The Retirement Thread

[BoldonLad]

Here's a rude and perhaps vulgar question....how much does it take to live comfortably in the UK? Assuming you own your house and car so expenses would be mostly food, restaurants, streaming channels and other entertainment, medical bills, insurance on cars, water, sewage and trash collection, gas and electricity and so forth. And what are housing costs like there?
Here's some figures for our little town:
An ok little house 200 k
Car insurance for my 4 old cars 1000/year
Health ins 500/mo...but only because it is supported by my pension.
Gas and electric ave 200 month
Water sewage and trash ave 70/mo
Food could get by on 500/mo but Mrs 12 buys a lot of stuff at farmers markets or local shops so 750
Plates for the fleet 300/year
A better restaurant meal with a beer for Mrs 12 and a tip 50.
Netflix, Hulu , Sirius Prime and Amazon Prime 25 mo
Gas (petrol) currently at 2.07 gallon. Since the town is small a tank of gas might last a month for the primary cars and 2 or 3 for the others.
2 bedroom apt or small house 1200/mo.
A favorite lament of the seniors has always been "I am on a fixed income". I've always thought "who isn't?

Are your figures in USD or GBP?

There are significant variations in housing costs across the UK, I happen to live in a low housing cost region.

But, based on my life:

1. An ok little house 200 k

Assuming you mean to purchase outright? GBP175,000

2. Car insurance for my 4 old cars 1000/year

For a small car (Renault Captur, if that means anything to you) I pay GBP230 per year

3. Health ins 500/mo...but only because it is supported by my pension.

in UK, most people rely on the NHS for health cover. The cost is "buried" in general taxation, so, the actual cost is impossible to determine for each individual

3. Gas and electric ave 200 month

We pay GBP62 per month

4. Water sewage and trash ave 70/mo

We are on metered water, presently paying GBP18/month

Trash in UK is included in Council Tax (which also covers various other Local Authority services eg street lighting etc), we pay GBP150/month

5. Food could get by on 500/mo but Mrs 12 buys a lot of stuff at farmers markets or local shops so 750

For two, we spend about GBP220/month

6. Plates for the fleet 300/year

Not sure what this means, guessing, annual tax on cars? in which case, our car is a Euro6 Diesel and incurs zero tax charge.

7. A better restaurant meal with a beer for Mrs 12 and a tip 50.

Depends how you define "better" restaurant, but, today, we paid GBP45 for two, including tip, anything upto GBP60, I would regard as OK.

8. Netflix, Hulu , Sirius Prime and Amazon Prime 25 mo

We have only one of those, Netflix GBP6.00/month

9. Gas (petrol) currently at 2.07 gallon. Since the town is small a tank of gas might last a month for the primary cars and 2 or 3 for the others.

This is currently about GBP1.30/litre, so, a lot more expensive than yours!

We would easily get by on one tank full per month, about GBP40.00, in a typical month.

10. 2 bedroom apt or small house 1200/mo.

Do you mean rental? in which case, it would vary widely with region, but, I would guess, in my region, GBP800/month would do it

11. A favorite lament of the seniors has always been "I am on a fixed income". I've always thought "who isn't?

I regard this as meaning, if you are working (sorry about the language) then, you can always get promotion, change jobs, work additional hours etc to increase your income. If you are retired and living on pension, the first two options are not open to you. The only option is to gat a job to earn additional money.



Edited, because I got the Council tax charge wrong.

 

[classic33]

He he

Just had an Indian scammer call me about a tax fraud on my HMRC account. I was going to be arrested for defrauding them out of £990.

I managed to string him along for nearly 30 minutes before he hung up on me.
At least that's wasted 30 minutes of his time that he could have used on someone more gullible.

Two & half hours.
Call from microsoft. Waiting on a delivery, so not much else to do.

 

[Dirk]

Are your figures in USD or GBP?

There are significant variations in housing costs across the UK, I happen to live in a low housing cost region.

But, based on my life:

1. An ok little house 200 k

Assuming you mean to purchase outright? GBP175,000

2. Car insurance for my 4 old cars 1000/year

For a small car (Renault Captur, if that means anything to you) I pay GBP230 per year

3. Health ins 500/mo...but only because it is supported by my pension.

in UK, most people rely on the NHS for health cover. The cost is "buried" in general taxation, so, the actual cost is impossible to determine for each individual

3. Gas and electric ave 200 month

We pay GBP62 per month

4. Water sewage and trash ave 70/mo

We are on metered water, presently paying GBP18/month

Trash in UK is included in Council Tax (which also covers various other Local Authority services eg street lighting etc), we pay GBP1,100/month

5. Food could get by on 500/mo but Mrs 12 buys a lot of stuff at farmers markets or local shops so 750

For two, we spend about GBP220/month

6. Plates for the fleet 300/year

Not sure what this means, guessing, annual tax on cars? in which case, our car is a Euro6 Diesel and incurs zero tax charge.

7. A better restaurant meal with a beer for Mrs 12 and a tip 50.

Depends how you define "better" restaurant, but, today, we paid GBP45 for two, including tip, anything unto GBP60, I would regard as OK.

8. Netflix, Hulu , Sirius Prime and Amazon Prime 25 mo

We have only one of those, Netflix GBP6.00/month

9. Gas (petrol) currently at 2.07 gallon. Since the town is small a tank of gas might last a month for the primary cars and 2 or 3 for the others.

This is currently about GBP1.30/litre, so, a lot more expensive than yours!

We would easily get by on one tank full per month, about GBP40.00, in a typical month.

10. 2 bedroom apt or small house 1200/mo.

Do you mean rental? in which case, it would vary widely with region, but, I would guess, in my region, GBP800/month would do it

11. A favorite lament of the seniors has always been "I am on a fixed income". I've always thought "who isn't?

I regard this as meaning, if you are working (sorry about the language) then, you can always get promotion, change jobs, work additional hours etc to increase your income. If you are retired and living on pension, the first two options are not open to you. The only option is to gat a job to earn additional money.

Beer........ £400 per month
Pub grub.......£400 pm
Caravan site fees.......£200 pm
Fish and Chips.......£80 pm

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

Here's a rude and perhaps vulgar question....how much does it take to live comfortably in the UK?

Weekly supermarket - for the two of us we’ve been shelling out about £100 in Sainsburys during lockdown, if we made a little effort we could bring this down.
Meals out - for a nice meal out with wine (before lockdown) we would have spent typically £70 - £80 for the two of us, occasionally more.
Nights away - We’d be ok with up to £60 per person per night, occasionally more but typically less.
Holiday cottage - we’re used to spending £500-£600 per week renting a two bedroomed cottage in the Highlands.
Easily our biggest expense is Council Tax which for us is £3,300 a year, this includes water.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Here's a rude and perhaps vulgar question....how much does it take to live comfortably in the UK? Assuming you own your house and car so expenses would be mostly food, restaurants, streaming channels and other entertainment, medical bills, insurance on cars, water, sewage and trash collection, gas and electricity and so forth. And what are housing costs like there?
Here's some figures for our little town:
An ok little house 200 k
Car insurance for my 4 old cars 1000/year
Health ins 500/mo...but only because it is supported by my pension.
Gas and electric ave 200 month
Water sewage and trash ave 70/mo
Food could get by on 500/mo but Mrs 12 buys a lot of stuff at farmers markets or local shops so 750
Plates for the fleet 300/year
A better restaurant meal with a beer for Mrs 12 and a tip 50.
Netflix, Hulu , Sirius Prime and Amazon Prime 25 mo
Gas (petrol) currently at 2.07 gallon. Since the town is small a tank of gas might last a month for the primary cars and 2 or 3 for the others.
2 bedroom apt or small house 1200/mo.
A favorite lament of the seniors has always been "I am on a fixed income". I've always thought "who isn't?

We brought the house 12 years ago when I was still working, cost £120000, utility bills, power water etc, £144 a month, I'm on pension credit and don't pay Council tax. our food bill is around £80 a week. I run a 9 year old Suzuki Swift, cost me £4500 beginning of 2017, the VED is £30 a year, insurance £31 a month, I put in it about £10 - £15 a week in fuel, annual service and MOT is around £250. Anything I have left is mostly spent on enjoying ourselves.

 

[Dirk]

We brought the house 12 years ago when I was still working, cost £120000, utility bills, power water etc, £144 a month, I'm on pension credit and don't pay Council tax. our food bill is around £80 a week. I run a 9 year old Suzuki Swift, cost me £4500 beginning of 2017, the VED is £30 a year, insurance £31 a month, I put in it about £10 - £15 a week in fuel, annual service and MOT is around £250. Anything I have left is mostly spent on enjoying ourselves.

£372 pa?
I'm currently with AA insurance and paying £162 pa (£13.50 pm) for a 2.2ltr Honda CRV fully comp.
I'd shop around if I were you Dave.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

£372 pa?
I'm currently with AA insurance and paying £162 pa (£13.50 pm) for a 2.2ltr Honda CRV fully comp.
I'd shop around if I were you Dave.

I did, that was the best I could get.

 

[pawl]

He he

Just had an Indian scammer call me about a tax fraud on my HMRC account. I was going to be arrested for defrauding them out of £990.

I managed to string him along for nearly 30 minutes before he hung up on me.
At least that's wasted 30 minutes of his time that he could have used on someone more gullible.

Had one yesterday allegedly from BT stating wi fi was ,faulty Said I will check if you give me your name and the BT number your calling from and call you back no reply

A-week ago I had a very official looking E Mail from the tax office First thing I noticed was the date 09/28/2020 Not the way we write the date.

 

[PaulSB]

@Dave7
Bought this on your recommendation - will test run it tonight.
View attachment 550119

Thought it was my suggestion? If you like it I recommended, if you hate it I blame @Dave7

 

[Dave7]

@Dave7
Bought this on your recommendation - will test run it tonight.
View attachment 550119

Thats a Lidl one ??
TBH I don't recall recommending it.
Enjoy

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

Having consulted with management, I reckon between us it costs us around £15k a year for the basics - council tax, fuel, utilities, food, insurance, including a £3k allowance for household maintenance.

 

[Dave7]

@Dirk .....yes...... @PaulSB suggestion.
He is common so shops at Lidl
I am dead dead posh and shop at Aldi

 

[Dave7]

Having consulted with management, I reckon between us it costs us around £15k a year for the basics - council tax, fuel, utilities, food, insurance, including a £3k allowance for household maintenance.

15K !!!!!
Dirk spends more than that on fish & chips.

 

[numbnuts]

Rent with garage - 427. 64
Council tax - 53
Electric and Gas - 48
Water - 20.60
Broadband and phone - 50
Insurance home and car - 28.71
Take off housing benefit - 210

 

[Dirk]

Thought it was my suggestion? If you like it I recommended, if you hate it I blame @Dave7

Soz......my bad.