You’ve decided that not going to University is best for you but you desperately want the freedom and independence that having your own place brings. The concept of living by yourself, having whoever you want round, washing the dishes whenever you feel like it, is one that has caused many to leave home whilst still in their teens.
However, a reality check is needed. Firstly, it’s vitally important you have a stable job and enough savings already to attain a house/flat and be able to pay to actually stay alive! Most landlords will require a deposit, which usually works out at six weeks rent.
It’ll be harder for someone under the age of 18 to be given the chance to rent as landlords may not be comfortable with the idea and unsure if you have the responsibility and the cash, to afford to live there. However some will, as long as you are able to provide a guarantor- who is someone who knows you (usually a parent) who signs the contract with you to say they will pay the rent if you don’t.
You also need to understand it’s not just the issue of being able to afford to pay the rent every month and the cost of food and expenses for some entertainment in your life. There’s so much more to it that you may not have budgeted for, which all adds up:
- Council Tax (usually around £1,000 a year depending on where you live)
- Heating and Electricity (Both have recently gone up massively due to the current economic crisis)
- Water bill (Can be demanded as a yearly bill or on a meter. If demanded yearly, this can mean you will be paying the same as your family home does!)
- Internet Costs (It may not be possible to have cable connection in your home so you may have to install a line, so line rental adds on top of internet costs)
- T.V license (Come to just under £12 a month)
And while these are housing essentials, you also have to keep an eye on your mobile phone costs, insurance, Â travel expenditure, contingencies for repairs etc (although your landlord will be responsible for most household equipment, i.e. the boiler), clothes, entertainment and savings.
It’s not impossible to live on your own with not too much cash to your name, but it certainly means a challenge is on the cards. You’ll have to accept there will be times where you’ll be eating cheese sandwiches three times a day and you will be wearing scarves and coats indoors during the winter (trust me you will be, they palm it off as character building I think) in a desperate attempt to save on the heating bill, after you realise how ridiculously high the bill was during the autumn.
You should also consider the idea of moving into a house/flat with a housemate(s). This can cut costs massively when it comes to sharing bills. People are often put off by the idea of sharing, as you can’t be to sure of ending up living with someone who actually scares you! However living away from home on your own can be a lonely experience for anyone, let alone experiencing it for the first time. So don’t rule it out.
Deciding on looking at houses/flats in different parts of the country is also a wise option. Home renting prices across the UK differ greatly and renting somewhere different from where you planned to, can see you end up living in a bigger and nicer house compared to what you imagined you would get. (You can also expect different costing for issues such as insurance.)
Some apprenticeship schemes also offer accommodation to apprentice’s as part of the package. This could be an option that suits you more ideally and is a far less risky option than plunging straight into renting your own home by yourself.
Unlike living away at university, knowing your living off what you earn is a far more rewarding concept than living off your overdraft. You do need to be wise to do it however, but it will certainly allow you to appreciate how hard your family’s had to work to support you and appreciate how important having a career is, if you want to make it in this world.
