Renting a 1 bed flat/studio flat on net salary of just over £1000, doable?

Got2Save

I am currently looking to get job which would earn me around 14k per year salary. I want to move into either a 1 bed flat or a studio flat. I have calculated everything up via a household calculator, and apparently I would be left with £115 per month after everything is paid for. Paid for bills per month include:

Gas & Electric = £60
Water = £21
Broadband = £20 (for first 12 months)
Food - £80
Clothes = £50 (though I don't need clothes at the moment, i have enough outfits so £50 every month wouldn't be necessary)
Public transport (bus) = £60
Entertainment = £30

I wouldn't want a TV licence as I rarely watch tv so not including this. I could cut back further, including only buying clothes every 6 months which would save me a few hundred pound.

I would also look for a second job of maybe 4-8 hours at a weekend. I wouldn't be socialising a whole lot as I would be looking to save for a business. I would also do a bit of buying/selling on the side so I think I would be okay. Anyway, what are your thoughts? Now I've listed my costs, do you think it's doable with extra income from 2nd job and earning income through other streams? Thanks.

gingercordial

Which town/city/area do you want to live in? This is going to be very different if in London versus other much cheaper parts of the country.

Have you any idea how much you are going to spend on rent? It isn't included in your list.

What about council tax?

marliepanda

Council tax can very easily wipe out that £115...

Got2Save

marliepanda wrote: »

Council tax can very easily wipe out that £115...

Whoops, forgot to add that. I did add that to the calculator, so I would still be left with £115. Food I could cut back on and entertainment too. I would struggle for the first few months I expect that, but that's fine. I would find a 2nd job and aim to bring in extra income of anywhere from £50-100 per week.

bouicca21

gas and electric look high - I pay less than that on a 3 bed flat and am home much of the time

water - reduce that by getting a meter or more likely an assessed bill.

Council tax?

You will need a tv licence if you watch tv at all including catchup.

Contents insurance?

Emergency fund for repairs/maintenance of your goods.

Pots and pans and all the rest of the miscellaneous stuff you need to live a life

And of course the big one - rent.

Doesn't even look like penury to me - it looks impossible.

Got2Save

gingercordial wrote: »

Which town/city/area do you want to live in? This is going to be very different if in London versus other much cheaper parts of the country.

Have you any idea how much you are going to spend on rent? It isn't included in your list.

What about council tax?

I live in South of Essex. It isn't that cheap around here, but it's affordable compared to London that's for sure. I have been looking at spending £450-£500 on rent per month. If a studio flat, then the cheaper option. Also, I have seen some studio flats which only excluded electricity, so would only need to pay for electricity.

Locana

Have you looked into whether you may be entitled to some Housing Benefit or working tax credits?

MyOnlyPost

Have a look at the budget planner on this website which is very thorough

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/Budget-planning

£80 for food seems low to me, although I haven't lived alone for 20 years but I think I was paying that much back then.

As well as food you need to budget cleaning products and other non food items.

£30 for entertainment seems low for a single person who doesn't have company at home, but what do I know?

Do you want to insure your posessions?

Finally how have you calculated your potential salary? Have you remembered to deduct tax and NI?

Got2Save

bouicca21 wrote: »

gas and electric look high - I pay less than that on a 3 bed flat and am home much of the time

water - reduce that by getting a meter or more likely an assessed bill.

Council tax?

You will need a tv licence if you watch tv at all including catchup.

Contents insurance?

Emergency fund for repairs/maintenance of your goods.

Pots and pans and all the rest of the miscellaneous stuff you need to live a life

And of course the big one - rent.

Doesn't even look like penury to me - it looks impossible.

The gas & electric I looked for average costs of, so it came to £60. I would shop around see if I could get cheaper. Council tax I put as £100, but realistically it would be more around £80-90 in this area. TV licence I wouldn't need because I don't watch TV at all, I only watch youtube and it's never live TV anyway.

I would be out and about working or visiting friends tbh, so would have no need for watching t.v. Contents insurance I put as £25 which again was the average cost. Rent was between 450/500 per month. On the pots/pans and other bits, could borrow some of those. Furniture could buy cheap from local homeless stores and furniture/appliance reduction stores. I would make sure I had the money for those things anyway before moving.

I might being optimistic. I will have to see what costs I could reduce, see how much I can save. I reckon I could save an extra £50 per month by cutting back on above costs.

Got2Save

Locana wrote: »

Have you looked into whether you may be entitled to some Housing Benefit or working tax credits?

Housing benefit, not yet because you have to be renting first before you can apply I believe? Working tax credits, no would need to find out. I'm not a fan of claiming benefits, but I guess if I could get a little help I would accept it.

Locana

There are HB and benefit calculators online, Turn2us.org may be a good one. You can enter your theoretical wages and rent etc, to see what you may be entitled to.


I think you may even need a TV licence if you have a laptop or smartphone. I think that having the ability to watch any TV may mean you need one, even if you don't. Check though...