What's so expensive?

Wendero

Hi

I have two questions,

First, what is it really that costs so much in Dublin? Food supposedly costs 400 euros, but all the prices listed at this site seems normal: http://www.ucd.ie/international/helpadvice6.htm

Coke is even cheaper than in Sweden, where I live. Still, we only spend 100-150 euros on food. Are all irish people obese, or what's so expensive?:P Is meat expensive? I noted there were no meat things in the list.

And, the site I linked to says that living in Dublin would cost 1185 if living off campus, and about 1100 if living on. Is this what it costs, or are they underestimating/exaggerating?

/John G

gerry87

are you sure you're talking monthly? If so, how do you spend only 150e per month on food? Thats 5e per day! Thats about a sandwich and a drink, all day.

Malmedicine

Those prices are I would guess about 3 years maybe more out of date. Jesus you can live for 1 month on 100 euro of food?

Wendero

Yes we can, Malmedicine. Maybe 200 euro in Stockholm.

So how much should you be prepared to pay for living, per month? To ask a more general question.

/John

bnt

gerry87 wrote: »

are you sure you're talking monthly? If so, how do you spend only 150e per month on food? Thats 5e per day! Thats about a sandwich and a drink, all day.

It's certainly possible to eat on €100 p.m. if you're careful. I don't keep exact figures, but I estimate I spend about €120 p.m., and could cut back further if I shopped at Lidl or Aldi every time instead of Tesco. I read http://www.lidltreats.com/ for ideas, too - it's written by a lady here in Ireland who knows how to stretch that Euro.

Learn to cook a bit, by following the instructions on packets, or find instructions on how to cook stuff like rice off the internet. Marinate some cheap chicken or pork chunks in soy sauce for 1/2 hour, fry it up in a wok for a few minutes, add some sauce and frozen veg, serve with noodles, rice or pita bread. You're a student, learn to eat like one! :pac:

This year, in the student union shops, coffee and a muffin comes to €2.20, or nearly €50 p.m. if I did that every day. I don't know how UCD recommends €400 p.m., unless they're assuming that the student spends every evening in the Student Bar?

€75 p.m. on books and study materials? I haven't been forced to buy a single text book in 3 semesters (Engineering) - though I did buy a couple by choice. I was asked to spend €50 on a drawing kit, but I had most of it already. The pens I like are 3 for €1 at Tesco when they have them.

That page makes an important point about travel costs, however, which are high for such an unreliable service. Staying within a couple of km of UCD is something I would highly recommend, even if it costs a little more. I trust my feet more than any bus or train, especially during rush hours.

cHaTbOx

WOW

Ok I don't spend over 25euro on food during the week
OK essentials - bread , butter, milk
Thing is when you see a good deal on something buy in a bit of bulk .
Meat is expensive enough if you are not buying the very cheap alternative.
I better go into a bit of detail.

Accomodation: living on campus it is around 105euro a week, paid in two lump sums before the start of semester. But that does not include the cost of electricity , which can varies depending on where you are staying . I am in belgrove and we get a bill every two months, the cost in our block varied from 30euro to 80 euro pp. In merville you buy electricity cards .it all depends how strict you are with money. Little tip is to use as much of the energy from UCD facilities as it will cut down on you bill(maybe invest in a blanket in Belgrove as the windows are not great)

now if you are off campus you will have to check if electricity is included in pric, also you will need to find out the best bus routes.
A travel card for the whole week is 18 euros.

Food:Now bread milk and butter for the week cost about 6euro (not exact just in my head), yo can get a head of salad for less than a euro . Go to Lidi and Aldi they will save you lots of money.

Transport : to get to and from the city is 1.70 , if you are making more than 3 or more journeys in a day get a day pass which costs 6euro
buses stop at 11.30 and then the nitelink starts which cost 5euro and it is not covered by travel card (same with airport coach). If you are in a group of 4 it is cheaper to get a taxi in that situation.It is better to get them on the southside. Taxis with 4 people in it cost 16-18euro. Watch out if they try to put 2euro pick-up charge if they are in the rank .


Entertainment Now this all depends on what you like so if you want to suggest a few things it would be a lot easier.


I think you can easily live on 600-800 a month with going out .

Anymore questions give me a pm

Stabshauptmann

To live comfortably in Dublin (excluding rent) I budgeted myself 100eur per week (that was two years ago).

The main saving I made was drinking at house parties instead of in pubs. To answer your question, alcohol and rent are the two things that make Dublin expensive. 400eur per month on food is excessive, but 100eur would involve cutting a lot of corners.

If you cook proper quality food 7 days a week, have cereal for breakfast, homemade sandwiches / soup for lunch and the occasional snack; 50eur per week would cover your food budget.

From the website you linked, the following prices should be noted.

Loaf of Bread 1.20 Store brand 60c
...
Big Mac Meal (medium) 4.90 Sub of the day 2.99, Angas Berger meal ~ 10eur, pub carvery ~12eur

Dublin Train / Bus - Monthly ticket 74.00 Student 7day bus ticket 17eur
Cinema ticket 6.00 / 7.00 8eur student, 10adult
Sports event ticket 6.00 / 25.00 Depends on sport, and importance of match. Good sporting event 50eur
Hair cut 15.00 / 35.00 Male haircut 5 - 20eur (cheap polish shops in town - topdollar Grafton Barber

Other typical costs:

10eur p/w on electricity and gas - this is with economical people.

4.50 for a meal you cook yourself - 3eur for the meat, 60c - 1.20eur for fresh or tinned veg, marginal cost of rice / pasta 10c.
I personally wouldnt eat meat with 30% water / rusk contents or veg with 15% salt or sauce with obsecene fat/sugar contents

5eur for a drink in the pub, 1.70 for a can in your house.

1.50 for a single bus journey

60eur for decent trousers or jumpers, 20 for a T shirt. Ofcourse the skys the limit if you want good stuff and on the flip side there are the likes of pennys or Dunnes if all you want is cloth over your bones.



Id recommend reading the following thread.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055327036&highlight=budget

IrishKnight

I can get by on about €250 per month for food, going out (not very often mind you) and a few other things. That is of course excluding rent of €375 /m

You just have to be smart about you money. I know I could get that down if I really wanted too...

Tom65

Living in Stockholm, I once did a weekly shop (in Lidl) for €15. That was an unpleasant week.

I would guess I spend around €200 a month on food (in Stockholm) - that would include everything I eat (and coffee etc.). How much I spend is greatly affected by what else I'm doing that week and if I have to buy books.

I've found meat to be much more expensive in Sweden than in Ireland. Barring vegetables, I think most foods are.

mloc

I hate to think what I used to spend on food and drink back in undergrad days. I'd say close to €150-200 on drink and maybe €150 on food, a week. Mind you I do eat a lot, and used to eat even more back then.

Tar.Aldarion

Just buy and cook food. Food is only expensive if you buy the finished product.

Wendero

Tom, nice to see some more Swedish people here (I assume you're swedish). Anyway, 200 on food is not unusual in Stockholm, and 100 isn't unusual in smaller towns. 150 is about normal anywhere, but it depends a lot on where you live of course. I'm basing this on what people who live in Stockholm have told me.

/John

Breezer

I'm a privileged jackeen who lives at home so I can't contribute all that much to this thread. But transport's gone up severely since you all posted, so bear that in mind. The €74 train/bus ticket is now €93, and the €17 weekly bus ticket is now €20. Happy new year...

bnt

Even the €1.70 bus fare, to and from Dublin, is now €1.80. You don't need Leaving Cert Maths to work out that all these increases are well above inflation. The guvmn't's doing a great job getting people out of their cars, aren't they? :rolleyes:

Tom65

Wendero wrote: »

Tom, nice to see some more Swedish people here (I assume you're swedish). Anyway, 200 on food is not unusual in Stockholm, and 100 isn't unusual in smaller towns. 150 is about normal anywhere, but it depends a lot on where you live of course. I'm basing this on what people who live in Stockholm have told me.

/John

Actually, I'm Irish, I'm on Erasmus in Stockholm for the year. Stockholm, price wise, is maybe a little more expensive. A good example is beer: in Stockholm, it'd be rare to get a beer for less than €5, whereas in Dublin it's usually around €4.50.

bnt wrote: »

Even the €1.70 bus fare, to and from Dublin, is now €1.80. You don't need Leaving Cert Maths to work out that all these increases are well above inflation. The guvmn't's doing a great job getting people out of their cars, aren't they? :rolleyes:

It is ridiculous. I've €2 bus fare each way, which is €20 a week (though I usually get the monthly tickets). The country is leaking jobs and money and they keep sticking the transport prices up.

Breezer

My new year's resolution is to stop making absolutely every conversation about politics, so I'm staying out of this

Tom65

Breezer wrote: »

My new year's resolution is to stop making absolutely every conversation about politics, so I'm staying out of this

Bah, that's a terrible resolution. In fact, I make an effort to make most conversations about politics.

For example:
"Did you hear Man Utd lost today?"
"Yes. On the topic of losses, I see Palestine has lost 400 citizens in the latest violence."

It's easy! :P

muboop1

bnt wrote: »

€75 p.m. on books and study materials? I haven't been forced to buy a single text book in 3 semesters (Engineering) - though I did buy a couple by choice. I was asked to spend €50 on a drawing kit, but I had most of it already. The pens I like are 3 for €1 at Tesco when they have them.

prepare for that to change!
i'm in 3rd year engineering, in one subject alone i had to purchase a book that cost 65 euro!
i know you have it all given to you on black board right now, but that's up to the lecturers, some lecturers don't do black board at all!
and again that's pretty poor on your part to say that just because in your course you haven't bought anything in a year and a half... that his exact course wouldn't require books...

if the course taken was medicine for example, you would require huge amounts of books from what i know of it, actuary is the same, and depending on the subjects you chose if in arts again books would be needed.

better include them in subject choices!
plus in 3rd year engineering we paid 75 euro straight up for photocopying costs on certain notes and books we received. so far this year iv been required to pay around 140 euro in books, that's not including other stationary such as refill pads or pens, or steam tables... it all adds up!

PCPhoto

wendero.....

Compared to Sweden ...Ireland is pretty much the same as costs go.

best of luck

muboop1

Tom65 wrote: »

It is ridiculous. I've €2 bus fare each way, which is €20 a week (though I usually get the monthly tickets). The country is leaking jobs and money and they keep sticking the transport prices up.

not to mention cutting down on number of buses on the roads! the bus i normally get was cut down from every 10mins(rush hour times) or 15-20mins(slow times of day and sundays) all the way down to 40 mins between buses during rush hour and during slow times anything up to an hour and a half...

my bus is hugely used! yet they still are getting away with this, and even more annoying, the online timetable hasnt been updated! so it still says its coming that regularly, only the terminus in town has a timetable that says otherwise... which it follows