How much do you reckon?

[EvianBaby]

I know it's a little like asking how long is a piece of string but could anybody give me a rough idea of how much you would expect monthly utility bills to cost for one person in a small one bedroom house/flat? Just trying to do some sums but it's hard to compare with where I currently live.

It would be in the Buckinghamshire area if that makes much difference.

[boxtops]

gas or electricity? - combined tariff or separate? are you out all day in the week?

[EvianBaby]

Gas or electric I don't know yet. The tariff would depend on whatever worked out cheapest.

Out all day Monday-Friday. In mostly the rest of the time.

[Buenchico]

The average annual cost of fuel bills for a typical family semi is around £1500. Scaling down from that might give you a figure of perhaps £600 to £700 for a small house/flat, so that's roughly £50 to £60 per month. I live in a one bedroom house and pay rather less than that but I'm particularly frugal. (e.g. I've not had any heating on since last winter).

My water bill is only around £5 per month but, again, I'm incredibly frugal (and I don't have a washing machine or dishwasher). £10 to £15 per month might be more realistic for most people.

Chris

[EvianBaby]

Wow, that does sound remarkably cheap, even with being frugal!

I'm so desperate to move into my own house and with a small windfall, I'm now in a position to pay all the up front costs (deposit, etc) but I'm just trying to work out what I can afford and how much it will all cost before I jump straight into signing up for somewhere.

Do you know what the single person discount is for council tax? Or does it depend on the council?

[EvianBaby]

Ah, forget that. I've just seen it's 25%.