To go and live in a cheap room for a month or two

[Ripsinead]

With my partner who I currently live with (providing he agrees)
We currently live in the city centre (this is very convenient for us as non drivers due to work locations).
Paying £1050 per month including all bills and council tax, however this is for a studio flat. I pay a bit more due to our incomes, so I pay closer to £600.
I also have to pay £55 to student finance each month (this is due to a period I was working abroad) £110 CC debt, and honestly it's killing me.
Our flat is lovely but absolutely tiny.
I've just changed jobs and gone from weekly to monthly pay which is also killing me atm. I only have around £600 n savings.
Our tenancy is due to end on the 1st September. Part of me is very tempted to go and live in a flatshare for a month or two, where rent will be more like £350 each including all bills. I have seen some where you can just rent on a month to month basis without having to sign a tenancy which will be ideal.
We'd also get the deposit back from our current place.
I'm not saving and I'm anxious about paying next month's rent. I just want a month or two to save up a few hundred, then we can look for a more affordable property. Does this sound like a good idea? We're in Manchester.
Obviously he has to agree too.

I don't quite get why you can't manage on £2800 joint income ( and due to rise) with housing costs and bills of £1050 plus say £600 for debts and food. Is there something you aren't saying like your partner doesn't put in equally for food, has mountains of debt or spends £120 a week down the pub etc? Or you spend loads on clothes, cosmetics, hair etc .Not trying to be nasty - my son struggles a bit too in London but he pays £1000 plus £280 bills by himself to live in a 2 bed flatshare on an income of £2300 and he eats very well from M&S!! He also has a car that costs him £120 a month in insurance , tax and ulez .

I think before you dash off to do something else have a think about this because if there is an underlying issue it won't go away and will be back the minute you move out if a houseshare. Sounds to me like you have a very good deal- if you have 'stuff' storeage is expensive too

Depends on where you live
if you did that in my city and then tried to rent a flat in a few months you would be competing against hundreds of other all wanting the same thing
People with higher wages
maybe excellent credit rating
I would maybe do it for 6 months min
and only if I was 100 percent sure I could and would save the difference

You may not find another flat to rent. And the rental prices may be even higher.
I would try everything to stick where you are.
Have you looked at benefits assessment online?

There's a big difference between living in a flatshare with others and having your own private space.
How long have you two been together in this flat?
I'm not sure you'll save that much to be honest.

I wonder are there other things that appeal to you about moving to a more temporary arrangement. What else appeals to you about moving to the flatshare?

Thank you for the replies, argh I don't think some people have read the thread properly, I said it was just this couple of months. I'm not asking for advice about how I spend my money. I said I've gone from weekly to monthly pay and I haven't been able to work as much.
No, not all supply teachers can earn over £1800.
I will not be earning much over the summer holidays. I also have the £200 debts per month.
When you have about £1200, £600 rent, £200 debts, transport and food costs, you aren't really left with anything.
Anyway thanks for the advice and I will still be considering the flatshare.

We were entitled to £70 UC this month. If you and a partner earn at least £1000 each and have no children, you're pretty much entitled to nothing.

Flat share sounds good but make sure to ask questions such as do they have a cleaning rota, what's the deal with overnight guests, noise levels etc.

I honestly don't think it would be worth the hassle for two months and realistically how much could you save in such a short time?

Yes good idea

I’d be tempted to find a decent house share that you can do for a year

It's sounds a very sensible thing to do. You could perhaps stay there longer if it works out and it will help you save up for a deposit down the line. You would just have to put your bike in the bedroom. I hope you get nice people to share with.

For two months I wouldn't risk losing a long term tenancy. The rental market is fierce at the moment! I just couldn't be arsed packing up and moving, that in itself will cost lots of money. Also I thought moving lots impacted your credit rating. Could you not get some temp admin work over the summer, whilst you aren't working your teaching job?

Me too. Make sure you pay off your debts first, then save, then life will be easier for you.

Sorry just read the update, could you get a bar job in the evenings? Honestly, I wouldn't lose a secure tenancy to save a few pounds in a risky short term house share in this market.

Thank you, I'll look at alternative work options first.

If you're on a low income but have tipped into higher and triggered loan repayments, Student Finance will repay you. DD got £300 back after a tip on here.

Ah that is good to know, thanks.
In this situation it's because I am missing payslips for when I worked abroad around 5 years ago. They were all paper, unfortunately I do not have every payslip for the time I was abroad, I have asked my former employer a couple of times but they have not provided them.
So Student finance state that I owe them around £1500. This has been worked out as £55 per month repayment for around 2 years. It's frustrating but not sure what I can do.

If you aren't earning during the summer holidays (and I can see that's an issue) you would get a higher UC payment because of rent I would think

I don't disagree with you doing this by the way, but I think it might be more expensive than you think to do- many house shares will ask for a deposit too which you may well not get till 2 weeks after you leave from your current place.

If it's a short term thing I would just be looking at getting some temp work, even if it's a factory or something.

I appreciate you don't want advice on how to spend your money but I would still say is this all coming down to you? And why is your partner paying less rent as incomes look about the same ? That doesn't seem fair at all- I don't want you to get taken for a mug-- I've been there!!

If it's not just about money though and you prefer the vibe of more people around at this stage of life , nothing wrong with that at all - my son could easily afford a studio flat on his own- he doesn't want one, he likes living in a nice area and the company.

Thank you. maybe we will get UC again end of next month, fingers crossed.

@Ripsinead they need to know though that your income has dropped - (notify change of circumstances if you haven't)

Imagine if it did "suck" ? as others have said you'd lose your tenancy in favour of this short term let; you might have a revolving door of people making life hell for you and not even able to relax on settee or bath I know not everyone likes baths then imagine how it'd impact your state of mind and affect your teaching? you might end up spending loads of money and effort on; cleaning materials and cleaning for everyone, locks/lockable boxes, earplugs, sleeping masks, shopping every day no batch cooking coz no freezer space, replacing staple foods that get taken, wet weather clothes for all the being out you have to do if unpleasant house "mates" I really couldn't risk my sleep and state of mind coz then risk my job too

I am a landlord and a tenant in a shared property owns his own place, which he rents out. He is a successful actor/musician so I assume that at some point during lockdown he decided to ensure he could pay his mortgage by renting his flat out and reducing his costs. He is a good (understanding!) tenant and seems to get on with his flatmates who are old friends. Two out of the four are a couple.

Yeah that's true, there are many risks.when I was single I lived in mostly pleasant ones but I've heard of bad ones.

It sounds really sensible and low risk. But if this is a special set up designed for short term then isn't it going to be more expensive than mainstream alternatives? Maybe do a cost benefit between that and having 6 months in a double room in a house share, and making a really good dent in the credit card bill or paying it off.

If your tenancy is coming to an end anyway then I’d try it whilst looking for something else.

I doubt you’ll get much UC because my brother earns about £1400 a month and pays rent, bills and child maintenance but isn’t entitled to anything because he’s a single adult.
And if you do get some then it won’t help you this month as they see how much you earn and then adjust it next month.
So I wouldn’t rely on it.

Some people don’t understand that sometimes you just don’t get enough money to cover all of the bills and still have lots left over.
Its not that you aren’t budgeting well.

My friend and her DP was in the same situation and they bought a caravan on a residential site and it was gorgeous and so spacious.
Her DPs dad lent the them the money to buy it though so they were lucky but perhaps this could be something you look into in the future. I’m sure there must be a way to get finance on them and they’re a lot cheaper than most flats/houses.

We've had this discussion with our son who's having to move to live in a new city for his first job after graduation. He's hell bent on avoiding a flat/house share as he says he's already had 3 years of sharing in Uni accommodation and hated it, even though he liked his flat mates and generally got on with them - he'd far rather have had his own kitchen and bathroom as he hated the mess, people "borrowing" his stuff (bread & milk etc), conflicts over people spending too long sat on the loo or in the shower, having to plan meal times so they weren't trying to cook at the same time, etc.

He wants his own flat so that he's free to do what he wants, when he wants, etc and not go into the kitchen only to find the half pint of milk he had the evening before is now just an inch at the bottom of the container!

We've tried to tell him that "grown up" house/flat shares will likely be different, but he's not willing to take the risk, especially as the new city is a Uni city and he suspects there'll be students as his flat/house share mates!

He's happy to live on the outskirts and get public transport into the city every day if it means he can afford his own flat to rent.

As said above, Manchester has really good public transport options, so the OP should consider moving out and getting the bus, train or tram to work.