First time wannabe renter

Rosemary7391

It's definitely doable to live on your own on that income. You do have to reconsider your budget though. I make it work because I consider having a flat to myself the primary luxury I pay for and for me it's definitely worth it! However, I don't have a car and I'm a student so I don't pay council tax, but I managed to save a fair bit and have holidays etc. My budget is something like:
~£375 flat costs (I own so it varies month to month, but that's the average)
£50 gas and electric
£15 mobile phone
£30 landline/broadband
£200 food


Council tax would be another £120 ish. Your car is another major cost. Sounds like you need a repair/replacement budget for it? Set aside so much per month for repairs; if it doesn't need repairing let the money roll over until you can either buy a more reliable one or it does need fixing.


I recommend that you figure out a budget, then make sure you don't spend more than you'd have left each month, and ideally less. For instance, if you think a flat would cost you £680 a month, you already pay £280 to your mom so at least £400 should go into savings. If you're allocating £100 a month for car repairs put that in as well. Do that at the start of the month so you start getting used to not having that money. It'll help you understand what it'll be like and give you a bit of a buffer to fall back on if need be