Never knew it cost this much to run a home!

margaretclare

Hi Dean

We're a retired couple living in a 2-bedroom bungalow in south Essex, 40 miles east of London which is commuting-distance to the City.

Here's what we spend monthly - all regular bills on monthly direct debit:

Council Tax: 94.00
Tv Licence: 10.99
BT : 12.00
Telco global for calls (variable): approx 5.00
Water (metered): 4.39
Sewerage: 11.00
Gas (Atlantic): 28.00
Electricity (GreenEnergy): 20.00
Broadband (pipex): 19.99
Home Insurance: 16.87

All these are fixed costs that you cannot escape. Food costs us approx £50 a week. In addition there's the car - 'M' reg Fiesta, low insurance group and low petrol usage. I would say that, apart from council tax (we're in 'C' band) running a house costs about as much wherever you are in UK.

At age 20 you've got plenty of time to 'get on the housing ladder'. Also if you're planning to go and live in another country, what's the point of buying a property here? Even if you buy and then sell again, there are agents' fees, conveyancing costs etc.

I've found from experience that young people are often shocked by the costs of running a home. Even going to live in a student hall of residence, you still have to provide things for yourself that you take for granted at home. Your washing done, for instance. Things like toothpaste, toiletries, a jar of instant coffee - all those things are provided for you in the weekly shopping and you never give them a thought until you have to shell out for them yourself.

Aunty Margaret

Ian_W

Woby_Tide wrote: yeah yeah, next you'll be telling us you've a microwave and shower. Pure fantasy, get back down the mine.

Course we got showers mate, get p*ssed wet through wi em if you don't tek your brolly with you go to bookies or t'pub and they was doing that microwave thingie all round Old Trafford in t'test match, tha knows.
Alright, alright - back down pit for me an t'whippets!!

Sofa_Sogood

Ian_W wrote:

MM, I thought you were the "very odd London-eccentric bias" on these threads!! :rotfl:
It may surprise a few cockney's here and there, but in towns - even villages - as well cities - up and down the land there are - FLATS. Converted and even, shock horror, purpose-built ones :dance: !!
So now the secret is out, there are lots & lots of flats outside London, I'll let you into another one, :shhh: since we got our mains gas central heating - a lot of us don't keep coal in the bath anymore . Great places to wash your whippets, tha' knows! :j

And the views are better oop north

Seriously, have to agree with margaretclare; those incidentals like toothpaste, coffee etc do add up, unfortunately

scheming_gypsy

Mortgage = £413
Life cover and that = £30ish
Contents insurance = £13 (sharded ownership so no buildings insurance)
Water bill (metered) = £36 since December
TV License = your first license is £20ish for 6 months
Gas / Leccy = not had a bill yet... remind me to chase them
Phone = 10.50 a month
Broadband = £14.99
Council Tax = £80ish
Sky+ Mulitroom = £51
Food = depends

Why are you planning on ploughing 15k in as a deposit? don't forget that once you move in you'll need to furnish the place, might be better to keep some to one side incase you run into anything you forgot about,
Also don't forget to include the added extras like takeaways, lunches etc etc

mummytofour

To be honest that sounds pretty good to me!

Council tax is cheap we pay £122 per month for a scabby x-coucil 3 bed 1970s mid/ ter.


I think it sounds like the real world to me :mad:

How about you get a lodger?

deemy2004

we are too heavily taxed in this country ! Look at petrol ! 70p of every litre is tax !

skintchick

MY outgoings for a two-bed (one and a half really!) in expensive HEnley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, living on my own with cat:

Powergen dual fuel £35
Council tax £96 (including the 25% single person's discount)
TV licence £10.41
Water £27.31 (going on water meter soon so will slash this by about £15)
BT line rental £11
Mortgage £312.41 (v cheap luckily! PArents helped me buy six years ago whe prices were a bit more sensible)
Phone bills including mobile £25 maximum, often less than £20 (Am with Onetel)

NO internet, NO Sky, NO nuffin!!

I spend £80-100 a month on food, make packed lunches for work, cook from scratch, no microwave meals, etc., which are expensive.

House insurance is £120 a year
Car insurance £300 a year - didn't go down at 25 though, I had to wait until I was 29 to get a decent deal!

Spend hardly anything going out - am on a real economy drive right now.

It's all about what you want - a house or a social life?!? IF you can cope with living at home then I'd do that for a bit longer.

I moved out of home at 19 and remember being horrified that I had to pay for water! I thought it was free!!! :rotfl:

Slider

Whilst your probably bored of hearing opinions, I will give you mine.

1) Finish your training
2) Look here http://www.immi.gov.au/migrate/index.htm
3) Visit Aus
4) Enjoy the next couple of years, plenty of time to get a house.

PS, Loads of manufacturing industry around Melbourne and south of Sydney.

These answers probably don't fit with the spirit of the board, but stuff it, I should have gone 10 years ago, and know I don't have enough points.

Sofa_Sogood

skintchick wrote:

NO internet .....

This is probably another of my stupid questions skintchick , but how do you post on here without the internet?

mountainofdebt

By using the internet in work?