Rent and Bills Question!?!?

Question

Hello! I live in the UK (Taunton/Bridgwater area in the south west to be precise) and I'm looking to move out of my mum's house and start renting a flat of my own.

I plan to live alone in a 1 bedroom flat, the prices I've looked at are around £400 pcm for rent but I don't have a clue how much my bills would be because I've never lived alone!!

What sort have things do you have to pay for each month like electricity, water and council tax etc and how much are they roughly??

I work full time and earn around £850 a month so is this enough to afford all these things??

Sorry for all the questions but I hope someone can give me an idea of how much it would all be and if I can even afford to do this lol!

Thanks a lot :-) xxx

Answer 1

With 47% of all of your money going to rent alone, it would be almost impossible to make it on your own.

Most apartments (at least in the US) require your income to rent ratio to be 33% or less. That said, I tried to keep my ratio at 25% to give wiggle room for emergencies, car repairs, and other unexpected expenses.

This is not solid, but generally, the water, gas / electric, runs about 20% of rent (the bigger the place, the more the gas/ elec is; the more bathrooms, the more the water bill is...)

You are looking at about 500 per month in rent & utilities. That leaves 350 for gasoline, car, insurance, groceries, telephone, cable, internet, entertainment, registrations, etc.,

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Answer 2

Almost half of your wages will be going on rent alone so you won't be left with a great deal to cover bills and live comfortably.If rent includes council tax,that wouldn't be so bad.Then you have your travel costs..Check what council tax band you will fall into and do some sums on paper.............

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Answer 3

I'm single and these are an average of my monthly bills:
Mortgage: £400
Water: £30 (not on meter)
Electric: £20
Gas: £30
Council Tax: £70 (You get 25% single discount)
TV Licence: £12
Phone and Broadband: £20
Home Insurance (building and contents): £25
Food: £80

Remember these are mine, and yours may differ.

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Answer 4

may i suggest u stay at home i have lived and battled very hard to keep my flat going for the last 6 years. i understand that freedom sounds and seems great however, i actually found this to be more stressful than it would have been to stay at home.
example i was on a similar wage to u at one point. then i had to pay approx( £75 ON COUNCIL TAX AND RENT WEEKLY. THIS IS COMBINED FIGURE) £20 ELECTRICITY £20 GAS £35 FOOD AND CLEANING EXTRAS. THEN THERE WAS £20 WEEKLY ON PHONE BILLS IF NOT MORE. TRAVELLING £20 U ALSO HAVE MEDICAL EXPENSES????
SO AS U CAN SEE WITHOUT MEDICAL BILLS U ARE REACHING AROUND £190 WEEKLY OUTGOINGS BUT YOUR AREA CLEARLY SOUNDS MORE EXPENSIVE TO LIVE.
So u will have little surplus to save or to enjoy u will be working mainly to live and pay bills. it can be done all my point is make sure u do your sums. the choice at the end of the day is yours.

Source(s):

lived on my own since i was 17

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Answer 5

There are lots of bills that need to be paid over the course of the year. It is often up to you to decide whether you would prefer to pay on an annual basis (ie - pay the whole lot for the year as a lump sum) or if you would be better off spreading the cost out into 12 monthly payments. You will need to account for : electricity (about £20 per month), gas (if the flat has it) about £20, water (£15 a month dependant on your area), council tax (contact your local council office to see which bracket you will fall into - you should also get a 25% reduction for single occupancy (ie - if you are living alone), you should also filter in for telephone line rental (and internet access, tv subscription if you plan to have this) as well as TV license (about £150 per year) If you are in a purpose built block of flats, then expect to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the block and grounds too (I pay £80 per month)
Remember that bills are likely to be higher in winter as more heating and lighting is needed.
If you would prefer to have more control over what you are spending, you can always have a key/card meter fitted for gas and electricity, which will enable you to "pay as you go"
Good luck !!

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