Can I afford a mortgage?

Denene

Congratulations Jellybean_Jo! I'm a perpetual listmaker, but I'm sure there's loads of things I'll have missed, so I'll have to keep an eye on that.

At the moment, Northern Ireland domestic users don't have water charges, although there have been several attempts to introduce them, so I may have to budget for that in future.

I'm definitely going to rejig my estimates for food/entertainment etc. I think it'll be hard to tell what they'll be before I move in, so I'll have to estimate high and aim low

sirmosh

Plenty of people live on less but you would need to be very disciplined when it comes to saving, owning a house comes with plenty of unexpected costs when things break. Don't forget you'll need a bit of a reserve fund for birthdays, Christmas and everything else.

Personally I would want a bit more of a buffer but as I say, many of people live on a tighter budget, you just have to make certain sacrifices and keep a tight control on your spending.