UK cost of living
After taking over a two bedroom terraced house in Woking, I have been taking full responsibility of the bills.
Since I sublet to a house mate I’ve been trying to work out how much living costs are, in order to fairly split the bill between us.
I have the bigger room, so that’s my little reward for this painstaking research.
Rent is 800GBP a month, which isn’t bad for Woking, Surrey. The location is good for commuting to London Waterloo in about 30 minutes.
Electricity is roughly 30GBP a month. Due to rise 19% this year.
Gas is 40GBP a month. Due to rise 29% this year.
I have not switched my water bill to variable direct debit, but judging by the low credit on my account, I would say the regular payments of 23GBP suffice.
Discounted cable broadband (XL) costs 29GBP a month. I have no landline telephone, so I don't pay BT tax. I also do not have a TV, so I do not pay for a TV license, though do I use BBC iplayer frequently.
Woking band C (bands are bizarre) is 1200GBP a year, so 100GBP a month.
Admittedly I pay 10GBP an hour for a cleaner to come in two hours a week. This is not really enough time to clean this house, so of course my housemate and I have to do our own laundry and odd jobs like clean windows etc.
So in total: 800 (Rent) + 30 (Electricity) + 40 (Gas) + 23 (Water) + 29 (Internet) + 100 (Council tax) + 80 (cleaner) = 1102 GBP
This rise in fuel bills will only probably increase Gas & Electric (fuel) bills a maximum of 20GBP a month, which is not too much. Finally say 1120GBP shared between two people is, 560GBP a month.
I would describe my standard of living as pretty basic. The weather is terrible. There is not much space. Heating insulation isn’t very good, though I do have a small garden. Unfortunately having a garden does present a maintenance cost that I have not factored in.
Incidentally I recommend opening a second current account if you are also intent on working out how much you spend a month on living costs.
Next I’ll try work out how much I spend on food and toiletries.