cheers

I think Rodney has a girlfriend and that's why he doesn't contribute as much anymore

Cheers

cheers

Its time to ask this question again but ask in a different way, how much weekly income does a person need to live a modest life over in the UK?


I'll start by estimating £150 per week. This would be renting and no car. How far off do you think I am? The £150 would be used to pay rent, a little food, utilities and not eating out. I say a little food because I think people eat too much. Eat a little amount of food and be healthier.

Cheers

windsong

I'd be interested in seeing the answer, too, Cheers.

An old uni friend over there told me you need about 36K pounds a year but, on the other hand, I have read of people on only a pension who have a pretty good life. Such a wide variance!!!

windsong

Well, I hope he has a great time - but I hope he plans to go home to the UK

windsong

Is it me or is the entire Moving Back to the UK section much slower than it used to be?

lgabriel73

This really is going to depend a lot on where in the UK you live.

dunroving

I think it would be difficult to get by on less than £1,000 per month. Rent alone would be about £400 per month. Then there's elec/gas (£100), groceries (£200), insurance (£50), phone/internet (£25), irregular costs like clothes, etc., etc.

ElizabethK

Having been back since July 2013 I can only say how my husband and I have found the cost of living.

We pay about £500 monthly in bills, this is for a large 5 bedroom house. it includes council tax (£245), gas & electric (£150), water rates (£50), land-line phone and internet (£55). We don't have cable or satellite, instead we just have Freeview for the telly channels.
We have no mortgage costs.

I pay an additional £30 a month for my cell phone.

Our grocery bill usually costs no more than £80 per week and that's probably a gross exaggeration, but I've included for things such as washing powder and cigarettes & wine too in that amount.

Petrol costs are minimal as I have just a 2.5 mile commute to work so I put about £15 petrol per week in my car and my husband works from home so his diesel costs are even less.

We don't eat out much, but with all the deals you can get at local restaurant chains such as Hungry Horse or Harvester if you dine out between Mon-Thurs evenings you can get a really good meal for £5 - £10 each.

I have to be honest and say that I thought it would be much more expensive to live day to day in UK but have found it quite the contrary.

We don't pay insurance for car or house monthly nor the tv license but instead pay in full when the bills arrive.

Mummy in the foothills

I think you are way off. £150 a week renting would mean very little left to pay for gas, electric, food, council tax, water, etc etc
Our bills Monthly
Council tax £122
Telephone and internet (both unlimited) £22
Food £250-300
Gas and Electric £50
Water £40
Home insurance (can't remember)
Mobile phone £9
I'm sure there's more.

mikelincs

£150 a week would be cheap for rentals alone, depending on area and type of place.

islandwoman120

Live at the beach! Eat shell fish off the wall, seaweed from the ocean, build a shack from driftwood. Then you can keep your £150 for emergencies, like when you need a tent or the police move you on.

I went to the beach a few days ago when it was low tide and got some photos for you:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/island...7644084404034/

dunroving

Just out of interest, who thinks of cost of living "per week" rather than "per month", and why?

I see the "cost per week" a lot but my whole life I have always thought in terms of cost per month because (a) that's how most bills come in, and (b) that's how my wages come in.

Mind you, I suppose groceries are often weekly (weekly shop, etc.) and other bills are annual (TV licence, and things like car insurance if you pay annually), so I suppose my monthly mindset doesn't necessarily make much sense after all. And I suppose lots of people are still paid weekly.

cheers

In the usofa the monthly term is used, as you know, whereas in the uk weekly is used, or was when I left there. Example, we were paid each Friday and rent, insurance was collected weekly. The rent man came door to door to collect as did the insurance man and milkman and paperboy? And so on.
I think you, like the rest of us, are stuck between the two cultures.
I don't think that many people put money in the meter under the stairs for electricity any more in the uk or do they?
A thought here, which is related, do workers in the uk get their wages in cash? My guess is that they don't. I think they are a jump ahead of the USA and have their wages go to their checking account by way of a direct deposit. I prefer the cash method of receiving wages. Impractical I know but it would be nice to have the cash in your hand for a brief moment.


Cheers

rebs

I'm not sure any employees are paid in cash these day - tradesmen/women might be, or cleaners etc but not anyone on PAYE.

I remember back in the early 80s getting paid in cash on a Friday - we had to line up at the window to the personnel office to get our pay packets. It was a bit demeaning really... that was in a supermarket and the staff were paid like that but management were paid monthly into the banks, so a clear demarcation.

I guess the tighter one's budget the shorter the timescales to think of - I remember when we were at university my husband had calculated his budget down to a daily spend amount and that's what he stuck to.

mikelincs

when I started in 1964 we were paid by cheque, within about 10 years it was bank transfer. There were a lot of people having to open bank accounts then as many people only had things like post office accounts.