Cost of living on your own

Bassmansam · 25 Aug 2011 at 19:05

dalin80 said:
Worcester area, 1 bed flat ~£650 a month including £360 mortgage, £110 ground charge and all the usuals. ~£900 out including my pension.

Whats the other £290 for?

cm1179 · 25 Aug 2011 at 19:10

about £1k a month, that doesn't include going out on the beer etc

Lakeland · 25 Aug 2011 at 19:11

PermaBanned said:
So anywhere between £600-£1k basically?

Yes that seems a very good ball park figure, £600 would be at the very bottom end though.

Energize · 25 Aug 2011 at 19:22

Monserrat said:
Copying LiE:

Mortgage £318
Council Tax £73 (with single person discount)
No landline
Internet £21
Food £300 (including booze)
No TV licence, no TV
No boiler cover, just get it serviced once a year for £65
Buildings and Contents £26
Water £15
Gas + Electrics £49

1 bed house in Stafford.

£300 on food for one person? Where do you do your grocery shopping, Harrods?

Jono · 25 Aug 2011 at 19:28

£a lot more than you expected

FeFiDoh · 25 Aug 2011 at 20:17

Yeah pretty much Jono! I could afford to do it but wondering if its worth the hassle moving out of him and not having money to save and put away.

The freedom is lovely don't get me wrong I moved out once before and loved it but doing it on my own would leave me a bit strapped for cash and probably not feeling to great about it either. Doing it with someone is certainly easier.

Rich1988 · 25 Aug 2011 at 20:39

excluding food nearly £800 a month for me, which is a lot

but its so much better than living at home, 1k a month inc everything is a pretty safe estimate.

reilly · 25 Aug 2011 at 20:40

It is always cheaper the live with friends. Rent is cheaper per a person. Then you get to economies of scale like BB, Council Tax, Gas for heating and water and your portion gets smaller. (Well normally). I think 3 people living together is the sweet spot.

Pawnless Endgame · 25 Aug 2011 at 20:51

Energize said:
£300 on food for one person? Where do you do your grocery shopping, Harrods?

It does include booze, toiletries, cleaning, contact lens stuff, those plug vaporiser things and other consumables. Basically anything that you get from a supermarket. A few people have written £300 in this thread.

rIcK · 25 Aug 2011 at 21:00

Currently live in a detached property:

£500 pm Mortgage
£30 pm Electric
£15 pm Gas
£18 pm Water
£8 pm Phoneline
£16 pm O2 Internet
£35 pm Virgin Internet
£28 pm Sky TV
£12 pm TV License
£100 pm Council Tax
£25 pm House / Contents Insurance
£10 pm mobile phone
£200 pm food / alcohol
£55 pm car insurance
£50 pm fuel
£15 pm car tax

So as a real rough estimate £1120 ish~~ outgoings. As it happens though I split many things with my partner but around £800 if you are by yourself...

Energize · 25 Aug 2011 at 21:31

Monserrat said:
It does include booze, toiletries, cleaning, contact lens stuff, those plug vaporiser things and other consumables.

So not food then.

Still though that's a lot of money on drugs and toiletries for 1 person. £25 a week is what I would consider reasonable for a shop.

PU7E · 25 Aug 2011 at 23:32

Rent £400
Council tax £75
Water £30
Electric £50(summer)-£90(winter)
internet/phone £30
Petrol/transport £60
Food/shopping £80

Sanity £Priceless

Pawnless Endgame · 25 Aug 2011 at 23:46

Energize said:
So not food then.

Still though that's a lot of money on drugs and toiletries for 1 person. £25 a week is what I would consider reasonable for a shop.

£25/week? In 1998 when I was at uni, yes :-)

ticklemebougy · 25 Aug 2011 at 23:55

Just looked at some flats over here and the cheapest i found was £600 for an attic bedsit not including bills.

Energize · 25 Aug 2011 at 23:57

Monserrat said:
£25/week? In 1998 when I was at uni, yes

I think it's representative of what the necessary costs are for a single person today which seems to be what the op's after, £300 is what a family could get by on in a month. Sure you can spend £200 extra on alcohol, chocolate selections and expensive perfume or whatever, but that is a luxurious spend indeed.