Le course i believe you dear Barbara because living in a house there i.e. a lot To do on a smaller scale of course.well donne Barbara you deserve à happy retirement
Oh dear Mr Hearne you have no time for cupcakes…figurative speech.
“Barking, fruitcakes, clouds and cuckoos!”
Are you being rude…
No Andrew hasnt got time To talk about cupcakes hé works 12 hours a day 6 days a week and Andrew is certainly not rude
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je te taquiiiiine, Barbara 
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There certainly is a lot of fruitcake around here but it is not coming
from my kitchen.
Oh well you may all be busy with tobacco and all that keeps you busy
but at least I create conversation.
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7000 euros a years = 580 euros per month.
here in France wé need at least 1250 euros per month To live normally where is the problem
OMG 
there have been times in the past when I haven’t earned that much per month.
That proves I’m abnormal, I’ve always suspected it
On the very rough calculations I have done - I would agree 1250 euros a month is needed throughout the year.
Mat are you talking per person?? or per couple ?? the old adage that 2 can live as cheaply as one… is not necessarily true… but 2 incomes do help.
Per couple - but this would include a bit of scaling back - this included
Running 1 low cost car and all associated costs
1 return trip to UK per year
Local Taxes
Food
Heating
Electricity
Water
Internet
Food
Clothing Replacements
Medical Insurance
Building Maintenance
It is very wise to consider what you will need to be paying… add a bit more… and then see what it gives you.
Many folk come over with lots of work to do on the house etc… and find it very hard. Once all is done and dusted, it is possible to live quite happily with a lower amount. Each to their own of course… we all have very different views/aims…
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Although a few years off retirement I calculate that at todays prices we will need a minimum of 2k per month to have a comfortable life.
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We oldies (retired) will all be working on our Declarations soon… then we will see just how much has been spent over the past 12 months…
We live on less than this amount per month. We pay no local taxes because of our income level/husbands age and our mutuelle is subsidised by the state via ACS. A return trip to the UK is not necessary but a wonderful pleasure for me which my mother pays for. We have no building maintenance as we live in an HLM flat.
There are plenty of people in France living on less than 1250€ per month for all sorts of reasons.
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I have lived on less than that, run a car and a motorhome, taken lots of holidays and done lots of travelling. Saying that, some of the travelling is subsidised or paid for.
It’s all about priorities and cutting your cloth, isn’t it. I don’t like to be stuck in one place all the time so I have a small house that needs little maintenance and is cheap to run, hence I can do more travelling. And as Mandy points out, if you’re on a low income you are entitled to things like free healthcare, cheap rate electricity, reduced or exemption from property taxes - though as an inactif EU ressortissant you wouldn’t qualify for state healthcare at all if your income is too low.
I’m not saying living on less than that amount is aspirational, and I certainly wouldn’t retire early if it would mean having to cut back on things I want. But I do find it a bit blinkered when people state flatly that “no one can do this that or the other”, just because they personally couldn’t or wouldn’t want to. I realise that for many people, moving to France is all about achieving a certain lifestyle, which requires a certain level of income. But it’s also possible, and equally valid I think, to move here for the life, rather than for the lifestyle.
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I am talking a bout our pensions today Anna
… but hopefully, not down the drain 
Having reviewed the costs (previously included 2 cars and 2 UK return trips) - I think we could possible just squeeze under 950 euros per month - at which point the costs of local taxes may reduce as initially we will have no income.
I have been advised by our neighbours to try and allocate 1500 euros per month - which would make things a little more comfortable.
This is to live on a what I consider to be acceptable level rather than just survive.
Money doesnt grow on trees if you have plenty all the better but money comes and goes.
Not sure of your situation Mat, but regardless of how much you actually need or don’t need, bear in mind that the official minimum income threshold needed for an inactif EU ressortissant aged 65 or over, to take up residence in France, is 1 246,97 €.
So if you’re within 5 years of reaching 65, any less could create issues with right to reside in the long term.