Disposable Income in the UK

Absolutely.  I had a lovely Sunday strolling around Hampstead and Highgate, walking through the Heath, and all we spent was the cost of...well, five beers each and a pub lunch...but the day was lovely even without that!

Vicky

After five beers, I wouldn't be able to walk!

But back on topic - there's so much free stuff to do in London (and in other towns) that it's worth takin advantage of!

It was paced over the whole day!

Vicky

Is it bad that I can walk perfectly fine after 5 beers? 

Oh and yes, on topic ... um, well I actually have nothing topical to mention... Carry on! 

Outside of the undeniable fact that travel and housing costs are inevitably higher in London, iIt's a myth that you HAVE to live "high on the hog" in other ways too, just because it's London.

That is precisely what I was getting at with my question. I like to have a great time as much as the other guy, but I am no high roller. Coming from a city where cost of living is very reasonable, the social scene is consequently just as reasonable, so I was wondering if the social scene in London is consequently as pocket-battering as the cost of living is.

Sounds to me like people find other ways to be social to offset the cost of living, while still enoying the occasional high on the hog weekend here and there. Travel is also a big part of it, I'd gladly spend a month watching DVDs in my flat every weekend and eating Ramen noodles if it meant that I could enjoy a weekend in Paris, Amsterdam, whereever the next month.

Hiya

As already pointed out, depending on your lifestyle and choices, only you can tell if 500 quid a month is enough for you.
On the 'whole' it sounds reasonable enough so you 'should' be ok !

That said, and from the good posts about not having to live the 'high life' becuase it's London - I agree! however I've seen many a 'UK Consumer' financial affairs and been utterly shocked at the level of income and the masses of excessive spend - i.e contributory to the country being at it's knees right now!

I also disagree that 'budgets never work' - if planned correctly and accurately and of course, if consistent discipline is used, they DO work, and very well indeed! - it's the discipline which is Key there though!

I agree that there are some excellent ways to 'get more value' for your pound in London as well, just depends on how far you want to go with the level of frugality you'd like !

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Okay, it was a bank holiday so let's see what we did....

Saturday...football, pub crawl and curry = £15 + £35 + £15
Sunday...quiet
Monday...as above £15 + £12

So, about £100 per person.  That's more than a usual weekend, but we didn't go out at all during the week as we knew it was going to be a big one.  I seldom spend more than £50 on a night out, usually much less.  And I seldom go out more than twice a month, though will intersperse that with the odd £10-£15 down the pub during the week.  But I am a beer monster (can you tell?) more than I am a clubber.  So £500 would do me no problem.

Vicky

I also disagree that 'budgets never work' - if planned correctly and accurately and of course, if consistent discipline is used, they DO work, and very well indeed! - it's the discipline which is Key there though!

It was maybe an overgeneral statement that meant to communicate that unexpected things/expenses come up, in families with children, especially. However, if you've managed to remove the chance completely from your life...well..good on you, I guess. 

BTW, consistently ending up in at the end of the month about £100 quid out of your budget shows amount of discipline most of us could probably benefit from.

We did some rigorous budgeting pre-move, but there were still categories where we didn't budget correctly.  For example, I find restaurants to be more expensive than I expected.  But I don't spend much (if at all) on clothing or other "random stuff" the way I did in the US. 

It was less about being careful or disciplined as it was about not being able to accurately predict spending shifts. 

Tim and I managed a four day trip to London, including accommodation and transportation for £500.  Only one of our days did we spend money to get into attractions (the Tower bridge & HMS Belfast), the rest of the time we did free stuff.

Tim and I managed a four day trip to London, including accommodation and transportation for £500.  Only one of our days did we spend money to get into attractions (the Tower bridge & HMS Belfast), the rest of the time we did free stuff.

That's one of the great things about London.  Depending on what your intrests  are, you could probably go the first month or two spending minimal amounts of money and taking advantage of all the free things there are.  I went back for a visit in November, spent two weeks there, and aside from a footie match, I was more than able to have loads of fun for under 100 quid/week.

That's one of the great things about London.  Depending on what your intrests  are, you could probably go the first month or two spending minimal amounts of money and taking advantage of all the free things there are.  I went back for a visit in November, spent two weeks there, and aside from a footie match, I was more than able to have loads of fun for under 100 quid/week.

And if you have a travel card or oyster card, there are loads of things to do a little farther out from central London, too.  We went out to the Prime Meridian in Greenwich (okay, because we're dorks) and had such a good time!

We went out to the Prime Meridian in Greenwich (okay, because we're dorks) and had such a good time!

That's not dorky! 

Yep, Oyster cards --- example of one of my fun days in London:

This was when I was out in Essex:
From within the edge of Essex, travel from zone 6 Loughton, Essex, to Russell Square, central London, to see US friends visiting London -- on my Oyster card the round trip for me was about £7.00, being a £3.50 charge each way. Tube all the way, Central Line then change for one stop on the Piccadilly.

Once there, all walked together from my friend's hotel to the British Museum -- entrance is free although donation is suggested. Had a grand time in the museum.

Walked back around to a cheap Chinese restaurant my friend knows from other visit; nothing fancy, just a mom and pop type of Chinese restaurant. Can't remember specifics but I don't remember spending more than about £10 on my own order, perhaps even a little less, including a Coca Cola and my meal. We left a tip of a couple of quid for all of us.

That day out cost me a personal total of £17 !!


I agree -- all the cool stuff down at Greenwich -- not dorky at all!

At the places that are free, I always try to find something small from the gift shop so I'm still giving something to the organization.

That's not dorky! 

I agree -- all the cool stuff down at Greenwich -- not dorky at all!

Clearly, you guys are cooler than the people I grew up with!

we spent was the cost of...well, five beers each and a pub lunch...
Vicky

How can you stand the taste of beer?
I'm 71 and I've never drunk a beer yet! (I heard what you said about me-"what a wasted life" )
Don't tell Mrs R!

Why do we have chocolate and vanilla ice cream, because some people like chocolate and some like vanilla.