Split up with Girlfriend..... Now What? :(

SavingPennies_2

Yes I lived alone on a low salary a couple of years ago. I didnt have much spare cash so had to manage my money carefully but was worth it for having my own space. I had a 1 bed flat, just a nice size for one person.

However if you want to save enough money to buy a place then it may not be viable. I have to say I saved for my house deposit while living in the smallest room of shared houses. While I lived fairly comfortably on my own I made very little in the way of savings.

towanda

This happened to me too, was renting with my bf in central London which is a ridiculous place to try and rent an entire flat on your own and couldn't afford it any more. Ended up renting a couple of expensive hellholes by myself outside of London, which I'm fed up with so I'm now moving back with my parents for a couple of months to speed up the last bit of my deposit saving so that I can buy in 2014 - it's tough to save large amounts when you're responsible for all of the rent and bills. Not ideal at my age, but short term pain, etc.

Relocationrelocation

If you find the right house mates, with whom you have shared interests, this could be a positive - for example, if you house/flat share in London, this becomes an affordable way of living centrally or in a really desirable location. As a stop gap, it might be a fun way to meet people as you get over your break up.

lovehackney

I live alone, but as others have said, you have to adjust your budgets accordingly because it is very expensive.
Living alone means I can't save as much money as I'd like, or have as much disposable income as I could, but then for me it's worth it, as I was fed up of sharing after six years, and I can't move in with my parents (I work in London, they live in the North).
It all depends on whether you think the freedom / independence of living alone is worth the extra money.

sax11

jj_5 wrote: »

Does anyone out there live alone just now? How on earth do you afford it?

I do and it depends where you live for starters. Don't go overboard on food, take care of the electric etc. It is manageable. Best way of affording it is NOT to rent, always seen that as dead money.

19lottie82

sax11 wrote: »

Best way of affording it is NOT to rent, always seen that as dead money.

Of course it's not dead money, you'd be on the street otherwise.

My friend bought a new build in 2007 for £150k, it's now worth 90k......... surely all the money she has spent on that, is more like dead money?

Lord_Baltimore

And have you considered your parents in this? You've split up with your g/f, poor old you; you can't afford the bills now, poor old you; there's only one thing for it: back to mum and dad's place, poor old them.

Perhaps your parents are finally enjoying some time together and spending their money on themselves for the first time in donkey's years.

sax11

19lottie82 wrote: »

Of course it's not dead money, you'd be on the street otherwise.

My friend bought a new build in 2007 for £150k, it's now worth 90k......... surely all the money she has spent on that, is more like dead money?

By dead money i meant you own nothing in the end.
Your friend has 'dead money' at the moment but who knows what the future holds.

GBNI

Of course it is doable! You just need to budget. I lived alone (rented) for a good 18 months before moving in with my OH and we've now bought a house.

Every penny had to be accounted for, and you do have to go with some luxuries but it is entirely possinle.

Cycrow

It does depend on what type of place you want to live at.

i used to live alone in a small studio apartment, which was fairly cheap, especially for the area, and included all my bills as well. Only problem was lack of living space and was missing some useful things, like a kitchen, over, storage space, etc.

I still live alone now, just in a bigger place, which costs me a lot more (more than double the studio) and don't realy have that much spare money after all my bills, but then i also don't drive (cycle everywhere) as i simply can't afford to run a car on top.

this is on a decentish wage (30k)