Cost of living/rent/bills

[lizziejane13]

Hi there, i'm a first time poster so i'm not sure how much this has been covered. I've been living with my parents with my 2 kids since my ex and I split, but due to a family breakdown i'm having to move out. It's been a long time since i've been on my own, and I've always split costs with my partner, so I was hoping someone may be able to have a week look at my budget and tell me if i'm close? Maybe give some suggestions...

I'm not including rent or council tax as they are set amount; it's the other stuff i'm unsure of.

Will be living in a 2 bed flat. These are my estimated monthly costs, if i keep use of heating to minimum and don't use the dryer.

Duel fuel (GCH, electric stove) - £140
Tv licence - £24 (for 6 months, then £12 a month after first year)
Line rental and broadband - £35
Contents insurance - £30

Any money saving advice for moving would be much appreciated; it's all being done in such a rush that I've had to take the first flat offered and trying to get everything arranged. It's hard with 2 kids under the age of 2!

Use comparison sites for your contents insurance. I've got £50k of insurance plus legal cover and key cover for £12 a month. And don't underestimate how much you have. Make sure you have accidental damage cover with 2 kids about!!

The fuel may be less depending on style of flat, what floor, insulation etc. I pay £76 a month on a fixed tariff.
Won't the TV licence be £12 anyway? don't they start the year from when you apply for it? (I may be wrong. I've been paying so long!)

Don't forget your other basic costs. Water, shopping etc

I thought TV licence would be £12 a year from the start, but for your first year they asked for £24 for 6 months and then in year 2 it will be £12 per month for 12 months. Don't know why, but I did only read the basic info so maybe when I call up to sort it out it will be different.

I'll look into contents insurance more closely then; try and see if I can put that down.

Hoping the fuel bill will be lower; just wanted to make sure im covered over the winter months.

Thanks for your reply!

£24 for the first 6 months is correct - see www.tvlicensing.co.uk/pay/payment-methods/viewpaymentcontent.aspx?id=pay8&iqdocumentid=pay8#Monthly - daft system, but that's what it is...

I'm sure you can get line rental and broadband for less - have a look at the comparison sites (and quidco, topcashback). When I last looked TalkTalk were doing unlimited bb for about £6 per month with a line rental of £15. The line rental goes down to £9.50 if you can afford to pay for a year up front.

If you need to furnish the place check out Freecycle and the charity shops for curtains, furniture etc. Use a man and a van if possible 'cos the big removal companies charge a lot of money.

We live in a reasonably well-insulated 2 bed flat and, if we are fairly careful, would expect to spend a lot less for energy than £140. And we are on prepayment meters.

Good luck in your new home

that insurance is HUGE - have you shopped around for it?

your other big one will be council tax.

My biggest regular outgoing after mortgage, utilities and so on is groceries. If you have a car, petrol/maintenance/insurance can be quite a big one as well. Always a good idea to put aside something into savings for the inevitable rainy day - even if it's only a few pounds a week. Then there are school-related costs such as trips, lunches, uniforms - can creep up on you. Have you factored those in?

I would imagine your fuel costs will be lower as I pay £145 for a 4 bed detached house in Scotland!

Broadband seems bit high. Consider if you can afford to pay line rental in advance (a one year payment, currently £131.88), that can help reduce the cost.
PlusNet offers the ability to pay line rental as a yearly amount, then broadband is paid monthly (looking at their current offers, they have a package starting at £2.99 a month for ADSL 16Mbps download speed, unlimited data. 18 month contract. 12 months at £2.99 then 6 months at £9.99), they also allow payment onto credit card rather than as a direct debit.

As you will be getting things like insurance, use sites like Quidco to get cashback.

Contents only insurance can be got very cheap, I have just had my renewal through and it is £6.77 a month (for 1 bed flat, via Lloyds Bank Insurance) . I have a £50 excess. Does not cover accidental damage or freezer contents. Shop around for insurance based on what you actually need, what you would realistically make a claim for. No point in having freezer cover if you won't have a big freezer with expensive food items inside. Remember the excess, claims need to be big enough to make it worth paying the policy excess.

With a flat, make sure you know what costs are included. As you are looking for contents only insurance, the buildings insurance will be arranged by the managing agents of the estate/block. The management fees can be rather high, so make sure that those are included in your rent, or that you know how much they are and to whom they are payable. There can also be yearly freehold fees, those may be included in your rent, or they may not. Just check what fees are and are not covered by the rent.

Council tax is often the biggest bill in my experience. Some councils provide a Single Person discount. Investigate that, as it may be something you would get as you are the only adult in the property.

Fuel costs will vary, depends how much you use. Personally I pay less than £400 a year but I am not at home that much. The more you are at home, the more you will use elec/gas.