Average living costs

luckycat99

Hi

I am about to move to a 1 bed flat in London but as I've been living in shared house in London, I'm not sure how much my living costs will be once I'm living on my own. I'd be grateful if someone could give me a rough idea of how much c/tax, water, gas and elec might cost on a monthly basis. I'm trying to figure out what I can afford to pay on rent and the amount that utilities will cost has a big impact on my budget.

Thanks guys

CloudCuckooLand

London is a big place...and different flats fall into different bands.

Example council tax; http://www.croydon.gov.uk/advice/counciltax/ctaxcharges/ see if you can find your own borough with google.

Water, if metered, hopefully under £20 a month.
Gas and elec, get them together to benefit from dual-fuel and internet discounts, should be under £50 a month, hopefully, but depends on efficiency of devices/insulation/windows etc.
BT phone line, £11 + calls.
Broadband, £10ish
Buildings insurance, £10+
Contents insurance £10+

Buying your own white goods or renting? - a full set can be rented for around £50 a month.

BitterAndTwisted

Don't forget your TV license, that's £12 a month alone or your fares which will probably be in the region of £120. Whatever amount you think you need to live you're really going to need more and London is a really miserable place to live on your own when you can't afford to go out and be with or meet other people

<sebb>

If you are living on your own remember to apply for a single persons discount on your council tax (you get 25% off).

If you find a property you like you can check the council tax band here

http://www.voa.gov.uk/cti/InitS.asp?lcn=0

Then you should be able to check the actual amount of the council tax on your local council website.

Also remember that gas/electric bills will be higher in the winter when you use more heating so dont forget to budget for that.