How Much Are Your Bills?

SpekySquarehead

Hello all,

For those of who float about the OS boards or follow my diary, you'll know that my focus just now is buying my own place. I’m saving as much as possible just now so that when I do buy, it’s not a total shock on my finances as I’ll be used to getting by without a large chunk of cash.

Mortgage aside, can I ask what I should expect to pay roughly for other bills? I have absolutely no idea how much council tax, telephone, broadband, cable, electricity, water, TV license, gas etc should be on average for a small house or flat with 1 person living there. I understand these figures will vary depending on lots of factors but even a rough idea will help me try and budget.

Appreciate the help, as always.

Thanks, Speky

Jox

Hi, I live in a one bed flat. Council tax is £126 a month (if you are single person living on your own you could get a discount), elec is £30 a month direct debit (careful using things like tumble drier, dehumidifier etc and these can use a lot of elec), gas is £30 a month direct debit (usage is usually more in winter with having the heating on), water is £40 a month (maybe a meter would bring costs down), virgin tv / broadband is £30 a month (maybe you can get a better broadband deal), tv licence is £12 a month. I own my flat and pay service charge of about £125 to the management company.
Good luck

McKneff

Jox wrote: »

Hi, I live in a one bed flat. Council tax is £126 a month (if you are single person living on your own you could get a discount), elec is £30 a month direct debit (careful using things like tumble drier, dehumidifier etc and these can use a lot of elec), gas is £30 a month direct debit (usage is usually more in winter with having the heating on), water is £40 a month (maybe a meter would bring costs down), virgin tv / broadband is £30 a month (maybe you can get a better broadband deal), tv licence is £12 a month. I own my flat and pay service charge of about £125 to the management company.
Good luck

I dont think you can get a water meter in a flat but you can apply for an assessed charge, and im fairly confident it will be a lot less than 40 quid a month for a 1 bed flat. Im in a 3 bed semi and its only 20 a month and we are in all day every day

clairesilverspar

These figures vary depending on area and number of people/usage etc.
We're a fairly stingy household of two but we're in a large, cold, two bed end terrace.


Water: £30 paid monthly
This is a set amount based on area, number of people etc. The company tells you a set rate, unless you have a water meter or have sewerage/waste water charges separately.

Gas/Elec: £45 paid monthly.
We're on dual fuel and pay a set amount by direct debit - we usually end up with a credit to our account when we provide readings so our real spend is less than this. We have an electric cooker and OH works from home on his PC, which means our elec is higher than some.

Telephone/broadband: £10 paid monthly.
This is approx., as OH handles this and he insisted on superfast fibre stuff for work. We don't use the landline for calls, so this would affect the total. We paid line rental up front - usually the same again or more for line rental alone. Easy to find good deals though. You can look at suppliers websites for good deals to give you more of an idea of what you'd like.

TV Licence - £12 per month
This is a set amount for everyone who has one, about £145 per year.

Council Tax varies by area and also by which band your house falls in. you can usually find this out on the relevant council's website. We're in a Band A house in one of the cheapest boroughs and it works out at just over £90 per month for 10 months, followed by 2 months with no payment. Single person households get a discount.
You can check a postcode here: https://www.gov.uk/council-tax-bands

Don't forget house/contents insurance, especially if you are planning on owning a house. We have contents insurance as we're renting and it works out pretty cheap, but as OH sorts it, I don't have a clue how much it is. <£10 a month.

Some places offer cheaper deals if you pay by monthly direct debit, especially water/fuel companies.
Running comparisons on fuel, telephone/broadband and insurance can save you a whole heap of cash.
There's probably a bunch of stuff I forgot, but this should help give you an idea.

Jox

McKneff wrote: »

I dont think you can get a water meter in a flat but you can apply for an assessed charge, and im fairly confident it will be a lot less than 40 quid a month for a 1 bed flat. Im in a 3 bed semi and its only 20 a month and we are in all day every day

Thanks, Thames Water keep calling me about installing a smart meter but I'm against it...you pay £20 a month, argh that's so cheap! Blooming Thames Water ripping me off! I barely have time for a shower! Though my husband and 3 year old like having their baths (and not together lol)...

martinsurrey

Jox wrote: »

Hi, I live in a one bed flat. Council tax is £126 a month (if you are single person living on your own you could get a discount), elec is £30 a month direct debit (careful using things like tumble drier, dehumidifier etc and these can use a lot of elec), gas is £30 a month direct debit (usage is usually more in winter with having the heating on), water is £40 a month (maybe a meter would bring costs down), virgin tv / broadband is £30 a month (maybe you can get a better broadband deal), tv licence is £12 a month. I own my flat and pay service charge of about £125 to the management company.
Good luck

For a generic question, this is as close to a generic answer as you'll get, my numbers are inline for a 3 bed semi with 2 people living there (out all day).

I don't pay a service charge, but I do have maintenance to pay for and insurance of £120 a year.

SpekySquarehead

Thank you for your answers so far. Excellent help.

Completely forgot the service charge and home insurance.

Boy oh boy owning a house is expensive on your own. Need to find myself a wife.

Bob_Bank_Spanker_2

SpekySquarehead wrote: »

Boy oh boy owning a house is expensive on your own. Need to find myself a wife.

They're generally even more expensive

Jox

Oh yeah my contents insurance is £100 a year. Yeah another person contributing definitely helps! Though now we have a child and have to pay childcare costs - life is expensive!

Marvel1

Live alone, small mid-terrace, 2 bedroom house.

Water - £26.48 (not on a meter, but the assessed rate)

TV Licence - £12.12 (if paying monthly, the first 6 months they have you paying double)

Council Tax - £94.00 (25% single discount, you get this too, apply through your local council)

Gas - £18.82 (average over 12 months, winter as high as £30.00, and summer £9.00)

Electric - £38.80 (average over 12 months)

Telephone/Broadband - £26.00 (for now, I don't have a telephone, for some reason it's cheaper to have this with Virgin than broadband alone).

Home insurance (contents and building) - £25.00 (I put this away each month ready and aim for a quote under £300.00).

Stevie_Palimo

I have never bothered to look at what my bills tally up to on a month to month basis and just pay what is due when it comes in, Probably being stung up somewhere with my laziness and perhaps a job for the OH to look at.