Cost of utilities etc - 4 bdrm flat?

We're getting closer and closer to finding the ultimate flat. But I still have no real idea of how much this will cost and if it will be more expensive than living in residence. There's 4 of us interested in sharing.
I'm hoping that there's someone out there reading TSR who is living in a flat and can tell us the approx cost of utilities (heat, hydro, water, internet, etc.)
On top of that I guess there's food and entertainment budget as well...
Also, any advice on how you organize food and general shared stuff for the flat?
What worked what doesn't work?
Thx

Reply 1

lilcathstar

2

arod

We're getting closer and closer to finding the ultimate flat. But I still have no real idea of how much this will cost and if it will be more expensive than living in residence. There's 4 of us interested in sharing.
I'm hoping that there's someone out there reading TSR who is living in a flat and can tell us the approx cost of utilities (heat, hydro, water, internet, etc.)
On top of that I guess there's food and entertainment budget as well...
Also, any advice on how you organize food and general shared stuff for the flat?
What worked what doesn't work?
Thx

Well I'm not really sure about gas & elec as ours is all messed up at the mo (we think we might be paying the elec bill for the flat across the stairs... oops) but i could hazard a rough guess at around £200 per person per year for the both. A landline costs £11.50 a month for the standard BT jobbie. Calls aren't too much if you stick to off peak hours etc, but we all tend to use our mobs for this as we have free mins anyway. Our internet, I think costs £18 a month (or it could be £15) for uncapped usage, but you can pay up to £30 so do your research before deciding which internet provider to go with. Bear in mind that the Phone & Internet will be split between the 4 of you in the flat, so it's not a major financial burden.

I spend between £15-£20 on food every week, but am not all that stringent - I have meat 2 or 3 times a week and plenty of fruit/veg. The organisation of food & cooking generally tends to sort itself out after a few weeks. The way it's worked with me this year is that we generally buy our own food but share bread, milk, loo rolls, flora (marg), pasta, washing up liquid, dishwasher powder etc etc and other things that you use a little of, but often and just take turns at buying them.

We don't generally cook as a flat, although 3 or 4 nights a week I'll prob combine ingredients with one of the flatmates and we'll make something together.

However I do know people that all go out as a flat and do a big weekly shop (generally people with cars) and split the costs and then everyone helps themself to food. I can imagine this can get difficult if some people have more expensive tastes and others are trying to watch their budget, though.

Also, if you're planning on having a TV, there's the license fee... which is a little over £100 for the year - again something that will be split 4 ways.

Reply 2

michaelnicholson88

lilcathstar

Also, if you're planning on having a TV, there's the license fee... which is a little over £100 for the year - again something that will be split 4 ways.

Except if you are wanting to have TVs in your rooms and have locks on the bedroom doors. Then everyone needs an individual one.

Reply 3

lilcathstar

2

michaelnicholson88

Except if you are wanting to have TVs in your rooms and have locks on the bedroom doors. Then everyone needs an individual one.

I think it actually depends on the type of lease you have - we viewed a flat last week that had internal locks fitted, but was still let under a joint-tennancy agreement, so I think one license would cover the whole lot.

I stand corrected.

Ive been told its about £20-30 a month each for bills and stuff, and then this year I've been spending about £10-15 a week on food (I'm vegetarian, no meat costs) but it totally depends on you and your lifestyle, as my flatmate spends more than £50 a week on food yet doesn't have that much to show for it!

In my current flat, a few of us share milk, marg, tea etc, and then generally everyone just buys their own food as it gets way too complicated if you do a group shop or start sharing everything, in my opinion. Obviously then we all borrow/use bits of eachothers, but it all equals out in the long run. With loo roll, washing up liquid etc we just split the costs as everyone buys it every so often, say if you're at the shops and don't have much to carry you buy toilet roll, so again it works out equal-ish. All of this completely depends on the people you live with though, some flats I know all have their own loo roll, some have a flat kitty, and some are just somewhere in between. It'll all work out in the first few weeks!

Reply 6

arod

OP

5

Thanks for all the info. This really helps. Living in residence is so easy since you don't have to think about all this stuff! I had forgotten about the TV license, then again I don't think the flat had one, and we certainly can't afford one!

Cost of utilities etc - 4 bdrm flat?

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