Is £1k a month enough to live on?

[EL8888]

I was debating with my mother whether it was possible for a person to live on £1,000 per month. Bearing in mind there is no rent / mortgage to pay (house is paid for), no debts and they own a newish car plus they have a Freedom card to use. They live alone with no dependents or pets. I said it was enough and she said it really wasn’t

I could if I got rid of the car. Which I will do as soon as I have a freedom pass!

I've done it before but had savings to fund any emergencies/extras when needed.

Living alone is generally a lot more expensive than living as a couple though, for example council tax discount is only 25% off, not half. And obviously most bills come to exactly the same amount no matter how many of you there are.

And where are people finding these £10 per month buildings and contents insurance policies? My contents insurance alone is £42 pm, and then buildings on top of that. Is it because I live in London (zone 4 and not a very nice area)?

In my part of the uk yes easily

Our buildings and contents insurance is £18 pm and that includes a few quid extra for DPs expensive bikes. Without those, it would be more like £10-12 pm. This is Santander, but that's the sort of price we've always paid.

We live in a council estate on the outskirts of a large northern city in a 2 bed semi.

DID do it, when I was on income support with a young DS and rent to pay. It is 100% possible

You didn’t do it for 30 years, did you? I lived on buttons when I was young, I wouldn’t want to do it for the rest of my life. Would you?

If you have been with your current home insurer for years, get a competitive quote. The inch up the premium year by year to take advantage of inertia. This results in older policyholders in particular paying way over the fair market price.

You may be stunned. www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jan/16/home-insurance-swindle-loyal-customers-premium-rises

"Which" thought that the best companies were NFU Mutual; M&S Bank; LV= (formerly London and Victoria); and John Lewis.

I do usually change insurers yes although stayed with the same this year but have never been quoted less than £35-ish. I'm always paranoid about being underinsured (as they won't pay at all if they find you were) and maybe get one for too much contents value, I'm not sure... I suspect it's the London effect maybe, more burglaries round here?

Alsohuman well no, because I got a job. I wouldn't WANT to live that way long term, but that's not because it's not possible to do, it's because it's not much fun. Still possible though.

Exactly, it’s not much fun so why is it OK for someone to spend the last 20 or 30 years doing it? Retirement, particularly the first few years is supposed to be fun after you’ve worked for 40 odd years.

@Waxonwaxoff0 - to be fair if you did this a few years ago things weren't so expensive.

This is like a race to the bottom.

I'm genuinely baffled by posters who say they're taking home less than a grand a month and paying mortgage and bills, bringing up teenagers and still put money into savings every month. I'm incredibly frugal but it's just not possible.

@ToCaden - not meaning to jump on you but see you work for Universal Credit. Serious question - do you get much training? I've spent over 2 years trying to sort my claim - I get told different things by everyone I speak to. For example I get told to upload a photo to my journal, I can't work out how to do it, phone back and get told you can't upload to your journal. I have been told many times that it has been noted on the system I am in hospital, next week they don't know I'm in hospital but have now noted it properly as it hadn't been done...and repeat for 2 years (even though, it is all over my journal - noone knows!) The people working for UC seem as confused about the process as those attempting to claim it and I can only assume their is little training or it is really complicated or something?

The only point on which I disagree with @Oliversmumsarmy is health insurance which is unaffordable for most pensioners, the premiums are horrendous. My income in retirement is substantially more than £1k and I have no health issues at all, I can’t afford health insurance

Can you afford £80,000 for an operation to save your life.

Dp had health insurance (the American kind) if he had got sick in the US we would have had everything paid for. He worked mostly in the US.

He got sick in the UK and we thought the NHS would treat him. How wrong we were.

They will offer palliative care at the end but wouldn’t fund his operation which bought him more time

In that time he has given through taxes because he was able to work much more than the operation would have cost them.

I could live on much less with no rent or mortgage. It's more than enough.

@formerbabe - I'm pretty about those saying it is 'absolutely plenty' or 'loads'. As I said I'm on 1k plus £140 CB which I pay the interest of my mortgage from and everything else...I do have some debt and I put aside for Birthday/Christmas presents and a small amount for when something breaks down...but I really struggle. I get some people are very frugal and can manage but 'absolutely loads'???

If no rent/mortgage then yes it sounds like plenty!

Can you afford £80,000 for an operation to save your life

No, if the NHS wouldn’t provide it I’d die. Because I sure as hell can’t afford over £200 a month in insurance I may never need.

UndertheCedartree

Did you miss the part about the person in the OP having no dependents and being mortgage free, plus free transport, none of which apply to you with a mortgage, 2 DC to feed and clothe, and presumably transport to pay for.

@UndertheCedartree it was recent. I came off income support in 2017.

Well, for arguments sake, it was £1070 that I had as I got my benefits weekly.

Rent out of that was £425pm.
Didn't pay council tax as I was entitled to assistance due to being on benefits. I think I had to pay about £6 a month towards it.
Electricity was about £60 a month. No gas in my flat.
Water £15pm.
TV license and internet £35pm.
Mobile phone £20pm.
Food about £200pm for the 2 of us.
Contents insurance £6pm. I wasn't covered for a huge amount of money as I didn't have many expensive things.

That was it. I've never owned a car so no costs there. I had about £300pm spare for clothes, activities, leisure. I used to save £100 of it. Never really bought myself new clothes. Cheap activities with DS. As I said, not an incredibly fun way to live but doable.

I don't do it any more, my income is double that and I feel well off compared to what life used to be like!

Bills has to come out of that so you'd be lucky to have £150 a week for food and non essentials.

I can’t see how your adding up bills for a single person with no dependants/debts/pets to £850 not including food.

Council tax - average London band D (may be less as it’s a 2 bed house) with 25% discount over 12 months - £87.82pcm
Gas & electric - average for 2 bed house - £66pcm
Water - Average for single person £26.80pcm
Life insurance - average £30.40 (may be able to get cheaper if house is paid off)
House insurance - average London £20.83
Car costs - average £162 (includes fuel but OP says their relative doesn’t use it much so probably less)
Home repairs and maintenance - £50
TV licence - £12.88
Groceries - average for one person £165.10
Phone/broadband - average £25
Clothes - average £60
Dental plan - £20 (at the higher end of costs)

That leaves £273.18 for savings, gifts, hobbies, hairdressing etc which is a lot more than a lot of people have left over.

I can’t see how your adding up bills for a single person with no dependants/debts/pets to £850 not including food.

I said £150 left per week not £150 for the whole month

HeckyPeck

Not all 2 bed houses are the same.

I live in a 2 bed house in London.

Council Tax with a 25% discount £162.50
Water £50 per month
Gas and electric might be a bit cheaper if I was on my own but I like the heating on so maybe £250
My phone and broadband is another £50
House and contents insurance I am paying £36

Even my life insurance, not sure you would need it if you are on your own is £39 per month and I have been paying that since my 30s

I have just spent £430 to get my car through it’s MOT
They also pointed out that I could be in for another £1000 in the coming year.

You can be as frugal as you can but you need a buffer of a few hundred each month. Costs rise, cars break down, plumbing goes wrong.

In theory if nothing goes wrong and nothing ages you can live on £1000 but long term things do get older and things do go wrong.
It would also be a really monotonous life.

No fun, no holidays, no pastimes.

I said £150 left per week not £150 for the whole month

Oh yep so you did. Well that’s more than lots of people have to love on. It’s comfortably above the poverty line. You could still have some luxuries in life.

Live on 😂