How much to live on?

lady_fuschia

are you serious? £1000 a month for a single person

Absolutely - I know it can be done because for two years I lived on much less than that - and without any real hardship either!

When I was living in Wales working in a hotel for £640 a month this isn't precise as it was three year ago now but this is roughly what I spent.:

£250 Rent
£35 Council Tax
£20 electricity
£8 water rates
£50 food/ groceries (I can't understand how you manage to spend £200 on groceries just for one person! I'd actually find spending that much a challenge!)
£10ish on pay as you go mobile
£5 TV licence
Somewhere aroung £40-£50 on going out
And occasional spending on clothes (I buy all my clothes from charity shops other than underwear and shoes, so fairly minimal)
And the odd luxury like a CD

That was living in a nice house/flat sharing with one other person. I always felt like I had a very good standard of living. Admittedly I was living in a very cheap area - I think if I'd have had much more than £1000 a month back then I probably wouldn't know what to do with it! But still, I think people over-estimate what they need to live off.

If you're prepared to do the kind of job that affords you that lifestyle that's fair enough, it's all down to what you want from life, but to say that you need to be earning £1000 a month just to survive is a huge exageration. It's all about taking responsibility to provide for what you as an individual want from life - our actual basic needs are very simple and inexpensive.

3plus1

Personally speaking, I don't think 15k is too low to aim for - even with a non-vocational degree like a philosophy one. Most people I know who have landed graduate jobs (including myself) have had offers around the 20k mark, rising to around 25k for skilled professions such as engineering (which is fair enough).

That said, very few people I know have been successful in landing graduate jobs so far. It's a very competitive job market - and to be honest, Phil, the way you go on here, I don't know how you'd get past a first round interview. Landing a graduate job offer is very much about knowing how to put a positive spin on things - and you don't seem to have a shred of optimism about you.

At the end of the day, you just make do with what you get. I'd dearly love to live off £30k a year and buy designer handbags and champagne on a whim, but as it is, as a poor student, I don't need any of those things and I get on well enough with my 50p pint of coke and the cheapy bag borrowed off my housemate.

mackiex

lady_fuschia wrote: »

Absolutely - I know it can be done because for two years I lived on much less than that - and without any real hardship either!

When I was living in Wales working in a hotel for £640 a month this isn't precise as it was three year ago now but this is roughly what I spent.:

£250 Rent
£35 Council Tax
£20 electricity
£8 water rates
£50 food/ groceries (I can't understand how you manage to spend £200 on groceries just for one person! I'd actually find spending that much a challenge!)
£10ish on pay as you go mobile
£5 TV licence
Somewhere aroung £40-£50 on going out
And occasional spending on clothes (I buy all my clothes from charity shops other than underwear and shoes, so fairly minimal)
And the odd luxury like a CD

That was living in a nice house/flat sharing with one other person. I always felt like I had a very good standard of living. Admittedly I was living in a very cheap area - I think if I'd have had much more than £1000 a month back then I probably wouldn't know what to do with it! But still, I think people over-estimate what they need to live off.

If you're prepared to do the kind of job that affords you that lifestyle that's fair enough, it's all down to what you want from life, but to say that you need to be earning £1000 a month just to survive is a huge exageration. It's all about taking responsibility to provide for what you as an individual want from life - our actual basic needs are very simple and inexpensive.

you were sharing which is quite a difference as being single in comparision to being with a partner or sharing is quite significant. If I had a partner then all her wages would be extra cash as my wage would pay the bills. Even so I find your amounts puzzling as I'd love to pay the same

£35 council tax? - so that's only £350 a year as it's normally 10 payments. What Band is that and in what area? (Band A in Sunderland is £800+ so that's at least £66 a month and the National average is £63 a month Council Tax Rates Link)
£20 Electricity, what about Gas? and £20 is a very small bill for Electricity these days if you ask me
£8 water rates, please tell me where I can get a £100 a year Water bill when my last yearly fixed bill was £300+. Even since I've switched to a water meter due to using very little water use there is no way I'd get an £8 a month bill even though I'm a below average user as fixed rates cost more than £8 a month
£50 groceries a month, you are kidding. You reckon you can spend £1.66 a day and get enough food/drink to survive?
£5 TV licence?? last time I checked it was £120+ a year so that's at least £10 a month Direct Debit
£40-£50 going out? again that won't get you far at all on that if that's a month as that's around 4-5 pints a week if you just bought alcohol

what about the following you didn't list?

BT Line Rental
Gas
Travelling expenses (car or bus)
Insurances (Car/House/Life/Job)
General unexpected spending?
Internet
Pension
House Phone

I'm sorry but unless you live on pennies there is no way you can have a decent standard of life on £640 a month . I applaud anyone who can have a decent standard of living on a basic wage these days . I'm not saying you can't survive on pennies but I'm saying most can't have a decent standard of living and actually enjoy it on pennies. I'm lucky as I've got a nice 3 Bed Semi with only a £50,000 mortgage that's worth £160,000+ and a paid for BMW Convertible but even if I had to live in a 1 bed flat I'd find it hard to survive with £800 in my hand when 90% of my wage was disappearing on bills (most being neccessart bills) .

My bills are just short of £800 a month (mortgage is around 65% of my bills) and I'd be happy to pay all my bills and be left with £200 spending money. This is actually less than what I used to be left with in my last job as I never really used to worry about penny pinching. In my new job I'll be left with around £50ish (and that's a £7.50 an hour job) after bills are paid unless I work overtime. Beggars can't be choosers and I don't mind doing a bit overtime if it means I get a little extra pocket money

I remember when I was 21 and survived on £29 a week living in a tiny bedsit and my bills were actually £24 due to a career loan taking a fair chunk. This left me £5 a week for food/clothes etc and my main diet was pasta with tomato sauce. Not much fun but it was possible to survive on less than £30 a week while claiming benefits. Not exactly the kind of life I'd want to live permanenty though and that's why I can't agree with surving on something so small as £500 a month as it's not the life to live even though you can survive. Even £1000 in hand these days isn't the greatest if you are single as it costs so much for the essentials and neccessities . That's why I appreciate what I have now as not so long back I had very little and only dreamed of having what I do now. If I got a partner again then we'd be comfortable as all her wage would be extra cash seeing as my wage would pay all the bills and extras . If I sold my house anbd moved back home to my mothers then I'd be laughing all the way to the bank but I'm sorry as I don't want to be Ronnie Corbett in Sorry and still be living at home in my 30's

basically for me, the National Wage is pathetic as you cannot have a decent standard old life if you are single and live alone! . I've alway said I'd be happy in a job that pays the bills and gives me a little spending money

liney

Mortgage 325
Gas 30
Electric 30
Water 33
CT 103
B&C Insurance 20
Tv license 11.50
Phone BB and TV 45
Mobile 30
Food/Household 250
Car 120

3 bed house - 2 adults and 1 toddler - essential bills do not come to £1000 per month including a car. £1000 per month should be more than ample for a single person. It is not essential that you rent/buy a property alone remember.

Melissa177

Is this guy StudentPhil for real?

Hapless_2

Hey Phil, there's a job in devon on a pig farm paying £12411 p.a. with weekends and bank holidays off!
Or you could work the worm farm for £12,200
The farmer will even supply you with a caravan to sleep in!

Hapless_2

btw, electric, £43 per quarter, 4 bed house, no gas or oil, 4 kids, 2 adults.

before_hollywood

someone pass a peice of string so we can measure it, to rent a 2 bed house round here is roughly £450 a month, i wouldn't want to try doing that on my £900 take home a month though.

if i had to move out i would go for a carefully selected houseshare circa £60-£70 pw inclusive, my oldest friend wants to share but i said not while we would both be renting, if he pays direct debit to me, on a house i have with a mortgage- then maybe

lady_fuschia

£35 council tax? - so that's only £350 a year as it's normally 10 payments. What Band is that and in what area? (Band A in Sunderland is £800+ so that's at least £66 a month and the National average is £63 a month Council Tax Rates Link)

Obviously I was sharing my council tax with a flat mate - that was band A in Mid-Wales - £700 a year. To me flat/ house sharing is the obvious route for the single person - it's a much nicer way to live than on your own anyway (I don't understand why you have a three bedroom house as a single person? Not judging, just saying it seems a bit unecessary).

£20 Electricity, what about Gas? and £20 is a very small bill for Electricity these days if you ask me

Again a shared bill. Everything electric - we made a point of being efficient - we rarely put more than £10 a week into the token meter.

£8 water rates, please tell me where I can get a £100 a year Water bill when my last yearly fixed bill was £300+

You seem to have a really huge water bill somehow- even now living in the South mine is still only just over £200.

£50 groceries a month, you are kidding. You reckon you can spend £1.66 a day and get enough food/drink to survive?

Of course! Even now living with my partner we spend less than £100 to feed both of us and we eat very well. It's all about savvy shopping and cooking from scratch. You can make chilli or bolognese that will last for several days for around £1.50, a healthy vegetable soup can be made for mere pennies, a jacket potato with beans and salad costs about 50p, a bowl of porridge next to nothing, and I drink mainly tap water, seeing as I pay for it anyway (!) Seriously, if I'd spent £200 just for me I'd have ended up throwing loads of stuff away. Do you buy loads of ready meals or branded stuff or something? If you want tips on grocery savings you could probably try looking at the Money Saving Old Style forum - some great ideas for cheap meal plans there.

£5 TV licence?? last time I checked it was £120+ a year so that's at least £10 a month Direct Debit

Again, that's shared between two.

£40-£50 going out? again that won't get you far at all on that if that's a month as that's around 4-5 pints a week if you just bought alcohol

4-5 pints a week is more than enough to me! How much do you drink?!!

what about the following you didn't list?

BT Line Rental
Gas
Travelling expenses (car or bus)
Insurances (Car/House/Life/Job)
General unexpected spending?
Internet
Pension
House Phone

We didn't have a house phone or internet, seeing as if anyone needed to contact me I had a mobile, and internet use was free at the local library. Our house was all electric- so no gas bill. I lived in an incredibly low crime area so didn't bother with house insurance (I realise some people would find this a bit irresponsible - but I have little worth insuring anyway!), admittedly at that point I didn't have a pension, which I do now, but in retrospect I probably could have afforded to have one with the money I had spare. I have never run a car, nor really felt the inclination to do so , where I was living at that time I lived within walking distance of work (not always possible for everyone I agree), and only occasionally felt the need to travel anywhere further than a few miles out of town (which could be done on cheap train deals from the Virgin website anyway), so generally walked everywhere. As for general unexpected spending as far as I recall it didn't really happen - but I did have money spare that would cover that if I needed to.

I'm sorry but unless you live on pennies there is no way you can have a decent standard of life on £640 a month . I applaud anyone who can have a decent standard of living on a basic wage these days . I'm not saying you can't survive on pennies but I'm saying most can't have a decent standard of living and actually enjoy it on pennies

To be honest I always felt I had a really enjoyable lifestyle - probably more so then than I do now in many ways. Enjoyment doesn't come from what you spend- my quality of life as I would see it came from things that cost nothing or very little: chatting with friends, reading library books, lying on the beach, walking in the park. I realise some people feel the need to spend loads of money to have a good time, and that's up to them - but I've never felt I needed to earn a huge wage to be happy and enjoy my life.
Maybe you personally couldn't enjoy life on £640 a month, but I most definetly did, and plenty of people do. Different people have different standards.

lady_fuschia

mortgage £416 - 3 bed semi originally £63000 and currently £52,000 with 18 years remaining (average mortgage in my area is probably around £550 these days so I'm lucky

Just a thought - could you not take in two lodgers in the other rooms in your house? Would help to pay the mortgage.