Is £1500 a month after bills in london enough

PartyOfFive

Ybe said:

That was 20 years ago. I suspect things were much cheaper back then. 

That’s true, but it’s all relative.

Unlike like the £150k flat I bought then that I’ve just sold for £750k.

Hope you don’t get sacked from your next job!

[Deleted User]

As I often see these types of questions on Reddit, I do wonder if they are a wind up or show off. Sorry, but £1500 AFTER bills, and you ask if that is enough to live. Of course it is, people who live in London survive on less than £500/250 after bills a month. i'm glad I am not the only one who noticed.

oldagetraveller1

"I do wonder if they are a wind up or show off. Sorry, but £1500 AFTER bills, "

Maybe, I wish that my nett monthly total was even close to that!

Similarly, how does one know whether someone owns an Apple product/device? Yes, they will surely make it known.

Ybe

PartyOfFive said:

Ybe said:

That was 20 years ago. I suspect things were much cheaper back then. 

That’s true, but it’s all relative.

Unlike like the £150k flat I bought then that I’ve just sold for £750k.

Hope you don’t get sacked from your next job!

That was a good investment then. I hope I don’t too. I don’t think I should have asked this question. 

elsien

You have asked a similar question before except it was for a 60K salary. Pretty sure the same answers still apply.

TheElectricCow

The question should be simple enough to answer, just ask yourself the following - If that much excess money is not enough to live on, how would all the poor people with less money than you manage to exist?

I do not think there is any concern for your survival with a yearly disposable income higher than many people’s annual wages. You may have to settle for only going on holiday for a few weeks just twice per year though, to be on the safe side.

[Deleted User]

flaneurs_lobster said:

Ybe said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

Impossible question.

If the "going out a few times a week" includes a private box at Arsenal, dinner at Gordon Ramsay RHR and best seats at the Royal Opera House then no.

Couple of pints with mates at 'Spoons then probably.

Groceries from Fortnum's, no. Lidl, probably.

Walk-up First-Class rail fare, no. Cheap day return, probably.

Holidays....etc, etc. you get the gist.

So basically depends on the lifestyle. Yes I see what you mean. I’d say somewhere in between the 2 extremes. 

I'm not really sure that MSE is the right forum for this kind of lifestyle discussion, you'll only get people telling you you'd be much better putting the money in a pension or a LISA. 

Tried Reddit? That's got many London-centric sub-Reddits for just this kind of bants.

 Surely MSE is absolutely the right place to have a money and lifestyle discussion! Many sections of this forum are about helping and supporting others manage finances and lifestyles. For example, on the Debt Free Wannabe section people are encouraged to post SOAs and background information so other posters can offer support, ideas and solutions. The same can be said about discussions for pensions and benefits.

What surprises is that this section of the forum has the name ‘ Budgeting and Bank Accounts’ when it hardly has any discussions about budgeting. Instead it is full of posters chasing the latest switch deal or discussing how to manage their enormous number of accounts. Perhaps time to separate the thread into two. One for Budgeting and the other called Bank Account.

flaneurs_lobster

[Deleted User] said:

"Surely MSE is absolutely the right place to have a money and lifestyle discussion! Many sections of this forum are about helping and supporting others manage finances and lifestyles. For example, on the Debt Free Wannabe section people are encouraged to post SOAs and background information so other posters can offer support, ideas and solutions. The same can be said about discussions for pensions and benefits.

What surprises is that this section of the forum has the name ‘ Budgeting and Bank Accounts’ when it hardly has any discussions about budgeting. Instead it is full of posters chasing the latest switch deal or discussing how to manage their enormous number of accounts. Perhaps time to separate the thread into two. One for Budgeting and the other called Bank Account.

I don't disagree that this forum is the right place for discussion of money and lifestyle but in the context of this being within the Money Saving Expert website.

Perhaps if the original question had been

"I have £1500/month after bills, what would be the best way to save towards a mortgage/find cheaper groceries/finance a car/get my cat neutered for cheap"

then the answers might be of more use to the greater readership.

 Otherwise we just get a bunch of reminisces about how much cheaper it was in the olden days ("four pints, pictures, bag of chips and still have thruppence for the bus home") or advice about how no-one really needs to spend any money at all on luxuries like a mobile phone, a watch or shoes.

mark_cycling00

The answer is "yes" but you're asking the wrong question.

The question for you is what lifestyle your peers and friends in London will have and if either:

They will have the same lifestyle as you...

Or you are fantastic at ignoring all peer pressure, not going out after work, not having cool stories to tell on Monday about your weekend, not going out for people's birthday meals etc. Etc.

Could be isolating and make you miserable

As a geeky bloke I got away with being an odd person who worked late, went running instead of going out and loved camping trips (rather than city breaks)

You may not want to do this though 

Grumpy_chap

Ybe said:

Is £1500-£1600 a month after all essential bills including a zone1-6 monthly travelcard paid enough to live in london. Going out a few times a week, buying groceries, getting the train further out for day trips on weekends and going on holiday abroad 2-3 times a year? Or would it be too tight? 

Yes.
That is a massive amount of money after bills.
It is more than many people & families (even in London) have in total.
You will still have to make choices as to what items / activities you want and which items / activities you are willing to sacrifice.