How much money would you need to support a basic standard of living? A report published today says that a single person living in Britain needs an income of £13,400 a year, while a couple with two children need £26,800.
The minimum income standard was worked out based on the answers of a panel of people from varying backgrounds surveyed by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
The Foundation says the research is not designed to show how much money a person needs to survive, but an income that:
... affords full opportunity to participate in contemporary society and the basic options it offers. It is moderate in the sense of laying both above the requirements of survival and decency and well below levels of luxury as generally understood.
As one panelist puts it:
Food and shelter keeps you alive, it doesn't make you live.
Which is why on top of a mortgage or rent the researchers factored in spending on items such as a television, DVD player, a barbecue, a PC and a holiday, a simple meal out and the odd cinema ticket, two packets of crisps and a bottle of cola and one of lemonade each week. The income also covers two dental check ups and one filling per year, at a cost of £61.10.
How well does this reflect your spending? Do you agree that all these things are needed for a basic standard of living? Is £13,400 enough for you to get by on?
