Moving out on a low budget

Mythical

I'm looking to move out of my parent's home soon, but despite being employed full time, in a reasonable job, I can't even make my wages afford a one bedroomed flat!

after tax, I earn around £775 a month. Recently, I did a budget and living at home, my basic outgoings are around £320/month. I don't own a car, my primary means of transport is my bicycle (which I must admit, I do feel justified in splurging on, from time to time), and most of my outgoings are luxuries I could quite feasibly live without.

I have a boyfriend (of far too many years!) who wants the barbie dream house, all the cars and shelly too, but I'm sick of waiting for him to wake up and realise that that's not going to happen - so him moving in with me can't be relied upon.

I want to move out on my own, but so far, I'm at a complete loss to explain how people manage to run a house, (and a car and sometimes a kid), on less than what I earn. How do I make £775 a month stretch to £350 rent, plus heating, lighting, water, council tax, food, phone bill internet subscription?????

PasturesNew

Get a 2nd job that provides accommodation cheaply.

clutton_2

get a room in a shared house so that you can share the bills

jennifernil

What are you spending £320 per month on? There must be some savings possible there.

£775 minus £350 rent leaves you £425 for food, utilities, council tax, insurance etc, only you can decide if this is enough.

You could make a budget, do be realistic, then try putting aside the amount you arrive at (for everything) for a few months, and see if you can manage on what is left for the "non essentials".

smartpicture

Find another girl friend in a similar situation and get a flat together to reduce the costs?

If I were you, I would work out a reasonable budget for living away from your parents, then spend 6 months at your parents living to that budget, and saving the rest of your money. Then you would know if it was achievable, and also have some savings to fall back on if you're stretched in a particular month.

Svenena

I'm not sure people do run a house on less than you earn. Your income seems quite low. Do you work full-time? Are you on minimum wage? How old are you? You could be entitled to some benefits depending on your circumstances (eg working tax credit, local housing allowance, council tax allowance).

If you're under 25, your best bet is a room in a shared house. These are usually inclusive of all bills, and where I am (a relatively expensive part of the country), £350 a month would get you that. If you're in eg London I'm not sure how feasible this would be though.

BitterAndTwisted

The problem is that your expectations exceed your ability to satisfy them. To move out of your folks' home straight into a one-bedroomed flat on your own on what you take home is going to be monumental struggle even if it's feasible, and I really doubt it is. When I first moved from home back in the Dark Ages I rented a bed-sit and I shared that with another person.

I suggest you spend some time on the DFW and Old-Style parts of the forum and find ways to economise and get some savings behind you. Please do not underestimate how expensive it can be looking after yourself when you've no experience! At the very least, I'd say the absolute minimum you should have as savings once you go is three month's-worth of rent and living expenses. Quite frankly, with the way the economy is currently, I'd say you were much better off where you are

mostlycheerful

If you do house sitting you can be paid to live in a nice big house while the owners are away working, travelling, holidaying etc.

It’s a proper job and some people make a career of it so you have to present yourself professionally and supply references and all the rest of it and you’re supposed to look after the place and not party it to excess or trash it but within those constraints it’s doable and it’s an established industry in UK and a number of other countries. Just to repeat what I just said, you get paid money to live in a nice big posh house! Cool! What more do you want…

Similar but unpaid is property guardian deals in which you live in a property for a small rent in order to look after it and keep the robbers, burglars, squatters, tramps, teenagers and party people out. Properties vary from interesting delightful huge commercial buildings and warehouses to awful grotty derelict dumps so do due diligence and exercise caution and inspect gaffs before you commit yourself as otherwise you might get a turkey and have a rough time of it till you escape.

Lots of companies and websites offering these.

Down from these there’s squatting which currently mostly happily houses several million people around the world. And if you can last 10 years you can even claim adverse possession and own the place, sometimes making millions, as a number of people have done over the years. There’s also a downside to squatting with lots of junkies, psychopaths, “gangstas”, foreigners and scum breaking into people’s houses while they’re away for the weekend or on holiday. So educate yourself and find out what’s doable and ok and what’s not doable and what’s bad news. If going in this direction then hook up with the scene, with the rich hippies and artists and musicians and cool people and such like and then you should have a great time and lots of good experiences. Some people spend their whole lives in the alternative lifestyle and often end up joining communes and groups and even weird religious cults, if you like that sort of thing, of which there are tens of thousands mostly thriving everywhere and anywhere. Of course, watch out for the loonies and thieves and particularly the diseased sex mad gurus and violent druggie psychos on the rob. Unless, perhaps, you’re an anthropologist and social worker or observational writer on a field trip and are attracted to that kind of thing.

Good luck.

ovy_2

Hi Mythical.

I earn about £878 after tax each month.

My outgoings are as below:

Rent/Maintainance fee 460

Council 62.00
Broadband 16.99
Telephone 12.00
Npower 63.00
Sky TV 35.50
Tesco Mobile 45.00
TV Licence 12.00
Water 7.00

Total £730.49

This leaves me about £147.

Personally this is good for me, In can live off this no problem and i love having my own place!

An example of what you may be paying could be(without some things):

rent 350.00
Council 62.00 (may be different depending on your situation)
Broadband/telephone/skytv £20 (package sky offer)
Npower 63.00
TV Licence 12.00
Water 7.00

Total: 494

But this depends on other costs, eg mobile phone, food etc.

Try and work out what bills you will get each month and see if it's feasible

mark5

ovy wrote: »

Hi Mythical.

I earn about £878 after tax each month.

My outgoings are as below:

Rent/Maintainance fee 460

Council 62.00
Broadband 16.99
Telephone 12.00
Npower 63.00
Sky TV 35.50
Tesco Mobile 45.00
TV Licence 12.00
Water 7.00

Total £730.49

This leaves me about £147.

Personally this is good for me, In can live off this no problem and i love having my own place!

An example of what you may be paying could be(without some things):

rent 350.00
Council 62.00 (may be different depending on your situation)
Broadband/telephone/skytv £20 (package sky offer)
Npower 63.00
TV Licence 12.00
Water 7.00

Total: 494

But this depends on other costs, eg mobile phone, food etc.

Try and work out what bills you will get each month and see if it's feasible

Dont forget contents insurance!

Mythical

Sorry, I seem to have led everyone to believe I'm 16 living off my first part time job. In fact, I'm 28, I have a degree in Graphic Design and I'm working full time in a related position (In-house e-marketing). I sort of thought that once I'd graduated and gone through a few crappy jobs I'd be able to stop mooching off my parents.

Thanks Ovy, your response was really helpful.