Cost Of Living

[popeye]

Hi there buzzers. How are you all keeping.

Could anyone please advise on an average income for a decent lifestyle in the UK, with having a single income household comprising of a husband and wife, plus 2 small kids (3 year old and 4 year old)?

I am looking at what would be a decent salary to get there, to manage to pay for a decent 3 bedroom place (rent - until we decide to buy), petrol cost for travelling (work and touring), cover bus expenses if bus is a better option, monthly grocery prices for an average family, Electricity costs, Water costs, Telephone costs, Sky TV costs, etc.

For luxuries, this will include some local travels, as well as an abroad travel once a year.
Eating out (McDonalds, etc. - once to twice a week).
Cinemas (1 movie a month)

Just a basic take on the above. Like what Gross or Net salary should I be looking at?

Thanks
Popeye

[mcamp999]

Popeye Hi

Do you have any idea as to where you will be living in the UK?
Are you looking at a joint income?
How many holidays will you take a year?

[mcamp999]

This may also help
http://www.upmystreet.com
and for utilities
http://www.uswitch.com

Move to Cambridge and we will provide a warm welcome too (especially if you play footy or cricket)

[dudette]

Hi there buzzers. How are you all keeping.

Could anyone please advise on an average income for a decent lifestyle in the UK, with having a single income household comprising of a husband and wife, plus 2 small kids (3 year old and 4 year old)?

I am looking at what would be a decent salary to get there, to manage to pay for a decent 3 bedroom place (rent - until we decide to buy), petrol cost for travelling (work and touring), cover bus expenses if bus is a better option, monthly grocery prices for an average family, Electricity costs, Water costs, Telephone costs, Sky TV costs, etc.

For luxuries, this will include some local travels, as well as an abroad travel once a year.
Eating out (McDonalds, etc. - once to twice a week).
Cinemas (1 movie a month)

Just a basic take on the above. Like what Gross or Net salary should I be looking at?

Thanks
Popeye

Hi there Popeye

Where you live and work will affect your cost of living greatly. In the South, you will need at least £20k pa salary to get by on just the basics.
You won't get a 3 bedroom place less than £650 pm, and in our area at least, you are looking more around the £750 pm.
Groceries ... We are living very frugally at the moment and cannot get our grocery bills lower than £70 pw, but then we are a family of 5 and we do have meat every day, and there is always fresh fruit in the fruit bowl - so with those two being the most expensive portion of our bill adding up to about £50, you can see where it all goes.

If you're going to be based in London, the underground is very easy, and combined with the bus system, you should be able to reach most places within the metropolitan area. Individual rides on the underground within zones cost around £1.50, but from what I can see, that would be your most economocal method of getting around, considering the over £6 you have to pay to drive your car into London these days.
Of course other towns don't have those expenses, but then you wouldn't have the infrastructure.
Petrol costs around 95p per litre, and you'll have to pay Road Tax of approximately £115 for a small engine car and mor for bigger.You'll also have to take your car every year for a MOT test to make sure its still roadworthy, and this should only cost around £50 if it is, and oh my word if it's not! lol
Electricity and gas; most homes now have gas central heating, and if you pay £60 per month included, you're doing well.
Water and sewerage services cost around £200 per year ( we are charged 6 monthly)
Don't forget Council tax, which everyone has to pay, renting or not. This varies again depending on where you stay ... Bristol used to charge us £56 per month, and then when we moved to the Bristol area we paid almost double!
Telephone; for landline, probably your best bet is with BT who charge around £12 permonth line rental, but I don't know their rates. Other companies charge less, and it would be worth shopping around when you get here, to get the best deal applicable to your area.
Mobile phone; if you already have a phone, pay as you go would be cheapest, as I know a friend who doesn't spend more than £10 pm on hers!



Luxuries;
MacDonalds Happy Meal is £2.25 (I think) and a Big MAc Meal (incl fizzy drink and chips) will cost you around £4.59 each.
Our local Odeon Charges £6 per adult and around £4.80 per child, and the snacks and drinks inside are of course pricey.
Pubs usually serve good value meals, and we usually pay around £30 for a family of five including drinks.
Holidays: you can still get cheap package deals for around £200 for a family of 4, especially during school times, to visit Europe and a little further afield.
for travelling around the UK, B&B prices start from £39 per night, depending on the area. I was not able to get a room for less than £69 in London per night, only a month ago!

SkyTV basic package costs £17pm I think, but then you only get the basic digital channels you would have got if you'd bought a Freeview box for from £39!

I hope this has answered some of your questions, and that it clarifies things for you for your move.
Good luck ! :thumbs:

[popeye]

Thanks mcampp and Dudette. Your input is much appreciated.

I am not too familiar with all the areas in the UK, but would like to live and work somewhere in good travelling distance of Luton as we have family on that end, and they stay in Luton and other's stay between Luton and london.

I am in the mainframe field, which I believe there are many jobs over in the UK, and holding citizenship to the country is one extra bonus.

To answer your questions mcampp, the income will be a single income not dual, as my wife is not yet working, and will probably only look to go back to work in about 2 years time, once the kiddies are both in school full time. I assume they are only allowed to start normal primary school at the age of 4 or 5 years old, and would need to be that age before September when the schools open correct?

Regarding holidays, we would look at about 2 local short holidays (long weekends, etc.) a year, and probably one to SA a year.

Dudette, you have provided some really good information, and I will put it all down on paper and calculate it accordingly. I think grocery expenses will be in the similar region as we also eat meat and fruit everyday, and the kiddies especially will not eat unless there is meat on the menu.

If I were on a single income, worked in or close to London city and stayed somewhere between London and Luton, would a single income of about £35K a year be sufficient for a family of 4 with 2 kids in school?

I am not sure if the schooling is subsidised or if one pays a hefty school fee, and if the same would apply for pre-school or creche (montesorri).

Also, could you advise on any good employment agencies I could send my CV to? I am an IT professional specialising in IBM DB2 mainframe databases. Iwould ultimately like to cross-skill to Unix or AIX, but for now getting my foot in the door would be the first step.

Thanks again.

M

[Ade]

you'll do fine on 35K...but some of us may regard Sky TV as a luxury

a couple of good it jobs sites are jobserve, jobsite

maybe you could look at contracting for a while...you could earn up to £45 an hour if you're lucky

I'm an as/400 pgmr myself - welcome aboard

[dudette]

Children here start in Reception in the September after they have turned 4. Depending on the school, they may start half day and then increase to 6 hours later, or otherwise start fulltime education immediately.
The hours are generally 8.45am til 3.15pm
The Government pays for up to 5 playschool/nursery school sessions( ie morning or afternoon) per week from the last term of a child's third year, and from them on their education is free, assuming they go to state schools. Montessori schools generally don't fall under the state, and you would have to pay extra.
School uniforms are quite reasonable ... shopping wisely, you could kit your child out for under £50, but beware, good footwear is very expensive! (around £35 per pair!)
£35k should be fine for your family.
I would class Luton as in Southern England, and you'll probably have to pay more. I would suggest you look at upmystreet.com (link that mcamp999 gave) as it has lots of very useful information for different areas.
Good luck

[Joan]

you'll do fine on 35K...but some of us may regard Sky TV as a luxury

a couple of good it jobs sites are jobserve, jobsite

maybe you could look at contracting for a while...you could earn up to £45 an hour if you're lucky

I'm an as/400 pgmr myself - welcome aboard

Have to agree with Ade as regarding Sky as a luxury......without Sky you may miss most of the sports channels ( main reason my husband subcribes to SKY as we do not really watch movies, etc)


I think dudette gave great advice, seeing as she has children at all levels of schooling and knows the ins and outs of the expenses for a young family.

[Jangar]

Hej Popeye,

http://www.reed.co.uk is a good place to upload your CV to and to look for jobs.

And please don't ask me why I know this....

[mcamp999]

Popeye

Have a look at my article http://www.globalbuzz-sa.net/forums/vbne...-of-living then adjust as you will be a two child family whilst this is for 3 children.