How much money do you need to live well in the capital?

The figures are hotly debated, with influencers posting breakdowns of their living costs that reveal just how split attitudes are to what is “enough” to live comfortably in the capital, where the average rent is now over £2,300 a month, a flat white sets you back nearly a fiver and a PizzaExpress meal for a family of four more than £100.

Take an Instagram video from business expert Ash Talwar, @asht_talks. He argues that a single person needs a salary of £77,000 to meet expenses of £4,580 a month for a comfortable life in London, made up of rent (£2,200), council tax (£250), bills (£300), transport (£200), holidays (£300), shopping (£200), groceries (£250), gym membership (£80), entertainment (£300) and some set aside for savings (£500).

Comments range from “£7k a month and anything less than that and life in London is hard” to “I’ve been rage baited, £1,400 all in for me, in a couple, rent Zone 3, 2-bed, food, bills, gym and TFL.”

Crunching the numbers

Researchers have attempted to get more scientific. The people behind budgeting app Emma created a “data-driven analysis” for single childfree Londoners suggesting that “the magic number for true financial freedom and a thriving lifestyle” is £100,000 to cover £5,500 per month of expenses, including £500 for groceries and eating out, £200 for health and wellness and £1,000 for savings, arguing that this salary removes the need to make tough trade-offs between your social life, personal spending and future goals.

The Minimum Income Standard (MIS), meanwhile, puts the basic salary you need to live with dignity in inner London at £54,400 for a single working-age adult. This compares to £30,500 in urban areas outside London for the same standard of living.

Cleaners and Deliveroo aren’t flexes for those on 60-hour weeks

Philly Ponniah, financial coach at Philly Financial

The MIS project by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University is based on interviews with Londoners on what they think households need to spend, and therefore earn, not just to survive but to participate in life, including expenses such as a regular haircut and an occasional trip to the cinema.

They found a couple with two pre-school-aged children, one under two, living in inner London, would each need a pre-tax salary of £66,582 to cover weekly minimum outgoings of £2,019.64, including £184.18 on food, £49.85 on clothes, £137.34 on travel costs, £535.26 on rent and a massive £684.10 on childcare.

That is compared to just £34,865 for a couple with similar aged children living in the rest of the UK.

Londoners’ budgets are particularly affected by the high cost of housing and childcare in the capital. As a result, more than four million adults — and half of all London’s children — are living with less than the MIS recommends.

You can plug your own circumstances into the minimum income calculator to see how you compare at minimumincome.org.uk.

Feeling the pinch

Even Londoners on six and seven-figure salaries report that they are feeling the pinch, says Philly Ponniah, financial coach at Philly Financial. The most common topic that comes up at the moment with clients is why they don’t feel wealthy even though they are high earners, a category known as HENRYS (High Earning, Not Rich Yet).

“I completely understand why someone on a lower income hears that people on £100k plus are struggling and thinks it sounds ridiculous, but London really exposes the gap between income and wealth.

“A £100k salary isn’t what it was 10 years ago, especially if you bought or remortgaged into a higher interest rate environment. Once you’ve covered a mortgage, essential bills and commuting, there’s often surprisingly little left over.”

The convenience trap of London life

And then there’s the convenience trap of city life. “When you’re doing 60-hour-plus weeks, the Ubers, the Deliveroo, the late-night online orders, the cleaner and the childcare aren’t flexes, they are just head-down survival mode,” Ponniah adds. “These are people earning really well, but because nobody’s ever sat down and actually gone through the numbers, thousands can leak out every month just keeping the household ticking over on autopilot.”

Londoners are also more likely to get caught out by tax traps such as the £100,000 “cliff edge”. “For every £2 you earn between £100,000 and £125,140, you lose £1 of your personal allowance,” explains Sarah Coles, head of personal finance for AJ Bell. “By the time you earn £125,140 you’ve lost the lot, so on that chunk of your salary you effectively pay 60 per cent tax.”

This is particularly an issue for parents relying on full-time childcare, because once one half of a couple starts earning £100,000 you lose valuable support from the Government.

Cash-saving perks for London living

The capital may have some of the highest living costs in the world, but there are aspects to a London lifestyle that actually save you cash — from free culture to bargains from businesses on your doorstep.

Free and discounted culture

There are more free museums in London than those that charge an entry fee. Many offer free admission in the evening. The V&A, for example, offers after-hours free live music, performances and workshops. Tate Collective offers £5 tickets for 16to 25-year-olds, while the Young Barbican slashes admission prices to exhibitions, concerts, films and shows for those aged 16 to 29. The National Theatre gives discounts to under 18s and over 60s, plus offers £10 Friday rush tickets for shows the following week at nationaltheatre.org.uk/your-visit/ ways-to-save. If you sign up to sites such as Central Tickets, you can pick up cheap last-minute tickets for shows that haven’t sold out.

London resident discounts

Check whether you can get money off local attractions as a London resident. The City Living Resident Card, the London Bridge DealCard and the King’s Road Privilege Card give discounts on restaurants, shops and more to those who live and work locally. If you live in Lambeth or Southwark you can get 20 per cent off tickets at the Old Vic. Newham residents can claim a discount at the Discover Children’s Story Centre, while residents of Westminster, Camden and Lambeth can get 20 per cent off London Transport Museum annual membership. Those in Southwark, Tower Hamlets, or the City of London get £1 Tower Bridge tickets.

Apps that save you money

Take advantage of apps such as Too Good To Go and Olio, where food that would otherwise end up in the bin gets sold off on the cheap at the end of the day. If you prefer to eat out, download dynamic pricing platform EatClub, where restaurants set real time discounts — often up to 50 per cent off — to attract customers.

Affordable cycling schemes

If you are on a low income, a student, a key worker or an NHS bluelight card holder, you get money off Lime bikes, Voi, Forest Bikes and Santander cycles. Commuters should take full advantage of the tax-efficient bike-to-work scheme, which offers up to 47 per cent off bikes and equipment as well as the try-before-you-buy programme, available from many London councils. See if you’re eligible at trybeforeyoubike.com.

Five tips for managing on a stretched income in the capital

1. Ensure you are claiming all you are entitled to

Millions of pounds of benefits are overlooked. The Mayor of London has a cost-of-living hub where you can search for benefits you may be entitled to (london.gov.uk/programmesstrategies/communities-and-social-justice/ help-cost-living), or try entitledto.co.uk and turn2us.org.uk. If you are on a low income you may be eligible for cheaper bills.

2. Add up your numbers

Separate what you spend on essentials from more flexible expenses, how much any debt is costing you and what your salary equates to earnings per hour. For example, a £45,000 salary with the legal minimum pension contribution equals take-home pay of £689 a week. This makes it easier — and slightly more depressing — to see what you can actually afford day by day.

3. What are you spending to make life easier?

Ponniah cautions against punishing yourself with a brutal budget as it rarely sticks. Instead she says “map 12 months of spending and separate what genuinely brings you value from what’s just convenience spending driven by exhaustion. Earmark money for fun, make sure you take time to tune in to what you value so it makes it easier to say yes or no to spending.”

4. Pay more into a pension to cut your income

If you or a partner earn more than £100,000 and you face losing childcare entitlements, you can take steps to bring yourself below the threshold with salary-sacrifice schemes. Coles says: “When you pay into your pension, it comes off what’s known as your adjusted net income, which is what’s used to calculate your eligibility for childcare support. Some people can boost their pension contributions, build a better retirement, and bring themselves back off the edge of the cliff at the same time.”

5. Don’t tap and ignore transport costs

One of the biggest outlays for most Londoners is transport, so stop wasting cash on it unnecessarily. Download the TFL app, so you can spot and correct any errors. It is estimated that people who check regularly can save £30 a month just by catching overcharges. “Saving £30 monthly on transport gives you £360 each year,” says Ben West of London Mutual Credit Union.