Is 30,000GBP enough

I've seen this before here buuuut  it's from 4 years ago so I'm sure if it holds true.

I'm looking for employment and my general searches seem to say that 30000GBP is a reason amount to expect for me.

But I really don't know if that is enough.

A bit about me and the family:

My husband will be attending the University of Kent for postgradute school - he will not be able to work but student loans will cover his tuition.

I should be able to expect about 30K as a post doc in my field. This would be at one of the universities in London or the South and South East areas.

We have two small children, primary school age but would need after school care.

We would expect to live somewhere South or South East with a maximum commute by car or train of one hour. 

So is my budget reasonable? Is 30k do able?
I figure I would take home about 1700(pounds) a month
so 400 for food
300 for child care
600 for rent (can I get a NOT scary 3 bedroom flat for that?)
that leave me 400 for everything else (power, heat, gas/fair,  entertainment, etc)
Realistic?

We live in the SE and no, 30,000 would not be enough for us. 600 a month for rent in the south might get you a studio, but I doubt it. You're looking at at least double that.

For child care, I pay 300 a month for two days a week for one child.

I think your estimates for the rest are fairly conservative but at least feasible, your assess,ent of the rent situation, though, is not.

600 for rent (can I get a NOT scary 3 bedroom flat for that?)  
Realistic?

In London?  Unlikely.  Also, don't forget to factor in the cost of travel if you are going to be living an hour away from your job.  

Is there any reason your husband can't have a part-time job?  As a postgrad he can work for up to 20 hours a week.  

For child care, I pay 300 a month for two days a week for one child.

Is that for full time care?  (like 9-5) or after school care (we are thinking 3-5 for 3 to 5 days a week, still trying to figure this out)

In London?  Unlikely.  Also, don't forget to factor in the cost of travel if you are going to be living an hour away from your job. 
 

Yeah I figured London wasn't possible - From on-line searches find 3 bedroom flats for 600 in the Gillingham area but I have no idea if it is a safe area

Yeah I figured London wasn't possible - From on-line searches find 3 bedroom flats for 600 in the Gillingham area but I have no idea if it is a safe area

That's outside the M25.  If you live that far away, you're going to be spending close to £100 a week on travel.  Do you plan to have a car or take the train?  

Personally, I'd rather spend more on rent and live closer, but obviously everyone is different.

I live in Dorset, which is the southwest.  Not as expensive as the southeast, but close.  We spend £600 for a nice, spacious, one-bedroom flat.  For three bedrooms it'd be at least £150-200 more.  In the south, it's just what you expect.  

ETA: Sorry, I've been assuming you meant commuting to London, but rereading your post that might not be the case.  Read my post as being applicable only if you commute into London. 

That's outside the M25.  If you live that far away, you're going to be spending close to £100 a week on travel.  Do you plan to have a car or take the train? 

100 a week in travel?!?!?  I figured I would do what ever was cheaper car/train.

I MIGHT be commuting to london, Ideally NOT the heart, but the easternish areas with in M25. However there also a possibility of trying to commute to Southend area or even Brighton (depends on where I can find a job!)

Is commuting by public transit really that expensive?

Your expenses will include gas, electric, water, TV licence, mobile phone, land line, internet and council tax.  £400 would probably just about cover it.  Other expenses to consider are cable/satelite tv, renter's insurance, commuting and/or car insurance and car payment.  The addition of those will put you well over £400/month.  With no UK driving record getting reasonably priced car insurance could be a challenge.

Yes, commuting by train is expensive.

Is commuting by public transit really that expensive?

Oh, yes.  Trains cost a fortune, and so does petrol--much more expensive than in the US.  My husband commutes ~30 miles by car, and he spends £200 a month for fuel, in a fuel-efficient diesel car.  

Just looking on National Rail, you can go from Gillingham to London Cannon Street (the City) for £13.20 per day.  Times five, that's £66/week, not counting bus/tube to wherever exactly you work.  To London St Pancras (North) it's £21 per day.  

Check out www.nationalrail.co.uk

Oh, yes.  Trains cost a fortune, and so does petrol--much more expensive than in the US.  My husband commutes ~30 miles by car, and he spends £200 a month for fuel, in a fuel-efficient diesel car. 

Just looking on National Rail, you can go from Gillingham to London Cannon Street (the City) for £13.20 per day.  Times five, that's £66/week, not counting bus/tube to wherever exactly you work.  To London St Pancras (North) it's £21 per day. 

Check out www.nationalrail.co.uk

Alllrighty - this give me a better idea of what I can expect to pay for transportation 200 a month in fuel (diesel) at my max commute - how much will ins run?

OR

about 20 (how in the heck do I do the pound symbol!) a day - 100 a week to 400 a month OUCH!!!!  for rail

sigh back to the budget drawing board.

Car insurance maybe £500/year?  As Anonymiss said, you won't have any driving history in the UK, so insurance will be pricey.  Plus there's road tax and MOT. 

Another thing to think about is council tax.  Assuming Gillingham again, and assuming that a 3 bedroom is at least band B, you've got another £1000 a year for that, divided into 10 payments (March-January) so another £100/month.  I'd assume between £75 and £100 per month each for electricity, gas, and water.  TV licence is £145.50 per year, you can pay that all at once or monthly.  So, to be safe, I'd figure:

Water, gas, electric: 300
Council tax: 100
TV licence: 12.13
Car insurance: 50
Travel (you going to London and your DH to Canterbury): 500
Total: £962.13

That's not including rent, food, or childcare, or the once-a-year expenses of car tax and MOT. 

Water, gas, electric: 300
Council tax: 100
TV licence: 12.13
Car insurance: 50
Travel (you going to London and your DH to Canterbury): 500
Total: £962.13


[/quote

Yeah that's seems to be what I am looking at (though I has already accounted for council tax in estimating take-home vs gross)

top that with 400 for food 600(maybe too low) for rent and 300 f(also may be too low) for child care.

Need 2300 take home for bare necessities. That leaves 600 pound gap in what I can expect for pay and what I need.  I guess the husband is getting a job! lol

No, no.  Council tax is different from income tax.  It is assessed based on the value of your home and where you live.  It is paid to the local council and not to your landlord, so is usually not figured into rent. 

Your take-home vs gross looks pretty accurate for income tax and NI deductions. 

Ahh I see good to know. This is why this forum rocks, a wealth of info that is clear and to the point. Unlike reading visa regulations......

Okay, if you want to get more specific regarding rail travel costs, especially if you are going to be doing a lot of it, is to get a "season ticket" available in 1, 3, 6 or 12 month intervals. National Rail's season ticket calculator is your friend: http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/seasonticket/search

I just did a quick calculation using Gillingham as an example, and to London Terminals, that's £352/month for the cheapest, and £216 to Canterbury... so perhaps you could think about housing yourself so that one of you won't have to deal with the high transport costs? Does his university have any housing available for families? Or maybe staying in Canterbury is an idea - I just did a quick search on prime location, and this company specialises in student rentals: http://www.sandersonsuk.com/lettings/students.php. I have no idea what the requirements are, or if the places are any good, but doing a quick search on their site turned up 4 bedroom houses around £300/month. And btw, Canterbury is just a shade under an hour to St Pancras using the high speed rail via Ashford. How handy!

(Oh, and to get the £ sign, it's option/alt 3)

So is my budget reasonable? Is 30k do able?
I figure I would take home about 1700(pounds) a month
so 400 for food
300 for child care
600 for rent (can I get a NOT scary 3 bedroom flat for that?)
that leave me 400 for everything else (power, heat, gas/fair,  entertainment, etc)
Realistic?

With my shift and weekend allowances at work, I earn a similar amount at my job, usually taking home about £1,700-1,800 a month.

However, I am single, so only pay for one person, and I live about 120 miles north of London, where rent is much cheaper (scarily cheap, actually - I'm from the southwest, where rent is high but not quite as high as London, and I did a double-take when I saw the cheap rent prices here... I thought there had been a mistake !).

My general monthly expenses for 1 person:

- Rent (small 2-bed terraced house): £450
- Council tax (I get 25% discount due to living on my own): £75
- Water, Electricity and Gas: ~ £60
- TV licence, satellite TV, unlimited broadband, landline phone: ~ £55
- Mobile phone contract: £17
- Food (I don't really budget for food, so I usually pay more than I need to - I could probably halve it if I needed to): ~ £200
- Petrol for the car (I only commute 6 miles a day, but I drive to Bristol once or twice a month, which is 350 miles and £50 in petrol per round trip, and I drive around the city a fair amount): £150

So, my total monthly expenses come to about £1,000 a month.

If I lived in or near London, those expenses would be higher (I used to live in a 3-bed flat in Bristol, in the southwest of England, with a couple of friends, and it was about £1,200 in rent per month. Similarly, when I lived in Exeter, also in the southwest, a 2-bed basement flat was £725 per month).

That's also not including annual expenses of car insurance (£650 this year, which is high because I have a DUI on my record - should hopefully be decreasing to about £300 when I renew it this summer though), car tax (£130 a year), annual MOT and car service (about £200).

So, adding those in too, that's an annual living expenditure of about £13,000, with a take-home salary of about £21,000... but that's only for 1 person and obviously is not including the costs of feeding a family, childcare costs, commuting costs for a second person, extra gas/electricity/water usage due to more people using it, etc.