scrubbedexpat141

Nope, not to do with what someone thinks they're worth or what they would / wouldn't work for. It's about what can / will work.

The number the OP posted are bang on reasonable figures for someone to work with. Like has been said since, you can do it cheaper for sure. You can do it a lot more expensively but the research they have done is really accurate.

DXBtoDOH

I spend around 150/week on groceries. Another 150-200 on takeaway/dining out. I shop at Carrefour. Eat lots of vegs/grains/cheese, not so much meat.

Don't drink very much.

I spend altogether around 700-800 a week on food/petrol/entertainment and I think I live comfortably enough. It's not wild but once a month or so I'll go out and have a "big" evening and spend maybe 500 on that night.

Altogether, 4k a month is just about right for me.

scrubbedexpat141

150 just for you?

The Mrs and I average about 4-600 a week (2-300 pp). But we shop at Waitrose so expect it to be higher in some areas and we buy a lot of meat.

I try to stick to about 1500-2000 a week for everything; food shop (we normally halve it, or I just get it), golf (I play every weekend), fun, beers, anything really.

DXBtoDOH

Yes. 150 for me.

This translates into 5 x breakfasts (yoghurt), 4-5 lunches (steamed vegs and a bag of crisps) and 4 dinners (make one big pot of something and a big salad and have it 4 x nights in a row, this week it's puy lentils with tomatoes and carrots, a kale salad and a Carrefour frozen quiche).

Grab some cheap croissants from Carrefour on Friday/Sat mornings (they're actually pretty good, much better than stale ones at Starbucks). Takeway usually Thai on Thurs or Fri, with enough leftover for lunch. The other night go out to dinner, usually one of the places in JLT where you can eat well and tastily for under 80. Great Persian place, as well as a fantastic Greek restaurant. Once in a while go to Karama for Indian.

Entertaining is usually meeting friends at the Reform at Lakes for a drink or two, or Belgian Beer for ditto. Sometimes I'll grab a burger there if I haven't eaten yet. Never brunch, rarely eat out at fancy places as it rarely feels worth the money.

Weekend day activities are mostly cycling or swimming or when the weather's not too hot, beaches.

FYI before you think I'm a miser I spend a shitton on travel. So far this year I've been to New Zealand/Australia, the Maldives, Iran, Oman (twice) and Italy. Going away again in September though that's back to the UK. Will go away in December but not sure where, probably SE Asia. And there will probably be a weekend trip somewhere in October/November.

iggle

150AED a week??? What the hell. I call bullshit. Utter bull.

Where is the hooker allowance?

scrubbedexpat141

I'm casting no judgment mate, was just curious.

The lack of meat hurts my soul, but each to their own

I've tried food shopping everywhere in Dubai and nowhere is as consistent as Waitrose with both the meat and the veg / salad. EG: Choithrams - awful meat, OK veggies. Spinneys - good meat, not so great on the veggies / very inconsistent. Carrefour - no pork....etc etc.

What's quite nice with her being away for a month is that I find it even easier to cook for myself with 2 portions than trying to do a bit more maybe for lunch for her or me, not sure etc etc. I just go bang. Chilli con Helmets tonight and tomorrow for lunch, lovely.

DXBtoDOH

Mate....

Just for you:

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

Bit blurry but you can still see the total.

To be fair I did stop at Waitrose for a few other bits and that added up to another 20 AED.

But last week's total was only 120ish. So it even out.

iggle

Bet since she's been gone there has been random "500 AED" withdrawals from the ATM, around 8:30pm!

DXBtoDOH

You know Spinneys and Waitrose are exactly the same? Interesting you find the vegs at Waitrose better, given they're sourced from the same suppliers.

I won't deny that Spinneys/Waitrose have nicer fruit/vegs than Carrefour but you pay a lot more and I find the price differential to not be worth it and I'm usually pretty fussy about my vegs, at least back in the UK.

mission

I'm sorry but those figures seem way off.


housing - easily AED 9k for anymore remotely decent
Bills - my monthly Du bill alone is almost AED 1200, so I am not sure how you came to 500. DEWA including housing fee, will be at least AED 700 p/m, then you got your AC, and most aprts now require this, unless its the handful of the old buildings in the marina where the AC is included in the rent. At least AED 500 or so a month.
Food/entertainment: i would say at least AED 7k if not more, if you throw in going out on average once a week.
Transportation - for a cheap yaris you are looking at a minimum of at least AED 3k-4K.

mission

call me a snob, but i never buy my fruit and veg from Carrefour or geants...i just find the produce of very poor quality.

iggle

1,200K a month. What package do you have?

I am 299 Elift (internet) then 50 AED a month for a social data package

scrubbedexpat141

I find the veg and salad at Spinneys really hit and miss, that's the only real difference to be honest.

7k rent gets you 96k budget which is plenty for a nice place in Sports City / parts of Business Bay / JVC / JVT / Tecom etc.

Bills - yeah, mine are about 2k. Du is 600, my erm, other TV is 250, Dewa 600, AC ranges but 5-600 average.

Transport though - I used to hire a Lancerghini Cuntache and it was 1550 a month + Salik + Petrol. Can't have ever cost me over 2000 a month.

DXBtoDOH

My, my, my.

Dubizzle is bringing up scores of apartments in the Marina for 80k. They're not fancy. Some towers are indeed dire, like Manchester. But most of them are functional, basic apartments in decent shape. Most have chiller included.

Sports City is showing tons of apartments under 70k. Most look perfect fine. Lots are advertising free chiller.

In my 1-bedder the dewa bill (not including housing tax) is usually between 150-200 AED monthly.

I rent a Tiida monthly from Thrifty. 1800 a month. Perfectly fine car. Never really had issues with it. I replace it every few months with a different Tiida as it has to go in for servicing.

Entertaining/food is entirely up to you.

The point is that while you can spend a lot if you want, you can also quite easily live comfortably enough in a basic (clean, functional, perfectly fine) apartment, drive a basic car (clean, functional and perfectly fine) and have a decent social life without spending 20+K a month. I'm just point out how it's very feasible. It's all about your priorities. Yeah, you accept tradeoffs (like living in Sports City, which is all of, what, 15 minutes from the Marina?).

mission

to be fair i do have two boxes and have the movie package on both boxes, as well the recording facility on one of the boxes. Phone/internet - my phone is elite 100 with 10 GB (i think), and my home internet is also 10GB (i think).