Upkeep & Self sufficient

[Loyal Guardian]

Hey all, every time I ask someone this question, they never give me a straightforward answer. I'm in the last year of school and I want to move out in a couple of years, maybe with a friend. If we rented a 1 bedroom apartment, both had jobs that paid $15/h (AUD) and we worked 9-10 hours a day, 5 days a week, would it be difficult (considering all the bills, shopping, maintenance etc) for us to live like this? Also, would it be possible to do it on my own?
Thanks.

[Celestial.]

Hey Ali,

My first question would be this: Where are you planning to move to? I can tell you, if you stay in Sydney, it will be a struggle. My sister's studio apartment in the city cost more per week than my mother's four bedroom house in the country; my sister could only afford it by working several jobs at once. Since I don't know much about your lifestyle, I can't give you a definite answer as to how much it would cost to live on your own. Why don't you do some research? I'm assuming you're living at home now - why don't you ask your parents/legal guardians/whoever how much it costs for your food, etc, each week, and then add things like water and electricity, and see what that gives you? It won't be exact, but it'll give you a rough idea, which might be better than nothing.

Hope I helped.

[Loyal Guardian]

Hey. I asked them for help and they just laughed at me -.- but yeah Sydneys pretty expensive. And there's no way I can live in the country. But thanks anyway. I don't have any friends that I can trust enough to live with me anyway, so there's no hope for me :P

[Dopey]

I don't live in Australia so can't help you with costs etc, but I'm going through the process of moving out. Here are some of the things I'm having to consider;
Rent / Mortgage - £500+ per month (this is absolute min for the area I'm looking at and can only consider the mortgage option as I've had some money left to me by a grandparent. For rent this covers a single room in a flat share)
Council tax - £1000 to £2000 a year. (so about £120 a month)
Bills - Water, heating, electricity, phone and internet just to start with - I'm going to allow £250 per month (but that is a complete guess)
Food - £25 per month (this is what I spent at uni on average, but its easy to spend more)
So far nearly £900 per month....

If you are in a flat building you will need to consider service charges. Then if you aren't within walking/ riding distance of work you need to consider transport costs.

I work 39 hours a week, earning just under £18000 a year. Once tax, national insurance, payments into a nhs pension fund and payments towards paying off my student are deducted I'm left with maybe £900 each month. With extra shifts and serving in the TA I can hope to get maybe upto £500 extra a month. So working every hour that I possibly can I will just about to cover all basic costs. Just..

I know the currency difference means that this might not be much help. I also know talking to Australians that wages and costs of living are quite different in the UK to Australia. But hopefully this can help you get a better idea of some of the things you need to consider. In the UK there are schemes to help some people find housing, but even without such schemes it is more than possible to realise your goal of moving out. Just as long as you are willing to put in the hours at work and give up certain luxuries. You are still young, so I wouldnt worry too much about this now, but if you are serious about it, start saving now! Every penny counts!

[Loyal Guardian]

Originally Posted by Dopey

I don't live in Australia so can't help you with costs etc, but I'm going through the process of moving out. Here are some of the things I'm having to consider;
Rent / Mortgage - £500+ per month (this is absolute min for the area I'm looking at and can only consider the mortgage option as I've had some money left to me by a grandparent. For rent this covers a single room in a flat share)
Council tax - £1000 to £2000 a year. (so about £120 a month)
Bills - Water, heating, electricity, phone and internet just to start with - I'm going to allow £250 per month (but that is a complete guess)
Food - £25 per month (this is what I spent at uni on average, but its easy to spend more)
So far nearly £900 per month....

If you are in a flat building you will need to consider service charges. Then if you aren't within walking/ riding distance of work you need to consider transport costs.

I work 39 hours a week, earning just under £18000 a year. Once tax, national insurance, payments into a nhs pension fund and payments towards paying off my student are deducted I'm left with maybe £900 each month. With extra shifts and serving in the TA I can hope to get maybe upto £500 extra a month. So working every hour that I possibly can I will just about to cover all basic costs. Just..

I know the currency difference means that this might not be much help. I also know talking to Australians that wages and costs of living are quite different in the UK to Australia. But hopefully this can help you get a better idea of some of the things you need to consider. In the UK there are schemes to help some people find housing, but even without such schemes it is more than possible to realise your goal of moving out. Just as long as you are willing to put in the hours at work and give up certain luxuries. You are still young, so I wouldnt worry too much about this now, but if you are serious about it, start saving now! Every penny counts!

Wow...I didn't expect such a long reply! Thanks for the info, it's more helpful than you think