Can I afford £475pcm rent? I get £24933 per year before tax and obviously still need to pay all my bills?

Question

I'd be living alone for the first time, in South East Essex - not sure how much bills for 1 are - water, gas, electric, TV, internet, phone, food, cat food! and about £3000 per year on travel up to London where I work. Any help at all would be REALLY appreciated. I was looking at under £425 but they're all dumps! Thanks

Answer 1

Yes. I earn £21,683 and pay £595pcm. Also, my cat food is extra expensive because the older cat is on a prescription diet. The only way to ensure he eats it is to feed the other cat the same food. I also seem to be feeding a stray.

My bills are: electricity £27pcm, pet insurance £24pcm, household contents insurance £200pa, telephone and internet £45pcm, heating oil £800pa, car insurance £200pa, car tax £185, TV licence £136(?)pa. Food and drink I reckon is about £120pcm and diesel is about £60pcm. Water, I'm really not sure about but I think it's about £150pa (in two instalments).

I forgot about Council Tax - £86pcm - and I resent every penny of it. Street lighting is OK but I think my council has the worst refuse collection service in the UK!

Answer 2

I was managing £475pcm on £13k - but only just, and I had to cut out my entire social life.  I also wasn't living in a very expensive area, whereas you have to account for £3000 of travel costs.

The only way to really know is take the plunge.  Be clever about not using too much energy, as bills are getting more expensive all the time, and don't waste money on things you don't need.

TV, phone, internet - get a good deal from one supplier.

Food and cat food - one word: BOGOF!

A big problem for me was Council Tax, I really wasn't expecting it to be SO expensive.  A bill landed on my doormat for over £1,500 (for the year) and I burst into tears it was such a shock!  Make sure you apply for Single Person's Discount, this will save you 1/4 of the cost, and find out what the cost is for the houses you're looking at, in order to add this into your figures.

Good luck!

Answer 3

of course you can, i currently get paid £13500 per year and i pay £395 in rent. obviously it depends how much your council tax will be but once you find a place you can call your local council and find out. you would have to buy a tv licence which is about £140 for the year or you can choose to pay it in monthly installments, water at the min i pay £30 a month, gas £49 a month and electric £33 a month. if you sit down and work out how much you get paid a month after tax you can roughly estimate how much everything will cost you but i suppose it all depends on how much you want for spending money each month aswell!

Answer 4

If you minus tax and rent (assuming it is  ÃƒÂ‚£475) you would be looking about £1000 left over for your food/bills/entertainment/cat etc. Work out how much you spend on each outgoing, don't forget your TV license and car etc! You should have some left over after all out goings. If you don't, then you are likely to struggle.

Answer 5

Join the rest of us in the real world.........!

Answer 6

dont you own a calculator??