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

Got2Save

MyOnlyPost wrote: »

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?

I don't have a big appetite. I only really eat dinner and snack on nuts & stuff, so would likely buy meat in bulk, and then buy vegetables as I go. I also only drink water and maybe occasional coffee (instant). Cleaning products I could get cheap from pound store or other bargain places.

Haha, well entertainment is low because I rarely drink or go clubbing/bars, so maybe the odd night out every month. If I wanted to do more, then I would fund it with an 2nd job. Yes, I used the taxman calculator for 2016/17 and it deducted everything so I knew what I would be left with.

copperclock

You sound like you have a really good attitude for somebody starting out.

Where are you living at the moment? Could you potentially stay where you are for another few months and develop some savings?

Do you dislike the idea of lodging somewhere or house sharing?

Will your job provide you with opportunity for pay rises?

MyOnlyPost

You seem to be giving it all necessary consideration so I wish you the best of luck. I remeber moving out of my parents like it was yesterday. Never been so scared before or since but the pride when you have your own place is immense.

You are right to assume it will be tough to start, but knowing it before you go in is half of the battle.

hazyjo

Presume no car.


tbh, I'd not manage it in a week, let alone a month! But we're all different.


Where are you now? With parents? When you get a job paying around £14k, why don't you try to live on that amount for say 3 months and put the rest away. It will be handy towards a deposit or whatever.


It's extremely tight! Your figures above and £500 rent come to £921. £14k salary pays around £1,057. Will you be paying into a pension? People often underestimate just how much things cost! It ain't cheap! It's okay living like that for a short while (I did it for a year or two the other year - long story), but I am so grateful for my creature comforts again now! Don't forget buying Christmas and birthday presents and cards. Even a fiver/tenner a head adds up, and you don't get a lot for that!


Jx

Got2Save

copperclock wrote: »

You sound like you have a really good attitude for somebody starting out.

Where are you living at the moment? Could you potentially stay where you are for another few months and develop some savings?

Do you dislike the idea of lodging somewhere or house sharing?

Will your job provide you with opportunity for pay rises?

I did do house-sharing years ago, but I just couldn't hack it. I like my own space, so I eventually moved back to parents. Unfortunately I developed mental health issues, became unemployed and it's been a hard road back. I currently live with parents still, but I want to move out again.

I am currently unemployed, but I've had some positive news on the job front so will see how things go. I am looking to move out ASAP really, but taking into consideration everything before I take the decision to do so. I just wanted to gather some opinions on top of my research, just to make sure it's doable instead of being too optimistic. I will see what happens, I may need to stay put for a little while to get my savings together anyway.

Jackieboy

You may not go out much at the moment but thirty quid a month is very little for a young (which I assume you are) person to have any sort of life. Personally, I'd look at saving money by renting a room in a house/flat share and putting the savings aside until your social life perks up a bit.

Got2Save

hazyjo wrote: »

Presume no car.


tbh, I'd not manage it in a week, let alone a month! But we're all different.


Where are you now? With parents? When you get a job paying around £14k, why don't you try to live on that amount for say 3 months and put the rest away. It will be handy towards a deposit or whatever.


It's extremely tight! Your figures above and £500 rent come to £921. £14k salary pays around £1,057. Will you be paying into a pension? People often underestimate just how much things cost! It ain't cheap! It's okay living like that for a short while (I did it for a year or two the other year - long story), but I am so grateful for my creature comforts again now! Don't forget buying Christmas and birthday presents and cards. Even a fiver/tenner a head adds up, and you don't get a lot for that!


Jx

Yes, I am considering other costs too. At the moment I just need to evaluate the situation and see how things go. I won't rush into any decision, but just need some reassurance that it would be possible. It would be tight, but I fully expect it to be for the first 6 months to a year. In between that I will be looking to get a 2nd job (few hours on weekends) on top of the full time job, and maybe even put in overtime if possible.

I haven't thought about a mortgage to be honest, just because it would require a lot of money for a down payment, and that would mean staying at home for god knows how long to save up, so would rather rent for the short term, then once my income increases, then i can start putting some money away into a separate savings account for a mortgage.

Candyapple

Mobile phone?

The £20pm for broadband, does this include line rental charges too?

Don't forget about the tax implications of a second job, it may not end up worth it once all the deductions have been made.

'A bit of buying and selling on the side' again, you will need to declare this to HMRC and fill out self assessment forms.

booksurr

Candyapple wrote: »

Don't forget about the tax implications of a second job, it may not end up worth it once all the deductions have been made..

do what? It is actually cheaper to have 2 low paid jobs than to have one job earning the combined total. That is because of the way national insurance works.

With income tax you only get one allowance to cover your total so the income tax on 2 jobs each paying 14k is the same as earning 28k from only one job.

With NI you get the first £155 per week tax free in each job. NI is applied to the money you get each time you are paid and is not a total for the year. So for example job 1 paying £200 per week will incur £5.40 NI (12%) and job 2 paying £150 per week will incur zero. In contrast a single job paying £350 per week would result in £23.40 of NI (12%), a huge difference in relative terms

taking a second job is not determined by how much tax you'll pay, it should however give careful consideration to travel costs of getting there if it is low paid so you could end up working 3 hours and only effectively being left with 1 hour's worth of pay for example.

WibblyGirly

When I lived alone I spent about £25-30 a week on food and I was skint back then buying own brand stuff where I could.
Could you get a job paying £14k then stay for 6 months at home and then try to get a better paid job due to your experience? With bills of £950 each month I'd want to take home at least £1400 after tax to cover anything that could go wrong.

Also you need to factor in dentist/prescriptions/hair cuts etc.