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HELP - Cost of living/renting

Hi There,

Bit of background. Im a 22 year old male with a few (but not massive debts) and my partner is 21, female (no debts), etc, etc.

We are thinking of moving out in the next few months, an idea we are playing with but of course are carefully considering as we both have supportive parents and are not being forced out.

Thing is the question is, how much and what do you generally have to pay every month. I know we'd like a 2 bed house/flat to rent at apx 450 to 495 pcm but what other costs and monthly budgets should we expect.

Any kind person living in say a 2 bed house or modern flat care to indluge my attentive ears with a lovely list of costs?

Thanks :T
Ben

Comments

  • Gwhiz
    Gwhiz Posts: 2,322 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    There are lot's of budget guides on the web if you google.

    Council Tax
    Water
    Elec
    Gas
    Food
    etc etc etc etc
  • BitterAndTwisted
    BitterAndTwisted Posts: 22,492 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Don't forget TV license, telephones, internet access and/or cable TV and contents insurance. Why not ask your parents about all the different costs they bear relating to their homes?

    The one, big imponderable with the nastiest surprise is likely to be heating and hot water. This can vary an awful lot depending on how heat-efficient the place is and whether it's gas or electricity or whatever. I'd recommend you ask either the LL/LE/or current tenants what their winter fuel bills are currently and budget accordingly. The second thing I'd recommend is that when you do have an indication of what the whole lot is likely to be that you both save that amount every month, less what you pay already to see how you might fare. Plus you'll be building up a nice fund for your deposit, rent in advance and moving expenses. Also you'll need to buy a lot of things you won't have anticipated like bed-linen, towels and anything else your landlord may not supply. Just a washing-up bowl, floor mop, ironing board and cleaning materials can tot up to fair bit when you're buying all that kind of thing in one go.
  • aylithuk
    aylithuk Posts: 463 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 17 May 2009 at 4:55PM
    Hi mate

    me and my OH have a 2 bedroom house but we live in lincolnshire and we paid 475 for our FF (well white goods, a new bed and awful sofa! :cool:)

    All in all with all the bills split down the middle I pay out 368 per month

    Rent 475
    CC Tax: 82
    water: 36
    Gas: 28
    Ele: 50 (we have 2 computers running all the time)
    Home insure: 16
    TV: 49


    TV Licen (36 per Q - and not in the budget)
    Food: 36-50 per week

    Hope this helps you out. The only thing I'd look into is CC Tax as it might be higher or lower depending where you live.

    The guys above me are right. Get an extra 150.00 to buy your 1st month food shopping as trust me it's xciting doing your 1st food shop and you will spend more then needed and this also will allow you to buy the things you need aka Dustbin, mop, iron, cleaning items etc etc
  • bristol_pilot
    bristol_pilot Posts: 2,235 Forumite
    I live in a 2 bed flat and the monthly bills excluding rent come to £300.
  • jojo9239
    jojo9239 Posts: 322 Forumite
    We have a 2 bed apartment in Manchester

    Rent - 425
    Water - 20
    Elec - 30/40
    Tax - 60 (single person discount as partner is at uni)
    TV - 37 Per quarter
    Internet - 10
    BT - 11.95

    I spent loads getting stuff like furniture and home stuffs
  • Cool, thanks for all your advise so far. Finding it very insightful!

    Bitterandtwisted - Good idea, will have achat with her about that idea!
  • superfran_uk
    superfran_uk Posts: 1,115 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    My partner and I pay 725pcm for our flat, so it's obviously a more expensive area, but we have a joint account we both pay into and i'd estimate our other costs add up to at least £600 a month - that includes the following bills (all approx): council tax (£125), electricity and gas (£65), water (£35), insurance (£10), phone and internet (£15), tv license (£12). It also includes food and other household shopping, and eating out/going to the pub occasionally. Remember to always put a bit by each month too for emergencies.

    I would warn you that you're likely to have a LOT of expenditure when you first move quite apart from agency fees and van hire - things like phone and internet packages all have set up costs (although you can offset these by going through quidco) and you will probably have to buy things like cutlery and crockery, pots and pans, cleaning products, a tv, possibly furniture if it's unfurnished.

    Hope that helps.
  • foi1983
    foi1983 Posts: 111 Forumite
    2 bedroom flat in south west London

    Rent - 1150 (soon to be 1100)
    Water - 23
    TV licence - 12
    council tax - 125
    Sky package (internet, phone,tv) - 60
    electricity - 80 (bloody spotlights everywhere - at least 6 in the lounge, 8 in kitchen, 3 in each of the 2 bathrooms, 6 in corridor, 3 in each bedroom)
    Gas - 50
    Slimming world member since 18 January 2010
    Current weight = 194 lbs
    First goal = 168 lbs by 3 May 2010
    Progress = 0/26 lbs
    Second goal = 154 lbs by 21 June 2010
    Final goal = 133 lbs by 27 September 2010
  • lei_armstrong
    lei_armstrong Posts: 391 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    This is a really useful thread - me and my boyfriend are hoping to rent our own flat later this year. Locally 1 bedroom flats range from £600 to £750 so I thought if we each contributed £500 (which is how much I'm saving a month at the moment anyway) at then at a guess it would be enough to cover tall the bills as well. I didn't really have any idea about the actual costs though but looks like we should be able to manage it :D
  • GrammarGirl
    GrammarGirl Posts: 1,466 Forumite
    Hello, I'm just about to move into a 2 bed flat with my boyfriend... have been renting for a while so know how the costs work out. Here's what we're looking at:

    Rent £550
    Council tax: £96
    Electricity £50 ish
    TV and internet £35
    Phone line rental £10
    Food £100 ish

    Water rates are included in our rent. We're in North Leeds, have lived all over the city though and this is the most expensive rent we've had (even city centre was cheaper!)

    One thing I'd recommend is a joint bank account (if you trust each other enough to be financially linked) .
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