Squirrel

I think £500 should be OK for food because food is supposedly much cheaper in the UK than Oz and you'll lnow what you spend in Oz. We eat a lot of ready meals so our bill is quite high. Having said that, teens eat loads so you might want to add a bit on for your teen. Also we don't eat any meat at all so that probably reduces our monthly grocery bill (though the ready meals may make up for it!)

For Mobiles, do shop around. You'll know whether you text or call much. I hardly text but call my mum several times a day so I went for a high # of minutes per month. I'm with 3 and I get 900 mins. I don't know if Oz is like the US where you have to pay for the handsets, in the UK if you take a contract you get the handset free.

We may our TV licence quarterly, it's about £37/quarter I think, so your budget is about right. But don't opt for monthly payments, as theat way they make you pay the first year's licence in 5 months, then start paying for the second year's licence. It's dumb, I'd just opt to pay quarterly in arrears. You really don't need cable either unless you watch loads of TV. Now most of the UK has gone digital, you can get loads of channels free. Of course if you are big sports fans you may want Sky for that.

ozzieeagle

I've asked on my London Board and they reckon starting @ 45 to 50K for a joint income.

Croydon and The Elephant and Castle were suggested for cheap rents.... Croydon has really good transport links to the CBD... less than 20 mins on fast train.. Elephant is close in but not the best area.

Basil Brush

Thanks Squirrel!

Wow, it is so much cheaper in the UK for mobiles - we get 300 free mins for about 30 quid per month in Aus (and yes we do have to pay for the handset too even when on a 2 yr contract!)

Not into sport, so not fussed about cable but hubby loves his comedy, which shouldn't be a problem as the comedy is great in the UK (not like Aus where it is virtually non-existent. We watch UK-TV for our comedy fix) and I would imagine there would be plenty on the free channels.

So I should pay the TV licence quarterly in arrears - thanks for the tip Squirrel.

rebs

You pay a tiny additional cost when paying quarterly (£1.25 a quarter) which you don't pay if you opt to pay monthly.

Cost details are here... http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/pay/pay...ocumentid=pay1

Basil Brush

Thanks Rebs - I'm happy to pay the extra few quid for the quarterly arrangement. It will be a refreshing change to watch decent TV once we are back in the UK - the stuff in Aus is mind-numbing (although I have enjoyed the Underbelly series, which is based on true events of the underworld crimes in Melbourne over the last 10 or so years)

As with many things I think you need to spend time out of the UK to appreciate all the things that Brits take for granted - good TV, the NHS, accessibility to Europe and cheap package holidays and so much more

aries_bird

I would personally adjust a few of these although others may disagree but for a family of four we pay £148 a month for gas and electricity. However, I am home during the day and I don't skimp. When I'm cold the heating goes on, if the weather is suspect the washing goes in the dryer. I have 2 teenagers so there is lots of washing.

My water is £51 a month but then that is at least 4 showers/baths a day and 2-3 loads of washing, plus watering the garden and washing the car, oh and I forgot the dishwasher which is on at least twice a day I am on a meter though, older homes tend to still be on water rates which are cheaper and you are not charged for usage.

The council tax is spot on for a 3 bed semi but it would be more for a detached or more bedrooms. New builds seem to attract the highest council tax IMO.

I pay £12.37 a month TV licence (I like everything monthly even if it means paying a bit more).

On a plus, I only pay £17.67 a month Buildings AND Contents insurance with Esure, but they do give you a no claims bonus so I paid more a few years ago.

Also, I try not to shop at Tesco as I find it expensive. Asda and Morrisons are better supermarkets for value I find. For 3 of you (even with a teenager) and eating meat £500 a month should be fine. I spend about 150-160 a week with 2 teenagers and a menagerie of animals and we eat very well and don't skimp. That includes all meals as we either eat lunch at home or take packed lunches/leftovers most days and includes toiletries,cleaning products etc. - oh and the odd 3 for £12 bottles of wine

You may need to add to the landline per month if you are including broadband but you could get a good deal on the mobiles for less than £22 dependant upon your usage.

All in all though you have done a good guesstimate.

Good luck!

arniedog

it costs £90 to fill up my wifes renault laguna 1.8 petrol and £80 to fill my golf 1.8 .just a note to the op Imo try not to fill up in supermarkets in the UK the petrol is cheap and nasty Dont know if anyone else has had same probs but my little gti runs like a bag of s**t when i fill up with their petrol. on your cost of living question i take home approx £1800 pm , there is just my wife , me and our dog at home and we dont have anything left for entertaining or meals out , although i do live in Essex which is classed as fairly expensive hope this helps some

Squirrel

Our broadband includes all calls (except international and 0845/0870) for £13/month. Rental is another £13 with BT. That's why I said about £25 for landline. Calling the US is about 5p/min, though we tend to let MIL call us as she does go on a bit

Basil Brush

I know what you mean - my Mum gets dirt cheap calls to Aus from the UK provided she stays on no longer than an hour - she nearly always gets to 59:59 on the phone counter!!

(Then she hangs up and calls me back )

Syedney

Brilliant thread! Going back for good to UK in three/four months, back to Hove to our flat there after almost 3 years here in OZ.

It's good to get the cost details from folks here. I am going to start my own research soon.

I'll start with my old Sainsbury site, which I used a lot in Hove and which should have our usuals.
That should take care of the food which is a major component of any household bill.
I am going to ask my mate who is my neighbour in Hove for the council tax, water rate and her Sky rates. I know that her son is an avid Liverpool fan and gets all the skysports channel(good boy!) so I'll be doing the same!
We'll have to do without any gas guzzlers for a while what with the good bus service we have in B&H, transport shouldn't be an issue.

I am originally from London, and imo one of the cheapest areas in London (if any part of London can be called cheap!!) is Newham (East London).

However, it's not really everyone's cuppa tea as most places are rundown - well the last time I checked- but maybe things have changed what with the Olympics etc.

Try East Ham or Barking. Check online go to your move.co.uk for rent/by prices.

I am sorry that I didn't give any cost info but I hope you have now pointers on how to do the research yourself. Good luck!

christmasoompa

Don't know if it helps at all, but I've put our monthly outgoings in red above. I think you've overestimated somethings, which is good!

Some of the things I haven't given our outgoings for, as it's just not relevant i.e. our council tax - we're in Berkshire.

HTH.

chris955

I spoke to my brother last night, he has just come back from 4 weeks in the UK and was absolutely amazed how cheap things were. Everything seems to have gone through the roof here in the last 4 or 5 years which doesnt appear to have happened in the UK. The stuff we have checked on and compared certainly seems cheaper over there for sure. It was amusing to read earlier in the thread how Tesco is expensive and it's best to look at the others, when I was in England late last year I was so amazed by Tesco I didn't look anywhere else
I hate to imagine what the poster of that comment would make of our supermarket prices.

canadian_critic

You are in serious debt and you pay charity contributions? WTF?

srefre

Don't forget you'll need to tax and insure the car.

Basil Brush

Oooops....I certainly do....more money!!!

Thanks for the reminder