UK Daily Expense

[chiang mai]

I'm way out of touch with UK living costs and since the subject of people moving back has been raised recently, plus I need to understand some approximate numbers, try this:

 

You are over 65 and live in the UK (not London) and you own your own home hence no mortgage costs.

 

All your fixed costs to maintain your home are paid, council tax, utilities, insurance.

 

You don't own a car or bike and there are no commuting costs involved.

 

How much would you spend for one person, per month to include food, leisure and transportation?

[chaiyapoon]

Firstly everybody is different.Personally,given all the above are paid I can live on just about the same or less than I do in Thailand these days,But hate the winter weather so save the costs involved in heating .At present I stay about 50% of my time in Thailand

In Uk I mostly do my own food whilst in Thailand eat out once a day.Spend around £50 a week on food for just me.I run a small car to get about for leisure mostly I enjoy long walks in the countryside and visiting friends. Doubtless your requirements will be different to mine as I restore old motorcycles for a hobby having bought many when they were cheap in the 70s.

[chiang mai]

A friend in the UK is telling me I should budget 25 Pounds a day for food, a pint or two down the local and local travel, if I read things properly it looks as though the UK is cheaper than Thailand for day to day living.

[Rc2702]

14 hours ago, chiang mai said:

A friend in the UK is telling me I should budget 25 Pounds a day for food, a pint or two down the local and local travel, if I read things properly it looks as though the UK is cheaper than Thailand for day to day living.

£25 a day just for getting by day to day.

 

Must be a smoker in which case I'd suitcase a load back and buy em at 711 not at airport.

[chiang mai]

4 minutes ago, Rc2702 said:

£25 a day just for getting by day to day.

 

Must be a smoker in which case I'd suitcase a load back and buy em at 711 not at airport.

No not a smoker. Too high?

Edited January 31, 2017 by chiang mai

[Rc2702]

14 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

No not a smoker. Too high?

How has your mate arrived at that figure then? Pulled it out of somewhere?

 

Seems too high. I mean you know yourself and your habits best.

[chiang mai]

5 minutes ago, Rc2702 said:

How has your mate arrived at that figure then? Pulled it out of somewhere?

 

Seems too high. I mean you know yourself and your habits best.

I've not lived in the UK for over fifteen years, I know exactly what costs are here in Thailand but in the UK, I haven't got a clue - somebody could say 25 a day, others could say 10 a day, I just can't gauge it.

[Rc2702]

Just now, chiang mai said:

I've not lived in the UK for over fifteen years, I know exactly what costs are here in Thailand but in the UK, I haven't got a clue - somebody could say 25 a day, others could say 10 a day, I just can't gauge it.

Ok thanks for the info. Ok Monday to Friday what's your typical day in thailand and we can work from there.

 

What's your diet like?

 

I reckon you would be ok on 100 a week food/drink indoors bill and if your over 65 I think you get a discounted or free travel card I am sure leisure activities are a concession too. Pubs are not like they were and likely none in the residential areas like there used to be ( barring london) you could even get free education or subsidised courses. Lots of stuff happening now for mature folks.

 

Looking forward to it?

 

 

 

 

[chiang mai]

1 minute ago, Rc2702 said:

Ok thanks for the info. Ok Monday to Friday what's your typical day in thailand and we can work from there.

 

What's your diet like?

 

I reckon you would be ok on 100 a week food/drink indoors bill and if your over 65 I think you get a discounted or free travel card I am sure leisure activities are a concession too. Pubs are not like they were and likely none in the residential areas like there used to be ( barring london) you could even get free education or subsidised courses. Lots of stuff happening now for mature folks.

 

Looking forward to it?

 

 

 

 

Yes very much so, it's only for 6 months each year but probably split into two visits per year, change is as good as a rest they say.

 

And thanks for your feedback regarding costs, it does look as though an average non-event day is less than 25 Pounds, other friends have said they spend around 50 per week for groceries. In Thailand there are many days when I spend zero and I suspect the same will be true in the UK. Mostly my recreation will be travel around the North of England, Lakes, NY Moors, Scottish Borders etc, I'm really looking forward to that as I am visiting old churches, I miss that sense of history and grandeur

[Rc2702]

14 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

Yes very much so, it's only for 6 months each year but probably split into two visits per year, change is as good as a rest they say.

 

And thanks for your feedback regarding costs, it does look as though an average non-event day is less than 25 Pounds, other friends have said they spend around 50 per week for groceries. In Thailand there are many days when I spend zero and I suspect the same will be true in the UK. Mostly my recreation will be travel around the North of England, Lakes, NY Moors, Scottish Borders etc, I'm really looking forward to that as I am visiting old churches, I miss that sense of history and grandeur

Ok well sounds like your active so here are a few very good tips for travel:

 

Never book transport on the day for city to city trips and use www.thetrainline.com you book in advance and collect your ticket with your debit card you used to pay for the ticket online. 2 days prior to travel is ok to book even some days you can book on the day for cheaper. The only drawback is you got to get to station a bit earlier to get your tickets and you insert card and then refer to your email for the reciept/booking code which is alpha numeric. So then you have to type that code into the machine to get your tickets. Tickets and receipts all are separate and some tickets are two tickets for one journey. One has booking ID and other is ticket. Not always though but on the ticket it will say ticket 1 of 1 etc. Punching that code in can sometimes be hassle hence get there 20 mins before journey begins. The machines are sometimes a bit slow or too sensitive. That website you can look at now and compare the cost vs virgin etc. Also there is very cheap coach travel. Can get london to midlands for less than £5 if planned in advance.

 

Internet dating for all ages has risen rapidly so it's very common in uk now.

 

You need not even buy groceries from the shop you can get them delivered by most known supermarkets for free over a certain spend but that has some downfalls too. Not too bad though.

 

Good Luck

 

 

 

 

[theoldgit]

The thetrainline.com is OK, but they charge a booking fee and a charge of a tad under three quid for using a credit card.

I always use nationalrail.co.uk they don't charge a booking fee or a charge you to pay by card and I've found they sometimes offer lower fares.

[chiang mai]

And for even cheaper rail fares:

 

http://splitticket.moneysavingexpert.com/tool.php

[theoldgit]

Yes I've purchased tickets before by going down the split ticket route, but then booked them via the National Rail website.

 

On a trip last year a ticket from Brighton to Kings Cross involved three separate tickets, and of course we didn't need to change trains en-route.

 

I'm either very sad or have too much time on my hands, or a combination of the two.

[Rc2702]

4 hours ago, theoldgit said:

Yes I've purchased tickets before by going down the split ticket route, but then booked them via the National Rail website.

 

On a trip last year a ticket from Brighton to Kings Cross involved three separate tickets, and of course we didn't need to change trains en-route.

 

I'm either very sad or have too much time on my hands, or a combination of the two.

So NR have stepped up. £16 last time I went BN. Return via Victoria I think it was. 3 years ago maybe more.

[nontabury]

On January 31, 2017 at 7:52 AM, chiang mai said:

Yes very much so, it's only for 6 months each year but probably split into two visits per year, change is as good as a rest they say.

 

And thanks for your feedback regarding costs, it does look as though an average non-event day is less than 25 Pounds, other friends have said they spend around 50 per week for groceries. In Thailand there are many days when I spend zero and I suspect the same will be true in the UK. Mostly my recreation will be travel around the North of England, Lakes, NY Moors, Scottish Borders etc, I'm really looking forward to that as I am visiting old churches, I miss that sense of history and grandeur

For the cost of food,if you intend to eat in. Just go to the Tesco,or any other large supermarket web page. That should give you an idea of food cost. If you want to hire a car,can be cheaper than in Thailand,unfortunately the killer is the price of petrol/diesel. If you intend to travel around and stay in hotels, book travel lodge in advance. Usually very reasonable.

[sammieuk1]

No supermarket cartel so many cheaper prices in the shops and online just about everything else more expensive than here .

[SpeakeasyThai]

Why do it to yourself and live there? Unless u have a very good reason to live in the UK permanent i would rather eat a bag of nails.

[LivinLOS]

UK is cheaper for me than Thailand is.. The cars I want, the quality of things I buy.. 

 

Secondly, I went back last summer, started a biz in September (running itself now) and it is making about 10k Euros a month.. I expect it to make 40k Euros a month at some stage this year. Now I am wintering here but I can see a villa in Portugal for winter months. 

 

So one country I spend money, another country I make multi 100k a year with ease.. How do you stack up 'cost' in that case ?? 

Edited February 1, 2017 by LivinLOS

[Shiver]

Lack of remaining family in Uk, and no local pub (old an old peoples home now), That plus weather and low 'happiness index' in my neck of the woods (North West), now having a  passive income from internet I can think of several places I'd rather be. than UK.

 

Most friends I'm still in contact with shop mainly at Aldi or Lidl for food, and buy 'just in time' rather than paying for shelf life.

 

11 years ago I had a decent job income and could buy most toys I wanted or holiday when I chose.  That was about GBP 3K/pm take home for 21 hours a week (which I'd knock out in 2 days anyhow) working from home to my own timetable.  Inflation double now, and prices have gone both up and down to reflect peoples new positions, but I'd say GBP 200 per week would be reasonable, and half that if the goal was just 'existence'.  I spend considerably more than that here of course, but mostly by choice.  100 baht a day would suffice here ignoring the modest rent - not that I'd choose that if I had any say in the matter.  I seem to be around 35K per month here without andyrestrictions, including all needs and some wants of GF. - that means no car, and a good restaurant a couple of times per week.  The rest is home cooked or street food.

 

It's cheaper in number of participants, just like the students here.

[chiang mai]

1 hour ago, SpeakeasyThai said:

Why do it to yourself and live there? Unless u have a very good reason to live in the UK permanent i would rather eat a bag of nails.

It's only part time, relax!

[NoshowJones]

Don't forget all the taxes, too many to mention. Better staying where you are.

[theoldgit]

A number of off topic comments removed and one bordering on the racist.

The OP is attempting to get constructive views and to share experience, that's what we do here, please don't derail the thread.

[chiang mai]

1 hour ago, Shiver said:

Lack of remaining family in Uk, and no local pub (old an old peoples home now), That plus weather and low 'happiness index' in my neck of the woods (North West), now having a  passive income from internet I can think of several places I'd rather be. than UK.

 

Most friends I'm still in contact with shop mainly at Aldi or Lidl for food, and buy 'just in time' rather than paying for shelf life.

 

11 years ago I had a decent job income and could buy most toys I wanted or holiday when I chose.  That was about GBP 3K/pm take home for 21 hours a week (which I'd knock out in 2 days anyhow) working from home to my own timetable.  Inflation double now, and prices have gone both up and down to reflect peoples new positions, but I'd say GBP 200 per week would be reasonable, and half that if the goal was just 'existence'.  I spend considerably more than that here of course, but mostly by choice.  100 baht a day would suffice here ignoring the modest rent - not that I'd choose that if I had any say in the matter.  I seem to be around 35K per month here without andyrestrictions, including all needs and some wants of GF. - that means no car, and a good restaurant a couple of times per week.  The rest is home cooked or street food.

 

It's cheaper in number of participants, just like the students here.

Good post, thanks.

 

If I were to try and replicate my lifestyle here in Thailand and superimpose it on the UK I have a feeling the numbers could be fairly similar, there would of course be trade offs. In Thailand we run two cars, in the UK we don't plan to buy, because of location and proximity we wont need one. The cost of foodstuffs in the UK seem to be at least similar to what we spend here each month or probably less, a couple of people have suggested 50 Pounds per week for food whereas our monthly shopping bill here is between 7k and 8k baht, about the same amount.

 

And whereas the electricity bill here can be high as a result of aircon, the UK gas bill for winter heating corresponds to that. Council tax of course changes the numbers somewhat but in our case not massively.

 

On balance, considering the various living costs obtained from sources such as the Rowntree Foundation, utility costs from Uswitch and similar sites, food costs from Tesco online plus TVF members input, I conclude that our time in the UK will cost very similar to what our time in Thailand costs, the money will just be spent differently - discretionary spending notwithstanding.

 

 

 

[Shadychris]

On 30/01/2017 at 9:46 AM, chiang mai said:

A friend in the UK is telling me I should budget 25 Pounds a day for food, a pint or two down the local and local travel, if I read things properly it looks as though the UK is cheaper than Thailand for day to day living.

It all depends on your style of living. £25\day or £175\week seems extraordinarily expensive to me - but I guess if you are living out of takeaways, drinking in pubs every night and driving 30 miles or so a day you could spend as much as that.

I choose to buy and cook my own food, seldom go to pubs to drink, and only use a gallon or so of petrol a week - £70 - £80 a week covers that for me and I eat plenty and well on it.

There's been a few debates lately on whether it's cheaper to live in Thailand than it is the UK - as I said initially it all depends on your lifestyle. If you don't like to\can't cook, and mostly go out for your food then it's way cheaper in Thailand. If you prefer to cater for yourself then there isn't a lot of difference - especially if you like to buy 'western' produce in Thailand at which point it may be slightly more expensive.

As an example when I go to Tesco Lotus and do a weekly shop I'll probably spend 3.0 - 4.0k baht. When my other half does the weekly shop at the local markets and shops it's rarely more than 2.0 - 2.5k.

[chiang mai]

1 minute ago, Shadychris said:

It all depends on your style of living. £25\day or £175\week seems extraordinarily expensive to me - but I guess if you are living out of takeaways, drinking in pubs every night and driving 30 miles or so a day you could spend as much as that.

I choose to buy and cook my own food, seldom go to pubs to drink, and only use a gallon or so of petrol a week - £70 - £80 a week covers that for me and I eat plenty and well on it.

There's been a few debates lately on whether it's cheaper to live in Thailand than it is the UK - as I said initially it all depends on your lifestyle. If you don't like to\can't cook, and mostly go out for your food then it's way cheaper in Thailand. If you prefer to cater for yourself then there isn't a lot of difference - especially if you like to buy 'western' produce in Thailand at which point it may be slightly more expensive.

As an example when I go to Tesco Lotus and do a weekly shop I'll probably spend 3.0 - 4.0k baht. When my other half does the weekly shop at the local markets and shops it's rarely more than 2.0 - 2.5k.

Being able to cook your own meals is key to the budget numbers. Every time I've visited the UK in the past fifteen years it's always been hotels and restaurants which is why I don't understand the numbers a homeowner might experience.

[LivinLOS]

11 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

Being able to cook your own meals is key to the budget numbers. Every time I've visited the UK in the past fifteen years it's always been hotels and restaurants which is why I don't understand the numbers a homeowner might experience.

 

Eating out is something thats way more in the UK.. In fact its easy to consider things with a high labor component cost more in the west, 'things' especially quality things cost less.. 

 

I the UK I bought a temporary fully loaded BMW M sport, which cost less than I could get the cheapest used honda jazz for here.. I have my eye on the 911 market a 996 will cost me 10 - 15k gbp, a Porsche 997 in really nice condition a hair over 20k.. I think that would be what >7 million here ?? Takes an awful lot of cheap plates of rice to make that 6 million baht saving balance out. 

 

Thailands cheap if you want to downsize or use only lower quality things.. Always makes me laugh at how some guy can swap his late model mercedes for a PCX and then say how cheap it is to live here.. 

[chiang mai]

29 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

 

Eating out is something thats way more in the UK.. In fact its easy to consider things with a high labor component cost more in the west, 'things' especially quality things cost less.. 

 

I the UK I bought a temporary fully loaded BMW M sport, which cost less than I could get the cheapest used honda jazz for here.. I have my eye on the 911 market a 996 will cost me 10 - 15k gbp, a Porsche 997 in really nice condition a hair over 20k.. I think that would be what >7 million here ?? Takes an awful lot of cheap plates of rice to make that 6 million baht saving balance out. 

 

Thailands cheap if you want to downsize or use only lower quality things.. Always makes me laugh at how some guy can swap his late model mercedes for a PCX and then say how cheap it is to live here.. 

20k is 880,000 baht, but your general point is taken nevertheless.

 

And as the Baht strengthens it means those poor quality things that were cheap, become poor quality things that are now expensive.

Edited February 1, 2017 by chiang mai

[dogpatch55]

Pint of  beer in a pub,  about  £3..   Cup of tea in a café £1.20  small  chips £1.80   so  not cheap to  eat  or drink  out!

[JB300]

Yes very much so, it's only for 6 months each year but probably split into two visits per year, change is as good as a rest they say.
 
And thanks for your feedback regarding costs, it does look as though an average non-event day is less than 25 Pounds, other friends have said they spend around 50 per week for groceries. In Thailand there are many days when I spend zero and I suspect the same will be true in the UK. Mostly my recreation will be travel around the North of England, Lakes, NY Moors, Scottish Borders etc, I'm really looking forward to that as I am visiting old churches, I miss that sense of history and grandeur

Budget 25-30 per day & you should have more than enough for 1-2 short trips per month.

My parents (67 & 72) took up going on coach trips around the UK a few years back, cheap as chips if you're flexible on dates & locations [emoji106]

[nontabury]

22 minutes ago, dogpatch55 said:

Pint of  beer in a pub,  about  £3..   Cup of tea in a café £1.20  small  chips £1.80   so  not cheap to  eat  or drink  out!

Chiang mai mentioned travelling around the north of England, prices should be lower. Especially in Bridligton,where you get a decent size fish with your chips along with a pattie and mushy peas.

Edited February 1, 2017 by nontabury