1969: How do You Live on the AVERAGE WAGE? | Man Alive | Voice of the People | BBC Archive

The Average Way of Life.

If you're married with two children and with about £23 a week coming into the house, you will already know all about the problems of spinning out money to make ends meet. And you are far from being alone in this - in fact, you're average.

The British national average wage is exactly £22/5s/3d, the highest it's ever been. But this doesn't make you Midas, and living on it is nearly always a question of what can't be afforded, what has to go. How do you decide what it shall be? How do you sort out priorities?
Man Alive looks at four families living their lives in very different ways and with only their pay-packet in common. When it comes to spending it they are poles apart, separated by attitudes and ambitions.

Do you save, or live to the hilt? Would you consider Hire Purchase? Is it more important to have a holiday or better clothes for your children? Can you ever own your own home? Is £23 a week a reasonable sum on which to bring up a family? What is the 'average' life like?

Director: David Filkin
Editor: Desmond Wilcox
Editor: Bill Morton


Clip taken from Man Alive: The Average Way of Life, originally broadcast on BBC One, 7 May, 1969.




You have now entered the BBC Archive, a time machine that will transport you back to the golden age of TV to educate, entertain and enlighten you with classic clips from the BBC vaults.

Make sure you subscribe so that you never miss a single stop on our amazing journey through the BBC Archive - https://www.youtube.com/c/BBCArchive?...

You can also dive into plenty more BBC Archive on our website - https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive