Salaries?!
#16
Account Closed
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 928
Re: Salaries?!
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.
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.
#17
Re: Salaries?!
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.
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.
#18
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: Lancashire - Vic, Oz - hopefully Yorkshire or Devon
Posts: 167
Re: Salaries?!
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.
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.
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.
#19
Re: Salaries?!
Cost details are here... http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/pay/pay...ocumentid=pay1
#20
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: Lancashire - Vic, Oz - hopefully Yorkshire or Devon
Posts: 167
Re: Salaries?!
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
Cost details are here... http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/pay/pay...ocumentid=pay1
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
#21
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 69
Re: Salaries?!
Okay, so I'll average it out at 70 quid a tank - so I'm saying roughly 300 quid per month for fuel.
Can somebody tell me what a TV licence currently costs per month?
Also any ideas if my 500 quid per month is a good estimate to feed a family of 2 Adults and 1 x 17 y/o (effectively 3 x Adults). We do tend to eat chicken or meat most nights (even when we have pasta we put chicken or meat into it, which one of my Aussie friends thinks is weird as she thinks we should just have pasta with sauce on it!!) I'm intending to do a fake shop on Tesco online at some point soon, but if anyone has any ideas that would be great
This is what I am thinking so far - is there anything obvious that I'm missing?
Rent / Mortgage £800.00
Food £500.00
Council Tax £120.00
Gas / Electric £70.00
Water £36.00
Phone (Landline) £25.00
Mobile - 1 £22.00
Mobile - 2 £22.00
Ins - Contents £20.00
Ins - Building £0.00 (while renting)
Car - Finance £200.00
Car - Fuel £300.00 (Based on 1 tank per week)
Car - Servicing £50.00
TV Licence £15.00
Entertain/Dining Out £200.00
TOTAL PER MTH £2,380.00
Wow, money goes nowhere these days!!
Can somebody tell me what a TV licence currently costs per month?
Also any ideas if my 500 quid per month is a good estimate to feed a family of 2 Adults and 1 x 17 y/o (effectively 3 x Adults). We do tend to eat chicken or meat most nights (even when we have pasta we put chicken or meat into it, which one of my Aussie friends thinks is weird as she thinks we should just have pasta with sauce on it!!) I'm intending to do a fake shop on Tesco online at some point soon, but if anyone has any ideas that would be great
This is what I am thinking so far - is there anything obvious that I'm missing?
Rent / Mortgage £800.00
Food £500.00
Council Tax £120.00
Gas / Electric £70.00
Water £36.00
Phone (Landline) £25.00
Mobile - 1 £22.00
Mobile - 2 £22.00
Ins - Contents £20.00
Ins - Building £0.00 (while renting)
Car - Finance £200.00
Car - Fuel £300.00 (Based on 1 tank per week)
Car - Servicing £50.00
TV Licence £15.00
Entertain/Dining Out £200.00
TOTAL PER MTH £2,380.00
Wow, money goes nowhere these days!!
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!
Last edited by aries_bird; Jun 6th 2011 at 10:00 am. Reason: comment on water rates added
#22
forever blowing bubbles
Joined: Feb 2011
Location: cambridge ontario
Posts: 343
Re: Salaries?!
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
#23
Account Closed
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 928
Re: Salaries?!
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
Last edited by Squirrel; Jun 6th 2011 at 10:11 pm. Reason: correction
#24
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: Lancashire - Vic, Oz - hopefully Yorkshire or Devon
Posts: 167
Re: Salaries?!
(Then she hangs up and calls me back )
Last edited by Basil Brush; Jun 7th 2011 at 8:09 am.
#25
Re: Salaries?!
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!
#26
Re: Salaries?!
This is what I am thinking so far - is there anything obvious that I'm missing?
Rent / Mortgage £800.00
Food £500.00 Approx £100 p/w (family of four, plus dog and two cats to buy food for)
Council Tax £120.00
Gas / Electric £70.00 £95 per month, four bed detached house
Water £36.00 Nowhere near this amount, approx £120 every six months
Phone (Landline) £25.00 Line rental, calls package, broadband and digital tv package, £22 per month
Mobile - 1 £22.00 £15 per month, 500 call minutes and lots of texts (can't remember exactly how many!), plus internet (Blackberry phone)
Mobile - 2 £22.00
Ins - Contents £20.00
Ins - Building £0.00 (while renting)
Car - Finance £200.00
Car - Fuel £300.00 (Based on 1 tank per week)
Car - Servicing £50.00
TV Licence £15.00
Entertain/Dining Out £200.00 That would be eating out a lot! We tend to eat in kiddie friendly places i.e. Pizza Express, Prezzo, Cafe Rouge etc, but won't ever spend more than approx £25 for a meal for four of us.
TOTAL PER MTH £2,380.00
Wow, money goes nowhere these days!!
Rent / Mortgage £800.00
Food £500.00 Approx £100 p/w (family of four, plus dog and two cats to buy food for)
Council Tax £120.00
Gas / Electric £70.00 £95 per month, four bed detached house
Water £36.00 Nowhere near this amount, approx £120 every six months
Phone (Landline) £25.00 Line rental, calls package, broadband and digital tv package, £22 per month
Mobile - 1 £22.00 £15 per month, 500 call minutes and lots of texts (can't remember exactly how many!), plus internet (Blackberry phone)
Mobile - 2 £22.00
Ins - Contents £20.00
Ins - Building £0.00 (while renting)
Car - Finance £200.00
Car - Fuel £300.00 (Based on 1 tank per week)
Car - Servicing £50.00
TV Licence £15.00
Entertain/Dining Out £200.00 That would be eating out a lot! We tend to eat in kiddie friendly places i.e. Pizza Express, Prezzo, Cafe Rouge etc, but won't ever spend more than approx £25 for a meal for four of us.
TOTAL PER MTH £2,380.00
Wow, money goes nowhere these days!!
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.
#27
Banned
Joined: Jan 2011
Location: The REAL Utopia.
Posts: 9,910
Re: Salaries?!
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.
I hate to imagine what the poster of that comment would make of our supermarket prices.
#28
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2009
Location: Gastown - East Van
Posts: 413
Re: Salaries?!
Our joint income is £45.5. We live in SE London (Crystal Palace). We are in a lot of debt so don't manage that well, but if we weren't in debt we would be fine. We have two extra mortgages and pay about £950 mortgage altogether per month. I spend £120/month on my travel card (goes up to £128 when I renew next month), this is deducted out of my salary (many employers do season ticket loans). DH gets the bus to work - he works one week (7 days)on and one week off, nights, so buys a weekly bus pass every other week at £18, he uses Oyster pay-as-you-go for any odd bus rides the week he isn't working.
We only have a one-bed flat. They are currently about £150K in our area. Our council tax is £100/month, gas/electric £70, water £36, phone (landline £25), my mobile £22, DH has pay-as-you-go mobile, £10 lasts him a year! We pay £40 ground rent, £12 contents insurance, £50 to the vets (we have an arrangement because we have small pets but for cat or dog you can get insurance for much less), food £400, the rest goes on personal loan/credit card/catalogue payments, without which we'd be much better off.
As a rought guide, after my season ticket loan is taken from my salary, I get £1561/month for a £29K salary (but I buy 10 days extra annual leave/year or it would be more, and I pay pension, charity conts and union). DH takes home £1160 on a £16.5K salary (no pension, just tax and NI).
HTH
We only have a one-bed flat. They are currently about £150K in our area. Our council tax is £100/month, gas/electric £70, water £36, phone (landline £25), my mobile £22, DH has pay-as-you-go mobile, £10 lasts him a year! We pay £40 ground rent, £12 contents insurance, £50 to the vets (we have an arrangement because we have small pets but for cat or dog you can get insurance for much less), food £400, the rest goes on personal loan/credit card/catalogue payments, without which we'd be much better off.
As a rought guide, after my season ticket loan is taken from my salary, I get £1561/month for a £29K salary (but I buy 10 days extra annual leave/year or it would be more, and I pay pension, charity conts and union). DH takes home £1160 on a £16.5K salary (no pension, just tax and NI).
HTH
#29
Forum Regular
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 236
Re: Salaries?!
Okay, so I'll average it out at 70 quid a tank - so I'm saying roughly 300 quid per month for fuel.
Can somebody tell me what a TV licence currently costs per month?
Also any ideas if my 500 quid per month is a good estimate to feed a family of 2 Adults and 1 x 17 y/o (effectively 3 x Adults). We do tend to eat chicken or meat most nights (even when we have pasta we put chicken or meat into it, which one of my Aussie friends thinks is weird as she thinks we should just have pasta with sauce on it!!) I'm intending to do a fake shop on Tesco online at some point soon, but if anyone has any ideas that would be great
This is what I am thinking so far - is there anything obvious that I'm missing?
Rent / Mortgage £800.00
Food £500.00
Council Tax £120.00
Gas / Electric £70.00
Water £36.00
Phone (Landline) £25.00
Mobile - 1 £22.00
Mobile - 2 £22.00
Ins - Contents £20.00
Ins - Building £0.00 (while renting)
Car - Finance £200.00
Car - Fuel £300.00 (Based on 1 tank per week)
Car - Servicing £50.00
TV Licence £15.00
Entertain/Dining Out £200.00
TOTAL PER MTH £2,380.00
Wow, money goes nowhere these days!!
Can somebody tell me what a TV licence currently costs per month?
Also any ideas if my 500 quid per month is a good estimate to feed a family of 2 Adults and 1 x 17 y/o (effectively 3 x Adults). We do tend to eat chicken or meat most nights (even when we have pasta we put chicken or meat into it, which one of my Aussie friends thinks is weird as she thinks we should just have pasta with sauce on it!!) I'm intending to do a fake shop on Tesco online at some point soon, but if anyone has any ideas that would be great
This is what I am thinking so far - is there anything obvious that I'm missing?
Rent / Mortgage £800.00
Food £500.00
Council Tax £120.00
Gas / Electric £70.00
Water £36.00
Phone (Landline) £25.00
Mobile - 1 £22.00
Mobile - 2 £22.00
Ins - Contents £20.00
Ins - Building £0.00 (while renting)
Car - Finance £200.00
Car - Fuel £300.00 (Based on 1 tank per week)
Car - Servicing £50.00
TV Licence £15.00
Entertain/Dining Out £200.00
TOTAL PER MTH £2,380.00
Wow, money goes nowhere these days!!
#30
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: Lancashire - Vic, Oz - hopefully Yorkshire or Devon
Posts: 167