Cost of living

[KathyC]

But presumably when you were working you earned a salary (and I thought I remember some some earlier discussion about pensions or the lack thereof?)

I didn't mean to imply that all pensioners have to shop in Lidls (obviously), but surely most of us have less coming in when we retire than we had when we were working? I know my financial planning often leaves something to be desired but I didn't think I had to aim to be better off on a pension than I was when holding down a job!

[hastobe]

Yes still earning a salary - and paying a mortgage (as is MOH)!!

I don't have a pension but MOH (public sector employee) is very well pensioned and 'lump summed' - TG - also the idea of buying in France is to downsize in UK and release capital so hopefully we should have a good retirement - despite the best efforts of Mr Brown Esq.

In theory, as we will be paying a mortgage / have kids at home etc 'til we retire, when we finally do get rid of the kids / mortgage and acquire pipe and slippers etc we should actually be significantly better off  than we are now - well that's the plan. 

Kathie

[KathyC]

Hope it all goes well with you at pipe and slippers time; we too hope to have a full retirement, albeit on a somewhat reduced income. Discussion like this always illustrate how one person's comfortable living is another person's penury.  Having kids later in life is always a drain on the pension plans, but probably easier than having them early, before you get on your feet financially.

[hastobe]

We were daft enough to do both - I had my first at 24 then a long gap and two more in my thirties!   First time is naivety, second is accident, third is gross stupidity [;-)]

Kathie

[Albert the InfoGipsy]

[quote user="KathyC"]Hope it all goes well with you at pipe and slippers time.[/quote]

If I have to take up smoking when I retire it'll really knock a hole in my budget. Is this some sort of EU directive?

Ignoring the running costs of kids & a mortgage, just earning a living has a certain cost attached to it for many people. Commuting fares, coffee in Starbucks (!), dry cleaning the smart suits, paying for tasks you could do but don't have time....

Based on my last permanent job I'd say that 10-20% of my take-home salary went on work-related costs.

 

[PossumGirl]

I think the point made by someone that everyone has a different lifestyle is valid and important. Mr. Possum and I both had to travel a lot for business reasons and now neither of us feels like it very much.  We never really take "vacations" as most people mean them.  We're not lying-on-the-beach people and are happiest when we're home in our own nest. Neither of us is wild about crowds or the discomfort and inconvenience of plane travel either. We like to take a day trip now and again, but that's the extent of it. 

We haven't made any plans to return to the U.S. in the near future, and I just don't see it happening unless business reasons take us (and pay for us).

Restaurant dining is something that we do occasionally, but neither of us has a burning desire to do that frequently.

I think we've gone beyond a desire to acquire "things" in any major way, except for things that we have to have, like a new piece of computer equipment.  I would probably like to buy more books than I do currently, but then again I have far less time to read them these days, so don't need to buy as many.

We don't really feel as if we're suffering from living this way. It's simple, but it suits us, which is good because we can't afford to live any other way.

PG

[zeb]

Well, if it's any help to anyone I've just worked out the total of our annual household bills - this is for two adults both with vehicles living in a very rural area in well insulated house with c/h and all mod cons. It does not include food, clothes, holidays or pet expenses (we run a business but I haven't factored in any of the associated exhorbitant costs!). Obviously in we lived in Paris, Toulouse or Provence our rates would be much higher.

Tax d'hab 430 euros

Tax fonc 225

Vehicle insurance 648

Electricity 420

Oil 1000 (approx)

Wood 200

Bottle gas 150

House insurance 350

Water 300

Top up 960 (this was before we had business)

Telephone 360

Internet 228

Like Dago, I shop for basics at Lidl, great! I've only recently discovered Lidl and really think it is part of the French experience around here!! I refuse to pay Intermarche prices when I can get the like for like goods (same quality) much cheaper and I love their promos.

Pet food stuff is bought at the agri co-op in huge sacks and toiletries are bought in Intermarche (Lidl's smell a bit industrial). I reckon on spending 150 euros a week on food, fags, booze and pets etc (and we usually have folks round to eat here once or twice a week), but very occasionally I skip a weeks shopping and live from freezer and garden. Clothes (twice yearly splurge) are generally bought at Geant, Tesco or eBay! Books and CDs are bought on eBay. If we're flush (taking a break means loss of a week's income) we book a flight back to the UK or rent a gite in another part of France but if we're not we happily spend months at home.

I think you just cut your cloth accordingly and if you're happy with that, so be it.

For what it's worth, our French neighbour has a widow's pension of 380 euros a month to live on and tells me that she can save some!!

[LanguedocGal]

An alternative view of costs from a townie, hope you green-fingered bunch don't mind:-))

 

£9500 per annum. 

Might be OK in certain islolated areas but I would say avoid the south including even the poorer Languedoc, though you might just manage it in the underpopulated Lozere.

I live in a town centre (not a million miles from Lunel) and pay almost 1300 for Tax fonciere plus 1080 for Taxe d’hab for a good sized flat with no garden (thank goodness) and no terrace (dommage)..  However, there is local transport and very little need for a car. Spoilt for choice with regards to local amenities and cinemas, theatres, restaurants etc etc minutes walk from my home. Heating is expensive but due to warmer climate, necessity greatly reduced and have not needed to turn on the central heating at all yet. 

Insurances vary according to personal circumstances and insurance companies so you may not necessarily find things as cheap as some who have already posted. 

Like others have said, it really depends on the type of life you want here. Struggling financially in France won’t be anymore pleasant because you have a larger house or enormous garden.

I think the general misconception that France is much cheaper than the UK comes from the generation of Brits who retired to these isolated locations with no mortgage, a sum in the bank and because of age and retired status probably didn’t have to pay a number of taxes. Hardly standard France because even if homes are cheaper in many regions compared to the UK, salaries are atrocious. 

It really does depend on location and how you want to live.  I think life is only really cheaper  in France than the UK overall if people change their lives drastically as others have mentioned here. For example, if you want to maintain a Holland Park or Belgravia type lifestyle in France, you are not going to be better off… I have a list of things I buy from the UK as far too expensive here eg computer disks but I can also pop over to Spain as so many from this region do in order to get things cheaper.

Myself and most of my French friends (30s and 40s) who pay mortgages and the tons of taxes, mutuelles etc on local salaries find the ‘France is cheaper’ postings hilarious.  One of them has just bought a flat of 45 sqm in a Languedoc town  for 116,000 (a bargain!)and has a taxe fonciere of 680, yet another a house of 70sq m and a Taxe Fonciere of over 800. Their taxe d’habitation comes through next year and they are not looking forward to them as you can imagine. These standard taxes vary so much from region to region, town to town and no doubt village to village according to the whims of the ‘’Municipalites’’. 

So, can you live on £9500? I’d say choose your location very very carefully, don't fall ill unless you are entitled to full health cover, and be brutally realistic as you would be in the UK and Bonne Chance!

 

[Btuckey]

[quote user="zeb"] I've only recently discovered Lidl and really think it is part of the French experience around here!! I refuse to pay Intermarche prices when I can get the like for like goods (same quality) much cheaper and I love their promos. [/quote]

When we lived in the UK, we used to shop at the Lidl in Eastleigh and were overjoyed when they built a new Lidl store in Limoux recently.  [:D] However, our best value for money is still the 'ED' in Quillan.  The veg is superb and the cost is much lower than the Champion etc.

Brian

[Mark]

[quote user="KathyC"]Perhaps I'm the only drinker posting but the lower cost of wine must surely come into this. Unless you spend the same amount as you did in the UK but drink vastly more![/quote]

I spend less than 10 euros a week on booze and I'm completely plastered every night - it's wonderful.  I'd be dead in five years if I earned 9,500. [;-)]

[hastobe]

Weirdly we find we drink far less in France than we do in England - I think because we are less stressed.  I don't think we bought a single bottle of wine last time we were there!  We had a couple of glasses with a meal when eating out (only ate out twice) - but that was all.  So, yes we find France cheaper for wine - but not by reason of price!!

Kathie