Moving out, but inexperienced.

IT_nerd

Hi,

I'm looking to move out in the next few weeks and I cant figure out how much I can afford to spend on a place to rent.
Currently the cheapest one bedroom is around £500 with a nice one being 580 a month. (I want the nice one )
With my new job I will be earning £1,185.63 after tax and NI.

My car is fine and it wont be getting much use as I will be using public transport often, but need it on standby for my new job.

My current phone contract is the only thing I have to pay monthly.
It's £30.
And I will need broadband which I have found for another £30 including line rental and mobile broadband too.

I just don't know how much to budget in for electricity, gas, water.
I just have no idea. What does water come in? Pints? :rotfl:
I know council tax is £75 a month.

So you think I could live off that wage with a flat at that price?
Also, I can cook. So I think £100 a month on food is easily dooable.

Thanks.

Running_Horse

Have you considered house share?

It has its own downsides, but would increase your social circle while saving money.

IT_nerd

I have, but i'm pretty keen on living on my own.
Last time I asked about flats here I got lots of people telling me to flat share, but while I would undoubtably put up with it I would rather live on my own.
Also, I just did the new tax calculation using 09-10 figures (22% income, 11% NI) and got just over £1200 a month now. Is NI deducted before, or after tax?
I'm better off, maybe. Wooo.

Running_Horse

That's fair enough. The only other alternative I would suggest is what I did when leaving home. Live in a grotty bedsit, and save to buy your own place.

IT_nerd

Grotty bedsit gives me the same problems and more.
Are you just saying that I can't afford it?

Running_Horse

I have no doubt you can afford it. But you also need a social life and to save for the deposit in your signature. Only you know how important these things are to you.

honeyD

Hello. I just wanted to say dont underprice things. We did this when we took on our tenancy, luckily we managed but we didnt expect our water bill to come straight away and to pay £300+ a year for it! We also ended up paying more electric and gas than we originally thought.
If its any help there are 2 of us in a 3 bed house, we use around £25 gas a fortnight and just under £20 electric.
TV licence is about £139/year too if you want tv.

McKneff

You could change your contract for your mobile phone from a £30 to a £15
i know its only a few quid but you might just be £15 short of your rent one month.

Water meters are usually cheaper if you are allowed to have one fitted.

~Beanie~

You should be able to do it - I earn about the same and although my mortgage is half your rent, I pay over £400 per month off my debts

I pay/budget roughly:

£54 council tax (inc. single person discount)
£50 gas
£20 electric
£20 water
£12 TV licence
£20 buildings/contents insurance
£10 mobile phone (PAYG)
£15 broadband
£10.50 landline
£100 food
£10 clothes
£10 presents
£10 car tax
£10 car maintenance
£10 haircuts
£50 entertainment

LeeSouthEast

Budget for:

Rent (£580 pcm)
Council tax (£75)
Electricity (£50)
Water (£33 (400/yr ish))
BT Line (£12)
Broadband (£18?)
Sky TV? (£21+)
Gas (£40?)
Car-Related (£80?) (Tax, Insurance, Fuel, MOT, Maintenance etc.)
TV Licence (£12)
Your Mobile (£30)
Food (£100)

Total Liability per Month: £1051.

You're the right side of your monthly income, but it doesn't leave you much room to play with. Will your rent increase next year? Council tax certainly will as will most other bills. What if your car needs something major doing to it? You're left with minimal contingency funds to cover such eventualities.

I'm not trying to put you off - moving into your own Chez is one of the best feelings! Is overtime available at your workplace? Could you use this to build up a contingency fund?

IT_nerd

Running_Horse wrote: »

I have no doubt you can afford it. But you also need a social life and to save for the deposit in your signature. Only you know how important these things are to you.

Yeah, the point of moving out is not only for my new job but for meeting new people.
I just don't want to live with them
I can go out for the night with £20 and have a good time, so it's not a large outgoing.

honeyD wrote: »

Hello. I just wanted to say dont underprice things. We did this when we took on our tenancy, luckily we managed but we didnt expect our water bill to come straight away and to pay £300+ a year for it! We also ended up paying more electric and gas than we originally thought.
If its any help there are 2 of us in a 3 bed house, we use around £25 gas a fortnight and just under £20 electric.
TV licence is about £139/year too if you want tv.

Usually I overprice things to make sure i have a worst month scenario.
From your prices I'm going to guesstimate the following for this 1 bed flat (per month)
Gas = £30
Water = £20
Electric = £35

So that's 800 all in, just to live. Then there's shopping and going out (Travel is paid by company).
So around £400 to have fun and eat with.

Not as bad as I thought.
Don't think I'll bother with TV, I download most of the stuff I watch.