Is it possible to live on this amount of money?

[MoneyQuestion79]

No state help at all salary (after tax) of 15,300 per year. £1275 per month
Rent £400pcm for a flat. Would £875 be enough for food, bills etc?
I know it’s a bit ambiguous but assuming minimal Internet package and no TV and a basic/cheap food spend, would I Be alright? I’m a single woman, no kids.
Thank you in advance for any insight

Yes it would. Although a room in a shared house where bills are included would make it more comfortable.

I live on £1,180 a month with higher rent than you and manage just fine. I can pay the rent and bills and do a food shop every week.

@WH1SPERS - Why is her rent and council tax too low?

That should be plenty. I drink, I smoke, mostly food shop with Ocado and have a house, so utitilites etc plus TV and broadband. I cover all that for £800 a month. That much for you alone, with none of my bad habits! You should be able to even manage to save some.

If not, you’re CT is too low. And so is your rent.

as if rents are the same throughout the U.K.

2 bed terrace house in my town =£400/month, 1 bed flat in village outside of town = £350/ month, 4 bed semi in village = £460/month.

You will be fine. But if you are a little worried, I second what another poster said: why not try a houseshare or a flatshare? The rent and council tax will be cheaper and all the utilities and internet will already be set up so less hassle for you.

I'd say that's enough - I get £1,750 a month and pay £650 rent, £550 childcare and have £550 for all other stuff and we manage fine most months.

My adult DC lives on £280 a month after paying their bills, rent and putting money in their savings so yes, it's possible.

WH1SPERS what an odd comment. Rent and council tax differs throughout the country. Not everywhere costs a fortune. I rent a 2 bed flat in the Midlands for £425pm and my council tax is the same as the OP's.

You will be fine on that OP.

There is always other 'stuff' to account for. Home insurance, travel insurance, trips away/train travel if visiting someone, clothes, haircuts, winter coat and boots (esp if walking to work), toiletries, cleaning suiff, birthday presents for family and friends, getting invited to a wedding etc, hobbies, house and kitchen stuff, medical prescriptions, the odd night out. You need some slack in the budget for all this or you will either be miserable or going over budget regularly. Ideally about £200 per month free after rent, bills, food is covered. If you don't spend it, you can save it but you need a buffer.

I have lived in 2 cheap cities and is about 450 rent for a one bed cheap flat. And CT is about 90 a month after discount.

Some flats have standing charges too.

I didn’t realise there were even cheaper places to live so i stand corrected 😀

stuff...cleaning stuff!

After paying your bills you need spend very little on food (Aldi or Lidl) and clothes from charity shops. You’d need to save a bit for presents, Christmas and emergencies.
Doable short term but would be grim if forever.

grim? i lived on less for years, it was fine.

Band A IN Liverpool is £110 with no discount.

ok, I am on my own and in bills i pay £150 council tax, £95 gas and electricity, £100 phone inc mobile, £13 tv licence. I don't pay water but lets assume £50 for that. So £413. That would leave you over £100 a week for other costs including food. That is doable. insurance is £13 a month a think.

I'm on my own and I pay £90 CT, £40 has and electric, £60 for tv and internet, £12 tv license so yes I'd say that's very doable!

@MoneyQuestion79
After paying the mortgage our bills (four bed semi family of five)

Car tax £22
Tv license £12
Netflix £10
Sky internet and phone £28
Prime £8
Gas and Electricity £150
Water £56
Council tax £135
Life Insurance £11

Total £432

Our food shopping is obviously going to be astronomically higher than yours. We pay mobile phone contracts at £20 a month each but these are the household costs.
A flat will have much lower running costs and one person will not use that much gas, electricity or water!

I think 875 a month is plenty for a single person.

I live in a flatshare so there's two of us but our combined bills are
80 for electric (no gas)
Interent/tv 45
Council tax 200

I would budget about 200 for bills, but you can obviously get cheaper internet, your council tax is less and electric would probably be slightly less for one in a flat.

I then spend about 50 a week on food but again that's eating well, can do 25 a week in lidl if I plan well.

After bills your have 150 a week, which I think is fine. It's about what I have and I feel well off. Cut that down to 100 and put away 200 a month so you have more wiggle room. 100 a week is plenty if no travel costs.

I’m on my own with two kids:
Council tax £78
Gas/electric £99 combined
Water £33
Virgin TV and Broadband £29
TV licence £12

I have other things too, like Netflix, run a car, have a cat but these aren’t essential. I think OP will have room in the budget for food and extras.

Yes, you can live comfortably on that as long as you’re sensible about non-essential spends, eg Starbucks, eating out, phone.

I have to admit I am slightly perplexed at some posters saying living on this amount would be “grim” or that OP would need to shop at Lidl. My “essential” costs are:
100 CT
100 water/gas/electric
80 TV (inc Netflix) broadband and mobile phone.
200 Food (and I eat well on that and never shop at Lidl!)

That would still leave OP nearly £300 a month for anything else. So yes the occasional Starbucks or a pair of boots! I’m not saying OP could go wild with spending but plenty of people live on far less. Some people on MN really do live in a different world!

My bills for family with 1 adult and 1 child are:

£65.00 gas and electric together
£40 water
£40 council tax (because I'm poor)
£19 internet
£7 sim only phone plan
£40 train travel
£27 childs activities/lessons
£675 rent for 2 bed terrage with rats in the ceilings I receive help towards rent but it doesn't cover it by any means.)

We scrape by on very little and am constantly stressed, mainly because food is so expensive. We seem to spend £90 a week on food and am trying to get it down.

Oops. Got my sums wrong! She’d actually have 400 a month left after that!

@Asta19

yes I think those posters do live in a different world. OP I hope you feel reassured that it will be fine.