Living on $12,000 a year

ceridwen

Hardup_Hester wrote: »

Lol Ceridwen, there can't be many blogs that include both my specialist subjects.
Hester

"both" your specialist subjects! Whats the other one then? (Note to self: I hope I'm not going to regret asking that )

ceridwen

ANOTHER BLOG

http://www.worstedwitch.com/category/anti-consumerism

Hi Hester :hello: :whistle:
Thats Hester's New Year celebration gone for a burden as well then - spending the time reading still!:rotfl: :rotfl:

First pick-out from this is a "page" where one can get free patterns:

http://www.burdastyle.com/


Just gone off to lock the doors again - Hesters hitmen will be on their way again - thinks maybe you should have an accident with those reading glasses Hester.:rotfl:

hullight

I'm 17 earning £11,000 a year before tax and really want to move into my own place to be closer to work but I'm not sure if I could afford it. I live in Hull which is probably one of the cheapest places to live in the UK but the rent for a shabby 2-bed house is still around £230 pcm minimum. Flats are more, and I don't think the reduced energy costs and council tax would offset this. Because I'm 17 I wouldn't pay council tax and I do have that personal allowance thing so I wouldn't pay loads of tax, but I don't want to start living on my own knowing that my income will drop in the near future.

My 'only' option is to move in with a friend and split the costs in half. I'm not sure of the tax implications of living with a non-dependant.

If I were desperate I could just become a lodger for pittance.

Not sure what to do.

ceridwen

Re tax implications of living with someone else - I guess it depends on where you are getting your income from (ie is it salary or benefit). If its salary then you would be finding out about the Rent A Room Scheme if you took in a lodger. If you are on benefits and took in a lodger then the "dole office" would want to know about it, so they could deduct some dole money from you.

Think your best bet is to put a query on this on the Benefits and Tax Credits Forum on this website - as people on that Forum will be better placed to advise you than we are on this Forum.

(edited: from the mention of earning £11k pa - I assume your income is salary from a job. In which case - living with a friend would just mean someone else was sharing the bills/rent with you surely? - you wouldnt actually be getting any extra income. Your income would just be going further because you didnt have to find so much for housing costs.). Wow - from the point of view of how much rent is - thats incredible how low rents in Hull are compared to most places. Where I live one wouldnt even get a bedsit for that sort of money!)
Best Wishes

ceridwen

Pandora123_2

hullight,

First step is to become informed about things like taxes, eg:

Beginner's guide to tax

Do an SOA (Statement of Affairs) for what your expenses would be if you moved out. There's an example on the Debt-Free Wannabe board here:

Statement of Affairs

You can get lots of ideas for being frugal on things like food and cleaning products on the MoneySaving Old Style board.

Make sure you don't stretch yourself too thin... have a savings reserve for emergencies, so you don't have to borrow if something comes up that you weren't expecting. Maybe you can live at home for a bit yet in order to build this up.

I think it's really important when you're just starting out to "pay yourself first"... to make it a priority to put a bit aside in a savings account every time you get paid. Make sure you use an account with a high rate of interest.

If you do decide that you can move out on your own now, make sure you consider your rented place on more than just rent. Maybe you can get a place a bit closer to work that may cost a bit more but will save transportation costs. If there is room for a freezer then you can save by stocking up when things are on sale. Perhaps you can even rent a two-bedroom and take in a lodger for the second bedroom for a bit of extra cash.

Have a look at the Up Your Income board for things you can do to earn some extra cash. When you have a bit of extra income, make sure to put it (or at least part of it) aside in your savings account.

There are loads more ideas on this site, so have a look around!

:A

hullight

Thanks all, great advice. I will definitely find out more about this SOA. I think people are actually realising how stupid property is in the UK. There are quite simply not enough people who are able to/want to live in the luxury apartments they insist on building. Also, more people sharing rented accommodation means less income for the landlords because they are getting say £300 a month (shared between two) rather than say £400 a month (two properties at £200 a month).

I do try to save money whilst living at home - my board isn't much really, I take packed lunch to work a lot, don't drink coffee from the vending machine and have a system of refilling my bottles of water (next step is to persuade the company to invest in water coolers).

ceridwen

.... and, as regards food, I personally always recommend student cookbooks (they have titles like "Grub on a Grant") as the ideal starter cookbooks for single people. You dont want to make the same mistake I did - ie buying posh dinner party books with quantities for 4 or more people and ingredient prices to match!!!:cool: What did I know!

ceridwen

Hi Pandora

Hey - you know what - I have student cookbooks and veggie studentcookbooks - what I dont have (because - as far as I can see - they dont exist) is a vegan student cookbook - hint/hint! in case anyone ever fancies writing one

(with all the start-out home info for a newbie - like, in this case, making ones own natural cleaning materials/basic cosmetics perhaps).

Thought!;)

(PS to anyone who does - I've always fancied myself as a book reviewer - hmmm.....believe one gets to keep a free copy)

ceridwen

Back again...thinking in fits and starts today in between doing the cleaning....

www.beyondbakedbeans.com

website of an author who writes student cookbooks.

You could try and see if Cas Clarke has a website too - my favourite cookbook writer of all!

A website of interest:

www.fairtradecookbook.org.uk/indices/student_index.htm

ceridwen

Another website:

www.studentrecipes.com/recipe.php?id=1449