Cost

For many of us, hybrid working is now the new normal, and this has given rise to more London workers moving out into the suburbs. Whatever the motive, whether it be greener spaces or being priced out of the London property market,  suburban living has a lot to offer. But this pepped up demand has resulted in property prices in certain commuter towns skyrocketing since the start of the pandemic. Indeed, amongst the top 10 most expensive towns in England, all are within commuting distance of London. Are there any towns with direct rail routes to London that remain affordable?

Below we look at the five towns with easy access to London (max. 1 hour train journey), where the average property price remains below £400,000. At the time of writing, interest rates are high and so we’ve calculated the monthly mortgage costs based on a 6% interest rate, a 15% deposit, and a 30 year term. Furthermore, we’ve listed the cost of an open return train ticket to London so you can see the overall cost of living and commuting in these towns.

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Owning a car can be a great way to get around, but it’s important to be aware of the costs involved. It’s generally advised that you shouldn’t spend more than 10% of your income on transport costs, and yet the cost of leasing a basic hatchback and spending £100 per month on fuel, will cost someone earning the average UK salary 12% of their take home earnings. There are so many different costs to consider when purchasing a car, some more obvious than others. Below we outline these various costs of car ownership to help prospective buyers make an informed decision.

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The cost of living crisis continues to dominate headlines whilst simultaneously making life increasingly difficult for many in the UK. This includes 4 million children belonging to families struggling with food poverty, a demographic that has doubled in the last year. More broadly, around half of all Brits are buying less food these days. This is of little surprise when you consider that the annual inflation rate for food reached 19.2% as of March 2023: the highest rate recorded for 45 years!

Even for those whose consumption hasn’t changed, the selection of items going in the basket may well be different these days. Some shoppers are looking out more for deals and others have changed their buying habits. But which foods has inflation hit the most?

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Most cyclists are obsessed with speed. Cycling speed is affected by a number of factors, including aerodynamics, power, and weight.  When it comes to weight, carbon fibre is amongst the lightest of materials from which to build a bike. It’s also easier to form obscure shapes from carbon fibre for the purposes of improved aerodynamics (versus, say, aluminium). Furthermore, carbon bikes are arguably smoother to ride, thanks to the material’s slightly shock-absorbing properties. For these reasons, carbon fibre bikes have become highly desirable.

An entry-level carbon bike starts at £1,000 ($1,350 USD). A pro carbon bike can cost as much as £30,000 ($40,000 USD).

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Organic food is produce that is farmed without the use of pesticides and man-made fertilisers. Put simply, organic food is the most natural food you can buy. Research shows that organic food can be better for us (since it contains higher levels of certain nutrients), and organic farming better for the environment. The benefits of eating organic may go even further. One study has shown that individuals eating a diet of mostly organic food have a lower risk of developing cancer.

Whilst the appetite for organic food is on the rise (64% of British people purchased organic vegetables in an average month according to this 2017 study), with the UK market for organic food now worth £2.3bn, many people feel like they simply can’t afford to buy organic. So is the perception that buying organic groceries is far more expensive than non-organic food a myth, or is there truth in it?

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Are you about to rent an unfurnished property for the first time? Perhaps you’re about to complete on your first house? Whilst very exciting, neither scenario comes without cost (the deposit, legal and moving fees, etc). If you don’t own any furniture right now then you may be wondering how much it’s going to cost you to furnish your new place. Especially because there are certain items of furniture you will have to purchase either before or immediately after moving in, such as a bed, for example. In this post, I will breakdown the cost of furnishing each room in your home from some of the UK’s most popular furniture retailers.

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I spend relatively little money on my appearance. For example, I am currently using  Lacura shower gel that costs 55p / bottle from Lidl to wash both my body and hair. Consequently, I smell like the pine-scented air freshener hanging in your Dad’s Skoda. One expense I do choose to bear, however, is getting my hair cut once a fortnight. My hair grows fast and experiments of growing my hair long as a teenager weren’t pretty. I also have a beard, and so I find a regular haircut an effective means of looking less homeless.

Until recently, I was living in East London and paying £18 for a haircut at an independent unisex hair salon. The local barbershop was a lot cheaper at £10 per cut but there was always a queue, even in the middle of the day. I recently moved house and, due to the lockdown, am yet to find a new place to get my haircut. I started wondering what the going rate for a men’s haircut is these days. So I thought I would do some research into how much does an average men’s haircut cost.

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We recently moved out of London and bought a flat in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. As you would expect, we got a lot more for our money in Buckinghamshire (where the average house price is £396k), versus if we had bought in London (where the average property price is £477k). Meanwhile, and on the downside, our commuting costs have increased a lot. Property prices range quite a bit from town to town in Bucks. It turns out the train ticket prices do too! So I decided to look into which Buckinghamshire towns are the cheapest to live in and commute to London from.

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We purchased a Cavapoo puppy a few weeks back. Since then, a few people have asked us how much it cost us. There are no UK-specific Google articles I could find on this subject. So, in this post, I will share how much we paid for our Cavapoo puppy, Alfie. I’ll also go into where we bought him, and how much he has cost us since.

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