How Much Are Your Bills?

D_M_E

For a 1-bed place living on your own allow £250 per month and you should get change out of that.

If you get a wife, you will lose the single occupier's dicount for the council tax and the bills could mount up to around £1000 or more a month.

Jox

I'm a wife and not expensive lol! I earn more than hubby for a start and pay most of the bills, he has a good deal with me

SpekySquarehead

It was a joke about the wife part.

But really appreciating everyone's comments on their bills. Helping hugely.

Grenage

This is from four years ago when I got divorced and had to budget, so prices will have a changed a little; this assumes single occupancy of a 3-bed terrace with reasonable double-glazing and insulation running 18C 24/7. It does not cover unexpected expenses or home maintenance/improvement. Expenses such as insurance and tax were paid in one lump, and I simply divided the cost by 12.

Unfortunately I have since sold up and bought a character property with my girlfriend; I am now much poorer, and short a kidney.

£33 Waste water
£8.33 Fresh water
£9 Building and Contents insurance
£125 Council Tax
£55 Gas & Electricity.
£100 Food
£12 TV Licence
£30 Internet/Phone/TV
£5 Mobile
£100 Car fuel
£13 Car Tax
£17 Car Insurance
£3.50 Breakdown cover

Whatever figures you estimate, add at least 10% for unexpected events, and keep an emergency pot of 6-months worth of bills. You won't have that to start with, but you can save and build up.

Malmo

3 bedroom detached property in council tax band E with 2 adults and 1 infant.

Excluding travel/commuting costs and personal costs, we have the following household expenditure:

Groceries £250
Council tax £200 (10 month period)
Electricity and gas £74
TV, fibre broadband & telephone £40
Water £36
Buildings and contents insurance £19
TV licence £12

moneyistooshorttomention

SpekySquarehead wrote: »

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.

Tell me about it....there was times when I did feel noticeably tempted to get married/living together for all the wrong reasons (ie because it's so expensive to be single). At which point - I reminded myself of the divorce statistics and held out for Mr Right (unsuccessfully in the event - but its better than being divorced from Mr SecondBest).

MINE:
- Fuel (gas and electric) now gone up to £58 a month (ie after some months of them repaying me for having overpaid). I don't think that's bad - considering my house is detached and the central heating is on constantly throughout the day (as I'm retired - so in and out a lot).

- Water (£22 - Welsh Water, I believe, are the second dearest water authority in the country:()

- House/contents/legal add-on insurance - about £250 pa

- TV licence - £145.50 pa

- Broadband/phone - about £38 a month (dependant on whether I've made calls lasting over an hour or someone has only given me a mobile number to phone them on:mad:)

- Council Tax - I try not to think about that - as I'm paying 75% of Band D Council Tax on the house and, in this area, getting very little for my money. Having said that - back in city I've moved from I was bothered about paying 75% of the bill per se (rather than 50% - as a married person would have). We did get quite a bit for our money there though. As that Council would deal with flytipping etc complaints promptly/general handle things promptly/had a decent size library/had decent public transport/put on a lot of free events:). So - that isnt too bad if one gets a decent amount for your money - but if you're somewhere more rural then I confess to not being exactly sure just what my CT is going on (other than a total waste of a bit of it:(:silenced: - you can guess what that is probably.....).

EDIT; Don't forget the NHS bills - though you will have them to cater for anyway. That being dental charges/optician charges/ prescription charges. You've presumably not yet reached the age where you have to think "Right - £2,500 or so to be set aside for 2nd cataract operation if need be - as the NHS will lie and say it's not necessary". "Hang on a minute - better put in another £2,500 into savings - because they'll probably delay the first cataract operation". It makes sense for older people to ensure they have around £5,000 savings just in case of that particular NHS bill (as the odds of it are so high...).,

[Deleted User]

Council tax.., look on the website for LA's you are thinking of buying in, you know what price house you are looking at, figure out what band its in and then you will know what your council tax charge will be. Asking other people what they pay will not help, it differs LA to LA, and very much depends on the valuation of the property you are thinking of buying (in 1992 I believe although it may be possible to get a place revalued).

Water charges again can vary greatly depending on supplier. When I lived in the West Midlands, supplied by Seven Trent I paid £10 a month, here in Kent, supplied by South Eastern water its £20 - 36 a month (depending on whether metered, the less expensive rate is when I was metered).

Utilities will depend on tariff. Look for cheapest tariffs and look what they estimate useage will be for the no. of bedrooms you will have. Then decide if you will be able to economise on that figure. Personally I always find estimated useage figures are always a bit high, but not everyone will.

Cable - look at cable supplier websites, decide what packages you want, see if there are any discount deals but be aware they may not be available when you buy. Check that cable companies supply the area you are thinking of buying in. I can't get Virgin here.

Remember that if buying leasehold and/or a flat, service charges will differ.., decide what you would expect to pay, so when you look for properties you know what you can afford and rule out places with too high service charges.

Norman_Castle

Jox wrote: »

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)...

Normally you can have a meter in a flat if the whole flat is supplied via one pipe. The supplier will tell you if its possible. Thames water gives you 12 months to revert to how you are billed now.
https://www.thameswater.co.uk/my-account/water-meters/metered-bill/frequently-asked-questions

I pay £14.42 per month. I'm neither frugal or wastefull. I use what I need although I think STW are one of the cheaper suppliers.

karcher

2 Bed, one occupant.

Prices per month:
Water (non meter) £19
Gas & Electric £40
Buildings & Contents Insurance £17
Council Tax £90 (with single person discount)
Broadband and landline £23

In addition, gas boiler annual service approx £60 (if no issues).

bsod

Jox wrote: »

Thanks, Thames Water keep calling me about installing a smart meter but I'm against it

you're against saving £300+pa?

you've got months to decide if you want to revert back to non-metered if it's not cheaper