Dataset: Can You Afford to Divorce - Stowe Family Law

	A	B	C	D	E
1	Financial Consideration	Monthly estimate	Source	Link	Notes
2	Housing (rent or mortgage)	£1,200 – £2,200	ONS private rental prices and Rightmove rental trends	Index of Private Housing Rental Prices, UK - Office for National Statistics https://www.rightmove.co.uk/press-centre/house-price-index/	London £1,800 – £2,200 ONS London rental inflation + Rightmove market averages Manchester £1,200 – £1,600 ONS North West rental data + Rightmove Leeds £1,100 – £1,500 ONS Yorkshire & Humber rental data Birmingham £1,200 – £1,600 ONS West Midlands rental data Newcastle £1,000 – £1,400 ONS North East rental data Bristol £1,400 – £1,800 ONS South West rental data What the ONS actually gives us: - average rent increases by UK region - not exact city rents DERIVATION LOGIC We take: - regional ONS rental bands - and apply midpoint estimates for 1–2 bed homes
3	Household bills (energy, council tax, broadband)	£350 – £600	Ofgem energy price cap and ONS household spending	https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/energy-price-cap-explained https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/expenditure	Ofgem (2026): - energy cap ≈ ~£1,600–£1,800/year typical use ≈ £135–£150/month per household BUT that is ONLY energy. ONS shows additional household costs include: - council tax - water - broadband - mobile DERIVATION LOGIC -Energy (Ofgem 2026): ~£135–£150/month per household -Council tax (typical Band D equivalent): ~£130–£170/month -Water + broadband + mobile: ~£80–£140/month combined -Total per household: ≈ £380–£420 minimum - Multiply for realism (usage + variation): £400–£600 range
4	Food and groceries	£400 – £600	ONS household expenditure	https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/expenditure	Logic - UK average household food spend - Adjusted for inefficiency of two households WHAT ONS ACTUALLY SHOWS Average UK household food spend: - varies ~£350–£500/month depending on household size BUT: - separated households often lose economies of scale DERIVATION LOGIC - Single household = ~£350–£500 baseline - Separation = inefficiency uplift (~10–20%) Adjusted: £400–£600
5	Transport	£180 – £300	ONS transport expenditure	https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/expenditure	Logic Includes: - commuting duplication - fuel/public transport - household travel inefficiencies DERIVATION UK average per adult household transport: ~£150–£250 typical Separation effect: - duplication of commuting + household travel inefficiency range uplift: - £180–£300
6	Childcare (where applicable)	£200 – £800	CORAM (Coram UK childcare cost ranges (region + age dependent, post-funded hours variation))	https://www.coram.org.uk/resource/childcare-survey-2025/	This is NOT universal — only applies where childcare is needed. KEY REALITY (VERY IMPORTANT) UK childcare is: - highly variable - heavily subsidised for eligible families - regionally inconsistent WHAT CORAM SHOWS - nursery costs vary widely by region - under-3 care is most expensive - funded hours significantly reduce costs for many families DERIVATION LOGIC We are NOT saying: “average childcare cost” We are saying: “where childcare is required post-separation” So range reflects: - part-time nursery usage - after-school care - mixed subsidy access
7	Leisure & other discretionary spending (Per Household)	£100 – £300	ONS household expenditure (recreation + dining out categories)	https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/expenditure	We derive it like this: ONS recreation + restaurants & hotels categories Logic - single household baseline spend - partial duplication after separation - NOT doubled
8	Total estimated monthly cost	£2,300 – £4,000+
9		LOW CASE EXAMPLE Housing: £1,100 Bills: £350 Food: £400 Transport: £180 Leisure: £100 = £2,130 – £2,600	HIGH CASE EXAMPLE Housing: £2,200 Bills: £600 Food: £600 Transport: £300 Childcare: £800 Leisure: £300 = £3,800 – £4,000+		Illustrative modelling based on publicly available UK datasets including ONS, Ofgem and Coram estimates the potential cost of maintaining two separate households after separation
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