MSE News: The £14,400 minimum cost of living

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  • debrag
    debrag Posts: 3,426 Forumite
    paulwf wrote: »
    It's worth skimming the PDF report before drawing too many conclusions: http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/MIS-2010-report_0.pdf . Of particular interest is the budget table on page 19. There is also some info above that on how they reached the conclusions after interviewing various types of people.

    Remember, this isn't meant to be the minimum amount to keep alive in the UK. This is meant to be the minimum amount to be able to actively participate socially and culturally in the UK. There is a huge difference - we don't need access to a phone, access to the internet or other "luxuries" such as socialising. We could get up, stare at the walls all day, eat beans on toast then go to bed again...that's not what this is about though as that doesn't give any quality of life at all.

    If you look at the figures in the table for a single person it lists £4.60 a week for alcohol. That is being able to take a bottle of wine round to a friends house once a week or buying one pint a week down the pub with an extra pint every fortnight. That's hardly excessive if you want to see spend some time with friends and colleagues in modern society.

    Tobacco is given zero allowance. Also no allowance is made for a car, but there is an allowance for other transport costs, which seems reasonable to get into work or travel into town to do shopping. The research also allows something to buy birthday and christmas presents with...again the idea is to be able to participate in society to a minimum level not just survive.

    Figures can never be accurate because of regional variation and there will be subjectivity as to what is and what isn't essential to participate in society. However to me they have taken a very good common sense approach and have used averages based on interviewing various people.

    We should also look at the alternatives available when the government decides on benefit levels or national minimum wage etc. The definition of poverty is sometimes set as having an income which is less than 60% of the national average. So the poverty line takes absolutely no account of the amount of money people need to live on! You might as well define the poverty line as "sausages" for all the good the figure is going to do!

    you can add a car if you use one off the links before the calculated figure.
  • thymely
    thymely Posts: 11 Forumite
    Wow, would love to know how/where you found cheap digs in Zone 1/Central London, ViolaLass, as my friends & I have struggled to find houseshares for less than £350 a month + bills each in Zone 3 let alone Zone 1. Please share!!

    Despite living frugally & not going out much, we've needed much more than £10k to survive.
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698
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    Crikey, the calculator uses a £68 pw rent as a base. Try finding that in london!
    Or anywhere much. LHA for a 1-bed flat where I live is £111/week.
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698
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    edited 6 July 2010 at 1:38PM
    I would point out it's also NOT a serious calculator, or one "to exist on", it shows you how much you'd need to "get a life", to be part of society. Being part of society is about having spare money to go out and do stuff.

    What stuff is needed was decided by asking a bunch of people what they thought would be "a nice life", a random survey of people in the street.
  • Ames
    Ames Posts: 18,459 Forumite
    Those figures are ridiculous. My electric and water are half what they put, and I spend about £20 a week less on food. They're the costs you *need* to cover. So the other costs must be overinflated too.
    Unless I say otherwise 'you' means the general you not you specifically.
  • I'm a student with no parental support whatsoever. Using the figures from the basic calculator and taking off Council Tax as I don't need to pay it, being a student, the figure it spat out at me is £11,129.65 a year. I bl**dy wish! :eek: All the government money I get for living combined adds up to about £7000 a year. If I work part time as well, I might be able to push that up to £10,000 a year, at a push. Plus, there's the cost of textbooks on top of that. And before you say "get them from the library," our uni library often has about 1 or 2 copies of key texts between a few 100 students. Yes, you read that right. There are schools in majority world (to use the PC term) countries with better resources than that! :eek: So yes, the books are a must and even 2nd hand, you can be looking at £50 a book sometimes! God knows where this idea that students spend all their money getting drunk comes from. Only the ones with mummy and daddy's money behind them could afford that. I can barely afford my food and bills as it is.
    Kayleigh
  • tryingto
    tryingto Posts: 73 Forumite
    For me anyway, the figures come across as out because I am unable to spend the money suggested on the 'luxuries' as I don't have the income to do it. The calculator only allocates £50 ish a week for rent for me, which is outrageous, I would love to know where you get these flats for that price as I live in one of the cheapest areas in the country and even the council estimates rental at around £450 a month.

    I don't think the things they suggest are excessive, it is just I imagine most people on very low incomes couldn't dream of spending on those things as we have to spend the money on rent, council tax, heating, lighting, food etc. So, actually, I would suggest that, in fact, the survey shows how most people on low incomes couldn't actually have the lifestyle they considered the base lifestyle for a decent existence. If they actually added realistic rental costs in, can you imagine what the minimum income would be.

    When I put in what I actually have to pay for rent or bills they said I would need another 70 pounds a week. So, I can't actually live as they suggest as that money can only be 'cut' from expenses like going out and clothes and travel etc. So, I would suggest most without social housing could only dream of having a little amount for going out or alcohol or even a five yearly holiday (I wish!).

    If you come out with say, 770 a month after tax as a single person, and you have to pay market rent, council tax and household bills, plus don't receive benefits or the like, how can you possibly do anything other than just scrape by on an existence?
  • Cazzdevil
    Cazzdevil Posts: 1,052
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    According to the Min Income website I should be positively rolling in it! Sadly it doesn't seem to work out that way though.

    I wonder where my money disappears to?...*ponders*
  • kindofagilr
    kindofagilr Posts: 6,825
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    Crikey, the calculator uses a £68 pw rent as a base. Try finding that in london!

    Or anywhere else lol, I had to change it to mortage as mine is £681 a month.
    Debt £30,823.48/£44,856.56 ~ 06/02/21 - 31.28% Paid Off
    Mortgage (01/04/09 - 01/07/39)
    £79,515.99/£104,409.00 (as of 05/02/21) ~ 23.84% Paid Off

    Lloyds (M) - £1196.93/£1296.93 ~ Next - £2653.79/£2700.46 ~ Mobile - £296.70/£323.78
    HSBC (H) -£5079.08/£5281.12 ~ HSBC (M) - £4512.19/£4714.23
    Barclays (H) - £4427.32/£4629.36 ~ Barclays (M) - £4013.78/£4215.82
    Halifax (H) - £4930.04/£5132.12 ~ Halifax (M) - £3708.65/£3911.20

    Asda Savings - £0

    POAMAYC 2021 #87 £1290.07 ~ 2020/£3669.48 ~ 2019/£10,615.18 ~ 2018/£13,912.57 ~ 2017/£10,380.18 ~ 2016/£7454.80

    ~ Emergency Savings: £0

    My Debt Free Diary (Link)
  • rosgrech
    rosgrech Posts: 23 Forumite
    Crikey, the calculator uses a £68 pw rent as a base. Try finding that in london!


    Try finding that in deepest Gloucestershire let alone London (even through the housing association) - a lot of the figures are way off realistic!

    Shall have to carry on scrimping and saving - my life's career.
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