Need some advice - Finishing Uni, where to go and live next

Whackeygrunt

Whackeygrunt

Whackeygrunt

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6 May 2009
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371
Hey all,

Right, a bit of a long read so back out now if you can't be bothered with that.

OK I am almost at the end of my Uni course (about 5 weeks of small reports left) and I'm currently in a tenancy agreement until the end of June though may be movign out earlier depending on how a new place will work out.

My best estimate, accounting for eveything I know I have to pay for between now and then (rent, utilities, my best guess at food costs, phone bill, net bill) and what I expect will be the cost of a bond on a new place (maximum I am expecting to pay) will leave me with £400 in the bank. This is already in the overdraft limit of my account :o

So with this £400 already there I will receive an income of £400 benefits a month (dole and housing benefits). Now I am going to be looking for work around the local area (Teesside) and if I get a job then this whole topic is moot and the problem is solved. However I am ASSUMING and preparing for the worst possible scenario which is that getting a job is going to take some time (always has done in the past and this current economic climate yadda yadda. Please assume this also so that I can see what consensus is formed from this scenario).

So that's a monthly income of £400 a month, plus the £400 already there. The maximum I am willing to spend on my share of the rent of this possible new place is £200 a month. I will be living with three others guys who will cover the rest (estimate £800 month rent, MAX. Could be cheaper thus my share would be cheaper).

That means after the first month I will be down to £600 before I spend anything on food, phone bill etc. This trend would continue until whenever I found work. If it lasted a whole quarter then it would also account for my share of the first utilities bill. This would be somewhere in the £100-150 range for my share.

I am confident I could stick to an £80 a month food budget and the only other expenses would be a £30 a month phone bill and whatever I spend on myself (pub, dvd's, clothes and that kind of thing. Nothing too eleborate or extreme in cost).

This lifestyle would be doable. But I'd be **** poor. Not really able to buy expensive things and there's also the risk of something costing more (bills) and me not havcing the money at hand to pay my share. Also the benefits could stop due to the local incompetence of the local jobcentre and/or other factors.

Now with these estimates in mind and the assumption that work is gonna take a while to find would you say to go into a new tenanacy agreement
with mates or would you say I should move back home to the 'rents (which is only 25 mins away via train) where money would be saved (and I could look for work around that area) but it would be social suicide. Possibly a slight exageration but after living locally here with mates for the past two years I'm sure people can see what I'm getting at.

Cheers.
 
to be brutally honest with you, with finances like that, you shouldn't even entertain a house/flat share with your mates cos your one big, unexpected bill, away from going back to your rents anyway. which is deeply unfair on who ever your flat/house sharing with.

go back to the rents, save, get job, then house share, but not until you've got a bigger cash cushion than the £400 notes you've got as backup right now.
 
Hmmm so basically it's a get hand out from the state or get them from the parents?

Personally I'd look to move back home, you should be looking at getting jobs lined up now. in my time at uni in my final year I was actually starting my grad job pt around this time.
 
VoG said:
to be brutally honest with you, with finances like that, you shouldn't even entertain a house/flat share with your mates cos your one big, unexpected bill, away from going back to your rents anyway. which is deeply unfair on who ever your flat/house sharing with.

go back to the rents, save, get job, then house share, but not until you've got a bigger cash cushion than the £400 notes you've got as backup right now.
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If going back to the rents for a bit is doable this is sound advice. Go home, get a job doing anything easy, clear your overdraft and try put a bit away as a buffer for when you do move out, all the while looking for the job you're aiming for that I presume has something to do with your degree?

I fear you may not get the best of responses from here if you're a uni student and planning to go immediately onto the dole :p
 
Raymond Lin said:
You forgot council tax...not a student anymore.
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You don't pay council tax if you're claiming job seekers and housing benefits. Or so I am told.

This has all come about because my mates have said they need me to make a decision very soon as to what I'm doing. Chances are I'm going to have to sign for a new place with them in the next month or so. I'm going to start looking for work this week, hand in cv's at the local recruitment agencies etc. I will be looking for anything tbh. If I get a job between now and the end of May then, like I said this topic will become moot and life goes on. Happy days.

This scenario is going under the assumption that I do not find any work and will be living off of benefits for the foreseeable future. I need advice on what people would do given the facts already stated and with the income/expenses (best possible estimates) given in my first post.

EDIT - I should add (for added clarity) that i will not be using my degree at this point in my life... Long story short I discovered far too late into my course that I was naff at it, compared to the other people on the course, and that it holds no real interest for me. i thought it did at first but there you go. I'm seeing it through as it's near the end and I may as well finish what I started. Maybe the degree will come in handy at some point down the road but for now I just need any job. For money and because society says so.
 
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Whackeygrunt said:
You don't pay council tax if you're claiming job seekers and housing benefits. Or so I am told.

This has all come about because my mates have said they need me to make a decision very soon as to what I'm doing. Chances are I'm goign to have to sign for a new place with them in the next month or so. I'm going to start looking for work this week, hand in cv's at the local recruitment agencies etc. I will be looking for anything tbh. If I get a job between now and end of May then, like I said this topic will become moot and life goes on. Happy days.

This scenario is going uner the assumption that I do not find any work and will be living off of benefits for the foreseeable future. I need advice on what people would do given the facts already stated and with the income/expenses (best possible estimates) given in my first post.
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Do you need to be anywhere in particular to get a job relating to your degree? You shouldn't be moving in with your mates because they need an extra person to make rent, there needs to be some consideration to the future that doesn't involve you working in Tescos.. its why you went to Uni in the first place I presume?
 
Whackeygrunt said:
This scenario is going uner the assumption that I do not find any work and will be living off of benefits for the foreseeable future. I need advice on what people would do given the facts already stated and with the income/expenses (best possible estimates) given in my first post.
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If you're unlikely to find a job then is moving out really the best idea? It's going to strain your resources quite significantly and even if you do find a place for <£200 and your dole/housing benefit comes to £400 (no idea on the figures for Teeside, I'm taking your word for it) then that leaves you with at best around £200 per month to feed yourself, transport costs, pay bills, go out occasionally etc.

Unfortunately I think this might be one of those situations where taking the short term pain of going back to live with your parents will be to a longer term benefit as you'll be able to get yourself on a sounder financial standing which will then allow you to enjoy yourself properly when you move out again.
 
semi-pro waster said:
If you're unlikely to find a job then is moving out really the best idea? It's going to strain your resources quite significantly and even if you do find a place for <£200 and your dole/housing benefit comes to £400 (no idea on the figures for Teeside, I'm taking your word for it) then that leaves you with at best around £200 per month to feed yourself, transport costs, pay bills, go out occasionally etc.

Unfortunately I think this might be one of those situations where taking the short term pain of going back to live with your parents will be to a longer term benefit as you'll be able to get yourself on a sounder financial standing which will then allow you to enjoy yourself properly when you move out again.
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Aye the £400 is what i've been told is the going rate as a mate of mine has looked into it. So I'm assuming it's correct.

Yea what you've said makes sense. It really does. If my mates were able to wait for me to save money then there would be no issue and I would move back home and then move in later. As it is, they need someone now. We are all close mates but obviously living needs come first and they don't have the option to move back with their 'rents as I do (various circumstances). Maybe somewhere down the line I will be able to get another place with them. who knows... Gah...
 
Assuming you're under 25, you will only be eligible for the lower rate of jobseeker's allowance which is £51.85 per week (or £224.68 per month). I'm not sure which local authority you fall under but Middlesbrough Council has a local housing allowance for a shared room of £50.00 per week (or £216.67 per month.) Bearing in mind you won't 'gain' money from housing benefit (as it is extremely likely any rent you pay will match the local housing allowance) you're looking at paying for food, gas, electricity, water, internet/TV/phone bills and any personal spending out of your £224.68 per month jobseeker's allowance.

TL;DR: Young, single people claiming jobseeker's allowance have an extremely tight budget.
 
Move back home. I did it last year and for a while it will feel like social suicide but you get out if it eventually. With those finances I would not look into getting a place. Save.
 
Yea the replies in here have affirmed what I had suspected would be the most wise choice. Unless I get a job between now and whenever they want me to sign, I'm moving home. Cheers guys.
 
Whackeygrunt said:
Quick question though - Why do the younger people get shafted with the amount of benefits they receive? Why are over 25's more important?
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I wouldn't be 100% certain but I'd suspect it is because people over 25 are more likely to have commitments (e.g. family, mortgage etc) than those under 25 and are additionally less likely to be able to go back to their parents for support. It's probably not entirely fair but that would be my guess without having researched it.
 
Maybe it's to make the idea of "living" on benefits that little bit less appealing as soon as soon as they become eligible for them.
 
if you want a job

leave teesside !

i really really wouldnt be signing up for a house for a year when your so skint and when you may need to leave the area to get a job
 
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