Living on my own for the first time.........

yvonne1984

After living with my mum all my life I moved in with my boyfriend. We are now splitting up and I need to move out. I don’t see how I will be able to afford living on my own, I don’t have the option of moving back in with my mum.

I work fulltime but my job doesn’t pay very well, after tax and nation insurance I’m left with about £800. I’ve had a look and properties to rent are about £400+. I don’t think I make enough money to live off on my own after bills, food etc.

I’ve never lived on my own and I’ve never had to deal with any bills etc. I had always given my bf half of my wages and he paid everything so I’m pretty clueless.

Any advise would be really appreciated.

birduk

Yvonne, your best (and only) bet may be a houseshare. Do you live in a big city? Places like Leeds always have lots of houseshares available. Or rent a room in someones house? That way you can start to budget.

You need to work out your own budget- how much do you need to spend every month (food, bills, transport) and how much do you actually spend. Work out what is left over and what you can do about it. There are ALWAYS ways you can cut back. SOA is a good thing to clarify things.

It will be difficult on a low budget, but you can do it!

Jowo_2

Download the Budget Planner spreadsheet on the Tools section of MSE to help you.

Spending 50% of your net wage on accommodation exclusive of bills is a dismal ratio as you already suspect.

Though you would get a 25% single person's discount for the council tax, you could be looking at the following additional monthly costs

£75 council tax
£60 utilities
£25 water
£30 landline/broadband

then there's things like travel, food, social expenses, insurance.

Have you considered a flat share which could almost halve the expenses for you or lodgings which are normally inclusive of bills? Or a studio which could work out a little cheaper?

Check if you are entitled to any benefits on the Entitled to (turn 2 us) website.

PasturesNew

You're right, at £800 you don't have enough to live on your own in most areas, although you've not said where you live.

As a rule of thumb, after rent you'll need:
- £200 for basic bills
- £100 to feed yourself
- £60-100 to travel to/from work

So that could be £400 of your takehome pay.

You need to find a house share, then get yourself a 2nd job (evenings/weekends) and save all that money away so you're in a better position financially when you want to make your next move.

To get any benefits, you'd have to be single, living alone in self-contained accommodation, over 25, working more than 30 hours/week, earning a low income (less than £13,300 I've seen on these boards recently). Usually this means if you're working 40 hours/week on minimum wage then you're already earning too much for WTC anyway, so for most single people living alone etc etc it's a non-starter.

mufi

Are you claiming tax credits? A single friend in a similar financial position to you qualifies for this.

Good luck - as others have said, a house/flat share seems the only option.

Moomin21

Flat shares are good - I've made so many new friends that way, which is good as I, like you, had to do it after a break up.

I live in Leeds so don't know what prices are else where, but i had a room in a nice shared house which included ALL bills and that was £335 a month!! that way, you don't have to worry about other outgoings aprt from food, phone, travel etc so this would be easily do able for £800!

yvonne1984

Thank-you all for your help.

I’m not calming any benefits at the moment, I’m 25 and living in Falkirk (Central Scotland)

I will look into all that you have suggested.

Thanks :j

Svenena

I don't know if this is the same in Scotland as England, but if you're over 25 and on a low income, you can apply for Local Housing Allowance (LHA) for a one bed flat. Check out your local council website to find what rates apply, and then go to the entitledto website. That will tell you how much you'd get. And also whether you qualify for working tax credits. You might be surprised, so it's certainly worth checking.

I think if you've never lived alone before though, a room in a shared house would be best, as the rent tends to be inclusive of bills, so you then don't have to worry about these.

Good luck with it!