newbie :) need advice on rentin

MissLaw

hi all
Im a newbie here due to my mum saying u were all helpful with advice
Im currently living with my mum and family and also my boyfriend of almost 2 years we are hoping to rent a property off our own

We have decided to put money away everyweek into a sealed pot which we will open in a year and count.

We have thought of most things but was wondering if anyone could add anything else we need to help get totals right

• tv license
• council tax
• rent
• elec
• gas
• food bill
• phone and internet
• sky/freeview
• house insurance

Anyone that could any more to list it would be greatly appreciated

and is it worth getting contents insurance?

overandout_2

+ Water Bill

You only need contents insurance - you do not need to get building insurance as this should be covered by your landlord

RAS

Hi

Can you take the initial caps off you message so peopel can read it more easily - hit the edit button and then save.

If you go to the www.makesenseofcards.com website and use their statement of Affairs, you can get an idea of your likely expenditure.

Idiophreak

RAS wrote: »

Can you take the initial caps off you message so peopel can read it more easily - hit the edit button and then save.

Spelling "of" correctly will help, too

morg_monster

It looks like you've got most of the "joint" bills. Stuff like car costs, travel costs, I guess you will be keeping separate for now (seems sensible!). but you will each need to take those kinds of costs into account when you work out what you can afford (eg if you bf has a car and drives to work every day but you cycle he's going to have more monthly costs for commuting than you are).

There's one off stuff you might need when moving in like a hoover, ironing board, kitchen bits and bobs but it's hard to budget for those - you may be able to get lots of that kind of stuff free or very cheap; and you never know what will be provided in the rental place. Good luck!

BTW - the sealed pot sounds like a great idea for accumulating change and coins etc, but I would perhaps see if you can each put aside a specific amount each month by standing order to get you in the habit of regular saving (if you aren't already doing that). I would do this individually; don't get a joint savings account yet.
Oh and personally I would say contents cover is worth it, but then we were burgled this year (in the first 2 months of the policy!) so it's been worth it for us! Just think about your most valuable stuff; if it was nicked, would you be incapable of carrying on normal life (eg if you use your laptop to work from home or need a satnav to get around for your job) or would you be gutted but ultimately life would be able to continue?
Apart from burglary the main risk is probably a fire and personally if you are going to rent a flat, I would always get contents insurance purely because you can't guarantee other people are as careful with things (eg cigarettes, chip pans etc) as you are!

MPH80

Don't forget any initial expenditure you're going to have:

Furniture - if needed
Cultery
Crockery
Cooking implements
Pots/Pans
Glasses/mugs
Microwave (if you need one)
Bedding (sheets/duvets/pillows/pillow covers etc)
Hoover
Toaster
Kettle
Iron
Ironing board

And you'll have higher food/grocery costs when you first move in as you'll need supplies of things - like washing powder for example.

Of course, for all this stuff - you can look to places like Freegle/freecycle, handouts from friends, go cheap or just do without. Purely by good timing (for example) we managed to get someone's old sofa and dining chairs/tables for free when we moved into rented. We're still using them 3 years later. You also have to ask yourself what you need and what you merely want (is a toaster a necessity if you have a grill?)!

You'll also need some additional money for references and holding deposit when you secure the rented property (£150 or so?) ... plus the actual deposit (was 1 1/2 months rent for us).

MissLaw

morg_monster wrote: »

There's one off stuff you might need when moving in like a hoover, ironing board, kitchen bits and bobs but it's hard to budget for those - you may be able to get lots of that kind of stuff free or very cheap; and you never know what will be provided in the rental place. Good luck!

thats what mums are for lol she has lots of bits and bobs i can have like telly, chairs, table and a few other things and lots off my family have spare kettles and things and my mum is looking on freecycle for other bits for me

MissLaw

MPH80 wrote: »

You'll also need some additional money for references and holding deposit when you secure the rented property (£150 or so?) ... plus the actual deposit (was 1 1/2 months rent for us).

we are starting to put money in a tin now and are going to for a year so we have enough money for 6months bills and rent

plus to stock cuboards and get odd bits of furniture.

Fang_3

MissLaw wrote: »

we are starting to put money in a tin now and are going to for a year so we have enough money for 6months bills and rent

plus to stock cuboards and get odd bits of furniture.

You're going to save up circa £5,000 (very conservative estimate) in a TIN?! What happens if someone steals it? Or there's a fire?

Running_Horse

Most of those bills can be paid by direct debit, so make sure you have good current accounts set up well in advance. Not really sure about the money pot. It might be OK for saving up now, but will not help you budget once the reality of adult living expenses kicks in.

MissLaw

Running_Horse wrote: »

Most of those bills can be paid by direct debit, so make sure you have good current accounts set up well in advance. Not really sure about the money pot. It might be OK for saving up now, but will not help you budget once the reality of adult living expenses kicks in.

we have worked out roughly how much all bills and costs will come to a month and worked out how much we will both have to save weekly and that is what we are putting away a week so we are used to it,

we only starting now cos have been told it would be better to have 6months bills and rent before we start looking