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Cost of living...

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Im moving into my own place soon, the rent is quite high but its a really nice place and i know i can afford it.
But my question is roughly, after rent/morgage how much does it cost you guys all to live? bills food etc? cause i want to make sure im not gonna over stretch myself before i get it.

in a nut shell, the place is 625 quid a month and i take home after tax just under 1400 a month. i just want a rough idea of how much im gonna have to myself after bills/food and pay off my loan etc.

thanks in advance guys. :D
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You'll be fine. Just dont waste your lekky
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Zella
    You'll be fine. Just dont waste your lekky
    i aint gonna have any furniture either lol so thats all gotta start...

    need to sort out a internet connection!

    good old ikea :D
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Pah! Dont go there to start out. It cost a bundle only for it to break later. Go to like a secondhand furniture sale or something like that, and then gradually replace it with new.

    Ive already got loads of stuff for when i move out, and that wont be for years yet. My mum seems to think its a good idea to get me pots and pans...not like its a hint or anything:rolleyes: I even havea micro wave in my room
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Obviously it depends on what type of person you are for how much it costs,

    £1400 a month,

    -£625 - rent

    £40 a month electric, if you listern to alot of music or use a pc 24/7ect but probably less with you since you work alot,

    £40 least phone billwith net connection (about £20/30 without) but then you got VAT and calls ontop of that)

    Food depends what you buy and if you eat alot, for three people in our house it's about £60/70 a week but for you on your own it'll probably be £30/40

    Water - not sure, ours is like a 10a week or summit like that, I dunno,

    Obviously there is alot more but that is what I can think of, it is just a ROUGHT estimate and they'res alot more to add onto it, too earily for me anyway :(
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    To be honest I think you may find it quite tight, but it depends on how you like to keep yourself and what other outgoings you have.

    For example when I was in a job that was bringing in about the same as you I was finding that I was down about 50 quid by the end of some months, but then a lot of money was going on petrol.

    So yeah, it depends like.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Mist
    To be honest I think you may find it quite tight, but it depends on how you like to keep yourself and what other outgoings you have.

    For example when I was in a job that was bringing in about the same as you I was finding that I was down about 50 quid by the end of some months, but then a lot of money was going on petrol.

    So yeah, it depends like.
    i dont drive, dont need to worry about costs to work either cause im planning on walking.
    i was worried it maybe a little tight. sometimes im gonna have to sort out train costs too to visit my other half or have her visit me.

    maybe its too much to start with then, shame cause its almost perfect.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Samael
    i dont drive, dont need to worry about costs to work either cause im planning on walking.
    i was worried it maybe a little tight. sometimes im gonna have to sort out train costs too to visit my other half or have her visit me.

    maybe its too much to start with then, shame cause its almost perfect.

    From the sound of it, if you work out a budget and can stick to it I think it could be managable, well good luck sorting a budget out:)
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Hellfire
    From the sound of it, if you work out a budget and can stick to it I think it could be managable, well good luck sorting a budget out:)
    thats the whole point of this thread, work out how much im gonna need each month :rolleyes:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Samael
    thats the whole point of this thread, work out how much im gonna need each month :rolleyes:

    Well it depends on each person, do you want a TV if so you'll need a TV licence,

    food, depends how much you eat,
    eletric, depends on how much you use, same with water, it all depends on the person though:)
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Hellfire
    Well it depends on each person, do you want a TV if so you'll need a TV licence,

    food, depends how much you eat,
    eletric, depends on how much you use, same with water, it all depends on the person though:)
    graeme get out of my thread. your not really helping me.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    £30 a week for food!! What planet do you live on?

    My missus and I spend £110 a week on food.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by LeeBee
    £30 a week for food!! What planet do you live on?

    My missus and I spend £110 a week on food.

    my mum spends £70 a week for three of us:)
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Groovaybaby
    the amount your going to be paying you could be getting a mortage for that.
    not round here, and tbh i dont want to be tied up with a morgage just yet. i want to make sure me and missus can live together without murdering each other before we step to that kind of commitment.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's the location thats a big thing, see when my sister rented her 2bed in witham it was only £80 a month, yours is 200+ more than that, but obviously it's easier for you to get to work, have you thought of renting somewhere else, and seeing if it would cost less to comute by train or is it to far from you work?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Hellfire
    It's the location thats a big thing, see when my sister rented her 2bed in witham it was only £80 a month, yours is 200+ more than that, but obviously it's easier for you to get to work, have you thought of renting somewhere else, and seeing if it would cost less to comute by train or is it to far from you work?
    graeme, im not here to debate my life with you. do me a favour and take a fuck off tablet. your advice is not welcome as i know you have no personal experience of renting and the whole point of this thread is to get the opinions and advice of other people with experience. go away.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    We have telephone + broadband for £27/month. Baqsic phone rental is £10/month (that's with Telewest).

    Energy (electric and/or gas) will be about £200/quarter.

    TV license is £116 per year.

    Your furinture depends on what you want to buy. WE have spent about £1200 furnishing our flat from scratch.

    You're looking at:
    £250 for a fridge/freezer.
    £250 for a washing machine
    £100 on wardrobes
    £300 on a bed (ours was a very good bed at £450)
    £100 on a dining table
    £80 on cutlery and crockery
    £40 on pots and pans.

    We got our furniture on interest free credit from Durham Pine, we'll be paying 10 payments of £70, and we bought the electrical goods on a credit card.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    depending on where you live, the real killer after rent is council tax. ours is about £90 a month. Electricity costs us about £30 a month ish. Not sure about gas, as it goes out DD. Our mortgage + insurance is about £400pm. The other expensive thing is running a car, but since you dont drive, thats one big expense you dont have to worry about.
    Id say food shopping varies according to what sort of tastes youve got. Some weeks ill spend £30 for 2 adults and a child, and some weeks ill spend nearer £100, depending if i need to do a stock up of cleaning products, toiletries etc, or whether i fancy some posh stuff from the deli (ie yesterday spent £20 on nibbles for one picnic lunch - most weeks i will just buy supermarkets own brand stuff, and fresh fruit and veg from the greengrocers, fresh meat from the butchers, much cheaper)
    I think youll be fine on what you earn, but you wont be rich, youll scrape by though, like the rest of us.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Samael
    not round here, and tbh i dont want to be tied up with a morgage just yet. i want to make sure me and missus can live together without murdering each other before we step to that kind of commitment.

    although, if the deeds were in your name, and it didn't work out, you would keep the house. presumably yours is the only income, as you haven't mentioned a second one.

    the problem with renting is that you're paying and paying and paying but not getting anywhere. with a mortgage you are gaining a considerable asset, and your payment are quite clearly paying off your debt. and for probably the same amount a month.

    so it would be in your best interests to buy rather than rent. have it all in your name to avoid messiness upon break-ups.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by kaffrin
    although, if the deeds were in your name, and it didn't work out, you would keep the house. presumably yours is the only income, as you haven't mentioned a second one.

    the problem with renting is that you're paying and paying and paying but not getting anywhere. with a mortgage you are gaining a considerable asset, and your payment are quite clearly paying off your debt. and for probably the same amount a month.

    so it would be in your best interests to buy rather than rent. have it all in your name to avoid messiness upon break-ups.
    i also have to pay for repairs etc then too right? the way its looking at the moment i aint gonna be able to pay for anything like that if something goes wrong. also i dont have any money put away for deposit or anything
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by kaffrin
    so it would be in your best interests to buy rather than rent. have it all in your name to avoid messiness upon break-ups.

    That actually isn't true.

    If the otehr person can prove that he or she has contributed to the costs of running the house (such as paying the energy bills or mortgage payments every so often) then he or she has an equitable interest in the house for the proportion of the bills he or she was paying.

    I would actually recommend renting rather than buying in the cuirrent market, one of the most important things is that you are more secure. Housing benefit applies immediately for rented accomodation, but only after six months for owned properties.

    And yes, you would be liable for repairs if the hosue was damaged. Normally you take buildings and contents insurance out on purchased properties, but if money is tight then renting is safer (although you do lose money).
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    it's the cost of loving you should be worrying about ...
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Samael
    i also have to pay for repairs etc then too right? the way its looking at the moment i aint gonna be able to pay for anything like that if something goes wrong. also i dont have any money put away for deposit or anything

    yeah, that's a good point actually. although as a homeowner you would have access to other loans and suchlike.

    and for the rent/buy thing, i'm taking the advice of my dad, who has spent 35 years working in finance, so raise the issue with him :p
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by kaffrin
    and for the rent/buy thing, i'm taking the advice of my dad, who has spent 35 years working in finance, so raise the issue with him :p

    Buying generally is a better bet, but if money is tight then it's probably not so good. It's better to pay £600 for a house you own rather than £700 for a flat you rent, but only if you can afford it.

    We were looking to buy, and we couldn't afford it, even after Ellie's fatehr guaranteed it. *sigh*
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by LeeBee
    £30 a week for food!! What planet do you live on?

    My missus and I spend £110 a week on food.

    Where do you shop harrods?!:eek:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Tweety
    Where do you shop harrods?!:eek:

    :lol:

    i never spend over £50 a week for the two of us, and that includes a load of branded stuff, cause mr. k is fussy. heh.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    £110 a week on food.

    How much do you eat?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by kaffrin
    :lol:

    i never spend over £50 a week for the two of us, and that includes a load of branded stuff, cause mr. k is fussy. heh.

    We only spend about £20-30 a week on us 3. We do get some value stuff as we can't afford much & tbh we like it.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Tweety
    We only spend about £20-30 a week on us 3. We do get some value stuff as we can't afford much & tbh we like it.

    value beans are alright, and value bread is good for toast.

    I reckon we spend £50 a week at the supermarket, though that does include wine and beer.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Kermit
    value beans are alright, and value bread is good for toast.

    I reckon we spend £50 a week at the supermarket, though that does include wine and beer.

    I've gone off the beans, they have changed :(.
    We do get the tinned tomatos & spagetti & sweetcorn tho.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Aspartame
    Get a direct debit thing for gas and electricity, so you pay a set amount each month. British Gas do this.
    They'll change it if you're paying too little/too much.

    No, don't.

    If you are short of cash and the company helps itself early, you will get fined by the bank for being overdrawn and/or having a direct debit bounce.

    It is worth the extra £2/month in order to control when payments leave the account- companies on DD are bugegrs for helping themselves to money three of four days early if it is a bank holiday.
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