Living expenses for Single person

[huntermooreisacnut]

I have recently moved to the UK from Australia so forgive my ignorance - I am moving to the South East, to a 2 bedroom new-build apartment. I'm freaking out a little about all the media reports about the cost of living, and I'm so worried I won't be able to afford my new place. I am hoping people can give me an idea of what I can expect to be paying per month for utilities.

I was going to live alone, but now I feel I will have to have a lodger.

So the figures are:

Wages 1100 p/m
Lodger 800 p/m
TOTAL= 1900 p/m

For two people in a 900 sqft apartment what I can realistically expect utilities to be? And food?

If people can give me an idea of what things are likely to be Id be so grateful. Also, would I be better off going down the Homestay or Air bnb route with the spare bedroom than a lodger or is that more work/less reliable income.
Thanks.

Sorry I should have put that this is shared ownership, and my rent and service charge totals 750 p/m. I have already listed the room on spareroom so know i can get 800 pm for it.

Just a heads up, check your shared ownership agreement, my MIL had SO house and couldnt have a lodger, not sure if thats different for a flat though.....however not sure how they would actually find out if you dont tell them 🤣🤣

where abouts in the south east? Some parts are very expensive and others are more manageable? Any chance to increase your wage? Do you have savings?

With shared ownership places there are some rules around subletting so you might want to check that.

I think you'll find the money very tight tbh.

My council tax is £113 a month but that's with single person discount which I guess you wouldn't get with a lodger.

Water is £45 a month

Gas and electric has just doubled to £120 a month

Then it's things like insurances (home and life) tv, phone etc.

Your income seems very low though, could that be increased?

No savings at all. Its in Winchester. My agreement says I can have a lodger thank goodness.

Is that based on just you alone?

So your essentially left with £350 to live on, excluding the reliance of a lodger????
Honestly that would really worry me, guess food is £40 min a week, gas and electric who knows but would guess £100, water costs me £35 pm. Council tax, no idea on that you need to ask the sales people but would imagine more than £100pm

Then transport, tv subscriptions, home insurance and general living expenses.

I don't know about two people but I am a single person living in the south east

Rent/mortgage - roughly the same as yours
Council tax - I pay £115 per month with single person discount.
Water, gas and electricity - approx £120 per month but I'm expecting this to go up. I'm in a 1 bed flat.
Groceries - £120pcm approx which I feel is modest.
Internet and mobile phone - I hotspot and pay £10pcm for 100GB which provides my internet but expect about £25-35 if you have WiFi I guess..
Having fun- I budget approx £60 per month for drinks, trips etc
Contingency/general shopping - I budget £60 but don't always use it. Covers new clothes, shoes etc.
Travel/transport - this is my second biggest cost after rent probably because I commute into London a couple days a week. Do you have a car? Where will you be working?
Savings - I put this aside at the start of the month.
In summary I spend almost £1000 pcm on rent, bills, council tax. £600 for daily living costs. £500 into savings (saving for a deposit on a house). £100 in saving pots for Xmas, holidays etc.
I think you'll be ok as long as you keep costs as low as possible. You may not be able to save much money though. Bills will be higher because of your lodger.

Looking at it again. There's absolutely no doubt that you need a lodger.
Your rent, CT and bills will be £1000.
I would be worried about what happens if there is a delay in lodger coming on board or if there is a gap between lodgers. It would be quite scary. Can you increase your salary? It sounds exceptionally low. Is that full time?

Your income (presumably £1100 net?) is very low, way below the national average.

i have a disability so i cant work more. im also studying.

and yes im very scared about the gap in lodgers. should i look at doing Homestay or Air BnB as that seems to be more lucrative? I think that would really stress me out - but then so will not being able to pay the bills.

Lodger way easier no changing sheets or room cleaning
They can be left to do that make it clear they responsible for their room

I doubt Airbnb would be more lucrative when you account for days when you have no bookings and over winter when it will be a lot quieter. At least with a lodger you'd have some degree of certainty about how much money will be coming in each month.

I think it might look like this on £1900 if you can get a consistent lodger.

£1100 rent, council tax, bills incl wifi
£600 other living costs (groceries, travel, clothes, going out, mobile phone)
£200 savings

That's a very low wage. Have you checked out disability benefits?

Remember to check if you’ll be liable for tax on the lodger income as you might not then get the full £800 a month you’re quoting. Under the Government Rent A Room scheme you’re only allowed to received £7500pa without needing to declare. Anything over and you’ll need to work out any tax liability and pay that too.

Are you entitled to claim any benefits due to your disability?

£800 seems a lot for a lodger in Winchester. Is there a demand at that price? There are lots of flatshares available around £550-600 with studios/1 bed flats starting around £850-900.

Have you already secured this property, id be interested to understand how youve met the affordability checks, assume you've purchased a part share with a mortgage?

Well done for buying, OP, but- excuse me for asking- how on earth did you manage to with that salary? Did you have a huuuge deposit or something?

I know someone will tell me off for being so blunt, but I’m on a higher net monthly pay and have basically been laughed out of a building society for asking about mortgages on my salary!!

And I haven’t read the entire thread yet, so if I’ve missed something pls accept my apologies!

I came to UK with a large lump sum that I had to put the whole lot down for my 25% share. So no mortgage required. Shared ownership accepted me on that basis.
I may be entitled to some disability benefits. Ive applied but cant guarantee I will get them. From what I hear, disability benefits are quite hard to get.

hundred Yes I was surprised, but its because its a brand new swanky apartment in a rather posh estate and I have been inundated with enquiries. So Im quietly confident I won't have any problems filling it at that price.

Definitely check if you're eligible for disability benefits, you may get some housing benefit as well.

I think your income will be wiped out completely on bills so you'll need the lodgers money for everything else.

I'm in a shared ownership home and all the bills including rent, mortgage, council tax, water, gas and electric etc come to approx £1000 a month.

Hi, it's probably worth checking out if you're entitled to any benefits, particularly as you have a disability. Can someone remember the name of the website please?