London living costs

tbo127

In London, is a take home pay of £1420 a month after tax, pension, rent, season ticket costs and bills deducted enough to live normally? I know it’s quite comfortable in other parts of the UK but what about in London? 

Zanderman

If you have 1420 left after all those deductions it sounds like a fortune to me!

Emmia

It's about £400 more than I had when I first moved into a houseshare in London (Zone 1-2) a decade ago (and I was still able to tuck away a little in savings) , it's a bit less than I have now due to pay rises...

Essentially the answer is yes - but it will largely depend on your lifestyle, eating out, new clothes, gym membership, food shopping preferences, running a car etc. (although frankly if you're in Zone 1-2 or a well connected area a bit further out, you don't need a car). 

RetSol

As @Zanderman suggests, £1420 per month is more than adequate.  I have lived in London (Zone 2) for over 20 years and I have never had more than c. £1500 per month left after paying the outgoings which you describe.  I have been buying my own home during that time and so have had maintenance costs in addition.  I have always considered myself to have a comfortable standard of living. 

msb5262

This is very close to my monthly take home pay! So I would guess that it will be enough to live normally...whatever that is. Everyone’s normal is different. 

eskbanker

tbo127 said:

In London, is a take home pay of £1420 a month after tax, pension, rent, season ticket costs and bills deducted enough to live normally? I know it’s quite comfortable in other parts of the UK but what about in London? 

How much do you spend on living "normally" wherever you are at the moment?

[Deleted User]

If you flat share you could do it, might be tight and not a lot to save.
edit: Sorry I misread that, it is £1420 after all deductions? Then yes, clearly that is sufficient. If I were you I would be saving most for a house. That's what I do!

What is your annual salary? 

tbo127

[Deleted User] said:

If you flat share you could do it, might be tight and not a lot to save.
edit: Sorry I misread that, it is £1420 after all deductions? Then yes, clearly that is sufficient. If I were you I would be saving most for a house. That's what I do!

What is your annual salary? 

Annual salary before tax is 45k. In terms of lifestyle, I don’t spend much on clothes, nice things etc. Most of my disposable income spending is on food, holidays, sports and socialising. I.e. I spend more on experiences rather than on material goods. 

[Deleted User]

tbo127 said:

Deleted_User said:

If you flat share you could do it, might be tight and not a lot to save.
edit: Sorry I misread that, it is £1420 after all deductions? Then yes, clearly that is sufficient. If I were you I would be saving most for a house. That's what I do!

What is your annual salary? 

Annual salary before tax is 45k. In terms of lifestyle, I don’t spend much on clothes, nice things etc. Most of my disposable income spending is on food, holidays, sports and socialising. I.e. I spend more on experiences rather than on material goods. 

Plenty of money!!!
 The average London salary is "only" 37k. I'm on 35k and manage to save £1250 a month, the rest on costs. You should be able to have a decent life on that.

JGB1955

You've paid for everything, so it's all excess (although you might want to eat food and 'have a life'... £400 per month?) the rest is savings.  Can you put it into a pension or put it towards a deposit for a mortgage?

Rich2808

Deleted_User said:

tbo127 said:

Deleted_User said:

If you flat share you could do it, might be tight and not a lot to save.
edit: Sorry I misread that, it is £1420 after all deductions? Then yes, clearly that is sufficient. If I were you I would be saving most for a house. That's what I do!

What is your annual salary? 

Annual salary before tax is 45k. In terms of lifestyle, I don’t spend much on clothes, nice things etc. Most of my disposable income spending is on food, holidays, sports and socialising. I.e. I spend more on experiences rather than on material goods. 

Plenty of money!!!
 The average London salary is "only" 37k. I'm on 35k and manage to save £1250 a month, the rest on costs. You should be able to have a decent life on that.

If you only earn £45,000 to be fair you are going to have to do a lot of saving to be able to afford a house in London or anywhere nearby to be fair. Even a basic one bed flat in a less desirable area like Dagenham would need you to have savings not far off £80,000+ assuming a four times salary mortgage.
Average salaries don't mean much in London - as a third of residents rely on state support via social housing or HB to pay their rents - in terms of housing affordability.