How realistic is it to live on £1.2k after mortgage and bills

[YourGreenDreamer]

Hi all,

You may remember me (27F) from the thread I made about securing a 3bed semi house (£245k, 5yr fixed at 4.79%) as a single buyer.

Majority... if not, all advised that I was in a great position and should go for the house but I'm not sure if there was a focus on the fact that I'd be living on £1.2k before I get a lodger... if I find a lodger. So my concern is that I'm biting off more than I can chew.

My take home after NI, tax, student loan and pension is £2,565. My monthly repayments will be £970pm (5years fixed rate). I am budgeting £370pm for my bills:
£159 council tax (excluding single persons discount - in the event I have a lodger)
£75 gas(?) - no idea if this is realistic in a 3bed semi detached with 1-2ppl at home. Same concern for electric and water
£75 electric (?)
£21 water (?) - I have no idea how to calculate how much water would be per month? Could someone provide some information please. How would I find out?
£27 broadband
£16 sim only deal

I have no dependents but would love to have children in the near future. That's with or without a partner. How would I manage on just £1.2k disposable? So very scary...

I really do love the house and think it'd be a great investment but I'm concerned that I can't afford it. People say your mortgage shouldn't be anymore than 35% of your take home. Well for me with bills included it'll be nearing 50% of my take home.

Again, any advice is appreciated.

Thank you.

And it's not easy to work out how much a child might cost you. What childcare provision you might get until you apply for it. Which is what OP is concerned about. Being on her own in her own home plus with a child. Is £1.2k enough? Would it cover all child related things? What if she takes maternity leave? How does that affect things...it's not easy to know especially if you are doing it on your own.

I don't think saying 'this is why adult children should be contributing 'is fair. We have no idea what the OP pays her parents but whatever it is, it's not the same as worrying about boiler repairs or a plumbing leak within your budget.

She must also have saved a sizeable deposit.

I know I found wiping my savings to buy my first flat very scary.

OP why don't you go back through a couple of months bank statements and work out what you actually spend and then out of that what you consider necessary and what you'd happily cut.

I found sitting and writing it all down helpful when budgeting for maternity leave.

The child issue has so many unknowns and you are only 27 so there's a limit to the planning you can do there.

You sound sensible rather than reckless.

I think some of the issues here are around language and approach. Saying "so scary..." when talking about having over a grand a month disposable income sounds batshit and boastful, it just does. Whether you mean it that way or not. Also talking about whether it's "realistic" to survive on 1.2 grand when your outgoings have been covered. Of course it's bloody realistic!! You know this. Whether it's a life of luxury is another matter, but it's certainly not the breadline. You must appreciate this is a sensitive matter because so many people are painfully scraping by on infinitely less, and I cannot believe you don't know that.

Same thought process as my parents. They said they'd rather me save as much as I can as quick as I can to get on the ladder than have me contribute to bills. I assume most young people would appreciate that more than the latter to be honest lol. When I have kids I will extend that same grace. I couldn't imagine taking money from my kids lol

Also OP highly recommend you have 6months plus money to cover all bills to one side incase u lose ur job. That buffer will be of great comfort if it ever happens.

"I couldn't imagine taking money from my kids lol" again, it's the wording you're using OP. Most parents who HAVE TO ask for financial contribution from their kids aren't doing it with glee, they're doing it because they have to to survive. Others do it to save for their kids in future or to teach financial understanding, but many many families have to take rent from their kids once they start working. Once kids get older, many benefits also cease, meaning money might need to be recouped in rent or contribution to food etc.

Thank you very much. She is picking and choosing what she reads and being extremely obtuse. Half way through my reply, I ended up deleting it

Why is it okay for her to be condescending and when I reply it's my "wording".
Tbh I agree with you, i think parents ask as a way of financial relief but there is no need to say it under the guise of "responsibility". That is being dishonest and in her reply to me, condescending.

Thank you, I'm thinking about income protection too as I'd be doing the mortgage on a single salary

I had it pre covid and it has changed somewhat since covid happened so read up on it carefully as it's no longer like it used to be.

Also some of them you don't claim for first 30days which lowers how much you pay for it.

To be honest I found it so restrictive especially since post covid in the end I stopped it and just saved up 12.months worth over 2yrs. With £1k saving that I make a month I just put £500pm a side for 2 yrs without sacrifice too much on holidays etc.

So I'm not putting you off it but definitely make sure you read all the conditions

Your situation is similar to mine when I was your age 7 years ago. I too earned around 2.5 k at that time, got a property on my own and my mortgage was around £600. I did alright back then, had plenty left over each month. So it should be fine for you too...

7 years later down the line, I have a DW, 2 DCs and mortgage paid off and income increase x 4. My genuine advice to you would be not to take it easy after getting a house, focus on increasing your earning potential, try and pay the mortgage off ASAP and then just take it easy like I have :)

And that's all might happen, might not, guff. OP might get hit by a bus and be made disabled. OP might meet a billionaire and never have to work again.

What's the alternative? She stay living with her parents and being carried by them forever? Has a baby while living with her parents?

It's not daft to think about what ifs but it is daft to be in her current position hand-wringing about whether she'll be able to cope or not on a disposable income as a single person which is way above the UK average.

With the added benefit for her, that she'll be a home owner.

And OP apparently not realising that is a lot of DI and it being "scary" is what's unrealistic, not whether it's unrealistic for her to cope on that amount.

You’ll have more than enough!

We have £400 left after bills with 3 small children and it’s fine.

Actually, what is daft is you missing the point, not once but several times. And why have you not answered LumiB's question regarding kids and whether that disposable would be enough? If you spent less time being so sour, perhaps you'd be able to stick to the script at hand instead of dancing around it.

By the way, which is it? It's not daft to question the what ifs but it is daft to question whether I'd be able to cope on my new disposable. It's one in the same. I won't be made to feel bad for being anxious about this new reality.

Why would responsibility be a "guise"? It's like you're mystified at the idea that parents might use rent as a way to get their kids a practical understanding of how it will feel when they're financially responsible for themselves. I'll stop responding because I don't want to get into a personal argument. I do hope you get helpful advice, but am genuinely shocked if you actually thought a grand spare cash might not be enough to live on.

Maybe OP has a secret gambling or coke habit and that's why she worried about only having a grand a month to piss up the wall 🤷‍♀️

I would definitely budget more for bills. Insurances especially as you haven't mentioned any and they are pretty important. The others you seriously won't know until you move in but you can ask the current people living there how much they pay to get a good idea. Is the water on a metre if it is it should be about what you say but if it isn't then it'll be the going rate until you get one fitted if you are going to. Owning a house also comes with maintenance costs and I'd really recommend putting aside an emergency fund asap.

Without the expense of kids your budget sounds completely fine. The expense of kids will likely come also with an extra income from a partner and you'd be completely fine.

Apologies if I've got your circumstances wrong this is be assuming you are single and buying alone.

Do you currently have DC? No.

Are you currently actively planning to have DC? No.

Are you currently 'scared' about managing on 1.2k DI a month? Apparently.

I'm not being sour or dancing around anything.

It's not daft to think 'what if?' in the future but the 'ifs' are infinite.

But it is daft to ask people if you are currently 'unrealistic' to be worried you won't be able to manage on 1.2k a month disposable income.

And it IS getting some peoples backs up that you apparently don't know that's a large amount of money for most people to be able to spend on whatever they want and your 'but I might want a baby at some undetermined time in the future when it's undetermined whether I actually will, or whether I'll be single or whether I won't or maybe it won't or maybe, maybe maybe'

That's life.

You have well-off parents who haven't expected you to contribute in 9 years of adulthood.

So you are now in the uncommon and enviable position of being a home owner as a single person in your 20s and having over a thousand pounds a month to spend on whatever you want after mortgage and bills.

What you may or may not do in the future is largely irrelevant to your current, very fortunate position.

But you don't seem to realise that and are pissed off that some people think you're being ridiculous.

When you made your MN account to get advice, did you look at any other posts? Did you not see it was clearly very obvious that you don't have anything to worry about? And are, in fact, extremely fortunate?

Do you really not know?

This is a really frustrating thread, so I'll hide it in a sec 😄.

1/2 of the replies are from people saying Of course, that's enough extra.

And the other 1/2 from people saying Actually, I don't think you have a good enough handle on your expenses yet to know what your extra figure is.

And then some arguments along the way as well 🙈.

OP, there are some very good financial resources out there, I particularly like MSE and Meaningful Money. Good luck.

Wow, some of the responses here are truly mind-boggling. OP has been saving up for a deposit and now has to weigh up buying a house vs keeping those savings for the increased childcare costs in the future. That is responsible saving and financial planning. PP who go on about how £1.2k is more than enough (e.g. OP has no DC, people have 3/4/5 DC and manage on less, etc etc) seem to be missing the point about planning for the future (years, not months or days, like some people do, whether through choice or necessity). Also, if you are in a 2-parent household with one SAHP, you obviously wouldn’t have childcare costs to worry about so it’s not a like-for-like comparison. Yes, OP is in a fortunate position but it’s a bit absurd to criticise her for asking a perfectly sensible question in an online forum. It’s not like she’s put it on the CoL topic!

@YourGreenDreamer you still haven't said what you think you will need 1.2k a month for? I think if you could tell us that, we would know.

It's perfectly easy to live on that, and it's perfectly easy to spend it if you like expensive things...

I think you've missed the point:

"Wow, some of the responses here are truly mind-boggling. OP has been saving up for a deposit and now has to weigh up buying a house vs keeping those savings for the increased childcare costs in the future. That is responsible saving and financial planning"

Where is she going to house those imagined future DC if she keeps her savings?

At her parents house where she currently lives and that arrangement has enabled her to save enough for a house deposit?

And OP wasn't asking if she could possibly save for the future out of 1.2k a month disposable income, she was apparently not aware that 1.2k a month DI is a lot of money and projecting imagined futures with imagined DC with imagined costs which would seemingly to her, effect her costs now? When they don't.

If OP had said "can I save money for future potential DCs on 1.2k a month disposable income, virtually everyone would have said yes, of course you can.

What OP did, was bemoan managing 1.2k a month DI currently as unrealistic or scary.

You’ve got 1200 quid spare each month. That’s not living paycheck to paycheck.

Its so nice though that you feel that that’s not good money, makes me think you’ve never struggled financially and honestly good for you! Many (and many show it on here) would be jealous. It’s more than enough to survive on and enjoy the fun things too. Don’t over think it and ruin what could be a great and exciting purchase x

@YourGreenDreamer As others have said, you need to consider ALL your regular necessary payments and do a budget. That does include breaking annual costs of things like Insurance into the monthly amount you need and save that amount every month so that when the annual bill comes in the following year, you already have the money. Only then can you actually see exactly what your free disposable income is. And I mean everything.

But I think you are being totally over-anxious about it being enough if you have a child - because you are way over-thinking this. Getting on the housing ladder is very hard. Income/expenditure doesn't stay static. It sounds like a great house for your money. Most people find paying a mortgage in the first few years can make things tight, but things get much better quite quickly as your income goes up and the debt on the house gets smaller. But it doesn't sound as if you will have any major problems when there is just you.

You can't map your life out entirely for the rest of it, as circumstances change constantly for everyone. You may meet a partner, in which case there will be another income to help to pay for raising a child. You may find you can't have children at all. You are only 27 so have plenty of time to settle into your new home before thinking about children. Plus - I don't imagine you will be thinking of having a child while still living at home - or whether your parents would be happy about that if you did!!

Plenty of people on your last thread, were only talking about you taking a lodger, as a fall back if you find things too tough - a safety blanket to help you feel less anxious. No-one suggested that you would NEED to take a lodger on your current salary/and outgoings

But can I also say, that if you are still this uncertain, after the advice given on your previous post, you are being very, very unreasonable towards the sellers of this house, who now are making plans to get on with where they are buying, and may be costing them money. It's quite breathtakingly selfish of you, although I understand you may not have understood that aspect.

Please, please, draw a proper and full budget up - and see what you will be left with for going out/socialising/holidays etc which are non-necessities, but still things that are good for us. If it's manageable without a child, go for it. Decide on other things later

That's a very decent amount of disposable income.

As long as you have a capital repayment mortgage then you will likely find that over time your monthly repayments reduce. My starting monthly mortgage repayments were £730 on a mortgage of £105k. Now living in a bigger property but my repayments are £610 for a mortgage of the same amount. Before interest rates rose I was on a fix for £440 per month!

Before having children, given your very comfortable amount of disposable income, I'd suggest putting £500pcm in a savings account whenever you can. If you're planning fertility treatment if you have a child on your own, I'd try to save up enough for at least two attempts before you embark on the process. You also need money in a pot to help you have a decent length of maternity leave.