own and not sharing with anyone else.

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