A recent survey by UBS Wealth Management Research has put Dublin as the third most expensive city to live in, with an index of 105.2 (including rent expense – I just don’t quite buy indices that don’t include rent, especially if it’s to reflect accurately the cost of living of a city) following comparison with New York as the base index of 100. Coming out ahead of Dublin are London (120.2) and Oslo (112.3), while Copenhagen (102.6) trails closely behind Dublin.

A good thing though, according to the same survey, that those living in Dublin has a relatively strong earning power, ranking fifth in gross pay and second(!!!) in net pay with indices of 111.7 and 132.3 respectively. Really? Certainly, I need to find a job that pays this well.

Just in this month’s issue of The Dubliner magazine, John Lowe reveals that it costs an average of €33K per annum (gross salary level) to live in Dublin. And he gives a breakdown of how the expenses (monthly) may be incurred.

Rent €650
Mobile €100
Food €350
Gym €55
Utilities €70
Dubliner Subscription €50
Health Insurance €30
Pension €200
Fun €300
Travel €70
Clothes €200
Banking €100
Holidays €150

Looking at the breakdown, I agree on the observations with regards to rent, utility bills, mobile expenses (although it definitely can be a lot less if one be more aware of his/her phone usage), food, transport, health insurance and pension.

Fun, clothes and holidays, they are equally important but I guess if cutbacks are required at any point, these would be the first places to look into a reduction of spending. As for the gym, well, surely there are other way to get fit at lower/no costs such as jogging at the park? Nonetheless, it is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle and I’m all for spending the amount for this than to spend the same on, say, a few pints at the pub or another couple of cocktails in a fancy pub in town.

Mind, I did find the €100 for banking/credit cards somewhat unrealistic, as that is based on minimum payment of 5% on a €2000 balance. This means no matter how you’ll always be owing the bank on your credit card balance and hardly ever going to be able to clear this out. I’d rather stick to the principle that if you can’t clear your credit card balance by at most 3 months, particularly after a large credit transaction, then you’ve overspent!

To be honest, I am a little scared that I know of quite a few people who are living very much on credit. I was once told by a colleague where I held a part-time job with, that she wouldn’t be able to pay her credit card bills even if she put all of her salary that month towards the payment. And yet right the next day, she was out shopping during lunch break again. What’s even more amazing was, the bank would have no qualm giving her increases in credit limit, as long as she doesn’t miss any of her minimum repayment requirement.

So, how much is it costing you to live in Dublin?