Compare living costs with one household budget

Define the household and the basket

Set the number of people, dwelling size, intended neighbourhoods, and whether you need a car. Make a list of quantities per month: rent for a comparable home, energy, groceries, passes or fuel, and recurring expenses such as broadband. Write whether electricity, heating or building charges are included in rent. Keep an up-front cash column for a deposit, moving charges and furniture.

Put like prices side by side

In the source log keep price, unit, area and period. Record a listing as an asking price and a published rent series with its own definition. Multiply unit prices by identical quantities, then convert recurring charges to one period: a weekly cost becomes a monthly average by multiplying by 52 and dividing by 12. Where the dates differ, mark the older figure and check for a newer price before drawing a conclusion.

Convert once, with the rate written down

Keep all original prices and add a converted column. Fictional example: at 1 EUR = 5 units of a local currency, a bill of 750 local units is 150 EUR (750 ÷ 5). Use a consistent date and source for conversions. The ECB publishes reference rates for information. Actual payments may use a different rate and fees, which belong in the budget if relevant.

Test the budget with one change

Compare monthly totals and first-month cash separately. Mark missing costs as unknown and say which totals exclude them. Change the largest uncertain cost to a plausible higher quote and recompute. If that reverses your conclusion, look for stronger evidence for that expense. If you compare affordability, use comparable take-home income and say how you estimated it.

• Compare housing and income on PiSpace Costs

• Record the price source and date