pommychic

Hi

Well I am finally moving from NZ to the UK after 6 years.. (see my previous post on this)

I have a question on the general day to day cost of living and running a house in the UK. My mind has gone blank and I cannot remember how much things used to cost! i.e gas, electricity bills and also how much a weekly shop for a family of 4 would be approximately.

Can anyone help? As I say we are a family of 4 living in a 4 bedroom house.

Thanks

old.sparkles

Hi Pommychic

I have 3 bed house but there are only 2 of us. Son lives on gadgets tho so he runs the electric up

Council tax is £125 month
Water is £38
Electric is £58
Gas is £40
Food is £60 week

We have cavity wall insulation, double glazing and low energy lights

If I think of anything else I'll add later

mayhemuk

Utilities £110 a month (Gas Elec BB Phone)
C Tax £140 a month

Petrol is around £1.35 to £1.40 a litre. Diesel a couple pence more.
Milk buy 2 x 4 litre bottles for £3
Box of Cheerios £3.50 or so
Coffee £4-£5 a 100g jar
Pack of chicken breasts £6 (average of 4 breasts a pack)
Basic wholemeal loaf - 2 for £2

Most supermarkets seem to average the same price across a basket based on my shopping which amounts to about £400+ a month for Family of 4.
The + depends on how much we have to drink. Sometimes just some wine other times a bottle of vodka gets thrown in too.
Wine really variable in price.
Vodka £25 a litre for Absolut <£20 a litre for Smirnoff.

Sainsburys and Asda you can browse their stock online.

Home and car insurance is variable to so need to shop around. Bring paper to prove driving history.
Ours was £200 for the year. Full no claims on 2 drivers with car parked on driveway in what appears to be a low risk area.

The above is for mid cornwall.
Cheers

Louche

I'll piggyback on this - Do renters pay council tax too?

rebs

yes

mayhemuk

Unless they are on sufficient income support and benefits not too.
In which case you're not likely paying rent either!

Homeiswheretheheartis

Costs this time last year, when I left.

Detached 3 bedroomed house, 2 adults, 2 kids aged 8 and 10.

Utilities - water/gas/ele £110 - water meter
TV - £13.00
Rates - £135.00
Home phone/broadband £35.00 included free calls to landlines
Food £430.00
Home insurance £45.00

Petrol is an individual thing, it is very expensive, but I live now in the US with cheap petrol compared to the UK. However, I spend the same here in the US as home due to amount I have to travel and fuel consumption. Don't know how it is the NZ.

I have found moving to the US, that some things are cheaper and others more expensive. So in the long run our cost of living is the same as at home in the UK.

old.sparkles

Just to add, major energy supplier has announced price rises of 9% on both gas and electrcity supplies - other suppliers likely to follow suit, so best add to figures quoted

nun

Cost of living obviously varies on where you live. So it might be useful to look at median salaries across the UK.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datab...in-ashe-mapped

old.sparkles

The cost of living doesn't vary as much as wages - food costs the same here as wales or the north basically, and utilities are similar. House costs will be very varied.

Average salaries are also not a good guide - it all depends on job. My income would be almost double the average for the area - I have a skill, work for a good employer doing shifts and OT.

Plus you may not get a job immediately but bills are bills regardless so will have to be paid by savings

nun

My point is that if you have income around the median for an area you should be ok living there. It's a baseline and it eliminates the variability in household costs on things like food, entertainment, internet etc.

old.sparkles

If you have a median income for this area then, no you wouldn't be fine. The median pay will cover rent and bills maybe but wouldn't leave anything for food or anything else unless there's 2 of you earning

nun

Some accounting for family size is required, but as a base unit to assess what is required to live a regular life I maintain median income is a good start. Combine that with info from a sight like this

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living...ayCurrency=GBP

and you have all the information you need to see how much you will spend and how much you might expect to earn.

old.sparkles

The median income for where I live from your table would be 23547 which is a gross figure so just under 2000 per month, and prob 1500 net and less again if paying pension. The only accomodation on the other site is the 1 bed appt which costs 615 month which is about right so it takes almost half pay to cover the rent, leaving half for everything else. If you are a single person or a couple without children, you may get by but most rents do not include bills, council tax or water (117 elec, gas water; 100 council tax; 40 fixed phone, broadband;15 tv licence; 30 mobile phone.) My reckoning leaves 600 month for food and travel so not bad but not great.

If you have children then rents will be approx 900 for 2 beds, and 1200+ for 3+ beds, so the average is not enough.

Oh and my family size is 2 - we hae 3 bed home but own it (mortgage) so costs the same as 2 bed rent and the average wouldn't be enough for me and I walk to work so no travel expense

huddm

old.sparkles

£24.5k seems low income for a high cost area like Slough. I live on the outskirts of Dover and have a mortgage less than £600/mth of a decent sized 3 bed house on quarter acre plot. Average local wage in Dover area is around £30K. When we moved back from Canada we first lived near Oxford and was paying £950/mth on a low grade 2 bed rental and then moved to a lower cost of living area and also gained a much higher salary as well.

In a nice part of Dover area you can rent a house like this for £850/mth
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-...-38263061.html

I believe it important to look at area living costs versa salary as there can be quite a difference in the UK.

Hudd