Am I being unrealistic?

[Georgiegirl]

The boy and I are moving in together, and we've found a place we both love but everybody we speak to seems to think we won't be able to afford it. We know its at the very top end of what we think we can afford, but I'd be interested to hear if you think I'm being unrealistic! Sorry if this all sounds very naive, but I've only ever rented a room and paid 'all in'.

We take home £2300 a month between us, the rent is 600 a month, council tax band A. We are estimating on spending just over £1000 a month on rent, council tax, electricity, heating, insurance, and food. We've got furniture, so nothing to pay out there. We probably won't have sky or a landline. Neither of us have any debts. I'll be running a car, and him a motorbike.

What haven't I considered? I know we are stretching it, and we won't exactly be loaded after all the bills are paid but I think we can just do it?

Thank you

[Funk]

I would say that's a pretty realistic budget if you don't include food. What about TV licence? Water?

Edited by Funk on Thursday 4th March 14:08

[Georgiegirl]

TV Licence is about 10 a month if I have remembered the ad correctly? I don't know how much to estimate for water a month? Thanks for your help, I am aware I probably sound a right idiot!

[robsartain]

Just rough estimates and depends where in the country you live, etc... Also Im guessing its a two up two down kind of house. Rough prices per month

Rent - £600
Council tax - £100
Gas/Electric - £75
TV Licence - £12
House Insurance - £35

Water - £40
Food - Depends how lardy you are :-)

The big ones I think you missed is water bill and food. Mine was about £400 a year and I went on a water meter and its loads cheaper.

So based on that you can afford it but remember non house related stuff:-

Car Tax, MOT and Car Insurance, Travel to and from work, Clothes and you have to have a social life.

[cs02rm0]

It doesn't seem unreasonable to me, doesn't even seem like you're stretching much.

[anonymous-user]

Comparing that to what me & my mrs paid on our first house it will be a complete piece of piss! Not even stretching, our motgage back then was much more than the rent you will be paying and our income was way lower.

[Georgiegirl]

Yeah we are both a couple of porkers so food will be high, although I hear Iceland do some lovely stuff for a fiver

Its got a water meter so thats good - I've been informed showers will be strictly timed and after 3 minutes he's flushing the toilet to scald me out!!

Car and bike both have MOT, tax, and insurance until next Jan so I might take the well practised 'worry about that when the time comes' route. He can walk to work, mine is about 5 miles away so bikeable in summer.

Its a 2 1/2 bed flat by the sea in Norfolk, so not a particularly expensive area but not cheap either - middle of the road I guess!

Its probably second nature after a while, but at the moment there seems so much to think about!

Really appreciate all the replies.

[robsartain]

Well you don`t want to end up like Kerrie Katona, look what happened to her after she went to Iceland... :-)

I think you will be fine, I find you always manage to survive somehow !!

Without worrying you further I assume both jobs are safe ? and if you did drop down to one salary you could still afford it ?

[Georgiegirl]

Hell no, if either of us lose jobs we are screwed! Luckily I think we are both as safe as we could be in the current climate - he works in NHS admissions (handy chap to know) and I'm a civil servant working for Defra (alas not one of the fat cat ones, hence the thread) so that explains the relatively low income but hopefully quite secure.

I'm sure if it came to it our parents wouldn't see us on the streets but I absolutely don't want to enter into it with that attitude, I want to be independent!

[fido]

Cut down on food, or replace it with cereals and stuff that makes you full but not fat.

[Georgiegirl]

It was a joke....but thanks for the advice

I'll just do what I do now - wear clothes with big pockets when visiting the parents. I once managed to secrete two packets of hot cross buns and a loaf of bread in a particularly voluminous dress!

[Duke Thrust]

Looks perfectly reasonable to me, go for it and have fun - it'll be good practice for when you decide to buy and commit to a mortgage.

One thing though, have you considered moving costs? Always mroe than you think, even if it's just renting a van and getting chums around to help (tea, pizza's etc)

[Georgiegirl]

Woah steady, I can't even think about mortgages without coming out in a cold sweat! Better set aside another hundred quid for moving costs cheers - the first month is going to be a tough one!

[dirty boy]

Georgiegirl said:

Yeah we are both a couple of porkers so food will be high, although I hear Iceland do some lovely stuff for a fiver

Its got a water meter so thats good - I've been informed showers will be strictly timed and after 3 minutes he's flushing the toilet to scald me out!!

Car and bike both have MOT, tax, and insurance until next Jan so I might take the well practised 'worry about that when the time comes' route. He can walk to work, mine is about 5 miles away so bikeable in summer.

Its a 2 1/2 bed flat by the sea in Norfolk, so not a particularly expensive area but not cheap either - middle of the road I guess!

Its probably second nature after a while, but at the moment there seems so much to think about!

Really appreciate all the replies.

Don't know Norfolk council tax prices, but band A will certainly be about £100.

I pay £16 for water and £18 for sewerage in a band A.

I think you'll be fine.

Whereabouts in Norfolk by the sea are you going? Presumably he'll be at the Paget?

[Shaw Tarse]

You can save money by meal planning, only buy what you need.
Sunday roast chicken (ideally count the potatoes, carrots etc)
Monday lunch chicken sarnies.
Monday tea, jacket pots,filled with chicken
Tues some sort of soup.

[miniman]

I used to pay a bigger mortgage than that on half the take home so I can't see how you'd have a problem. Even if your basic living costs get to £1500, what are you going to spend the rest on?

[Dan_1981]

You'll cope fine - the missus and I had similar costs and incomes when we bought a couple of years ago.

Every so often it can be struggle when things crop up but by the by you'll do fine.

[Georgiegirl]

Dirty Boy - Thanks for vote of confidence yes he's at the Paget, he'd like to get into the Police though, but I don't know how they will feel about him being ex military. The flat is right on the seafront in south Gorleston so its quite nice, better than most of Gorleston and much better than Great Yarmouth!! Are you a local?
Shaw Tarse - thanks for the tip, we'll definitely be meal planning I know how easy it is to spend more than you planned when you don't plan and just buy stuff as and when you fancy it. He'll be doing most of the cooking though!!(My role is spider removal and burglar clubbing)
ajstephe - thanks for the info, always helpful to get an idea of what others actually spend! I take it the costs you've given are split between the two of you not each??
Miniman - clothes, going out, general stuff I don't need but want?!
Dan 1981 - Cheers

I really am quite ridiculously excited to have my own(ish) place!

[shirt]

miniman said:

I used to pay a bigger mortgage than that on half the take home so I can't see how you'd have a problem. Even if your basic living costs get to £1500, what are you going to spend the rest on?

agreed. my take home when i bought a house was just shy of 1500 and my mortgage was 730. i still ran a car (250miles a week commute plus 100quid a mth toll fees + 800miles per mth visiting the oh. granted, month end was tight but i managed.

you'll cover it easily. your food bill wont be that much more and he'll the only one who notices the increase on the phone and heating bills everything else (bar c/tax) will be more or less what you pay now.

[wiffmaster]

Georgiegirl said:

I'm a civil servant working for Defra (alas not one of the fat cat ones, hence the thread)

Oi! Where's our Single Farm Payment got to? Tell your bosses they need to pull their finger out!