Is 22K a year, a good living wage in Dublin city or just outside of?

Egginacup

Fat Christy wrote: »

This was only about 4 years ago, I'm not THAT old. I currently pay under 400 but I live westside which is grand because I drive and don't work in the city centre.

So you don't work in the centre, you live out in the sticks and 4 years ago you knew of some people who rented a 3 bed apt in Rathmines for 900 (or was it a 1 bed and the other two crashed on sleeping bags and blow-up mattresses in the hall?) and you think that someone today can live in the city centre on 1600 a month net?

Caliden

Egginacup wrote: »

Under 300 a month in Rathmines? Who was the lucky one who got to sleep in the bathtub?

I'd question whether it was Rathmines at all or if it was Kimmage

Zillah

RonanP77 wrote: »

I just added it up and my mortgage was 26k last year so I definitely wouldn't survive on that sort of money.

Jaysus, it's almost like someone earning 22k shouldn't get an expensive mortgage or something!???

joebothers

Yes 22k is fine to live on and will have loads of money to socialize. I lived on it for six months, on 42k now. There's plenty of house shares around Dublin fort 400 and plenty of nice ones at that.

Say 400 rent, 100 bills, 250 food leaves you with 850 a month to drink beer, socialize, or do whatever you want. You won't be able to buy the latest phones, ps4s or laptop but you will have enough to survive. I was even paying 200 a month for a car which left me 650 a month.

One thing I did struggle with though was clothes. If I needed new work clothes or new clothes I found myself scarce enough with cash the last week of the month. If your young maybe parents might help out with them till your on a good salary. You won't live a life of luxury but plenty of moneybto get buy! Best of luck!

Eugene Norman

joebothers wrote: »

Yes 22k is fine to live on and will have loads of money to socialize. I lived on it for six months, on 42k now. There's plenty of house shares around Dublin fort 400 and plenty of nice ones at that.

Say 400 rent, 100 bills, 250 food leaves you with 850 a month to drink beer, socialize, or do whatever you want. You won't be able to buy the latest phones, ps4s or laptop but you will have enough to survive. I was even paying 200 a month for a car which left me 650 a month.

One thing I did struggle with though was clothes. If I needed new work clothes or new clothes I found myself scarce enough with cash the last week of the month. If your young maybe parents might help out with them till your on a good salary. You won't live a life of luxury but plenty of moneybto get buy! Best of luck!

The thing is that food bill could be reduced a lot too, if people learned to cook cheaply.

But the main thing is to share accommodation.

scdublin

Completely doable if you're good with your money and work out an appropriate budget.

To the person assuming you'll get a 4k increase after a year...where do you work and are they hiring?? I started on 24k and only got a 1k increase after 2 years. The swines...I've happily left there since.

Fat Christy

Egginacup wrote: »

So you don't work in the centre, you live out in the sticks and 4 years ago you knew of some people who rented a 3 bed apt in Rathmines for 900 (or was it a 1 bed and the other two crashed on sleeping bags and blow-up mattresses in the hall?) and you think that someone today can live in the city centre on 1600 a month net?

Yes.

You can live on 22k. You can live a bit farther and commute. It is doable. I live in Clondalkin/Lucan, not the sticks but far enough out of town.

People want a city centre location, under 300, out every weekend, new clothes, a holiday all for 22k?! What sort of a salary are ye lot starting on? I started out on that salary and it was grand. I survived, I even saved and ran a car on it.

At the rate ye are going, you'd nearly all need to be starting out on 40k a year.

walkingshadow

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Best thing you could do is get a cowboy hat and make friends with a guy that looks like Dustin Hoffman.

Everybody's talking at me...

Titzon Toast

syklops wrote: »

There is currently 1 property on daft for 300 or less in a house share in Rathmines.

However, its not just a shared apartment, its a shared bedroom with 2 other people sleeping in it, in what appears to be the corner of the living room, as the kitchen table is in the same picture as the three beds.

Banning the bedsit really was a bad idea.

That is an absolute disgrace. I've never seen anything like that before.

Tar.Aldarion

Eugene Norman wrote: »

The thing is that food bill could be reduced a lot too, if people learned to cook cheaply.

But the main thing is to share accommodation.

1kg of veg in aldi 39 cent. I could barely carry 10 euro of shopping from there.
People always think things are dear, yeah because they buy dear things.

FrStone

RonanP77 wrote: »

I'm assuming you mean accountant? It'd be a very lucky accountant if they were up to 40k + three or four years after being a trainee, especially if they were in practice. I know the money for accountants is better around Dublin but I have friends and family doing it and they didn't make anything like that sort of money so quickly.

I'd disagree, start as a trainee within 2 years, you could have your exams padded and be on 30k in another year your of of contract and you'll be offered at least 40k to stay in and will get significantly more elsewhere.

Tea-a-Maria

I'm on that wage at the moment, and initially was freaking out about how I'd get by too. But, having been in it for a year and a half now, I manage just fine. Here's the rough breakdown each month:
Rent: €500
Bils: €60-70
Transport: €85
Food: €200 (that includes more takeaway than I care to admit )
Phone: €20

That leaves a little under 700 for everything else. I don't run a car and I don't have any debt, which are massive bonuses. Depending on where you live in Dublin you can get by fine on public transport anyway.

I bring packed lunches in to work, and I don't drink loads, which saves money. That said, I have a good social life. I go for drinks a few times a month, cinema, day trips to Howth, dinner with the boyfriend, that sort of thing. I also have enough to buy clothes now and again and get my hair done every two months. I saved for a holiday to Berlin last September too!

Some months are tighter than others, but most months I have €100 to €150 left over which I'm putting in a savings account to build up a nest egg.

So its definitely possible! Try and have some savings built up in advance (by this I mean €200 or so) just to cover initial moving expenses. Buying in all the cupboard staples and the like can be expensive.

You'll be graaaand.

Niall558

Tea-a-Maria wrote: »

I'm on that wage at the moment, and initially was freaking out about how I'd get by too. But, having been in it for a year and a half now, I manage just fine. Here's the rough breakdown each month:
Rent: €500
Bils: €60-70
Transport: €85
Food: €200 (that includes more takeaway than I care to admit )
Phone: €20

That leaves a little under 700 for everything else. I don't run a car and I don't have any debt, which are massive bonuses. Depending on where you live in Dublin you can get by fine on public transport anyway.

I bring packed lunches in to work, and I don't drink loads, which saves money. That said, I have a good social life. I go for drinks a few times a month, cinema, day trips to Howth, dinner with the boyfriend, that sort of thing. I also have enough to buy clothes now and again and get my hair done every two months. I saved for a holiday to Berlin last September too!

Some months are tighter than others, but most months I have €100 to €150 left over which I'm putting in a savings account to build up a nest egg.

So its definitely possible! Try and have some savings built up in advance (by this I mean €200 or so) just to cover initial moving expenses. Buying in all the cupboard staples and the like can be expensive.

You'll be graaaand.

This is the realistic, chilled out answer I need.
Everyone is else is making me panic. I live out in Leixlip with the rents anyways, so the plan is to save up a fair bit before I make the jump. Quick question though, do you find it better to share in a decent sized place or is it better to have my own place with less space? I've never had to share accommodation with anyone but my family so I know it's a bit of a lotto!

Korat

You can spot the silver spoon fed types on this thread quite easily. It must be great to start out in life with such a cushion that living on 22k is inconceivable.

It's only impossible if you have a choice in the matter.

smeal

Definitely achievable but unfortunately rent is going to eat at most of that

You will definitely have to house share. Even a one bed studio apartment near enough to city centre would set you back at least €1,000 minimum p/m and from being nosey on Daft.ie before, these properties are just about liveable. However, having lived and rented in Dublin for four years now the rent prices since I started college have hiked big time- for a decent, clean house share you're talking at least €500. At the moment I'm paying €450 for a room in a great little property that I share with two friends in D.3 but out of all our friends we pay the least in rent and as we're coming to the end of the lease, I can see our landlord raising this to match the Dublin average.

You need to be smart on budgeting- if you can walk/cycle to work then do. Public transport in Dublin is not cheap and you can easily save yourself €2.55 (or whatever the stage is) x 2 each day by walking/cycling- automatically that's a saving of €25.50 per week that you could use on yourself or put towards other costs. Then there's obviously the rookie money saver techniques- Get into a habit of doing a large shop once a week rather than buying food ingredients every day, prep your own work lunches as much as you can, cut back on the morning Starbucks' etc. etc. I'm on a few k more than you and I still try to stick to this so that I can save for a weekend away or if I have a few big social nights coming up. In order to save/budget you need to be organised!

Running a car with 22k a year would be tough however. Although obviously this depends on other factors- how much mileage you do each week, your insurance costs, your car tax. If you have a 2.0L that you use once a month to drive home to the country then it definitely isn't worth the bother!

If you're smart about all of the above then honestly I think you'd be grand on 22k- you should have a decent bit left each week for yourself for a night out or whatever and you definitely won't be living on the breadline. Obviously, we're not talking champagne showers every weekend or luxurious Caribbean holidays but realistically, how many of us below the 32k mark living in the capital can say Dublin is easy living and that we can easily save for luxuries?

Maximus Alexander

Korat wrote: »

You can spot the silver spoon fed types on this thread quite easily. It must be great to start out in life with such a cushion that living on 22k is inconceivable.

It's only impossible if you have a choice in the matter.

In fairness, you don't need to be a 'silver spoon fed type', you just need to have entered the workforce pre-2009 and then have stayed there since.

Tea-a-Maria

Niall558 wrote: »

This is the realistic, chilled out answer I need.
Everyone is else is making me panic. I live out in Leixlip with the rents anyways, so the plan is to save up a fair bit before I make the jump. Quick question though, do you find it better to share in a decent sized place or is it better to have my own place with less space? I've never had to share accommodation with anyone but my family so I know it's a bit of a lotto!

You'll have to share to be honest. There's no way you'll get a one bed for anything under €800 and even at that price it'll be a crapbox. Between 500 and 600 will get you a decent room in a house share though.

Sharing can be a bit of a lottery, and finding somewhere can be a nightmare. Took me three months when I first moved to Dublin! I probably set my budget a bit low though. Have your references all ready and dress nice for viewings is my best advice. You want to make a good first impression.

sbsquarepants

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

Im on 22k in Dublin and don't think it's a struggle at all. Sure, rent takes up a fair chunk of it, but as long as you're not being a tit with your money you'll be fine. I head out 3/4 times a month and still have plenty left over to transfer to the savings account.

Rent, out every week, plenty left for a savings accounts - all on 22k - I find that very hard to believe. You must be walking to the pub to drink water and saving pennies.

Arsenium

Tea-a-Maria wrote: »

I'm on that wage at the moment, and initially was freaking out about how I'd get by too. But, having been in it for a year and a half now, I manage just fine. Here's the rough breakdown each month:
Rent: €500
Bils: €60-70
Transport: €85
Food: €200 (that includes more takeaway than I care to admit )
Phone: €20

That leaves a little under 700 for everything else. I don't run a car and I don't have any debt, which are massive bonuses. Depending on where you live in Dublin you can get by fine on public transport anyway.

You'll be graaaand.

Really? Just totalling you numbers there, 500 + 60 + 85 + 200 + 20 + 700 = 1565 take home per month?

22K (gross I presume) is 1833 per month.

So are you really only paying 268 per month on your gross salary? As in 14%?

I'm not having a go or being controversial or anything. I'm more curious than anything. Plus I've never been great at tax / calculations so I may well be wrong.

Captain Chaos

My expenses per month were

Rent €1,000pm (sharing)
Food €450pm
Light and Heat €110pm shared (during winter)
Transport €160pm (capped with Leap card)
UPC €30pm (shared)
Phone €35pm (rolling contract)

I had no Aldi or Lidl within walking distance or reasonable public transport plus walking distance while carrying a load of shopping so food is expensive.

That was me last year living on 25k in Dublin 5.

Tea-a-Maria

Arsenium wrote: »

Really? Just totalling you numbers there, 500 + 60 + 85 + 200 + 20 + 700 = 1565 take home per month?

22K (gross I presume) is 1833 per month.

So are you really only paying 268 per month on your gross salary? As in 14%?

I'm not having a go or being controversial or anything. I'm more curious than anything. Plus I've never been great at tax / calculations so I may well be wrong.

My net each month is 1611. I dont know off the top of my head how much tax I pay each month. Its why I said roughly €700 left over. Its a bit more than that but I wasn't arsed doing the exact calculations.

awec

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Rent, out every week, plenty left for a savings accounts - all on 22k - I find that very hard to believe. You must be walking to the pub to drink water and saving pennies.

I don't believe it either.

An average night out in Dublin must cost about 40 or 50 quid I'd say. Maybe more depending on where you live and transport costs?

anncoates

It's basically a low salary but how far it will go depends on so many variables: where you rent; are you sharing or living alone; what your lifestyle is like, and if you're in a double-income relationship with somebody.

anncoates

Captain Chaos wrote: »

Food €450pm

:eek:

Fat Christy

anncoates wrote: »

:eek:

I hope that's shock at the amount your man/wan spends on food. I spend about 30 yoyos a week on food, 120 a month.

PARlance

Arsenium wrote: »

Really? Just totalling you numbers there, 500 + 60 + 85 + 200 + 20 + 700 = 1565 take home per month?

22K (gross I presume) is 1833 per month.

So are you really only paying 268 per month on your gross salary? As in 14%?

I'm not having a go or being controversial or anything. I'm more curious than anything. Plus I've never been great at tax / calculations so I may well be wrong.

That would be right.

You pay 4% PRSI and ~4% USC on the €22,000
You pay 20% PAYE which is (22,000 * 20%) €4,400.....BUT you get a tax free allowance of €3,300. So you're only playing (€4,400 - 3,300) €1,100. That €1,100 as a % of your total wage is 5% (22,000 / 1,100)


PRSI 4% + USC 4% + PAYE 5% = 13% effective rate of tax

Iwasfrozen

Captain Chaos wrote: »

My expenses per month were

Rent €1,000pm (sharing)
Food €450pm
Light and Heat €110pm shared (during winter)
Transport €160pm (capped with Leap card)
UPC €30pm (shared)
Phone €35pm (rolling contract)

I had no Aldi or Lidl within walking distance or reasonable public transport plus walking distance while carrying a load of shopping so food is expensive.

That was me last year living on 25k in Dublin 5.

There's your problem. paying 1,000 a month in rent on 25k is crazy. And on a second look that food bill is mad.

anncoates

Fat Christy wrote: »

I hope that's shock at the amount your man/wan spends on food. I spend about 30 yoyos a week on food, 120 a month.

Yeah. Just seems a lot of food expenditure for one person. Not saying what is and isn't obviously, just seems high in the context of a tight budget.

We can feed a family of 4 well on that.

_Kaiser_

Tarzana2 wrote: »

I live on 20k in Dublin. Tight but doable, but I don't smoke or have a car and don't drink much so that makes a huge difference. I'm in D15, but inner D15 almost D7 so central enough. I live in a nice apartment with my BF, we each pay €525 per month.

Tarzana2 wrote: »

I seem to manage to have fun!

Tarzana2 wrote: »

25k net? You're terrible with money. After all my rent and living costs inc bills, I'd have 220 per week to play around with on that.

You're sharing with your BF.. that's shared rent, utilities, food, entertainment etc - even heating costs are reduced as you're using less rooms than 3/4 people sharing a house.. unless you're dividing everything exactly 50/50 then it's not really comparable to someone living alone or with strangers.

Fat Christy

anncoates wrote: »

Yeah. Just seems a lot of food expenditure for one person. Not saying what is and isn't obviously, just seems high in the context of a tight budget.

We can feed a family of 4 well on that.

Crazy money to me as well. I'd cook all my meals and freeze everything though and I know a lot of people wouldn't be as organised as that. I can't bare food waste so everything is pretty much planned. I might have the odd meal or coffee out but I don't think I've ever spent more than 200 euro on food in a month.

lawred2

Niall558 wrote: »

I'm starting a new job soon and I'm looking into moving in to the city or anywhere from Dublin 1 to 8. Is 22k a good wage to live on and what a good breakdown of where my money should go?

it's grand if you don't plan on living

Maximus Alexander

anncoates wrote: »

Yeah. Just seems a lot of food expenditure for one person. Not saying what is and isn't obviously, just seems high in the context of a tight budget.

We can feed a family of 4 well on that.

A takeaway every night would be about €450 a month. I think we just learned something about CC's eating habits. :pac:

lawred2

Captain Chaos wrote: »

My expenses per month were

Rent €1,000pm (sharing)
Food €450pm
Light and Heat €110pm shared (during winter)
Transport €160pm (capped with Leap card)
UPC €30pm (shared)
Phone €35pm (rolling contract)

I had no Aldi or Lidl within walking distance or reasonable public transport plus walking distance while carrying a load of shopping so food is expensive.

That was me last year living on 25k in Dublin 5.

My wife and I manage a family of 4 on a shopping budget of €600 per month

And that includes all the stuff for babies

€450 is insane for one person

twin_beacon

Arsenium wrote: »

Really? Just totalling you numbers there, 500 + 60 + 85 + 200 + 20 + 700 = 1565 take home per month?

22K (gross I presume) is 1833 per month.

So are you really only paying 268 per month on your gross salary? As in 14%?

I'm not having a go or being controversial or anything. I'm more curious than anything. Plus I've never been great at tax / calculations so I may well be wrong.

im afraid the take home pay is €1,611 a month. I entered my own salary into this site, and its pretty much whats on my monthly pay slip https://www.virtualaccountant.ie/Tools/tax2015.jsp?srt=20.00&trt=40.00&prsi=4.00&lusc=1.50&musc=3.50&husc=7.00&susc=8.00&xusc=11.00&musct=12012.00&husct=17576.00&susct=70044.00&xusct=100000.00&src=33800.00&gross=22000&newgrossmonth=&bik=0.00&ss=0.00&pensionpc=0.00&credits=3300.00

Tarzana2

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

You're sharing with your BF.. that's shared rent, utilities, food, entertainment etc - even heating costs are reduced as you're using less rooms than 3/4 people sharing a house.. unless you're dividing everything exactly 50/50 then it's not really comparable to someone living alone or with strangers.

Actually, sharing with just one person means higher bills than in a house-share.

It's not comparable to someone living alone, but doesn't differ much from a house-share at all and I've found living costs so far as a duo higher than in a house-share. Rent is higher and bills are are only split two ways, rather than 3+. And food bills are the same as in a house-share.

Captain Chaos

lawred2 wrote: »

My wife and I manage a family of 4 on a shopping budget of €600 per month

And that includes all the stuff for babies

€450 is insane for one person

I keep hearing and reading that but some days I'd just have a sandwich and a cup of tea as I'd be short on supplies. Carried home 2 bags of shopping the other night that cost me €65, half of that is gone already. I generally just eat one meal a day.

Can't really get my head around it at all. If I did I know I'd save loads.

Ush1

Captain Chaos wrote: »

I keep hearing and reading that but some days I'd just have a sandwich and a cup of tea as I'd be short on supplies. Carried home 2 bags of shopping the other night that cost me €65, half of that is gone already. I generally just eat one meal a day.

Can't really get my head around it at all. If I did I know I'd save loads.

A sandwich and a cup of tea a day does not work out as 450 euro per month.

smeal

Captain Chaos wrote: »

I keep hearing and reading that but some days I'd just have a sandwich and a cup of tea as I'd be short on supplies. Carried home 2 bags of shopping the other night that cost me €65, half of that is gone already. I generally just eat one meal a day.

Can't really get my head around it at all. If I did I know I'd save loads.

Is this ONE MEAL a day by any chance a helping of lobster with a side of caviar?!

Reoil

AndonHandon wrote: »

Why save when you can just borrow? Carpe diem grandad.

Is this guy a troll or just ridiculously stupid?

Tar.Aldarion

Please post that receipt!

Daenarys

Tarzana2 wrote: »

And food bills are the same as in a house-share.

Any house share I've been in (sharing with strangers, friends is different!) everybody has to buy their own food.

I find that it's one of the biggest expenses; buying food for one. Alot of it goes off before you can eat it. Anything done in "single servings" is very overpriced so sometimes you have to buy a product in a quantity that a family of four would get better value from.

IMO a food bill halved would make a bit of difference money wise.

Fat Christy

Daenarys wrote: »

Any house share I've been in (sharing with strangers, friends is different!) everybody has to buy their own food.

I find that it's one of the biggest expenses; buying food for one. Alot of it goes off before you can eat it. Anything done in "single servings" is very overpriced so sometimes you have to buy a product in a quantity that a family of four would get better value from.

IMO a food bill halved would make a bit of difference money wise.

Have ya not heard of a freezer?

awec

Tarzana2 wrote: »

Actually, sharing with just one person means higher bills than in a house-share.

It's not comparable to someone living alone, but doesn't differ much from a house-share at all and I've found living costs so far as a duo higher than in a house-share. Rent is higher and bills are are only split two ways, rather than 3+. And food bills are the same as in a house-share.

It depends who that one person is. A couple living together will spend less than two strangers (or even just friends) living together.

Eugene Norman

Titzon Toast wrote: »

That is an absolute disgrace. I've never seen anything like that before.

Sure that's illegal. I mean if they ban bedsits.

Hans Bricks

Sh1tbag OToole wrote: »

Ah and sure he might get a Christmas bonus of 4k, and the following year he'd get another 5k increase. Sure he might as well buy himself a new car while he's at it, nothing big mind you but with a hitch and enough poke to retrieve the jetski from a steep slipway. He won't have loads of diposable income at the start but he'll be drinking cocktails in the Shelbourne by 2017, right around the time I plan to start flogging slapped up units bigtime.

Hope to have all my units gone soon after and have a nest egg built up to make a good bid on the government tender for air meters. You see at some point in the future the case will be made by the EU that our units use too much air and we'll be required to buy 'pretend air' from air-efficient countries such as Germany and soon after I'll be on the party scene in Valetta with my buddy Denis while my boys back in Ireland bring in the dosh for making the country's units air-meter compliant

You definitely don't hate property developers ..... :pac:

Tarzana2

Daenarys wrote: »

Any house share I've been in (sharing with strangers, friends is different!) everybody has to buy their own food.

I find that it's one of the biggest expenses; buying food for one. Alot of it goes off before you can eat it. Anything done in "single servings" is very overpriced so sometimes you have to buy a product in a quantity that a family of four would get better value from.

IMO a food bill halved would make a bit of difference money wise.

Not a bit, tbh, from experience. The food bill isn't halved. Why would people think it would be in a couple? You can buy some store cupboard stuff so there's a small saving there but I eat the same amount of veg and carbs and meat and fruit as I did in a house-share and pay for my own food myself.

I hate food waste and have done for years so that isn't an issue for me, now or then. Freezers, people! I seem to waste a bit more food in a couple actually than when in a house-share.

awec wrote: »

It depends who that one person is. A couple living together will spend less than two strangers (or even just friends) living together.

Maybe, but most people share with more than one person. And even then, if it's just two housemates, heat and light will be a bit higher, but I can't fathom why food bills would be. Have people no clue of correct food storage?

Niall558

House sharing seems to be my best bet then! I'll start budgeting now just to get a feel for it then hopefully in 2 - 3 months I'll be on my own feet.

Eugene Norman

Tarzana2 wrote: »

Not a bit, tbh, from experience. The food bill isn't halved. Why would people think it would be in a couple? You can buy some store cupboard stuff so there's a small saving there but I eat the same amount of veg and carbs and meat and fruit as I did in a house-share and pay for my own food myself.

I hate food waste and have done for years so that isn't an issue for me, now or then. Freezers, people! I seem to waste a bit more food in a couple actually than when in a house-share.



Maybe, but most people share with more than one person. And even then, if it's just two housemates, heat and light will be a bit higher, but I can't fathom why food bills would be. Have people no clue of correct food storage?

To be fair many Irish freezers are Tiny McTiny town compartments on top of a fridge.

Niall558

Eugene Norman wrote: »

To be fair many Irish freezers are Tiny McTiny town compartments on top of a fridge.

Get a chest freezer. You can store months worth of food in them!

Tarzana2

Eugene Norman wrote: »

To be fair many Irish freezers are Tiny McTiny town compartments on top of a fridge.

I've lived in a lot of rental accommodation down the years, and in only one place was the freezer that small. And even then, my food waste was minimal.