Living off £100 a week for one person after bills - do you class that as 'doing ok,' 'doing well,' or 'struggling'?

[user1499590110]

Just that really. I want to hear people's opinions before explaining what was said on this date (let's just say our views clashed hugely..)

I'd say seriously struggling.

I think it depends. £100 per week after all bills including home (insurance + costs), utilities, phones, food, travel (car, insurance), clothes, shoes etc would be doing ok IMO as it gives a reasonable monthly contingency fund for unexpected breakdown of boiler/washing machine etc.

It's not plenty as probably it wouldn't give you much ability to save and you would probably fall in the JAM category who are three (or fewer) pay checks away from losing your home.

I'd say that's doable but not necessarily easy. I've got about 150 a month for me and DS and finding that effing hard at the mo.

Ok not loads but good god not struggling.

Is that £100 to fitter away on food and non essentials? Do you need to save some of that cash? Is that for one person? Do you pay for any hobbies and clubs out of that cash?

But TBH in the current economy may ppl would feel that was relatively wealthy. Mainly because most ppl don't have £100 per week after all their outgoings, rather than because it is a particularly large amount.

I lived on £11 per week when I was a homeless teenager - food and bills had to come out of that. I ate 9p noodles, smoked with the pages of a bible and collected stumps for tobacco.

I would say that is hard.. What if you need a new car? A new boiler? A holiday? I would see that as living hand to mouth

struggling.... what about savings?

Wow. We have £100 a week after all bills. We're a family of five, six when DSS is here.

Isn't it incredible that we're conditioned to think £100 a week is struggling or just okay?

Don't get me wrong. I'd likely respond the same. But as I'm reading through here, I'm considering friends I've known who literally live month to month after childcare costs, bills etc and that £100 a week would be like winning the lottery.

Whereas, I'm at a point where I would automatically say £100 is just okay, because I can't save for holidays much with that, when actually holidays and the like are a big privilege.

Alas, I sidetracked. I worked out all of my bills this week, including food, petrol (over budgeting for them), and am left with £425 at the end of the month. I try to save £200 a month so am left with approx £50 a week, but that's with food and petrol already paid for, and I consider myself to be doing okay.

I wouldn't be happy with that at this moment in time tbh if i was single.

I think what's actually incredible is that in one of the richest countries in the world there is such massive inequality that a few people are obscenely wealthy and the vast majority of people would 'feel like they had won the lottery' if they had £100 per week after outgoings.

£100 per week is not enough to save, it is probably enough to meet one off emergency costs if you also have credit available and can pay it off bit by bit.

I'd say it's a manageable amount.

If I was single I'd only spend approximately fifteen pounds or so on food. I shop at Lidl and feed a family of seven on £130 per week, pretty easily and we eat very well.

Fifty quid a week on food for one is either gluttony or frivolity.

We are a high income household because of where we live and i think it's an acceptable amount for a single person in most parts of the country. Yes you would have to plan and be careful but it's very doable with no major sacrifice. If a single person isn't happy with this type of disposable income they need to figure out how to earn more because once children arrived they are screwed.

DH and I live off $80k a year which after tax works out to be about $5,500. Childcare is $3,000 a month. We have jobs where his car is fully paid for (we pay for parking and tolls) and our employers offer 100% medical, dental and vision insurance.

We just purchased a house today. The next 18 months is going to be tight because we will have a $1000 a month to live off. Yes we have savings but living in the US you need a healthy savings account. We cleared it out to buy our home. We have been living off $1000 a month for the past 7 months. Previously our budget was $6k a month and we had $1800 a month to live off. (Food is very expensive where we live with a family of four spending $800 a month as a national average. Stats I found for our area said $1000-1200 a month is the average for our area).

In England I could run my family on £100 a week after all costs paid for.

Please could the OP come back to fill in the details?

So rent, council tax, water, electric, gas, and internet bills are all paid and you still have £100/week. I'd say that's doing OK. It's a bit poor but not desparately so. I think it would leave you a bit exposed to a rent/mortgage rise though. The unknown is travel costs though, if they come out of the £100 and are significant then that's a problem.

Also if you smoke then £100/wk will feel crushingly poor, but that's because you're addicted to an expensive drug.

Consider that JSA claimants are expected to survive on £73.10 a week to cover all expenses except housing, including the expenses associated with looking for work. (£57.90/wk if you're under 25.)

Struggling, definitely. My weekly shop is £60-£70, petrol for commute is £30 and parking charges are £15 a week. Add on top of that little bits to pick up throughout the week - bread, milk etc. - is probably £5-£10 a week.

I don't class money after all bills as spare. Money after every expenditure is spare of course but not after just bills.

Struggling.. ..how do you buy kids uniform etc....other bits?

It's in the middle of do-able and struggling.

Smeaton some of those figures are low.
Our gas and electricity are £80 (combined)
Water £60
Petrol £150

We live in a small/average size 3 bed semi

I have £100 per week left after bills food shopping and other essentials basically £100 for leisure and I deem this as doing relatively well. I could always spend more but working 9-5 sometime I don’t spend that much £100 and it rolls over.