Affording a flat on your own!

[missj189]

Is it possible to rent & live in your own flat when you are earning roughly �800 pm? It just seems impossible!

[CheekyChops]

It depends on where you live to some extent - what is the average rental for a flat in your area? It can be done although it is hard. When I first moved in on my own, I had virtually no furniture.

In the living room I had 2 recliner deck chairs and my TV/ video/stereo that I had brought from my parents house. Front room was empty, my bedroom had single bed from mum & dads and 2 chests of drawers. Luckily the kitchen had a built in cooker, I had no washing machine, no fridge. That was in the January.

Come March, I got a bonus from work and bought 2 2-seater sofas and a fridge. I got a washer cheap for �50 from a friend (still going strong 9 years later), had a double bed base free from another friend and bought a mattress.

Come August, I realised it cost more to live on my own than I thought (after realising I had no money for food or petrol) and got myself a 2nd job, part-time in the evenings! I managed though and after 4 years I bought my own place.

What I am trying to say is that it is hard and you can't expect to have all the luxuries that you have living with parents. However, it can be done and is defiantely worth it in the end!!

[sandmaster]

Well done cheekychops. Shows gumption!!

[CheekyChops]

I suppose it depends how badly you want (or need!) to live on your own!!

[bednobs]

or maybe lower your sights to a bedsit?

[yecats2885]

well... forget furnishing it fo a second

if your rent is - �400
council tax �75 (as a single person), gas n lecky �50, water �10, tenants insurance �10

your essentials add up to - �535

which leaves - �265 for the rest

it will be �140 for the year for the ur tv licence - so thats another tenna a month

that only leaves you with �255 a month - basically �65ish on food, travel to work , clothes and socailising

it doesnt leave much

in my personal experiance id wait until you have at least �2000 saved up for emergencies, just save �500 for 4 months and u will have it, plus ur used to not having any money

[gelda]

You may be able to get government help with your rent and council tax if you're on a low income, have a word with your local CAB.

[Pimpernel]

I earn �950 (�870 this month because HR made a mistake when calculating my salary).
I've just moved out of a dirty, noisy, dodgy houseshare.

I now rent a studio:
�350 pm rent
�61 pm council tax (25% discount for single occupancy)
�30 pm electricity
�50 pm phone (I'm an expat and sometimes need to make long phone calls abroad)
�20 pm internet
Regular expenses:food, laundromat, the drycleaner's for a smart suit at least twice a month, Boots (cosmetics, non prescription drugs), and the hairdresser every quarter.

Less regular expenses: sending money abroad. �300 per quarter before the fall of the sterling; �450 these days...
I need a new laptop and that can't wait till 2010.

Moving house cost me over �2,000 so far: deposit for the flat + lease + agency fee +double rent for 1 month (the usual problem with the moving in and out dates). I got swindled out of the deposit I had paid at the previous place. About �30 in phone calls when I was flathunting, and about �5 so far in recorded and special delivery letters to my former landlord.
Other costs: removal van (�45), redirection with the Royal Mail (�37.50), reconnecting with BT (�122.33), carpet cleaner rental (�20).
Credit reports with Experian,Equifax, Credit Call and National Hunter, protective registration with the CIFAS (problems with stolen mail at the former address). Overall cost about �50.
Bed: �409 (I slept on the floor for a month). Wardrobe: �75
I won't buy a fridge and a dehumidifier as initially planned. I don't want to get too much furniture, in case I have to move again in 5 months.

[Pimpernel]

(continued)

So financially I'm walking a tight rope, especially since my company has laid off staff last year and is going to make more staff redundant this year.

I need to have the weekends free in order to fly back abroad, so I am looking for a P/T evening job, like Cheekychops did. Not enthused as I get up at six every weekday, I seldom get a lunchbreak, and I work unpaid overtime. I've been told a payrise isn't negotiable, and I should be happy I still have a job.

Unless you can find a flat under �300 pm, or are eligible to housing benefits, I'd say forget about living on your own until you earn at least �1,000 pm, and have saved at least �2,000 to pay for the housemove, and another �2,000 as a nest egg, in case you lose your job