What is the bare minimum needed per week to live in U.K.?

Question

I live in a small to medium town in U.S. and I would say that the bare minimum needed here would be around $250 per week which would translate to roughly 125 pounds per week. I dont know how much a city like London would cost but I am sure it is exensive. Does it seem that it is getting harder to survive? What happened to the right to earn a living?

Answer 1

The UK Goverment states that a family of four surviving on an income of anything less than £210 a week are living in poverty.

Answer 2

Yep, it is harder to 'get ahead' these days, but on the other hand our standards are higher; we expect to own cars, have a certain amount of space to ourselves (or live on our own) and eat a huge variety of imported foods. Previous generations didn't expect these things.

The cost of living in the UK is a great deal more than in the US due to the higher cost of housing, motoring and commodities. The cost of housing varies enourmously depending on where you live. The average home in Britain costs something like £180000 these days, but this is very lopsided as London prices are a lot higher than you see in the rest of the country. The cost of running a car is several times what it is in the US, but the place is smaller and there is reasonable public transport so most people I know have a car as a status symbol or convenience rather than as necessity. Commodities cost about twice as much here as in the States, clothes, CDs, electronic goods, housewares etc.

However, some things are free, or at least deducted before your paycheck reaches you, health insurance, dental care and eye exams. Universities are tuition-free in Scotland and actually bread, milk and eggs are cheaper here.

I think that it is all a matter of priorities. People expect to 'have it all'. They see their neighbours living far beyond their means and think that this is the 'norm'.

If one was to only eat home-cooked food from raw ingredients, live in a very low rent area, or council flat, not own a car and only buy clothes and goods second hand I think that you could survive on £150 a week, but it wouldn't be much of a life.

The average salary in the UK is about £20000 per year which would work out to a take home pay around £1200 per month. This gives a reasonable life style.

Answer 3

Living costs in the south and London in particular are sky high, the further north you go, the cheaper it gets.

To live averagly in the uk, renting a 2 bedroom place... for a month

Rent - £400
food - £140 (thats what I spend on just me)
Bills - £200ish

So my guess is around £200 a week

Answer 4

£45 More than Officialdom will tell you, you need.

I heard last week that the Minimum Wage in Kentucky or somewhere like it was $2 per hour.
That's not a wage, that's a pittance.

Answer 5

Things are cheaper in the north of england. Nottingham or sheffield you could manage on about £90 per week ( you alone ) if you had to.