Planning for becoming independent?

omidaverde

I'm living with family, but hoping to become independent within the next few months. I would like a rough idea of how much bills will cost for 2 people (myself and partner). This will give me an idea of how much I need to earn and it will give me some peace of mind to know what to expect when moving out:

- Rent (I can check this online for a rough idea through places like rightmove etc. Our current area starts at £700-800 for a one bedroom flat, but we're hoping to move to a cheaper area soon).

That leaves:

- Electricity
- Water
- Council tax
- Gas
- Food (We already buy our own food so I know roughly that this will be around £100 per week including toiletries, cleaning products etc. Although if we had more space might be able to bring this down via batch cooking & freezing)

Car not applicable since neither of us drive.

Any other bills I've forgotten please add - never taught this at school and parents take the attitude of 'why don't you know this?!' despite never having sat me down to show me... hence asking/researching online. I'm very frugal and love to save, so I would hope to aim for being able to squirrel some money away as well if possible.

Assuming we were both on minimum wage (hopefully won't be that bad as we're planning to enter better paying jobs than that soon, but always better to go on the low side) - that would be £997 after tax each, per month so combined total of £1994 per month income. Would we manage?

Thanks in advance.

missbiggles1

I doubt you'll manage well if you consider it normal to spend £100pw on groceries - even with cleaning stuff included!

Ballard

Batch cooking is a great idea. Not only is it (hopefully) good quality food but it would save time and money. On top of that it gives you a nice warm smug feeling!

omidaverde

missbiggles1 wrote: »

I doubt you'll manage well if you consider it normal to spend £100pw on groceries - even with cleaning stuff included!

It's only high right now because we have nowhere to store food (other than 1-2 days worth) and cannot buy in bulk or freeze etc. I hope it will come down once we have our own space to well below £100, but I'm estimating it high for now for that reason.

Ballard

missbiggles1 wrote: »

I doubt you'll manage well if you consider it normal to spend £100pw on groceries - even with cleaning stuff included!

I thought that too but didn't comment because I live alone and so can't compare the situations.

omidaverde

Ballard wrote: »

I thought that too but didn't comment because I live alone and so can't compare the situations.

I'm aware it's a lot but I can't change it - we just don't have space to do batch/freeze right now, £100 probably is an over-estimation, but I'd rather over-estimate than under.

Archi_Bald

I can't help you with your numbers, but I think you left off a few items from your list, such as clothes, hair cuts, entertainment. Try filling in an SOA http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

Then post it on the Debt Free Wannabee forum, and also read about in Old Style Money Saving.

I would agree with the previous poster that £100 a week for food and cleaning stuff for 2 sounds too much if you are on minimum income.

Get yourself a good personal finance package, such as YNAB, into which you can enter your agreed budget, and with which you can track your actual income and spending against that budget. This might cost you a few quid but it isn't a luxury. It's a necessity to be on top of your finances, and if you do it right from the start, it will save you a lot of money over time.

Archi_Bald

omidaverde wrote: »

I'm aware it's a lot but I can't change it

If you truly can't change it, you'll find it hard to survive without earning more money somehow.

omidaverde

Archi_Bald wrote: »

If you truly can't change it, you'll find it hard to survive without earning more money somehow.

Sorry I meant I can't change things right now - because of our situation, but once we move out I'll be able to bring it down.

missbiggles1

omidaverde wrote: »

I'm aware it's a lot but I can't change it - we just don't have space to do batch/freeze right now, £100 probably is an over-estimation, but I'd rather over-estimate than under.

You don't need to batch cook to bring it down from that amount, you just need to buy less. Batch cooking will just bring it down even more.

(Does this amount include lunches?)

omidaverde

Archi_Bald wrote: »

I can't help you with your numbers, but I think you left off a few items from your list, such as clothes, hair cuts, entertainment. Try filling in an SOA.

Thanks for the link, that's the kind of thing I was after