Budget for Living Expenses? Sorry to ask again.....

Hello,

I am a Social Worker who is currently working through the process of coming over to the UK.  My position will be in London (not sure of the location yet).  I know this question may have been asked before, but I could not find the specific threads.

I am looking for information on living expenses for a one bedroom apartment.

Specifically what I am looking for is:

1) Electricity
2) Gas
3) Water
4) Phone
5) Broadband
6) Mobile Phone

Also, we are budgeting for food.  Do you think 100 GBP a week is enough for a couple? 

Thank you so much for your help.  I am so excited to find an online community like this.  I look forward to chatting with you all in the future.

I have a 2 bedroom apartment:

Electricity and Gas - I've got a "dual fuel" deal (get both from the same supplier), and pay 40 a month. Which is a little too much
Water - Thames Water seem to charge me 32.91 a month (direct debit, they take it automatically out of my account)
Phone - Line rentals something like 40 a quarter, you can get all sorts of discounts and plans. Go to bt.com and telewest.co.uk to give yourself an idea.
Broadband - Costs me 21.99 a month for a 2Mbps connection
Mobile Phone - Haven't got a clue, there are more call plans than phones to use them. But 3 have a 500 mins a month plan for 25.

I spend about £100 per week for a family of four and we don't stint on quality.  I'd be quite surprised if your grocery bill isn't much less than that, unless of course you choose to shop at Fortnum & Masons.

Hello, I to am a social worker who will be relocating to the UK in Jan 06 with my family.  What recruiting company are you with?  I am with TTM. I was told that a fully furnished 2 BR flat would run around 700 to 750 a month, but then you also have to include Council Tax, Water, Electricity, phone, TV if you want that (have to pay a TV tax), mobile and internet.  I am expecting all of that to run me around 1000 to 1200 pounds a month.  Its definately alot to consider.  Good luck and let us know how the transition is coming along.

Sheila

I would say allow up to about £1000 per month to rent a 1-2 bedroom flat, £50-60 per week groceries for two, and around £50 per month for utlilies, incl broadband. Council tax varies, but allow around £100 per month to be on the safe side.  These amounts will allow you to live comfortably in London although it can be done for less if you are not fussy about the area where you live or don't mind sharing accommodation.

britwife's breakdown is a good one.

add about £18.00 a month for broadband

our mobile bill is about £60 for 2 of us

the rest she covered.  we pay 1300 in rent for a 1 br. (could pay much less but we chose not to) and our council tax is about £75 a month (in westminster).

spend abotu £60 a week on groceries

council tax is about £75 a month (in westminster).

Is Camden more expensive than Westminster?  My council tax is about £100 a month and that is after the 25% discount for living by myself.

bvamin

yeah, westminster has the lowest concil tax.  funny isn't it??

Yes - I have lived in both and Westminster is cheaper (cause they don't do anything!).

yeah but we have nice lesiure centers and good discounts at many places with the res card! 

must have missed out on that when i lived there! all i know is there was rubbish all over our street and no bins

what i really hate is the recycling....there are recycling stations in places but SO many more people would recycle if it was curbside or something.  It's always me and the same people there......

we've got mandatory curbside recycling ...I put the bin out full of aluminum cans and they have yet to properly pick it up..the collector drops cans all over the pavement and doesn't pick them up...

On the mobile front, the budget can vary wildly depending on whether you have pay-as-you-go or a contract and how much you use it and when.

You could pay as little as £50 every couple of months with pay-as-you-go if you don't use it a lot as the minutes never run out.  If you know you'll be using your mobile all the time a contract is probably worth it.  If you use it very little pay-as-you-go should be the most cost effective.  It's when you use it a moderate amount that you have to look at all the plans and see which works best.

Be aware, some phones can be bought only with a contract depending on the service provider.  Also, if you want to use your phone in the US or Canada, you will need a Tri-band phone.  Most of the rest of the world is on Dual-band.

On the grocery front, if you spent £100 per week you'd be buy lots of very expensive food & household items every single week.  There's just 2 of us and our average is about £55-60 with the occassional £75-90 shop if we get back from holiday or are having a party and really need to stock up.

Matt