monthly living expenses as a homeowner

Treadway1

LumpyCustard wrote: »

On average I use 1500 kwh electricity and 8000 kwh gas per annum. Could be better though, as the fridge is on permanently (temperature sensor broken), and I only have 2 "green" lightbulbs in the house! Definitely do-able if your house is fairly new and well-insulated - mine was built 1996.

1500KWh!!!! I know I live in a 3 bed semi, but I still live alone like you, and use double that.... 3198KWh at last count!!!! How do you do it??? :rotfl:

andrew-b

2 Bed bungalow (outer south east region) with just the two of us.

Pay alot of these yearly so have averaged out to per month:

BT Line Rental (not incl calls) £10.27
O2 Broadband £12.24
O2 Top-Ups (£10 per 3 months) = £3.33
TV Licence £11.95
Electric (incl 1 month cashback) £41.25
Gas (incl 1 month cashback) £24.75
Water £26.50
Boiler service £5.83
Buildings/Contents Insurance (incl accidental) £19.99
Council Tax £103.52
Car Insure £19.43
Club Toyota (RAC) £4.92
Car Tax & MOT £17.71
Pet Insurance £8.58
Pet care plan £9.98

Total £320.25

If you cancel out the car (£42.06) and pet (£18.56) = £259.63

..we usually just about break even each month. Actually quite surprised as hadn't worked this out before. The above doesn't include my quidco cashback on insurances etc which equates to about £10 per month).

Don't forget that there's always money to spend on maintenance for any property you buy and kitting it out with fixtures, fittings, furniture etc! Also don't forget the costs of moving in the first place - solicitor's fee's, removal company etc.

Andy

andrew-b

other thing i didn't mention...in 2006 we used to pay £320 a month rent - before all the ctax, utilities, phone, tv, broadband etc. As i got a nice little inheritance we dont have a mortgage so as you can see we are way better off than when we were renting!!

Andy

Fire_Fox

First thing to point out is that there is a thread on the Debt-free Wannabe board called 'live on £4k for a year' - this is for an entire family and does not include mortgage and council tax. There is also a very useful Statement of Affairs calculator on a sticky which you can use to budget.

We are two in a two bedroom all electric flat and we don't run a car or have a landline. I have left off my ground rent and management fees which only relate to leasehold properties.
Band B council tax £75 a month (25% single person reduction as I am a student)
Buildings and contents insurance £180 a year
Electricity DD £34 a month (was £26 over summer)
Water meter £20 a quarter
My mobile £12 a month contract plus 08 calls
Mobile internet £15 a month
TV license £12 a month
Food less than £100 a month each
Public transport £50 a month.

will-he-payitoff

SplanK wrote: »

This is our outgoings - 3 bed semi, 2 young couple... please note some are estimates - such as the gas and elec - at the moment the DD is set to £100 however im sure this will be lower - we just moved in at the start of winter and TV licence was paid off in one go

Broadband £18.00 (yes i know its expencive - however some special extras are needed!)
Elec + Gas £100.00
Water £29.16
Friends Prov (life) £12.87
Axa (Home Ins) £20.14
Axa (Contents) £11.37
Mortgage £671.00
O2 £29.95
Car Ins £26.70
Council Tax £105.00
BT £10.50
Fuel £300.00
Train and tram £173.00
Vodafone £35.00
Food £250.00
Total:£1,792.69

You are paying treble what I pay for house insurance, I would look for some cheaper quotes. Also you have 2 contract mobiles and pay additional for broadband, you could shop around and get free broadband with your mobile.

SplanK

the broadband is with Be.... i need a static IP address and reverse DNS capabilities, most "cheap" ISP's do not offer this... although when the phones come to renewal we will be going on cheaper deals

helenjg

will-he-payitoff wrote: »

You are paying treble what I pay for house insurance, I would look for some cheaper quotes. Also you have 2 contract mobiles and pay additional for broadband, you could shop around and get free broadband with your mobile.

It depends a lot on what your house is and the rebuild cost.

My house, built in 1790 (ish) is constructed of solid stone walls and stone slate roof. rebuild cost on insurance = double value hence a £30 premium.

maninthestreet

lethal0r wrote: »

im going to buy a small 2 bed terrace on my own soon. ive been trying to figure out how much it will cost me just to survive each month.

im thinking realistically it will be £450 minimum a month excluding the mortgage.

I have taken into account: phone / internet, home & contents insurance, water, council tax, food, gas, electricity, car insurance, tv licence.

is this realistic? have i missed anything? how much do you live off?

Clothes???

Obukit

To give you a different perspective, this is for me and my girlfriend in a very small 1-bedded flat. We're currently living like monks to save for a house deposit .

Rent £520
Council tax £124
Electric £9.75
Water (metered) £8
Food £30 (work in hospitality so lots of free leftover buffets)
Mobile broadband £12.50

We've cut out car, TV, and phoneline, and don't pay insurance as there's nothing worth stealing in our flat!

We also don't have any transport costs unless visiting friends as my girlfriend catches a free bus to work and I travel from unstaffed stations and there's never a conductor on board to buy a ticket from!

wywywywy

Hi. Don't forget the maintenance costs of your new home. Such as boiler service, window cleaning, etc...