Monthly outgoings (not rent)

[17chocolateclairs]

What are averages your expenses per month?
I will soon be a single parent to 3 kids under 12 and am looking to get an idea of costs of internet/bills/average food shops/petrol etc etc
South East part of the UK, not London.

Monthly bills including council tax, water, gas, electric, phones and WiFi, saving for Christmas, life insurance, tv licence = £900

Food for 2 adults and 2 secondary school aged kids = £600

Fuel for cars = £300

South East not London too. Excluding mortgage, ours is roughly per month:
council tax £200
internet £30
Water £30
gas and electric £100-£200 (depending on heating)
house insurance £30
life/critical illness/accident/cat insurances £100
Car payments £500 (two cars)
car insurances £50
Petrol £200
food shops £350-400
Nursery £750

2 adults and 1 DC in a 4 bed house.

3 Adults, East Anglia

Council Tax £205
Gas/Electric £400
Water £65
Petrol £300
Insurance £75
Food £800
Long Term Therapy £150
Dentist £45
Internet & 3 Phones £80
Streaming Services £10
Prepaid Prescription Cards x 3 £30

CT - £60
insurances - £26
electricity - £250
petrol - £60
phone/internet - £65
streaming - £18
food/home- £400

Running a car is not just petrol. You'll have insurance, tax, MOT, servicing, any parking permits, breakdown cover, cleaning and maintenance costs too.

The same with household expenses. You'll need cleaning products, shampoo, toilet roll etc on top of food and drink.

Budget Birthday gifts and cards for your DC and their friends and Xmas gifts for family.

Do you need wrap-around childcare? Holiday clubs?

Clothes and shoes.

Dental and prescription costs.

Depending on the ages of your DC, phones and/or bus passes.

You'll need cleaning products, shampoo, toilet roll etc on top of food and drink.. Yes, to clarify my £800 for food includes all of this too as well as school lunches (3rd adult is 18yo in upper 6th form)

School lunches is a good shout.

Also after school activities - if you can afford these - and uniform/costumes eg Scouts, swimming.

Haircuts - unless you can DIY.

£1 for "charity" days at school for three kids will soon add up.

School lunches are expensive! Especially in sixth form where they sell food at break as well. So quite often it adds up because teenagers are bottomless pits of hunger.

Thank you all for your comprehensive replies…my word these figures are so much higher than I’d imagined… feeling really doubted now how to make it work on one part time income.

Does anyone know if the housing element of universal credit is time limited? If I apply for it and am accepted (should be according to the online calculator) I am worried it might only be for a year?

What will be your income and how much will you rent and any fixed outgoings such as loans be?

Are you going 50/50 Care with your soon to be ex and the 3 DC?

If not will you get child maintenance?

Another thing to do is to take your most recent bank statements and work out averages based on those.

Tbh you won't save much on those figures going from 2 adults to 1.

You could get a council tax discount and if downsizing save a little on housing. Maybe a small amount on food, but most other bills will stay the same.

You can ignore any that are completely linked to the other adult of course (their car, their phone, if they have expensive TV habits etc)

No loans to repay (except student loan deducted from salary)
I’m doing all my calculations based on the 3 bed rate of the housing part of UC for my area, without that supplement I do not see how I will physically be able to afford to live independently with the children

Sadly I will have no support or financial contribution what so ever from the children’s father… no child maintenance at all. So Will literally be my kids and i

Yes, with only one adult, you’d get a council tax discount.

Word of warning though, the housing element of UC usually isn’t enough to cover market rates of private rent for the size home you would be entitled to. If you can get social housing, you’d be much better off. Social housing also tends to be in much better repair/condition than private rented too.

Housing element for rent isn't limited to a year. You should get the full 3 bed allowance. You'll still get child benefit separately.

Check with your school too as you’ve said you’re on PT wages, you could be eligible for free school meals. If you are that often means food vouchers during term breaks, bursaries for uniform and supplies, and in secondary school often help with transport costs.

We are on one (not huge) salary and there's 6 of us.

It's the little things that add up I find.

Obviously there's all the usual bills etc but it's things like mot, car service, car tax, haircuts (although we get siblings discount!) Dinner money, unexpected repairs to house etc eg washing machine breaking etc.

We buy in bulk to save money eg 5litre bottles of laundry liquid and washing up liquid. I also water laundry stuff down.

We have national trust membership for "free" days out.

Mine do scouts and guides and we find them really good value!

The support within UC is not limited by a time, as long as you continue to meet the criteria of your claim you can continue to do so unless your circumstances change.

What other people spend doesn't necessarily help you as everyone has different budgets and priorities.

The spending of a household with a £30k income will look very different to one with a £300k income.

Your existing bills and spending, adjusted to fit in your new budget and situation will provide the best insight. Some costs like broadband might not change very much, obviously you're feeding one fewer person so food will decrease, you might lose the running costs of a car etc.

Have a look at moneysavingexpert's budgeting section and make sure you're maximising income, minimising fixed costs where possible, saving for annual and irregular expenses and keeping an eye on day to day expenses both essential and discretionary as this is likely to be where you're at risk of spending more than you can afford if you're not careful.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/

No council tax = 0
food/cleaning/toiletries=£250
broadband=£35
no car but free buss pass-=£0
gas/electric=£160
water=£25
insurance=15
tv liscense=£14
phones=£35

so just under £600 money coming in £1600

1 adult 1 teen
south of England
3 bed mortgage free/loan free

Per month:
Council tax £166 (we are in London)
Gas/Elec £135
Water £35
Building/contents insurance £25
Landline/internet £55
Mobile £20
Food - hard to say, about £250 in the supermarket but then we also pop to the corner shop fairly often for milk etc.
Cycle to work, so don’t run a car.
DS currently on free school meals (all of KS1 get them) - will be £50 per month next year.
Afterschool club - would be £200 per month if I used it every single day. As it is, I use it twice a week, so only £80. Runs from 3:30-6pm, so pretty good value and includes tea.
Swimming lessons £35 per month
Gymnastics £25 per month
Rugby £40 per month

Two adults and one six year old in London.