I'm fed up with my budget - advice needed

before_hollywood

have you thought about taking in a lodger as well mate? i earn similar you and it gives me breathing space with the bills

my budget is
mortgage £380
water £46
council tax approx £100
electric £28
gas £9 (central heating isnt on at the moment)
food £80 (i leave that much it rare i use that much)
house insurance £18
car insurance £43
dental £17
phone £20 (i know i know but my blackberry is my toy)
broadband £5
petrol £50
tv license £28 ish (i am in first 6 months)
landline £16 (edit did i not add that?)

income including lodger rent is approx £1500, budget is higher than i would like at £800 but i am a bit of a miser lol

will be better when i come out of my 6 month tv license arrangement in the new year, i need to work out exactly what i am spending on food, so far it is £28 but i really need to go shopping for veg and stuff

want2bmortgage3

Thanks BH.. I would be so much more relaxed if my mortgage was £380. Unfortunately I'd have to reduce it by over £40,000 to get anywhere near that figure

before_hollywood

you are probably in a much nicer part of the world than me mate

want2bmortgage3

south east RG31 post code, quite an expensive area, fairly quiet, low crime, but not much character to the place. what about you?

Bootski

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

my monthly budget is too tight, i have no spare money to spend on clothes, music, going out etc. i'm a 27 year old single male and i dont want this sort of pressure knowing im working all the time to just meet the main bills.

i own a 2 bedroom flat which is worth around £130,000 (i bought nearly 3 years ago for £140,000). at the height of the market it was worth around £160,000.

these are my main outgoings:
mortgage £644.40
council tax £81.52
buildings ins £13.43
gas £15
elec £20
water £15
broadband £7.50
mobile £10
petrol £80
food etc £80
contact lenses £11.58
car insurance £25
car tax £16.96
dentist £1.35
ground rent £2.50
presents £20 (birthday/xmas)
total £1056.24
income from work £1144.95
there are other unexpected things i havent included and havent allowed for going out, buying clothes...
i know i need to make some changes, but what?

You want to be mortgage free but have tied yourself up in being the complete opposite. You bought, you tried it and you don't like it.

i feel my options are:
1. find a lodger to bring in £300-350 a month - might be ok but not sure if i'd mind someone else living with me, it could be annoying?
2. get a p/t job in the evenings (but i wont get hardly any free time)
3. downgrade my property - a studio nearby is for sale at £85,000 and would be fine for me on my own - I think this is the best option for you - You don't want (1) to get a lodger and have to share your space and I can understand the wholly. (2) Get another job to cover your current outgoings which you've sussed have risen and then have less of a life than you're trying to obtain already.

any advice welcomed, thank you for reading

I'd not sell if you could help it but if you're feeling throttled then, IMHO, you should not continue to push yourself to the limit as you currently are. In your position I'd NOT compromise!!

Good Luck on Purely Making the decision xxxx

before_hollywood

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

south east RG31 post code, quite an expensive area, fairly quiet, low crime, but not much character to the place. what about you?

manchester m26
ex council place i share with my lodger

want2bmortgage3

thanks bootski think you are the first person to agree with that option...

when i bought this property i was originally letting it out so the loan to income thing wasnt an issue, its only since i moved in myself ive realised the cost of it all..

Bootski

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

thanks bootski think you are the first person to agree with that option...

when i bought this property i was originally letting it out so the loan to income thing wasnt an issue, its only since i moved in myself ive realised the cost of it all..

I say that as I'm not even there yet. I'm coming into an inheritance once I've sold and have been put off this investment thing, thinking I could secure even my most immediate future which is what we all want right?

Well not if if means strife and struggle, I'd rather give it away. In your situation, I'd seriously reconsider the options open to you and what's realistic. More importantly - where you go from here.

Owning property ( your own home - which we ALL want ) is sometimes not a possible nor viable option without compromising on other VERY important aspect of your life. I've thought about it a lot as I will have some options open to me once I get my inheritance but why put it into 4 walls to secure my future when actually it won't do anything of the sort and just make me worry continuasly about the present - ie bills, sharing my space etc.

I won't profess to be able to advise you but thing about how your worries are consuming you now with the burden that is your property. Let it go, rent, live life. Don't take in a stranger to help you with the bills, Don't get another job to meet the demands.

Don't compromise, you've got more than you might ever have but be happy and go the route of what you can best cope with, without thinking about what's might happen next.

That's what I think I'll do - nerve racking but free!!

Matt_Hutchinson

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

south east RG31 post code, quite an expensive area, fairly quiet, low crime, but not much character to the place. what about you?

FYI, the average going rate for a spare room in RG31 is around £350 pcm. This comes in at £4,212 pa so below the threshold for having to declare anything or pay tax. I don't know if you have a room you could let to a lodger but it's worth thinking about. Don't forget, you don't have to take someone in permanently, you could do 6 months then have a break if you fancy it.

I'm not saying you should get in a lodger of course (it's not for everyone) but it's an option that's working for a lot of people at the moment.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask if you have any lodger-related questions as I deal with this stuff a lot at work.

Cheers
Matt

want2bmortgage3

Thought I'd do an update, I am still fed up with things as I have been doing 3 hours overtime most days lately, and still not seeing much of a reward. I'm also feeling like I have no time for anything other than work as when I'm finished I only have a few hours to eat and relax! I don't feel this is a good lifestyle and dont really like working more than 1/3 of the day!

So its obvious to me that my out goings are too high, despite cutting back everywhere I can (eg let my buildings insurance expire-i know its a risk, no tv, driving work van home etc).

I still dont really want to take a lodger, one because I dont definitely want to stay here, and two because being single and not having loads of belongings I could quite easily live in one room.

So I'm left with buying something cheaper and selling this place, or renting it out and taking a room at a friends (although it is a small room). I think I can rent my place out easily through the council tenant deposit scheme at £800 a month. What do you think if anyone is still reading this?!