To think a family can't live on this...

[verydoubtful]

40K? I've done the sums and it just doesn't work. I know it's relative and a lot of families make do with a lot less but I can't see how I can make it work. No car finance in sums and no debt. Just basic expenses.

PS have namechanged for this

God this thread is depressing. Why would anyone want to move back to the UK after reading this. The reality is, if you can afford haircuts, Sky, multiple mobile contracts, a car each, and you're used to that standard of living abroad, you'll have a hell of a shock if you move to the UK.

Ah, too bad OP is long gone.

We have a hugely better quality of life / standard of living in UK than we could afford in my home town (abroad). We both work PT and have no mortgage in a nice house, in a decent or even nice place, not too far from relatives. Could not afford that in California. No Frigging way. 2 of my cousins & several other relatives had homes repossessed in last few yrs. We could afford a decent house in a decent area in CA if we both worked FT and had a FT housekeeper and a big mortgage.

I lot of OP's estimates seem quite high to me, compared to our bills.
I worked out we spend £312 less/month than OP for comparable items, that's for 6 people. Car running costs & mobiles/Sky were obvious big ones.

You'll get lots saying that they live on far less but salaries of far less attract lots of benefits. Those with two/threee/four children will be getting a lot extra in CB and CTC on top of their basic salary.

Only you know if you can make the sums work and what luxuries you are prepared to give up. It is doable with no childcare costs and you still have the option of the other adult working.

As you've said you would be able to buy cars with cash, I'm assuming you have a decent amount saved up - so for the phones, could you each buy a mobile (basic smartphones are around £100) and then get a giffgaff sim - I pay £5 a month and there's no obligation or contract. It'd work out cheaper than being stuck with a pricey contract for 18 months or more.

groceries 600 per month? depending on how many in your family cut that in half. In fact, if only 4 in family, then you could feasibly get by on about 200 per month if shopping carefully

wifes cut and colour 60 per month? every month? or is it every 2 months or every 6 weeks? can she trim that cost at all?

birthday presents 34 per month? can you cut that? that's a lot over the course of a year

holidays are not necessary in the whole scope of life, sorry. you can always look for less expensive holidays.

any money from what you cut down you can put towards savings.

you could cut the sky and mobiles lower, shop around for lower rates for your insurances, packed lunches instead of school lunches, shop around for dry cleaner expenses, cut down on christmas expenses.

mobile - look at companies such as virgin (that's where mine is from), where you get calls free to other virgin mobiles. So if you and your OH both have mobiles from same company, then you don't need as high a contract (or PAYG) because calls to each other are free. If you use your mobile most, then don't go to the added expense of a landline. If you use the landline most, then get cheaper mobile setup. It's all down to your usage, really.

I do see that you don't have life insurance or MOT and such. Might be good to factor that in. Even a small term life insurance policy is better than none.

I have a fit panda and if you can afford to buy it cash it only has 30 a year road tax and is cheap insurance group.

Worked it out over a year and it is about a third of the previous car

Why would you need 2 x tankfuls of petrol per month if only one of you is working OP? From everything you've posted it appears the 40k will be earned by just one of you: you don't quote any childcare as part of your list. If this is the case I fail to see how you can possibly justify two cars, let alone that much petrol each! Just make sure you rent on a bus route. As you haven't moved yet, and are just contemplating it, you aren't tied to a specific location. Rural doesn't have to mean totally outside civilisation! Cutting out one car immediately makes it more doable.

Another thing to factor in, as an expat returning home, you have no "history" in the uk regards to motor insurance. For that reason we had limited choice in insurance companies, and had to pay a premium for this. Our car insurance was over £800 for one car, a 2005 model Peugeot.

Rereading your second post you really have to sit down and decide what 'price' your time is worth.

I could earn a lot more in a different job but I place a huge value on having a 37 hour working week, 42 days holiday a year, flexitime and a 10 minute commute.

If you're looking at moving for a better quality of life don't forget to factor in these sorts of things as well.

yes this info would make it easier to discuss:

• how many children (and ages, as obviously expenses for toddler are different)
• both parents working or just one? if just one are two vehicles necessary?

sorry, expenses for a toddler are different from those for a teenager

£40K a yr is unimaginable luxury to us! We have 1 DS, and live on 25K. No tax credits, but £5K of that is my disability benefits. We rent a 3-bed house, and used to have Freeview, but just got a good bundle deal with Virgin Media that costs the same as old landline and internet (I need a landline due to hearing problems).

Things like rent, bills and cars might not have much wriggle room for saving cash, although you could go for a smaller home. However, virtually everything else on your list could either be cut down massively or got rid of altogether.

Food: unless you vastly overeat and only buynluxuries, etc., no way do you need to spend £600 a month.
Hair: £60 is top city salon prices. Find a good local hairdresser and have your hair cut less often (maybe change style?). I don't know anyone who has their hair cut once a month, even friends who are very well-off. No-one needs to get their hair coloured, but if you really don't want to forego it, then have it done more cheaply, or buy a DIY at home kit. I use a £5.99 one from Boots and it's as good as when I got it done in a salon.
Tv: get freeview or look for cheap packages including line rental, broadband, etc.
Presents: this is the daftest bit of your list. People just don't spend that kind of cash on gifts, and surely not monthly. Just slash this section almost completely. It's bizarre budgeting for several hundred pounds a month to spend on gifts, unless you're Elton John! People can have a box of chocs or a book you got cheap, kidscan have something you snap up when there's a flash sale on at ELC or similar.
Also, if money is tight, you put your own family first. Others expecting big pressies can go whistle for them.

If you look for good offers, you can save money in every area. Sign up for emails from companies and receive lots of money off vouchers and offers online. Go to price comaprison websites for everything. And above all, stop seeing monthly expensive haircuts and swanky pressies for others as necessisties!

I have a fit panda

How does that work then? Do you ride on its back or does it pull you in a cart? Isnt the bamboo expensive? :o

Seriously OP, I feed and house a family of 8 in total on much much less than that thanks to redundancy and a NMW job. You just need to be realistic. Your food budget is massive for 3 people!

The OP hasn't suggested they spend several hundred pounds a month on presents! They said 4 x £100 per year! I don't think that is extravagant at all.

Food budget for 3 of us ( two of whom are monster- munching teenage boys who can eat their way through a loaf each in one sitting) comes to around £120 a week. I suppose, if I shopped in M&S for everything( or the local deli) it would be higher but supermarkets are fine!

Perhaps the OP is just busy, she said she had visitors.

For me the decision would be about long term issues. Schooling and later opportunities for your DS. Both of you building up a pension. Where you want to live in your old age. Buying a house in the UK before it gets out of reach entirely, if it hasn't already.

The most obvious extravagance in your budget is the food, which is about double what I would expect. In itself, that might answer your question.

The most obvious missing information is whether you will both be working. If not, that's the place to start. If your child is old enough to need school lunches, he's old enough for you to work while he's at school.

Who wants to be cutting the luxuries if they dont need to.though. £550 a month 'left over' isnt really left over after savings etc so they will be left with fuck all. And 200 spending money can buy bugger all depending where you are. I think Op is better off not coming back.

*I have a fit panda

How does that work then? Do you ride on its back or does it pull you in a cart? Isnt the bamboo expensive? grin*

Oh my God, Bogey, that's made my day!

You can live on it, and I think you'd be quite well off. You'd just have to prioritise and go without some of the things you think you need but are actually luxuries.

:o

I dont get the £84 on school lunches either.

If he is having school dinners then the overall food budget should be much lower as he wont be eating hot meals at home. However, I would be sending him with sandwiches. for one child you could do it for £20 a month!

Who wants to be cutting the luxuries if they dont need to.though.

Well, if the OP is saying she can't live on that amount with her current budget, then I'd say the OP DOES need to cut some luxuries, if she wants this move.

It's all down to priorities, really. If she wants to live here in the UK and that's the income they'll be working with, she'll need to make it work by budgeting for it. If she's not willing to do so, then that's her call obviously. But a number of people have said it can easily be done - so it's not if she CAN do it, it's if she is WILLING to do it.

I shop in Marks and Spencers a lot, there are only 2 adults here, but I spend nowhere near to £600 a month on food. That for 3 people means eating a lot of luxuries, or living almost totally on good quality ready made meals.

Threads like this really piss me off. We live on half that. What is the purpose of this pointless thread!!

Of course the OP could live on this - but that's not the question really it's whether it's worth them coming back and trying to do that.

The rent seems reasonable and the food bill very high so there is lea way in figures but really depends on what standard of living you are use to now, how much of a drop you face and whether you long term goals make it worth the difference.