Need somewhere to live on my own :-(

willsonline

Hello peeps after some advice. Suspect what some answers might be but sometimes a different perspective from you guys may help!

Im 26, and need to move out of my parents home, I really cant bear it anymore - I need my independance. Im single and earn 15,500 a year.

Even on a 1 bed flat in my area at £550 per month would be a huge struggle for me :-(

What are my options please guys & gals.

Thanks in advance.

Will

sandiep

Go and get a house share. Much cheaper, and a next step from living at home, because you still get some company, and you get to split the bills. Don't know where you are but Loot is one of the best when it comes to finding rooms like this.

elsien

Sharing with friends if you don't want a house share with strangers.
Studio flat instead of a one bed flat. (posh bedsit!)
Contact housing associations - unlikely if you're single but always worth a shot.
Become a lodger - still not your own place but gives you more freedom than being at home with family looking over your shoulder.
Check out whether you'd be entitled to any housing benefit or council tax benefit (probably not but can't hurt to look at entitledto.
Look at the old style board and learn how to live on £20 a week.

willsonline

Im leaning towards house share - studio flat would do my head in. Ive applied for working tax credits hopefully for some relief on this! The council cant even help - they've scrapped the housing waiting list and I probably wouldnt be able to register on it.

Stressed!

BTW - dont really have any friends to live with at the minute due to their circumstances.

Fire_Fox

House shares can be great fun and you can make new friends, also try some of the lodger websites such as 'spareroom'. Living alone is not just expensive in terms of rent but also paying all the bills on your own, electric heating and council tax can cripple someone on a low income. Do you have a deposit and the first months rent set aside? If you are running a car, consider moving very close to work so that you can walk or cycle, I can live on next to nothing without transport to worry about.

This is the budget planner used by the Debt-free Wannabe board
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html
I don't think you will get working tax credits unless you have less than £65 a month leftover after rent and council tax, not even sure it isn't council tax benefit you will be more likely to be entitled to on your income.

hellokitty08

I managed perfectly well. I moved in to my own apartment on a wage of £15k. I pay £425 rent and about £80 a month council tax. I have £20 a month for water, £40 for Electricty and £20 for gas. £100 for food shopping. It is managable if your careful with your money and if you look you can find really nice apartments, depending on where you live, but I saw a huge variety when I looked and ended up with a really modern, large trendy one bed place. I wanted to afford a few more things, so I took a Saturday job too. Probably not so easy to come across now, but I have been doing it for nearly two years.
I dont like sharing, but if you havent done it before it can be a good place to start.

Owain_Moneysaver

Caravan in the back garden?

willsonline

hellokitty: yes, the lettings market where I live has dropped off massively recently. Used to be able to get somewhere nice for 450/500. Now its risen to £550 for somewhere fairly decent. I have a 40 min commute to work so would have to cover this by car/train. Train ticket for the month is £180.

I also need a bit left over for clothes/the odd night out. :-)

BitterAndTwisted

I can't think of anything worse than paying a large proportion of your take-home pay on rent from a very modest salary to live on your own and then not having enough left to go out and have a decent social-life. Being captive at home can be very, very isolating.

I think your best option would be to find a flat or house-share at a rent which would allow some fun and for you to set some savings aside

Fire_Fox

willsonline wrote: »

hellokitty: yes, the lettings market where I live has dropped off massively recently. Used to be able to get somewhere nice for 450/500. Now its risen to £550 for somewhere fairly decent. I have a 40 min commute to work so would have to cover this by car/train. Train ticket for the month is £180.

I also need a bit left over for clothes/the odd night out. :-)

£180 a month you could be spending on rent or your social life, how much are rooms/ flats close to work?

bristol_pilot

Houseshares are great fun, whether with friends or strangers. It's a great way to make new friends, if you don't get on you can always move out and the house feels like your own space. If there are 3 or more people in the shared house, that's when costs really start to come down. Don't live with a couple, or with smokers if you are a non-smoker.

I would not recommend being a lodger with the landlord living in the same house - it will just be like living with someone else's parents!