Is 40k a year enough for one to live comfortably and even save money in Dublin

shadowcomplex

I am wondering if 40k a year is enough for a single person to live on in Dublin and even save cash but also have a good social life?

NZ_2014

shadowcomplex wrote: »

I am wondering if 40k a year is enough for a single person to live on in Dublin and even save cash but also have a good social life?

Well if you are renting your own place that's not a dump and you run a car it would be tight and you wouldn't save much at all.

GreenwayM

It would be really tight . . . Dublin is expensive!!!

Greentree_uk

if you don't want to live in luxury and aren't out all the time you might manage to scrape something together but don't expect a lot of savings

VandC

maybe if you just rent a room... close to town too so you don't have to pay much in terms of transport to and from there

Captain Chaos

If it's 40k net and not 40k gross then yes.

Humour Me

What would you consider a good social life?

shadowcomplex

Humour Me wrote: »

What would you consider a good social life?

going out every friday and saturday night for food and drinks

NZ_2014

shadowcomplex wrote: »

going out every friday and saturday night for food and drinks

You could easily drop €50 each night on that double it for a long night

Saipanne

shadowcomplex wrote: »

I am wondering if 40k a year is enough for a single person to live on in Dublin and even save cash but also have a good social life?

Yes.

ProudDUB

shadowcomplex wrote: »

I am wondering if 40k a year is enough for a single person to live on in Dublin and even save cash but also have a good social life?

Of course it is, as long as your monthly bills are relatively modest. You aren't giving us much info to go on there, so its hard to say over all.

If you are happy enough to walk or cycle to work/college every day, and live in one of the cheaper suburbs with a bunch of other people, you could save plenty and still go out every weekend.

If you want to live by yourself in an expensive part of the city, run a car and/or commute by train or bus every day, then it would be harder for you to save.

Get Real

I used to earn 20k a year and lived in Dublin. It all depends on what you want. I rented a room and budgeted 150 euro a week spending. Good healthy food was 35 a week, bus 20, then 100 for socialising. This might be a midweek film, then going out at weekend. Or I could just have one night out, good few drinks, food and taxi and had 6k a year savings.

Granted that was at a time of lower rents, and I was younger and had less actual needs/wants.

But now-say 40k gross-

accomm-(1 bed apartment) 12k a year

transport-2080 euro a year (leap card unlimited everything @40 euro a week)

Food-50 a week (good products, fresh fruit and veg, meat, treats)- 2600 a year.

Bills,insurance, misc-100 a week-5200 a year.

bare minimum to live, not going out etc- 22,000 a year.

left over- 18 k a year.

Take whatever you want to save from this and divide by 52, thats your leftover expenditure for nights out, treats, clothing, holidays etc.

say you prefer "living" over saving and want to save 5 k, you have circa 13k left to spend above your "bare minimum"

thats 250 euro a week disposable after food, bills, accom and transport.

Now if you want a car, that'd affect savings etc. You'd have to give somewhere. And I believe my estimates are quite realistic, apart from maybe rent.

Now that I earn more than 20k a year, I've increased my expenditure on accom, socialising etc. But transport and food (at home, not eating out) have remained same, so its doable with the above figures, and to still have savings.

Unless on a night out your idea of socialising is spending 2-300 rather than 60 or 70. Basically in same boat as you and am single and living comfortably but different strokes for different folks

Tar.Aldarion

Assumuing no pension, health etc you get 30,515.00 net on that, so those are the figures you are working with.
2550 pm, sounds quite doable if you are careful. Going mad every friday and sat is a different story.

Saipanne

Depends what you do on those nights out. Stay drinking pints or bottles, I'd say grand. But if you're a fan of Jaeger bombs.....

cython

Get Real wrote:

But now-say 40k gross-

I can only assume you meant to say net here, as you have accounted precisely 0 for tax, etc. as deductions from gross pay......

Royale with Cheese

It's not far off my situation. I share a room in a house, albeit in a decent location. I run a car, but it's not worth much and has a smallish engine so that's just 700 a year plus petrol + maintenance (nothing has ever gone wrong with it). I have an annual taxsaver ticket for the luas, definitely get something like this if you're commuting. I like to socialise but not all weekend, every weekend, I'm also a bit of a lightweight and would rarely spend more than 60-70 on a night out. I live extremely comfortably and save 500 a month, more currently. I even started a pension this year. Other people I know in my salary range complain about being broke and I really don't know what they're spending their money on. I suspect they're hiding it away somewhere and not being entirely truthful about their situation.

fleet

40k gross is way above what an entire family live off if one partner is working on the average industrial wage (about 31k AFAIR).

Of course you save on it!

30k+ net wage you could save 15k a year while still having a social life.

* Lose the car - cycle, public transport, motorbike/scooter, rent a car when needed
* Cook your own meals, buy a coffee machine etc.
* Drink less at bars/clubs (either less drink generally... or get plastered before you go out)

Saipanne

fleet wrote: »

40k gross is way above what an entire family live off if one partner is working on the average industrial wage (about 31k AFAIR).

Of course you save on it!

30k+ net wage you could save 15k a year while still having a social life.

* Lose the car - cycle, public transport, motorbike/scooter, rent a car when needed
* Cook your own meals, buy a coffee machine etc.
* Drink less at bars/clubs (either less drink generally... or get plastered before you go out)

15k seems like a lot.

Paco Rodriguez

Saipanne wrote: »

15k seems like a lot.

That's what I thought too. Unless he lived a hermit life he wouldn't save that.

I think it will have to be balanced from the social life. I myself have been here 9 years and have less money than I came to Dublin with. I got into a habit of socialising every weekend or watching sport at the bar.
At first I was trying to find new friends and went out alone. But I slipped into a comfort zone and spent far too much.

But I wouldn't go getting rid of the car OP. If you gave friends back home it's handy to have to zip down to them.
Just cycle to work if possible. That will save you alot.

Saipanne

I think saving 500 per month would be realistic, in this scenario. So 6000 per year.

keane2097

shadowcomplex wrote: »

going out every friday and saturday night for food and drinks

You'll be able to do that but won't be saving anything if you do realistically.

hfallada

OP get a house share. They are extremely common on the continent(but most Irish people think they are only for student). If you go to Germany, its perfectly acceptable to be in your mid-thirties and in a house share. You can get a room in a house share about €500 a month vs €1,000 a month for a shoe box apartment. Plus house shares are sociable.

I cant understand why most Irish people spend so much on a nightout. Im a Dubliner and find people from the country tend to spend a lot more on a nightout than a Dubliner. You can get drink specials in a lot of Bars around the city eg buy one get one free on cocktails etc. Dont eat Dinner out, unless its lunch or early bird, which is usually half the price of an evening meal.

Shop in Lidl, Aldi and local butchers. Local butchers can be super cheap compared to the supermarket and better. Eg FX Buckley on Moore Street often have great specials and their meat is far better than anything from a supermarket. Buy a bike and cycle into town. Its far faster than the bus and the exercise is better for you

ProudDUB

+1 on the early birds. You can get some really great deals, even in the so called "posh" restaurants, if you are prepared to eat a wee bit earlier than you normally would.

OP, sign up for the restaurant deals on sites like Groupon, CityDeals and CurlyPigsBack. You can often get coupon deals, where you get starter, main and a glass or bottle of wine for two, for 20-25 quid. They are generally only redeemable Sun-Thur, which are restaurants slow days. But if you are eating out on Sun & Thur, perhaps just going for drinks, or even (gasp !!! :eek: ) staying in on a Fri or Sat night, may be an option.

howyanow

I have always found nights out in Dublin more expensive.never have seen buy 1 get 1 free on alcohol,thought it was illegal to serve free alcohol?

Aard

^More expensive than where? Everywhere else in the country? That's to be expected tbh. BOGOF isn't that unusual, especially for shots or cocktails.

Piriz

40K is very decent money, i earn less and live well in Dublin, I rent a nice place close to town i share with my gf, I keep a nice car on the road, go out every weekend, save 550pm, have been on two week holiday abroad and have visited 2 other European cities for weekend breaks this year...in fairness i dont have an iphone:pac:

magicmoves

That is plenty of money to live a good life and save for a single person

TheBandicoot

I guess I am doing something wrong, I am on 36k(above the average industrial wage, so this should be liveable?) and have tried to make the maths work, and can't. It's about 2200 net a month. Take 1200 from that for a 1 bed apartment, maybe 400 to put in savings, 100 for a bus ticket, then food an entertainment and you are living paycheck-to-paycheck with not enough(personally) wiggle room on money.

I think it really only works if you are sharing and thus can keep your accommodation cost down in the 700-900 range.

Saipanne

TheBandicoot wrote: »

I guess I am doing something wrong, I am on 36k(above the average industrial wage, so this should be liveable?) and have tried to make the maths work, and can't. It's about 2200 net a month. Take 1200 from that for a 1 bed apartment, maybe 400 to put in savings, 100 for a bus ticket, then food an entertainment and you are living paycheck-to-paycheck with not enough(personally) wiggle room on money.

I think it really only works if you are sharing and thus can keep your accommodation cost down in the 700-900 range.

Eh, shared accommodation would save you 600 per month.

Sorry, didn't read it all. Why don't you share?

TheBandicoot

If I'm going to share, it may as well be with my family for cheaper - I don't have any friends to share with, and why share with random people when I can just stay with parents and save more money?

Tar.Aldarion

160 on lunch is an easy one to tackle. I'd say i spend 40 on lunch per month and could easily spend less. But that does involve making your own stuff. Something is wrong if lunch is 2x groceries for me

As said above rent is the killer there.

Tar.Aldarion

TheBandicoot wrote: »

If I'm going to share, it may as well be with my family for cheaper - I don't have any friends to share with, and why share with random people when I can just stay with parents and save more money?

I'd be of the same opinion, but I'd still look for places at around 1000 to save yourself the 200 pm for a rough example.

TheBandicoot

In fairness I think most people would manage quite well on my salary, it's just my ****ed up head. I feel incredibly jealous looking at all the apartments and houses I pass by for hours every day on the bus. How can you afford that, why can't I? Are you paying the market rent or do you have some kind of legacy agreement or social welfare deal? It's not fair that you get to live here and I still have another 45 minutes to get to where I live. How the **** is everyone in Dublin so rich- do I not deserve to live here? Do I not belong? Where do my coworkers live? They call their wifes and say they will be home in 20 minutes(and they cycle), how is that possible? Why is it only me and one other person who needs to take a bus, the rest seem to be in walking and cycle distance. Why do people pay €1200 a month to live a couple of meters above a street full of drunks and puke? . etc.

miamee

TheBandicoot wrote: »

In fairness I think most people would manage quite well on my salary, it's just my ****ed up head. I feel incredibly jealous looking at all the apartments and houses I pass by for hours every day on the bus. How can you afford that, why can't I? Are you paying the market rent or do you have some kind of legacy agreement or social welfare deal? It's not fair that you get to live here and I still have another 45 minutes to get to where I live. How the **** is everyone in Dublin so rich- do I not deserve to live here? Do I not belong? Where do my coworkers live? They call their wifes and say they will be home in 20 minutes(and they cycle), how is that possible? Why is it only me and one other person who needs to take a bus, the rest seem to be in walking and cycle distance. Why do people pay €1200 a month to live a couple of meters above a street full of drunks and puke? . etc.

Your priority seems to be your bank balance and that is your choice. Other people will choose their quality of life or extra leisure time over the size of their bank balance at the end of the month. Everyone's priorities are different.

hfallada

TheBandicoot wrote: »

If I'm going to share, it may as well be with my family for cheaper - I don't have any friends to share with, and why share with random people when I can just stay with parents and save more money?

Everyone else in Continental Europe shares with random people and get on with life. €1200 a month for rent on your salary is extremely bad financial management. You are literally wasting €550 a month that you could save with a house share.

Piriz

switch to 48mobile and pay 10er per month...

http://48months.ie/membership-plans

TheBandicoot

Mr.S wrote: »

Your rent seems very high for a place that's 45-1hr commute.

Either get a house share or move, and 8euro per day on lunch is crazy.

That budget is speculative, it is not my current one- I live with my parents and pay €400. But living an hour away(it is not even close to 45mins even with zero traffic, don't make me ****ing laugh) doesn't make rent any lower you know. This is less than a minute from where I live and is €1200. It would be minimum €1000 to live here if I was seriously trying to do so.

I am not actually in the market for moving- I am living with my parents and I don't want to share, so I'll just wait until I make enough money to have the quality of life I want.

How is that amount for lunch crazy? A wrap(€4), a bottle of orange juice(€1.99) and a chocolate bar(€1.20) is €7.19 exactly. It is unavoidable without cooking something myself and bringing it in(which I am not comfortable doing).

TheBandicoot

Piriz wrote: »

switch to 48mobile and pay 10er per month...

http://48months.ie/membership-plans

I'm on a contract so I can't.

TheBandicoot

hfallada wrote: »

Everyone else in Continental Europe shares with random people and get on with life. €1200 a month for rent on your salary is extremely bad financial management. You are literally wasting €550 a month that you could save with a house share.

I'M NOT SPENDING THAT MUCH, IT IS MY SPECULATIVE BUDGET FOR IF I WAS TO MOVE OUT.

Good for people in Continental Europe, what has that got to do with me. I can't speak their languages or get a job there. Seriously why would you even bring it up, what relevance does it have

Piriz

TheBandicoot wrote: »

I'M NOT SPENDING THAT MUCH, IT IS MY SPECULATIVE BUDGET FOR IF I WAS TO MOVE OUT.

Good for people in Continental Europe, what has that got to do with me. I can't speak their languages or get a job there.

relax! people are trying to advise you...stop getting pissed off!

TheBandicoot

Don't want advice. Just frustrated and not right in the head. Angry at myself for not doing any meaningful work this week because I pissed time away on sites like this all day, scared I'll be punished and then have no income at all. Just leave me alone(and don't try tell me to go to the pissing PI forum or post some sentimental crap)

Last_Minute

I know plenty of people living in Dublin and none of them are earning even near 40k a year, most are recent grads or out of college a bit longer and while they aren't living the dream they get by just fine.

Different people have different spending habits and what qualifies as a comfortable or decent life style also differs from person to person.

alastair

TheBandicoot wrote: »

It is unavoidable without cooking something myself and bringing it in(which I am not comfortable doing).

???

Have homemade sandwiches become a mortification when my back was turned?
Pre-bought supermarket multipack juice and chokkies will save you a bomb too, if you opt for them over Spar lunchtime purchases. You're looking to save, without being willing to save on the easy stuff.

Tar.Aldarion

He closed his account

http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/353/279/e31.jpg

John_Rambo

TheBandicoot wrote: »

Don't want advice. Just frustrated and not right in the head. Angry at myself for not doing any meaningful work this week because I pissed time away on sites like this all day, scared I'll be punished and then have no income at all. Just leave me alone(and don't try tell me to go to the pissing PI forum or post some sentimental crap)

I know you don't want advice, but, if you're still reading dude, take a break from sites like this during work if you're worried. Even go as far to ask IT to block them on your machine and keep the head down for a few months. They will understand. Ask you folks if they'd let you live for free for a while and try and build up a war chest for moving out. I know it's hard to take advice when it looks like people (in a much more comfortable position) are preaching, most mean well and some of the advice is good.

Best of luck, hope you get sorted soon.

Tar.Aldarion

Mr.S wrote: »

I wouldn't say "wasting" or bad financial advice, a lot of people don't want to live with other people. I'd happily use the majority of my salary on rent to have my own place!

True enough, I'm an adult, I'm not gonna be living with some randomers. In other countries there are blocks of apartments bigger than anything we have, all single apartments. So it's not exactly unique.

hfallada

TheBandicoot wrote: »

I'M NOT SPENDING THAT MUCH, IT IS MY SPECULATIVE BUDGET FOR IF I WAS TO MOVE OUT.

Good for people in Continental Europe, what has that got to do with me. I can't speak their languages or get a job there. Seriously why would you even bring it up, what relevance does it have

Because its the norm there and Ireland is moving closer to a more continental European society. Like the way no one in Ireland really lived in apartments 30 years ago in Ireland. But it was the norm in Germany. But know most people in Dublin city now Ireland in apartments.

I cant understand how Irish people still believe sharing is only for broke students

Tar.Aldarion

Why do you say it is the norm there, where there are blocks of flats with hundreds of single user apartments in continental cities? It's the same, people want to live on their own everywhere.

ProudDUB

Mr.S wrote: »

I wouldn't say "wasting" or bad financial advice, a lot of people don't want to live with other people. I'd happily use the majority of my salary on rent to have my own place!

They wouldn't even need to live with others to save money. There is no need to be spending that much money, even if you want to live by yourself. A couple of minutes on Daft, will turn up plenty of perfectly acceptable one bedroom apts, in the 800/850 euro price range.

http://www.daft.ie/lettings/the-cresent-larchill-santry-dublin/1502980/

http://www.daft.ie/lettings/the-gravel-walk-court-52-blackhall-place-dublin-7-dublin/1503717/

http://www.daft.ie/lettings/gandon-close-harolds-cross-rd-harolds-cross-dublin/1500841/

If you are spending 1200 quid on rent for a one bed room apt, odds are it is very close to town, or it is somewhere that is a bit 'posh.' If the poster is willing to do what most people do & live somewhere a bit further out, or a bit more ordinary, they can keep the extra 400 quid in their pocket every month.

It's all well and good if you can afford 1200 a month on rent, and not miss the money. But if you are having trouble making ends meet, or you can't save, then surely you need to rethink where you live and why you live there?

JuliusCaesar

ProudDUB wrote: »

If you are spending 1200 quid on rent for a one bed room apt,

The link the OP gave is to a 2 bed, 2 bath apartment in Ongar. I've no idea why he wants a 2 bed, but his inflexibility is his downfall.

I have a good friend who lives comfortably on 40k, paying a mortgage, single parent, runs a car. Doesn't go nuts eating out, and often brings in lunch or microwaves soup. Has a good social life - but then it's not all about drinking.

matrim

I know the account is closed now but the other thing from his budget was 1200 on rent and 100 for transport. If you are tight for money live close enough to work to cycle / walk and save that 100 a month. 1200 should get you a 1 bed in almost any part of the city

Also saving 400 / 500 a month isn't living paycheck to paycheck.