Jamz3k

rough question if where renting a place for 400quid a month what sort of income do u think u'd need to live comfortablely?

DPat

Define comfortablely

£3k for me, but then I pay child support of £1.4k / month!

Jamz3k

well basically im single, got all the toys i want and now i just want a place of my own im on just under 1k a month at the mo (salesman so this time of year sucks) and i shall be promoted in a month. do u think i could afford 400quid a month on rent?

DPat

Are you saying that you pay nothing at the mo.?
I guess £600 per month would be OK, just use your commision for those all important extras

Jamz3k

at the mo, im with the folks just so i dont really have any outgoing apart from phone contracts, a few quid on a credit card and giving my folks a few quid. i just need my own space again but cant be fecked saving to buy a house as i need out asap lolol

JamieMacdonald

Get a bit of paper, write down your 'take home' pay at the top. Then subtract £400, subtract any other outgoings that you will still have if you move out and if the figure at the bottom is greater than or equal to zero, then you can afford it.

Brit_in_Japan

I don't think anyone can answer that for you. Work out what you spend your money on now. What do you have left over each month?

Then calculate what your outgoings would be per month if you rent somewhere. Remember it's not just rent, it's council tax, electricity, gas, cable/telephone line, water, not to mention food and other household costs. So you have to deduct all that from your net salary.

If you are saving lots's each month right now then you could probably afford to do it without too much problem. If you are used to spending your salary each month, you are going to have to make major compromises what you spend your money on.

jods

I think that is gonna be tough.
Assuming the 1000 is net of Tax and NI
1000 - 400 leaves you 600
Out of which you will have to find (Estimated on the low side)
Gas 35
Elec 35
Phone 30
Council Tax 130
Petrol 80
TV Licence 12
Water 20
Contents Insurance 20
Food 140
Soap Toothpaste etc 20
Cleaning products 20
Clothes 20

That's pretty sparse living and I'm sure others will think of other stuff you'd need to buy?

Leaves you 38 a month spare - Hmmmmm AND that is if you take home 1000 rather than gross 1000

Jamz3k

thats the problem, i havent saved a single thing, i have been basically buying crud i dont need and drinking/eating expensively, i know i'd have to cut back but thats just one of those things

Brit_in_Japan

You would also need to find a deposit and pay rent in advance, so if you've no savings then you're stuffed. If I were you I would stay put and try and save an equivalent amount of money for a couple of months so you can get used to your new spending power. If you can't save enough, you can't afford to get a place. If you can hack it, then you have your deposit and one months advance rent.

All you need then is some furniture!

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

Find a mate or a couple of mates to share with, works out much cheaper - when I was 18 I rented a flat for £240 a month - my take home at the time was about £600 - after bills, food etc... I generally ended up with nothing at all - and I wasnt running a car and paying insurance on it at the time.

I would say to have any kind of comfortable existence ( at the sort of money you're looking at ) you want to be looking at your rent being around a third of your take home.