How much do you need to survive each year?

[413x]

If I was on my own, then ignoring mortgage/rent costs, I reckon £6-7k/year would be doable with pure essentials. Food & utility bills could easily be slashed by ~60%, wouldn't need a car to ferry the kids around, no childcare, school meals, school trips etc., no need for life insurance with nobody to give it to!

Would probably end up living a lot healthier with less junk food & takeaways, alcohol etc. as well doing more exercise just to get out for something to do!

I agree. With no car I believe this could be very doable.

Does make you think..

How many holidays do I get? Not that many a year.
How many times to I actually go out.. Probably more than a lot.

But many people don't do much when you look at a year.
Many people just say in an play games/watch TV.
This isn't too far off of just getting by anyway. Quite depressing really.

 

[Howling]

I'm after data points to compare with:

How much do you need to survive each year?
(estimate to the nearest 1k)

Including: council tax, home insurance, house maintenance, water, energy, broadband, phone, pc (essential!), groceries, clothes, other essentials.

Excluding: mortgage/rent (assume home is owned), car, holidays, non-essentials.

Any number I put will be wrong. The only answer that will ever be correct is "More"

 

[adam cool dude]

I agree. With no car I believe this could be very doable.

Does make you think..

How many holidays do I get? Not that many a year.
How many times to I actually go out.. Probably more than a lot.

But many people don't do much when you look at a year.
Many people just say in an play games/watch TV.
This isn't too far off of just getting by anyway. Quite depressing really.

People constantly think of holidays as in going abroad and sitting by a pool for a weak.

For me holidays are all about experiences and you can get plenty of that in this country alone and very cheaply too. A tour of some old disused coal mine in the Midlands appeals far more to me then sitting on a sun bed drinking watered down beer in a country where no one speaks English yet we are all conditioned to want that.

Don't get me wrong it is nice to get away and do sod all and sloth it for a week but there is more than enough experiences to have in this country in a lifetime on a budget.

I do want and have the luxuries in life but if something were to happen and the majority of my income vanished I think I would easily be able to adapt and live on a budget without just existing.

 

[413x]

Double post

 

[413x]

People constantly think of holidays as in going abroad and sitting by a pool for a weak.

For me holidays are all about experiences and you can get plenty of that in this country alone and very cheaply too. A tour of some old disused coal mine in the Midlands appeals far more to me then sitting on a sun bed drinking watered down beer in a country where no one speaks English yet we are all conditioned to want that.

Don't get me wrong it is nice to get away and do sod all and sloth it for a week but there is more than enough experiences to have in this country in a lifetime on a budget.

I do want and have the luxuries in life but if something were to happen and the majority of my income vanished I think I would easily be able to adapt and live on a budget without just existing.

I agree there is a lot to do here.

And I I agree sitting by a pool at a resort abroad is not for me either.

But there is so much world out there. I'll never forget walking in the glacier in Greenland, or the plitvička national park in Croatia.

To be honest, I don't really know what else I'd do with extra money.

 

[Howling]

To be honest, I don't really know what else I'd do with extra money.

I could spend it for you

 

[Freefaller]

I agree. With no car I believe this could be very doable.

Does make you think..

How many holidays do I get? Not that many a year.
How many times to I actually go out.. Probably more than a lot.

But many people don't do much when you look at a year.
Many people just say in an play games/watch TV.
This isn't too far off of just getting by anyway. Quite depressing really.

This is why I have a busy life and get the kids involved. Every weekend we have stuff on and we get out and about as much as possible. If we can instil in them these behaviours of getting stuff done and being active and minimise TV or electronic gadgets then I feel I've won.

I couldn't think of anything worse than being indoors all day and doing nothing.

However having a car or some disposable income does make this a lot easier to do. Hence why there's a divide in these things (what's new? ).

 

[Haggisman]

People constantly think of holidays as in going abroad and sitting by a pool for a weak.

For me holidays are all about experiences and you can get plenty of that in this country alone and very cheaply too. A tour of some old disused coal mine in the Midlands appeals far more to me then sitting on a sun bed drinking watered down beer in a country where no one speaks English yet we are all conditioned to want that.

Don't get me wrong it is nice to get away and do sod all and sloth it for a week but there is more than enough experiences to have in this country in a lifetime on a budget.

I do want and have the luxuries in life but if something were to happen and the majority of my income vanished I think I would easily be able to adapt and live on a budget without just existing.

Agreed, haven't been abroad since our oldest started school - while a lot of that is down to the obscene prices for flights etc. during school holidays, there's also plenty to do in the UK as you say. Wild camping, dragging the kids up mountains in the Lake/Peak districts, snorkelling/diving for crabs, plenty of museums, castles, history etc.

The only real problem in the UK is the weather; at least if you go away e.g. to the med at the right time of year you know there's a very good chance of decent weather, here it's a roll of the dice as to whether it will be a 30c heatwave or monsoon rain (or probably both within a couple of hours).

 

[413x]

Agreed, haven't been abroad since our oldest started school - while a lot of that is down to the obscene prices for flights etc. during school holidays, there's also plenty to do in the UK as you say. Wild camping, dragging the kids up mountains in the Lake/Peak districts, snorkelling/diving for crabs, plenty of museums, castles, history etc.

The only real problem in the UK is the weather; at least if you go away e.g. to the med at the right time of year you know there's a very good chance of decent weather, here it's a roll of the dice as to whether it will be a 30c heatwave or monsoon rain (or probably both within a couple of hours).

You can't plan anything for a week in regards to weather and the UK.

Also. For cheap breaks going abroad is often cheaper than UK.
Last time I paid to camp it was shocking expensive. Wasn't much more to stay in a travel lodge.

Soon as you get Airbnb prices it's usually cheaper to go abroad if you just want beach +sun if you are single or a couple.
Probably different if you have kids as need more flight tickets

 

[Freefaller]

Agreed, haven't been abroad since our oldest started school - while a lot of that is down to the obscene prices for flights etc. during school holidays, there's also plenty to do in the UK as you say. Wild camping, dragging the kids up mountains in the Lake/Peak districts, snorkelling/diving for crabs, plenty of museums, castles, history etc.

The only real problem in the UK is the weather; at least if you go away e.g. to the med at the right time of year you know there's a very good chance of decent weather, here it's a roll of the dice as to whether it will be a 30c heatwave or monsoon rain (or probably both within a couple of hours).

By contrast my kids have both been halfway around the world before they were 6 months old! but we have the excuse that we're a multinational family and we wouldn't see family if we didn't.

Albeit we're in Morocco at the moment purely for holidays not for anything family related.

Whilst the UK does have a lot to offer it's just not interesting enough for me as I like immersing myself and the kids in completely different cultures and weather.

 

[Haggisman]

You can't plan anything for a week in regards to weather and the UK.

Also. For cheap breaks going abroad is often cheaper than UK.
Last time I paid to camp it was shocking expensive. Wasn't much more to stay in a travel lodge.

Soon as you get Airbnb prices it's usually cheaper to go abroad if you just want beach +sun if you are single or a couple.
Probably different if you have kids as need more flight tickets

Depends what you count as a "cheap break"?

£120 for 4 nights camping 5m from the beach
+ £40 in electric

vs

£924.40 for just flights to Dubrovnik (picked because it's where we would ideally like to go, I'm sure there are probably cheaper places)
+ £££ for hotel
+ £££ for car hire
+ ££ for dog sitter

Even UK Airbnb isn't that expensive; I've booked a nice place for the other half and I for a few nights next May, whilst dumping the kids with my mum, and that was £300.

Whilst a similar place in somewhere like Croatia, Italy etc might be £50-100 cheaper overall, we'd still have to pay £2-300 on top for flights, plus car hire.

I'm not saying it's not appealing, but it's certainly not cheaper than staying the UK!

By contrast my kids have both been halfway around the world before they were 6 months old! but we have the excuse that we're a multinational family and we wouldn't see family if we didn't.

Albeit we're in Morocco at the moment purely for holidays not for anything family related.

Whilst the UK does have a lot to offer it's just not interesting enough for me as I like immersing myself and the kids in completely different cultures and weather.

Yeah, that's perfectly fair. We did take the eldest quite a few places before (although only really in Europe). It's mainly the costs during the holidays which puts us off - the other problem is the other half is terrified of flying, which makes it difficult to convince her

 

[413x]

Depends what you count as a "cheap break"?

£120 for 4 nights camping 5m from the beach
+ £40 in electric

vs

£924.40 for just flights to Dubrovnik (picked because it's where we would ideally like to go, I'm sure there are probably cheaper places)
+ £££ for hotel
+ £££ for car hire
+ ££ for dog sitter

Even UK Airbnb isn't that expensive; I've booked a nice place for the other half and I for a few nights next May, whilst dumping the kids with my mum, and that was £300.

Whilst a similar place in somewhere like Croatia, Italy etc might be £50-100 cheaper overall, we'd still have to pay £2-300 on top for flights, plus car hire.

I'm not saying it's not appealing, but it's certainly not cheaper than staying the UK!



Yeah, that's perfectly fair. We did take the eldest quite a few places before (although only really in Europe). It's mainly the costs during the holidays which puts us off - the other problem is the other half is terrified of flying, which makes it difficult to convince her

Dubrovnik is very expensive though.
You can get flights to Madrid for under 20 pounds and the bus to Bristol Airport from me for under 20 as well (return)
Then just have to find Airbnb abroad or a hotel.

So you can easily have a 100-200 pound holiday abroad all in with guaranteed sun if you just want sun.
Euro city breaks are very cheap if you can get the flights cheap

 

[Haggisman]

You can get flights to Madrid for under 20 pounds

Not with 2 kids in August unfortunately, and Madrid isn't exactly close to the sea!

This is what you're going to have to compete with :

 

[413x]

Not with 2 kids in August unfortunately, and Madrid isn't exactly close to the sea!

This is what you're going to have to compete with :

With kids (as said) it goes up as you need more return tickets.

But majorca is also same price (under 40 for a return flight)

I agree I don't like those sort of holidays either. But if you literally just want a warm city or touristy break with guaranteed sun it's hard to choose the UK vs Spain or similar.


But it's the weather that really hurts the UK. There is no time you can be sure you'll get nice weather. And when you only get a few days off a year holiday. It's hard for many to gamble on the UK

 

[Haggisman]

But it's the weather that really hurts the UK. There is no time you can be sure you'll get nice weather. And when you only get a few days off a year holiday. It's hard for many to gamble on the UK

Yeah, definitely agree there

 

[Freefaller]

Depends what you count as a "cheap break"?

£120 for 4 nights camping 5m from the beach
+ £40 in electric

vs

£924.40 for just flights to Dubrovnik (picked because it's where we would ideally like to go, I'm sure there are probably cheaper places)
+ £££ for hotel
+ £££ for car hire
+ ££ for dog sitter

Even UK Airbnb isn't that expensive; I've booked a nice place for the other half and I for a few nights next May, whilst dumping the kids with my mum, and that was £300.

Whilst a similar place in somewhere like Croatia, Italy etc might be £50-100 cheaper overall, we'd still have to pay £2-300 on top for flights, plus car hire.

I'm not saying it's not appealing, but it's certainly not cheaper than staying the UK!



Yeah, that's perfectly fair. We did take the eldest quite a few places before (although only really in Europe). It's mainly the costs during the holidays which puts us off - the other problem is the other half is terrified of flying, which makes it difficult to convince her

Yeah that doesn't sound like a fun experience for you Guys. Indeed school holidays are tough and my wife works at our kids' school so no chance of an early escape either!

 

[413x]

Yeah, definitely agree there

As much as you can prepare for bad weather it really is miserable camping in the wet.
Its why I most do random spur of the moment camping trips now wild.

Having to set up a tent in the rain is grim. Especially a family sized tent!

Its such a shame. Used to have a good chance of nice weather in August/July. But now it's probably 70/30.
Its unlikely to be a weeks write off. But it can be grim.
I'd book more UK holidays too if the weather was more predictable.

 

[Haggisman]

As much as you can prepare for bad weather it really is miserable camping in the wet.
Its why I most do random spur of the moment camping trips now wild.

Having to set up a tent in the rain is grim. Especially a family sized tent!

Personally I don't mind - recently did a weekend scout camp and it rained constantly, but I have a decent backpacking tent which takes minutes to set up/put away and can go from literally dripping to dry within a couple of hours of being draped over an airer.

The rest of the family isn't so keen on it, and our family tent is a big canvas bell tent. It's not so bad to set up, but it's a pain to put away - especially when wet (it weighs ~30kg dry!), and can take days to dry out properly

Yeah that doesn't sound like a fun experience for you Guys. Indeed school holidays are tough and my wife works at our kids' school so no chance of an early escape either!

We're working on a road trip plan in the next 2-3 years - ferry to France, then drive across to Italy/Croatia (I know a lovely campsite on Pag which I've been to a couple of times). It's just finding the balance of driving time; especially with the kids (and deciding whether to take the dog, take the EV, buy a van, hire a car, etc...). Under no illusions it's going to be cheaper than a trip in the UK, but will definitely be worth the experience

 

[That Jekka Gal]

People constantly think of holidays as in going abroad and sitting by a pool for a weak.

For me holidays are all about experiences and you can get plenty of that in this country alone and very cheaply too. A tour of some old disused coal mine in the Midlands appeals far more to me then sitting on a sun bed drinking watered down beer in a country where no one speaks English yet we are all conditioned to want that.

Don't get me wrong it is nice to get away and do sod all and sloth it for a week but there is more than enough experiences to have in this country in a lifetime on a budget.

I do want and have the luxuries in life but if something were to happen and the majority of my income vanished I think I would easily be able to adapt and live on a budget without just existing.

I'm just one of those that has to get sunshine.

Obviously, I'd survive without it (some folks have no choice) but the miserable weather over the last 18 months has certainly taken its toll on my state of mind.
That, coupled with the utterly depressing constant barrage of negativity coming from the news channels.

Actually, I generally avoid the news these days but for that reason but it does feel that public morale is in a bit of a trough at the moment.

So, yep. It's good to get away.

 

[413x]

I'm just one of those that has to get sunshine.

Obviously, I'd survive without it (some folks have no choice) but the miserable weather over the last 18 months has certainly taken its toll on my state of mind.
That, coupled with the utterly depressing constant barrage of negativity coming from the news channels.

Actually, I generally avoid the news these days but for that reason but it does feel that public morale is in a bit of a trough at the moment.

So, yep. It's good to get away.

News is constantly depressing. I also avoid it.
Basically I just use Google news that is geared to my interests.