Single people living alone - how do you do it?

Brighton_belle

memelalou wrote: »

Thats a point - could you get a lodger. Some people only want somewhere to stay during the week so you would barley see them as your at work yourself and you have the weeken to yourself.
QUOTE]
You can't sublet a tenancy. You'd also need to be funding a 2 bed flat to do that which would be very expensive.

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

29 isn't too old to flat or house-share. Round here, in one of the least desirable post-codes in London, rents for one-bed flats are £800 a month where 3-bedded houses are £1000. The sole responsibility for all utilities can make the luxury of living alone prohibitively expensive and probably out of the reach of most ordinary folk.

Good point.I moved into a house share at 36:D. Not so common but I didn't care - it met my needs for 3 years and saved me a lot of money.

skint_chick

I agree with Racy Red (which is also a great username btw) that your £100 should cover your elec gas and all the other bits n bobs too like presents, tv licence etc. (I've got a 3bed with high ceilings and there's 2 of us and we spend £25/mth electric and £35/mth heating. So if you've got £235 left for food and everything else then it seems perfectly manageable - say £80-100 a month for food if you eat a lot of meat/like brand names and you've still got £30 a week to play with so you can still go out for drinks/meet friends/buy clothes.

I enjoyed living on my own but you could also consider a houseshare with another person so you're splitting the bills but you still have your own space - most people these days have such busy lives you're not going to be falling over them every night and weekend. Maybe you could try this short term as your first step to moving out and then if it doesn't work you know you have the option of your own place

make_me_wise

Tete_en_l'Air wrote: »

Thanks Humphrey - yeah those are the advantages I'm thinking of!! I get on really well with Dad but sometimes I just want to be left alone and I'm turning back into an angry teen!

The place I'm looking at is £465 pm inc C.tax and water, I piggybank:

£50 pm for car expenses
£30 pm towards Christmas
£30 pm towards dental and haircuts
£20 pm contact lenses
£20 pm mobile phone
£50 pm towards potential holidays

Estimate I'll need £100 pm for gas and elec, and £100 pm for petrol ... and that leaves me £235 for food and household stuff and basically ANY spends!

I do have money saved for initial moving costs such as rent upfront, fees and TV license etc.

I lived on my own before meeting my husband. I had a one bed flat. I think you are estimating to high for gas and electric. Hubby and I live in a four bed place and our gas and elec combined per month is £75. So depending on the size of property you are looking at renting this should be much less for you

The rent seems reasonable especially as it is inclusive of council tax and water bills. I would fill out the budget planner on here, it is very thorough. I think you may find you end up with a higher spends figure than you think and see that living by yourself is do-able.

pigpen

£30 for dental and haircuts??
£50 for a holiday you've not even planned??

Do you REALLY need those on there?

£30 for christmas seems excessive.. I save £50 and I will have 10 children, 1 neice, 1 grandson, 2 sisters and 2 OH's, 2 parents and my OH to buy for... sometimes people you love have to get what they are given and appreciate it not look at price tags.. I'd cut this by half and focus on very close family and maybe 1 or 2 friends.

Gas and electric I pay £200 a month for a huge 5 bed house.. £100 just for a 1 bed flat seems extortionate..

£235 left for food.. at about £20-£30 a week leaves over £100 for evenings out and whatever.. I don't see why that isn't manageable.

Go have a peek over on the Old Style board for ideas of where to save a few pence.. it might make a difference.

PasturesNew

As a rule of thumb, if you're taking home £1000/month and rent is up to £400, you can spend £200 on council tax and utilities, £100 on food and still run a car. Just don't buy new clothes, or go on holidays, or have a social life.

£400 rent
£100 council tax
£100 gas, electric, water, landline, basic broadband, contents insurance, basic PAYG mobile
£100 food

Leaves £300 for "stuff".

The problem I have is I rarely quite make the £1000 takehome - and rents are £550 for a 1-bed in a dodgy area. The maths can stack up for some people in some areas.

Errata

Hae you thought about renting a studio instead of a 1 bed flat? Everything will be cheaper.

lynnemcf

Errata wrote: »

Hae you thought about renting a studio instead of a 1 bed flat? Everything will be cheaper.

I lived in a studio ... after 11 months I couldnt stand it anymore ... you have to be VERY tidy and disciplined to live in a studio flat!

Errata

lynnemcf wrote: »

I lived in a studio ... after 11 months I couldnt stand it anymore ... you have to be VERY tidy and disciplined to live in a studio flat!

True, but if a studio is all that can fit the budget then it's not a bad choice, and clutter always expands to fill the space available to it.

ali-t

Tete_en_l'Air wrote: »

The place I'm looking at is £465 pm inc C.tax and water, I piggybank:

£50 pm for car expenses
£30 pm towards Christmas
£30 pm towards dental and haircuts
£20 pm contact lenses
£20 pm mobile phone
£50 pm towards potential holidays

Estimate I'll need £100 pm for gas and elec, and £100 pm for petrol ... and that leaves me £235 for food and household stuff and basically ANY spends!

I do have money saved for initial moving costs such as rent upfront, fees and TV license etc.

I think you have hugely overestimated the gas and electric costs. I have a 3 bed house and have the heating on a lot and my gas and electric combined is about £80pcm. Depending on what tariff you are on you could be as low as £40pcm.

If you have your own place, every day will be like a holiday so with the fuel savings and saving the £50 from holidays that gives you an extra £110 per month.

If you get a place near your work your fuel costs will be lower too.

SailorSam

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Round here, in one of the least desirable post-codes in London, rents for one-bed flats are £800 a month where 3-bedded houses are £1000.

Thank God i don't live in London.