RE Income increasing. Between 25 - 30, my income did go up by about ?11k. It's barely moved in the last 5 or 6 years, and that ain't gonna change anytime soon. At the same time we've had kids, so my wife's income has halved. We've got a fingernail hold on the bottom of the ladder only because my father in law helped up with a deposit and because of the help to by scheme (which came with SHIT mortgage deal). Without our parents dying and leaving stuff to us, we will never afford anything else in London. And we live in Penge, which is comparable to Catford price wise.