The figures are hotly debated, with influencers posting breakdowns of their living costs that reveal just how split attitudes are to what is “enough” to live comfortably in the capital, where the average rent is now over £2,300 a month, a flat white sets you back nearly a fiver and a PizzaExpress meal for a family of four more than £100.
asserted
white → debate → four
He argues that a single person needs a salary of £77,000 to meet expenses of £4,580 a month for a comfortable life in London, made up of rent (£2,200), council tax (£250), bills (£300), transport (£200), holidays (£300), shopping (£200), groceries (£250), gym membership (£80), entertainment (£300) and some set aside for savings (£500).
asserted
person → argue → savings
Comments range from “£7k a month and anything less than that and life in London is hard” to “I’ve been rage baited, £1,400 all in for me, in a couple, rent Zone 3, 2-bed, food, bills, gym and TFL.”
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I → range → Zone
Crunching the numbers
Researchers have attempted to get more scientific.
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Researchers → crunch → numbers
The people behind budgeting app Emma created a “data-driven analysis” for single childfree Londoners suggesting that “the magic number for true financial freedom and a thriving lifestyle” is £100,000 to cover £5,500 per month of expenses, including £500 for groceries and eating out, £200 for health and wellness and £1,000 for savings, arguing that this salary removes the need to make tough trade-offs between your social life, personal spending and future goals.
asserted
salary → create → life
The Minimum Income Standard (MIS), meanwhile, puts the basic salary you need to live with dignity in inner London at £54,400 for a single working-age adult.
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you → put → adult
This compares to £30,500 in urban areas outside London for the same standard of living.
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This → compare → living
Cleaners and Deliveroo aren’t flexes for those on 60-hour weeks
Philly Ponniah, financial coach at Philly Financial
The MIS project by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University is based on interviews with Londoners on what they think households need to spend, and therefore earn, not just to survive but to participate in life, including expenses such as a regular haircut and an occasional trip to the cinema.
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households → base → cinema
They found a couple with two pre-school-aged children, one under two, living in inner London, would each need a pre-tax salary of £66,582 to cover weekly minimum outgoings of £2,019.64, including £184.18 on food, £49.85 on clothes, £137.34 on travel costs, £535.26 on rent and a massive £684.10 on childcare.
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couple → find → childcare
That is compared to just £34,865 for a couple with similar aged children living in the rest of the UK.
asserted
That → compare → UK
Londoners’ budgets are particularly affected by the high cost of housing and childcare in the capital.
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budgets → affect → capital
As a result, more than four million adults — and half of all London’s children — are living with less than the MIS recommends.
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MIS → live → less
You can plug your own circumstances into the minimum income calculator to see how you compare at minimumincome.org.uk.
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you → plug → minimumincome.org.uk
Feeling the pinch
Even Londoners on six and seven-figure salaries report that they are feeling the pinch, says Philly Ponniah, financial coach at Philly Financial.
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Ponniah → feel → Financial
The most common topic that comes up at the moment with clients is why they don’t feel wealthy even though they are high earners, a category known as HENRYS (High Earning, Not Rich Yet).
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they → come → HENRYS
“I completely understand why someone on a lower income hears that people on £100k plus are struggling and thinks it sounds ridiculous, but London really exposes the gap between income and wealth.
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London → understand → income
“A £100k salary isn’t what it was 10 years ago, especially if you bought or remortgaged into a higher interest rate environment.
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you → buy → environment
Once you’ve covered a mortgage, essential bills and commuting, there’s often surprisingly little left over.”
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you → cover → mortgage
“When you’re doing 60-hour-plus weeks, the Ubers, the Deliveroo, the late-night online orders, the cleaner and the childcare aren’t flexes, they are just head-down survival mode,” Ponniah adds.
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Ponniah → do → weeks
“These are people earning really well, but because nobody’s ever sat down and actually gone through the numbers, thousands can leak out every month just keeping the household ticking over on autopilot.
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thousands → earn → autopilot
Londoners are also more likely to get caught out by tax traps such as the £100,000 “cliff edge”.
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Londoners → catch → edge
“For every £2 you earn between £100,000 and £125,140, you lose £1 of your personal allowance,” explains Sarah Coles, head of personal finance for AJ Bell.
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Coles → earn → Bell
“By the time you earn £125,140 you’ve lost the lot, so on that chunk of your salary you effectively pay 60 per cent tax.
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you → earn → tax
This is particularly an issue for parents relying on full-time childcare, because once one half of a couple starts earning £100,000 you lose valuable support from the Government.
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you → rely → Government
The capital may have some of the highest living costs in the world, but there are aspects to a London lifestyle that actually save you cash — from free culture to bargains from businesses on your doorstep.
Free and discounted culture
uncertain
that → have → culture
There are more free museums in London than those that charge an entry fee.
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that → be → fee
Many offer free admission in the evening.
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Many → offer → evening
The V&A, for example, offers after-hours free live music, performances and workshops.
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V&A → offer → music
Tate Collective offers £5 tickets for 16to 25-year-olds, while the Young Barbican slashes admission prices to exhibitions, concerts, films and shows for those aged 16 to 29.
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Barbican → offer → those
The National Theatre gives discounts to under 18s and over 60s, plus offers £10 Friday rush tickets for shows the following week at nationaltheatre.org.uk/your-visit/ ways-to-save.
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Theatre → give → ways
If you sign up to sites such as Central Tickets, you can pick up cheap last-minute tickets for shows that haven’t sold out.
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that → sign → shows
London resident discounts
Check whether you can get money off local attractions as a London resident.
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you → check → resident
The City Living Resident Card, the London Bridge DealCard and the King’s Road Privilege Card give discounts on restaurants, shops and more to those who live and work locally.
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who → give → those
If you live in Lambeth or Southwark you can get 20 per cent off tickets at the Old Vic.
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you → live → Vic
Newham residents can claim a discount at the Discover Children’s Story Centre, while residents of Westminster, Camden and Lambeth can get 20 per cent off London Transport Museum annual membership.
uncertain
residents → claim → membership
Those in Southwark, Tower Hamlets, or the City of London get £1 Tower Bridge tickets.
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Those → get → tickets
Apps that save you money
Take advantage of apps such as Too Good To Go and Olio, where food that would otherwise end up in the bin gets sold off on the cheap at the end of the day.
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that → save → day
If you prefer to eat out, download dynamic pricing platform EatClub, where restaurants set real time discounts — often up to 50 per cent off — to attract customers.
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restaurants → prefer → customers
, you get money off Lime bikes, Voi, Forest Bikes and Santander cycles.
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you → get → bikes
Commuters should take full advantage of the tax-efficient bike-to-work scheme, which offers up to 47 per cent off bikes and equipment as well as the try-before-you-buy programme, available from many London councils.
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you → take → councils
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
