Money and costs

Money

A useful budget is a list of current quotes, dated, with a note of what is still unknown. This page does not publish a sample monthly total, because those figures go stale and vary by city and household.

Write down rent or a mortgage payment, a deposit if you will have to pay one, regular bills (electricity, water, internet, council tax or its local equivalent), transport, school or nursery fees if they apply, and food. Add a line for one-off costs at the start (flights, a visa application if you must make one, furniture if a flat is unfurnished). Leave a line marked "unknown" rather than inventing a number.

Currency conversion should use a rate you look up on the day you need it, and should allow for the fee your bank or transfer service actually charges. A round number remembered from last year is not a rate.

School and university fees, and any government application charge, belong on the official page for the year you care about. If a page does not state the year, ask. This guide will not quote a figure in their place.